INSIDER: What are the two most critical issues facing the language technology industry today?

The first really important issue is the adoption and implementation of open standards. The world really has changed over the last few years. Now it’s not whether standards are the way to go, but when and how to implement them, no matter what industry you’re in. In the language technology industry, it’s about adopting and implementing open standards such as XML (eXtensible Markup Language), TMX (Translation Memory eXchange), TBX (Term Base eXchange), etc. to separate the data from semantics when dealing with languages.

These standards will accomplish for language what XBRL is making possible for financial data. In the same way that TMX tagging enables automated processing of linguistic information, XBRL tagging enables automated processing of business information, cutting out the costly and laborious processes of manual re-entry and comparison. Computers can treat XBRL data “intelligently” by recognizing, selecting, analyzing, storing and exchanging the information in a XBRL document. XBRL greatly increases the speed of handling of financial data, reduces the chance of error and permits automatic checking of information, just as TMX, for example, does for translation memories. In the same way, TMX allows for great savings in terms of time and cost at a linguistic level.

Once you tag the original data, whether it’s with XBRL or TMX, you don’t have to rekey information every time, so you can save a lot of money. And you can resort the information. Tagging is like glue. I always compare it to a car, where they bar code all of the parts – the bar coding (or tagging) allows you to take apart the car and put it back together in a nutshell.

The second issue is a bit different. There are so many electronic devices and smart tags coming out these days, with tens of thousands being forecasted in a fairly short amount of time. There is a tremendous market to make these more compatible in terms of language and culture, from a user’s standpoint. This is a great opportunity for the language industry, both for clients and for service providers, if we can implement the standards and harness the capacity to make it happen.

INSIDER: Where are the new growth sectors for the language technology industry today?

From my point of view, it’s clearly Eastern Europe, along with Asia. The problem, though, is that these regions don’t have the capacity built up yet to deal with the translation and localization load.

INSIDER: Why have you joined the LISA board?

Why did I join? I learned Russian as a kid growing up in East Germany – even though I didn’t want to learn it at the time. We had to take it in school, but at home, my parents undermined it in the sense of identifying it with Stalin, the Communists, etc. I learned English by coming to the States, and then French in school. I really don’t have any natural talent for languages, but there you are.

INSIDER: But this is probably what has allowed you to remain much more in touch with the “normal user.” Obviously, that is extremely important for what you’re doing right now.

Yes, it is. Actually, I met the LISA people way back in 1994, and they helped to give me an overview of the market, what was going on, etc., that has helped me with this job. It’s now time for me to provide some payback to those who have helped me along the way. I’m also doing it for a selfish reason – it enables me to stay up-to-date on language-related issues.

I was on another board for International Youth Exchange. They helped me tremendously as a young person to go to the United States, so I decided later on to join the board to help them. It’s the same with LISA. I feel that LISA has a good chance to rejuvenate itself and to do something better.

INSIDER: Well, if the world doesn’t needed something like LISA today, it never will.

That’s right.

INSIDER: What should LISA’s top objectives be for the next twelve months?

What should LISA do? It should consolidate and restructure. It needs to look at building a new business plan, a fresh strategy. It needs more transparent governance, based on an open and transparent structure. You have to revisit these things frequently. The governance, the structure, the business plan – all have to be redone every couple of years in a publicly-focused organization because there are too many people looking in. If you go down the wrong road, people criticize you, or they go someplace else.

We learned the hard way when we reorganized the IASC (International Accounting Standards Committee) to the IASB. Tremendous politics! You have to balance all of the political interests. All IASB board meetings are now open to the public, and LISA’s board meetings should be as well. All members should know what’s going on. People expect you to be open.

LISA should refocus on standards – no group is better prepared to do this than LISA. We must catalog these standards and make them more transparent. Then we can use them as the basis for education and implementation.

Right now, it’s frankly a bit haphazard. You only have pieces of standards. If you ask me, as a board member, what all these language-related standards are, I can’t tell you because no one has codified them. LISA needs to consider codifying language-related standards as the IASB has done with its financial accounting rules in 2004 International Financial Reporting Standards. Codifying simplifies everything.

But that’s the advantage that LISA has – it has a lot upon which to build. Reasonable people are willing to pay money, if they can see that it helps. LISA must return to its standards focus. It also needs a business plan with real market data. This is a not an easy industry to measure, though. It looks like we first need to define translation! Once we know that, we can proceed to measure the industry.

I also think that there are many more people from the non-technical sectors who should be involved. LISA has focused on high tech, but there are a lot of other people throughout the public and private sectors who should be a part of LISA. This also includes LISA being open to working with other organizations. It means reaching out, rebuilding bridges, making commitments, keeping them and then being willing to wait for the pay-off.

INSIDER: Well, if an organization such as the IASB can do it, LISA should be able to. What the IASB is doing is so much larger and so much more complex.

I know! The EU piece is really the challenge right now with some 25 countries and 20 languages (or so!).

I look at these standards, and then I look at the legal process… what a nightmare! The latter hasn’t even done what’s necessary internally to proceed.

INSIDER: Is that what you plan to take on next?

I wish! That would be fun…