Would you introduce yourself?
Jonathan Turpin, translation service team manager for Esri, a geographic information system (GIS) that includes things like mapping data and other information that is relevant in every country and language.

Where do you live?
Southern California.

How did you get started in this industry?
I got my start back in 2000 when I joined Iomega as a localization quality assurance tech. I worked on English, French, Italian, German and Spanish (EFIGS) and Chinese, Japanese and Korean (CJK). This was back when you had to have a full rack of Windows 95 and 98 machines loaded with each language and ready to ghost at any time. At the time, I knew that I really loved languages but I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do with that passion. That job introduced me to an entire industry that has changed my life. I have worked in localization for around 18 years.

What language(s) do you speak?
I speak English and have conversational skills in Japanese, which I learned in college. I have also studied German, Brazilian Portuguese and French. I also have a BA in linguistics.

Whose industry social feeds (twitter, blog, LinkedIn, Facebook) do you follow? (If any)
I follow many feeds from the industry on LinkedIn. I like to follow the trends and what is happening in our industry.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
I developed a passion for languages in my childhood while playing a video game called Dungeon Master and reading Tolkien. I continue to play computer games, and I create my own constructed languages and constructed scripts. I am also an amateur calligrapher. I love to read about language and language structure. I am very fond of writing systems around the world, and Korean is my favorite. In college, I studied many writing systems, as well as syntax, morphology and phonology.

What industry organizations and activities do you participate in?
I attend LocWorld each year and I have a newfound interest in TAUS.

Do you have any social feeds of your own? Twitter handle, blog?
You can look me up on LinkedIn. I like to make lots of connections in our community.

Why do you read MultiLingual?
I read MultiLingual to stay on top of industry trends and learn how others in the industry handle similar issues or workflows that we see daily at Esri.