Multilingual Connections

10/12/2026

A study found AI translation error rates for medical terms exceeding 30% in some languages.
An estimated 40% of Afghan asylum cases were affected by AI translation errors—including a woman whose regional slang for "my father" was translated as "my boss," making her account of abuse appear inconsistent. Her case was denied.
Most translation projects aren't life-and-death. But the principle applies everywhere. When AI gets it wrong, you may not know unless someone who knows better is looking.
Our new guide AI Translation: Where It Works, Where It Fails, and How to Get It Right is free and written for leaders who are accountable for multilingual content but may not be fluent in the languages it's going out in.
https://multilingualconnections.com/ai-translation-guide/

10/06/2026

In meat and poultry processing, non-native English speakers often make up the majority of the workforce.

So here's a question worthy of consideration: If most of the people executing your food safety program are reading procedures in their second or third language, how confident are you that "understood" and "signed off on training" mean the same thing in your facility?

OSHA already answered part of this. Training has to be delivered in a way employees actually understand, not just documented in a way that looks compliant. The rest of the answer depends on whether your HACCP plans, SOPs, and training materials were built for the workforce you actually have.

We broke down what that looks like in practice. https://multilingualconnections.com/blog/food-safety-translation/

09/28/2026

A store in Spain unveiled its big "GRAN ÉXITO SALE" banner and stood back proudly.
English-speaking tourists spent the entire day asking where the exit was. Some of them left without buying anything because they genuinely thought they had found the way out.

"Éxito" means SUCCESS in Spanish. It was a grand SUCCESS sale. A triumphant celebration of deals.

Nobody got that memo.

Nothing kills the vibe of a grand opening quite like your customers treating your store like a fire escape. If your message is meant to say "we're winning," make sure it doesn't accidentally point people toward the door.

That's where we come in. Multilingual Connections helps brands communicate what they actually mean, in every language, and to every audience. Because "exit" and "success" should never be confused. Unless you're having a really, really bad quarter. 🏆

09/24/2026

A signed employee handbook acknowledgment isn't the same as an understood one.

When employees sign a document they can't fully read, that signature isn't doing the work you need it to do. Not for compliance. Not for legal protection. Not for the employee.

The EEOC treats language-based workplace discrimination as a form of national origin discrimination under Title VII. Communication failures tied to language have shown up in complaints and litigation. And beyond legal exposure, employees who don't genuinely understand their handbook are more likely to make compliance mistakes, disengage, and leave.

Translation isn't a line item you add at the end of an HR project. It's part of building a workplace that actually functions for everyone in it. If it matters in English, it matters in every language your workforce speaks.

https://multilingualconnections.com/blog/language-access-in-the-workplace-a-guide-for-human-resources-professionals/

09/15/2026

ChatGPT told me the Hebrew on this welcome sign was correct.
Then admitted it was backwards.
Then said the Arabic was fine, only to admit it was wrong too.

I asked, "How can someone trust you in languages they don't speak?"
The response was honest: "A user should not trust me blindly, especially in languages they don't speak."

Wait. Read that again.

ChatGPT said, "A user should not trust me blindly, especially in languages they don't speak."

AI translation tools are better, but they still can't replace human judgment. They miss right-to-left layout errors, gendered language that feels exclusionary, and cultural context that determines whether a message feels welcome or performative.

When language is used to signal belonging and trust, good enough isn't good enough.

A real-world sign (and a candid ChatGPT thread) shows how AI can miss layout, nuance, and inclusivity—and why human translators still matter.

09/08/2026

Behind every voice assistant, speech analytics tool, and real-time transcription system is labeled speech data—created by humans who understand language.

Multilingual audio annotation is more complex than it sounds. Annotators work across multiple languages, accents, and dialects. They timestamp speech to two decimal places. They identify who said what, when, and in which language. They label laughter, background noise, and overlapping conversation.

Without that human expertise, speech AI doesn't just underperform. It fails the people it's meant to serve.

https://multilingualconnections.com/blog/safari-jews-how-multilingual-audio-annotation-trains-ai-models/

08/31/2026

If you've ever read an AI-translated legal document and thought, "That looks fine," you're probably reacting to the writing and not the accuracy.

That's what makes legal translation so tricky. The biggest mistakes don't usually sound like mistakes. They read smoothly. They make sense. Until a contract means something different, an immigration filing contradicts itself, or evidence gets challenged because one term was interpreted incorrectly.

Legal translation has never been about swapping words between languages. It's about preserving legal meaning across different legal systems.

That's why professional legal translators still compare every line against the original document. Not because AI can't write well, but because sounding right and being legally correct aren't the same thing.

If you've been relying on AI for legal translation, this is one distinction that's worth understanding before your next multilingual matter.

https://multilingualconnections.com/blog/legal-translation-and-ai-what-lawyers-need-to-know/

08/24/2026

The world's brightest minds in market research are gathering in Spain for Congress 2026, and we couldn't be more excited to be part of the conversation. 🌍

Our CEO, Jill Kushner Bishop, PhD, and Chief Operating Officer, Mark Bishop, will be there, ready to connect with the global research community. When research crosses borders, language and culture have to come with it. That's where we come in.

Are you attending? Let's connect! https://esomar.org/events/congress-2026

08/21/2026

A drink brand in Italy wanted to market its cold, crisp, refreshing beverages for the summer.

Their copy described the drinks as "caldo and refreshing."

"Caldo" means "hot" in Italian.

They were advertising hot and cold drinks. On a hot day. To a hot population that did not want hot beverages.

Nobody bought them. Physics was not on their side. Neither was the dictionary.
"Hot and refreshing" is not a thing. It has never been a thing. The product was cold, and it would have sold beautifully if the word had meant what the brand thought it meant.

This is what happens when you assume a word that sounds right IS right. Temperature-related mistranslations may be the least dramatic category of error, but they will absolutely tank a summer campaign. Multilingual Connections keeps your cool and your copy exactly where you need it. ❄️

08/19/2026

Nelson Mandela said it best. Speak to someone in a language they understand, and it goes to their head. Speak to them in their language, and it goes to their heart.

What happens in research when participants speak in their own language?
✔️ They joke
✔️ They use cultural references
✔️ They tell stories that would never surface in a second-language conversation

That's the difference between data and genuine insight. https://multilingualconnections.com/blog/language-culture-research-translation-shouldnt-be-afterthought/