As originally published on Monday, August 26, 2002

	Denise Russell, president of Language Masters, explains some of the technical and business documents her firm has translated into multiple languages at her home office near Mount Airy. (Staff photo by Skip Lawrence )

Two local translation companies work to bring the business world together through language.

Language Masters touts itself as "a new way to spell success in all the world's languages," working with more than 40 languages.

And Welocalize offers Integrated Globalization Services for faster international time-to-market and specializes in eLearning, Data Storage and Data Security applications.

Both companies' services include document translation, multilingual database management, software, multimedia and Web localization, and international consulting and interpretation.

Welocalize, founded in 1995, is a privately held, venture backed company, with headquarters in Frederick. Its European headquarters is in Saarbrucken, Germany. Deloitte and Touche recently ranked Welocalize as one of the fastest growing technology companies in North America in their annual Fast 500 ranking.

Welocalize, located in Frederick, reported record revenue and profits for the second quarter of 2002. Welocalize entered into expansive new partnerships with clients in the second quarter including Peopleclick, Knowledge Planet and the Worldwide Retail Exchange, and achieved record year-over-year revenue growth of 85 percent. Year-over-year earnings growth was 173 percent.

The company's "achievement of profitability and triple digit growth is a major milestone for its customers, employees and shareholders, making us one of the first companies to prove the viability of the integrated globalization services business model," said E. Smith Yewell, company president and chief executive officer. "This success will continue to benefit clients by ensuring faster global time to market, fluid international product development, and profitable globalization.

"Welocalize works with clients to create a framework and methodology for expanding globally that produces scalable, predictable results, and with the integration of our product and service family into the development environment, our clients are able to achieve much faster international time-to-market."

The company's framework combines globalization consulting and internationalization with a well organized, localization methodology required to translate software, eBusiness applications, web sites, documentation and other electronic content and business systems into foreign languages.

Before founding Welocalize in 1997, Mr. Smith started one of the Internet's early success stories, iebb.com. He managed the successful sale of iebb.com to private investors and the company is now part of the international business portal TradeCompass.com.

Language Masters Inc., located in Mount Airy, is an established translation company with "solid" experience in foreign language communications, and an outstanding track record, according to company president Denise Russell.

Language Masters facilitates the transition to the foreign market, helping companies overcome the language barriers common in international communications.

Language Masters describes itself as a full-service foreign language communications company, with the capability of translating into and from more then 40 world languages. Services include: document translation, general business, marketing and advertising, technical, legal, educational, multilingual database management, software localization, multimedia and Web localization, internationalization consulting and interpretation.

Ms. Russell said, "For every project we select a team of professional linguists with the specific technical background required. This strict selection process is reflected in the quality of the final translated document. Additionally, Language Masters has developed expertise in many industries throughout the years, including, automotive, consumer goods, healthcare, hospitality, information technology, life insurance, marketing/advertising, medical devices, pharmaceutical and telecommunications.

Although Language Masters translates into and from over 40 world languages, some of its most frequently requested target languages include: Arabic, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish and Vietnamese.

Language Masters recently received the 2001 Supplier Service Award from Smith & Nephew Endoscopy, a global endoscopic medical device company with headquarters in Andover, Mass. The award is presented annually to chosen suppliers "for consistently providing superior goods, services and team support to Smith & Nephew Endoscopy."

Ms. Russell said one essential aspect of doing business internationally has to do with cultural differences. Surprises and embarrassing moments in the country where you are marketing your products or services can be avoided by learning some basic facts and cultural information before you leave your office, she said.

Language Masters offers the following tips in dealing with foreign countries:

— The Brazilian flag is yellow and green. Avoid wearing these colors ­ it is offensive and considered tacky;

— Brazilians are affectionate people. Even first time acquaintances are met with kisses (women) and hugs or pats on the back (men);

— Everything stops in China between noon and 2 p.m.;

— The Chinese do not use their hands when speaking;

— Be prepared for meals with many more courses in China than what you are used to in the United States;

— During meals in Germany, your left hand is placed on the table near the plate (when not in use), never on your lap. This is considered very rude.

— It is also customary to use fork and knife at all times during a meal, cutting food as you go along. Never cut your food up with your knife and then proceed with your meal just using a fork;

— Many German business people speak (some) English and are eager to try their knowledge on English-speaking visitors;

— If a German tells you they speak "a little bit of English" they usually know more English than the average American would expect.

Don't:

— Ask personal questions of a German executive.

— Discuss business during a business luncheon. It is OK to do so before and after the meal is served.

— Be surprised to see other professionals in blue jeans. Jeans are much more widely accepted in formal settings if combined with formal attire such as dress shirts, ties and jackets.

— Be surprised to see a smoker being seated right next to a non-smoking table in a restaurant. Many Germans smoke, and restaurants usually do not separate smokers from non-smokers.

— When entering a Japanese house, take off your shoes at the entrance and change into slippers, usually provided by your host. There are special slippers to wear when going to the bathroom, which must be taken off prior to going back into the other rooms of the house.

— When entering a room with tatami floor, you should take off even your slippers since one should step onto tatami mats in socks or barefoot only.

— The Japanese way of greeting is bowing. The way one bows depends on the social status of the person he or she is greeting.

— The Japanese do not shake hands; however, they may do so when greeting a foreigner.

— If you will be visiting homes in Japan, an appropriate gift would be something particular to your hometown or region. Gifts are given and received with both hands.