When you send a document to be translated, whether for your personal use or��for��your company, you might think��it goes through a��fairly simple��process. You send it, it gets to a translator who translates it,��and��then the translator��sends it back.���ճ󲹳�’s��all, right? Well…��The��translation��part is��actually more��complex��than that,��and��there are a number of requirements��that must be met to��deliver consistently high-quality��translations��for a wide��range��of documents��and clients.��A translator will��not operate the same way��for a birth certificate��as for digital marketing material or subtitles.��So�������’s have a��closer��look at what goes into��a translator’s��job.

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The Process: Who do they work with?��

You may��seek out a��translation services provider because��you����Dz�’t��personally��know��freelance translators that could do the job directly for you, or you ��Dz�’t know one for each language combination you need. You may not��know��who��is better suited to what task, or you may not have the time or��the��expertise to take care of all your translation needs.��Simply put, someone has to oversee the project��for you.

At�����˶���,��we understand that a quality translation involves more than just a��translator.��A��dedicated��Project Manager��(PM)��is��always��in charge of��monitoring��your project��from start to finish.��As��the main link��between you and the various translators,��the PM��is��always��aware of the��advancement of the project and��oversees��the resources involved. The PM is here to facilitate communication, which is essential to meet your expectations and deliver��the highest standard of��translation for your materials.

But��what��exactly��is��there to oversee?��Well, your material will not be taken care of by one single translator per language. CCA has a three-step,��foolproof process to��ensure��the greatest��accuracy. This is something a��process involving only one��person��may not��guarantee. Why? Because���ԴDz��ǻ��’s��perfect! Translation is��a human process, and��even an excellent translator can and will sometimes make mistakes, or simply not think of��the best way��to��convey��an idea��in another language. Yes, there is always a better solution and we could spend��an��eternity agonizing over the��translation of��a user��guide, the title of a report, or a joke��from��a TV show –��but��of course, no one can afford��to do that��forever.��Yet, when it comes to quality,��experience shows������’s��never a waste of time to have someone take a second look at a document��–��far from it:��it’s almost a requirement.

CCA acknowledges��this��fact, which is why��we have��three separate linguists work on your text:

• The��translator does the bulk of the work by translating the document, thus providing the first draft.��They only ever translate into their��native language,��so they can provide a text that sounds natural and��is��as precise as possible when it comes to terminology.����
• Then,��an��editor��will review this draft and go over the translation and all��the��language-related issues. They check for accuracy,��style,��and, of course, grammar and syntax errors. This second pair of eyes is essential to��ensure��the overall quality of the translation.��
• Finally, the��proofreader��takes��one��last look at the final document, checking for��non-language-related problems��such as��typos, formatting issues, punctuation errors,��dates, numbers, etc.��Nothing can escape our eyes.��

Translators, editors,��and proofreaders��must work within��set��deadlines and guidelines and often find themselves editing someone else’s translation to��make��it��perfect.��This whole process��is��coordinated and supervised every step of the way��by the PM, who will��communicate your wishes to them, and��also serve as��a contact to address your concerns��and needs��during the��time it takes us to complete your order.����

In addition, if you need technical assistance with your project, a team of IT specialists, engineers,��and desktop publishers��is��available.��Contrary to what one might at first,��suppose,��this��really is a team effort��– quality demands it.��

The Tools: What do they work with?��

Now,�������’s��talk about translation proper. Most of the time, we think about it as a straightforward operation: someone – a translator��–��reads the text in the source language and creates a document in the target language that��“basically says the same thing.”��There��is��often a myriad of ways to convey the same idea. We all experience that on a daily basis��when��observing the manners of speech of people��around us,��who often express the same things differently, having their own distinct idiolect.��For example, someone will prefer to use the adjective “beautiful” instead of “handsome”.

In fact, a significant part of translating consists not in finding a way to express an idea in the target language, but in choosing among the many ways��one has��already found.��This��choice��������’t��all be a matter of the translator’s personal preference��and natural inclination.��The context and the intended readership clearly inform these decisions; however, you too have your say in this.��As a client, you can address specific��details��and instructions for your translators to follow.

In addition to specialized dictionaries and translation databases��that��translators use on��a��regular��basis,��they��also��need your input. There are, in fact, two��resources��that��you��as a client can��give��your translators,��or that��they��can help you��develop��and update if needed:��glossaries and style guides.����

Translators are at the service of a client, which makes their job��an��interesting��challenge, as they are confronted��with��the difficulties of bending the target language to their will, as well as customers’ expectations.��So��these tools of the trade��are useful for understanding what the client requires��in general or for a specific project.��Translators constantly��use them��to adapt their work to the��client��so the resulting translation��conforms��to guidelines��and��its intended purpose.��

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������’s��how they work:

• A��glossary’s purpose is to unify the language. It��provides a single standardized translation for key terms��to make sure they are��identical from��one��document to��the next��and��regardless of the translator. It is basically a terminology database that greatly helps translators with unfamiliar words,��and how they can become aware of��specific terms��and��your��word��preferences when translating. A good glossary��helps��translators working on��your��company’s material make sure that they are all��on the same page, thereby ensuring overall consistency between your documents. Here are the items that should be included in a professional glossary:����
  • Key terms and their definition: products, services, technical terms,��but also��words, phrases, expressions, abbreviations, and acronyms. Those should��include terms that pertain to your trade, your industry, or your company in particular, such as concepts that speak to your company culture. Detailed and complete definitions are a necessary part of any glossary because knowing the��exact meaning��of a word or phrase you normally use helps translators choose the best translation for it.����
  • Preferred translations:��This is an additional tool for the translator who may be hesitating between two or more equivalent terms��–��which��happens��often.��This will ensure the target texts remain consistent��and stick closely to your company’s natural vocabulary,��whenever possible.��
  • Translations that should be��avoided:��Words��that should not be used to translate a term,��even if��they seem possible. This is the opposite of the preferred��translations;��it further clarifies your terminology preferences.��
  • Do-not-translates:��Words you want��us to be kept��in the source language��such as��proprietary terms, brand names,��and��trademarks, but��also��concepts and phrases that are relevant to your company and/or your international clients and should remain recognizable in the original language.����
• A��style guide’s purpose is to provide guidelines for the look and feel you expect from translated documents. It should consist of a concise set of preferences��to guide��linguists��working on��your documents. It��may��include the following items:��
  • A brief description of your company: What is your company? Who is your competition? What makes you stand out? What image do you want to��give off? What are your core values, your goals, etc.? Since the translators control the words that will define your company in other languages, they should know��how your company defines itself in its native language.��
  • Your��tone��preferences:��In other words, how do you want your translations to sound��to your intended audience? You��may��want them to sound formal or casual. You��may��prefer short sentences, or longer, more��stylistically sophisticated��ones. You��may��want a very matter–of–fact��voice��or a more artistic��style. For your promotional material, you can go for concise, impactful statements or more��elaborate��formulations. Do you want the translations to be more literal or would you rather have a more creative approach, that is adapted to the target language’s culture? Let us know, so we can tailor our translation to your expectations.����
  • What you ��Dz�’t want: words,��terms, phrases,��and��slogans��you’d like translators to avoid – maybe��because��they are too closely tied to your competitors’��public��image,��or maybe because you simply ��Dz�’t want them associated with your brand for another reason.��You can also suggest alternative translations��your translator is welcome to��use that��better fit the context of the target language as well as your requirements.��
  • How��to display��specific things in��your text: punctuation and capitalization rules, font use,��footnotes, and endnotes, etc.

Glossaries and style guides are vital��for translators, especially if they work on numerous documents��and many different clients. They can also help them deliver��a product��that is��consistent with the��work of translators��who have previously worked on your projects.��These tools for translating��should evolve over time, be periodically reviewed, altered,��and completed, so as to always represent your company’s��evolving��needs. At CCA, we can help you update your glossaries and style guides. We can also assist you in creating them for��language professionals to use in the future by leveraging previously��translated content and using it to lay the groundwork��for future translation projects.����

Contact Us

If you have any inquiries about translation or any other services we offer, or if you’re ready to start with your very own translation project, contact us online��or give us a call at +1 (877) 708-0005��and experience the platinum standard of the language industry.

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���˶��� (CCA) was co-founded and is owned by Pablo ���˶���and Julien Brasseur. Together, they have created a one-source language solutions firm that provides interpretation and translation services, as well as additional service offerings, both in the United States and abroad.

Their impeccable standards and global connections have earned ���˶��� (CCA) its reputation as the industry’s platinum standard.

We interviewed Pablo back in 2017 (Click here to read that interview), and realized it was high time we interviewed Julien as well. Enjoy getting to know more about the other half of this dynamic, collaborative business duo.

It’s Time to Meet Julien Brasseur

When did you know you were a “linguist” and what does that mean to you? How has it shaped your life?

Let me tell you a secret – When I was in high school, I remember listening to a Janet Jackson interview on the French radio. The journalist didn’t understand half of what she was saying, especially the jokes and the colloquialisms. I thought, “I can do better than that.”

I’ve always loved languages, both my native tongue (French) and foreign languages. I formally studied French, English, German, Spanish, Dutch, Latin, and a bit of Portuguese. Languages make you travel and discover the world, even from the comfort of your own home. They open your mind to the rest of the world, other cultures, other ways of thinking.

I believe that if every person on Earth spoke at least one foreign language, the world would be a much better place. You can lose everything, but having experienced another culture through language is something they can never take away from you.

We understand you spend quite a bit of time flying between the US and France, within Europe, and abroad. Can you describe a “day in the life of a conference interpreter?”

Also being a translator, I have the best of both the translation and the interpretation worlds. Sometimes I get to travel to other places (both fascinating other countries, or small towns or even villages), and sometimes I get to stay home, in front of my computer, translating while sipping a cup of coffee, enjoying the quiet of my office.

The life of a conference interpreter is not always as glamorous as it sounds – traveling for long hours on a plane, being often – if not constantly – jetlagged, living out of a suitcase, having to study for your next assignment, sometimes accompanying famous people who turn out to be prima donnas – it certainly takes a toll. It is a career that requires constant learning, and meeting new people is an amazing opportunity. You have to find some balance to keep your sanity, and being able to switch between translation and interpretation is a blessing.

In addition to interpreting, you specialize in voice-related services in the entertainment industry (voiceovers, red carpet events, etc.). Can you tell our readers how you landed in that niche and what ����’s like to wear two separate hats?

A colleague and friend of mine contacted me for a TV gig in Los Angeles because her client was looking for a young male voice talent who knew about movies, song, fashion – who could also interpret and was a native French speaker. I guess there weren’t thousands of options…

And then I started working for French TV. I also did some dubbing and workout videos. It sounds hip and fun, but ����’s also very much high pressure. Hundreds of thousands – if not millions – of people may be listening to you, and there is no room for a slip of the tongue. The Internet is full of examples of people who said the wrong thing at the wrong time, and today, you can quickly become a “meme.”

In the entertainment industry, there is a lot of work happening in the background. You have to follow instructions as to what to say or what not to say (curse words, advertising, etc.). Just like in the conference world, you need to keep a cool head, know how to get out of hairy situations, and get back quickly on your feet. I have quite a few friends in the profession who are excellent simultaneous and consecutive interpreters and do not want to touch this kind of assignment with a 10-foot pole. There can be a lot at stake.

Your website and its content highlight the importance of hiring native-speaking interpreters and translators. Can you tell us how your abilities as an interpreter are enhanced by your native-speaking status, and how they exceed services provided by a fluent, non-native speaker?

No matter how good you are at languages, a learned language will never, ever be as good as your mother tongue. A native speaker always has markedly more flexibility in their own native language. English supposedly has three times as many words as French – but that is because in French, one word can have many different meanings depending on the nuance. I find that makes French much more interesting.

At CCA, we try to treat our colleagues as we would like to be treated. We only work with the best of the best, but also with people who are kind and caring. �ճ󲹳�’s the philosophy of the company at CCA, and that is very important to us.

Can you tell us about one or some of your favorite translation and interpretation projects?

�ճ󲹳�’s tough. The Olympics are always a blast; TV is always an adrenaline high. Accompanying delegations can be fun, or extremely straining.

Whether in translation or interpretation, I like feeling that I am making a difference in the world through my work. Interpreting at a political crisis event or at a women’s empowerment conference, translating a groundbreaking report on human rights or family planning, is much more gratifying and rewarding than interpreting some CEO’s boring speech full of numbers read at a hundred miles per hour at a steering committee meeting.

What’s it like to work as a professional interpreter for the Olympic Games?

It’s obviously enthralling, but it can be tiring. You spend a lot of time in transport going from one site to the next, trying to figure out how to get there, studying for the next event, constantly following the news, and adjusting to harsh weather conditions. But it is also enormously fun, because you get to see so much from up close, you get to meet the athletes, and many of them are usually very humble and kind.

During the Olympics, I also get to spend a lot of time with wonderful, talented colleagues, it really feels like a family. You travel and work together, you support, motivate, and encourage each other. And, because French is the #1 language (even before English, in case of a dispute), it also makes me very proud of my background.

What’s one of the most significant challenges you’ve encountered while providing interpretation for clients?

�ճ󲹳�’s a tough one. You sometimes have to interpret for people who are going through very difficult times, having lost someone close, experienced physical or emotional difficulties. I remember interpreting an asylum seeker’s plea; it is always emotional when you can relate.

Or you have to interpret for people whose mindset may not be aligned with your own personal beliefs. That can happen with political and religious leaders. You may feel like rolling your eyes, but of course, in all cases, you have to keep everything confidential, and remain neutral. Keeping your distance in order to be able to perform to the best of your knowledge and ability, without letting your own emotions get in the way – because that is the best way to do your job and help people through your work. That can be difficult, to say the least, but it is absolutely essential.

���˶��� provide services as expert legal witnesses and in international arbitration centers. What are the qualities and experiences that provide the expertise required for those high-level arenas? Aspiring interpreters want to know…

First, your language skills have to be impeccable especially in your native language. You also have to be able to listen, retain information, and regurgitate it – so some training in consecutive interpretation is a must. Of course, you need to know the terminology – so preparation is key.

As a translator, you need to love words – finding the perfect word or idiom to translate something must be something that excites you. But interpretation is not about words, ����’s about concepts. You also have to be smart and not easily impressed. As a conference interpreter, you sometimes have thousands of eyes – and ears – set on you. You ������’t be shy, and you need to know how not to panic!

It’s really clear that interpretation is a calling, linked to the gift of being a linguist. So, in a parallel universe, what does the non-linguist, Julien Brasseur do for a living?

I ��Dz�’t know if ����’s a calling – some people literally “fall” into it. Both translation and interpretation mean years of hard work and experience and training before you can reach an acceptable level. You obviously need to have a gift for languages, but the technique is clearly something you can learn.

What’s magical about these two professions is that you never stop learning, and if you are a freelancer, you never get bored. I’m an avid reader; if I could earn a living reading and learning, I guess that wouldn’t be so bad…

Are you looking for experienced, qualified, and passionate interpreters or translators to further your organization’s cause? Contact Julien and the team at ���˶���!

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Tell me a little bit about yourself.

I was born in Nicaragua to a Chinese-Nicaraguan father and a Spanish-Nicaraguan mother. I emigrated to the US as a child, coming back to Central America (Costa Rica, Honduras, and of course, my dear Nicaragua) to study during the summertime throughout my childhood and college. Both my parents’ mother tongue was Spanish but they had also studied in the States. My dad also spoke fluent Cantonese and French so he sent me to France as an exchange student when I was 15. So you could say that I was born and grew up surrounded by languages! I also became a French citizen three years ago.

I have an MA in both Translation and Conference Interpretation from the Monterey Institute of International Studies (now the ) and an MA in Bilingual Legal Interpretation from the University of Charleston (now called the Graduate School of the College of Charleston).

Pablo Chang-Castillo

Why did you decide to create CCA?

What excites me the most about conference interpretation is that it allows me to discover the world and share it with our customers. At CCA, we build bridges between cultures, which is fascinating.

We decided to create ���˶��� (CCA) as a boutique company to be the platinum standard of the translation and interpretation industry.

What makes CCA so different?

Unlike other companies on the market, we are not project managers or sales people trying to sell translation services, or equipment providers who also recruit interpreters — we ARE the linguists doing the job, either in front of the computer or in the interpretation booth, or recruiting colleagues who do the same with the same quality we insist upon for ourselves. We are the only translation and interpretation company to be owned and operated by working translators and interpreters – so we know exactly what our clients need, and how to provide them with the service they deserve.

Pardon the pun, but how does this translate into CCA’s practices?

Many people will claim that they speak another language, but there is a huge difference between having spent a summer in France or having a grandmother who was born in Mexico, and being a competent translator or conference interpreter at a professional level. We know what skill it takes to be a competent translator or interpreter.

One of my colleagues once told me that when you have someone replace you, you should make sure that they are at least as good as you are. �ճ󲹳�’s why we are so selective when it comes to recruiting translators and interpreters. We only want the crème de la crème, those who have formal training, certifications, AND a proven track record in the field.

Tell us about a time when your skills were really put to the test.

I remember a few years ago, we were providing conference interpretation services for a global summit in Los Angeles, California. The power suddenly went out, so of course the interpretation booths and microphones became unusable. Within a few moments, our interpreters were there on the floor, providing consecutive interpretation to the delegates, making it possible to continue the meeting seamlessly. This was possible because we knew, as interpreters ourselves, that we had put together a team who had the languages and the skills to work under whatever circumstances that came their way. This is what makes CCA unique and like no other company out there.

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Pablo Chang-Castillo is an entrepreneur with a free spirit and an enterprising and disciplined work ethic. The Founder and CEO of ���˶���, Pablo was seemingly born into the translation and interpretation business. His last name alone, a hyphenated amalgam of China and Latin America, needs no embellishment as an emblem of diversity and the meeting of disparate cultures.

Originally from Nicaragua, his paternal grandfather was Chinese and his maternal grandfather was Spanish from Spain; he also has indigenous native-Nicaraguan ancestry. Always a world traveler, Pablo grew up between Central America and the United States before being sent abroad as an exchange student to school in France, Germany, and Italy. Eventually his entire family would move to the United States. Both Spanish and English were spoken in his home growing up, so language felt less embedded and fixed. It was possible to hear and speak two languages on the same day interchangeably. While now a citizen of the United States, Pablo considers himself a composite of three places: Nicaragua, the United States, and France. Or, as he likes to say, he is a “Nicafrencherican”!

Early beginnings

���˶��� began in 1993 when Pablo was only 18. An independent thinker committed to creating reality from dreams, he had always wanted to start his own business. Starting his own business meant freedom, the freedom to innovate and create something new, to solve problems and contribute to the community from a position of leadership and vision. Never one to follow the crowd, Pablo was inspired to start out on an entrepreneurial path early on and has never looked back.

Challenges and overcoming them

All businesses face challenges, and as ���˶��� has grown over the years the largest challenge has been scaling up. Success has brought growth and the challenge of implementing new business processes. Everything has a procedure now. ���˶���and Associates has become an entity in its own right, and so Pablo has had to create a larger vision to accommodate that growth. He has worked hard at creating processes to keep the company efficient and responsive to changing conditions and market trends. He’s also found it expedient to spot talent and work with it, surrounding himself with people who have areas of expertise which complement his own and add unique competencies to ���˶���.

Unexpected challenges are stressful but provide the working validation of a company’s mettle and ability to adapt quickly to unforeseen circumstances. Once, when managing a conference on climate change there was a sudden, massive power outage right before the main plenary! There were two separate teams of English, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, and Indonesian conference interpreters, one was a backup and one was working the plenary. Pablo rose to the occasion seamlessly switching his teams from simultaneous interpretation to consecutive interpretation until the power came back on. Thinking on his feet, his teams were able to keep the situation under control until the power was restored. Luckily, it was restored after fifteen minutes and before the world leaders hit the stage. When they did, things were functioning smoothly and you would never know that earlier, confusion had been narrowly averted. This is what ���˶��� is all about: providing seamless language solutions, worldwide.

Always international in scope and mission

Chang-Castillo and Associates is headquartered in San Francisco but also has offices in Paris, France. Pablo spends time in both offices managing events requiring simultaneous or consecutive interpretation services, written translation services, and state-of-the-art interpretation equipment and booths — anywhere in the world. Always an international traveler, Pablo ���˶���lives both in Paris and in San Francisco.

He was born in and grew up between Central America and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Pablo explains his reason for coming to live in the beautiful Bay Area, “San Francisco reminds me of the ocean with the crisp, clean air of my native Bluefields, Nicaragua. My graduate studies at the prestigious Monterey (Middlebury) Institute of International Studies brought me to the Bay Area.”

Just like our founder, CCA is truly international and is always ready to assist you with translation or interpretation services wherever you may need them in the world.

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