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D
o you remember the first time you listened to a presentation or read an op-ed and thought to yourself, “I like the cut of this person’s gib”? Whether it happened at school, at a conference, in a periodical, or online, you experienced the power of influence. And that’s what this issue of MultiLingual magazine is all about.
As an elder Millennial with both feet planted in middle age, I experienced influencers primarily through social media — first as a teenager on MySpace, then on Facebook, and finally on Twitter (now X), which I was required to use for journalism school. Along the way, I found innumerable YouTubers with fresh, fascinating takes on history, civics, entertainment, and culture.
I had no idea then how widespread the phenomenon would become. Influencers are now a staple of every industry and activity imaginable, and they certainly live up to their branding. I think most would acknowledge their thinking has been shaped to one degree or another by the people they follow online.
That applies to the language industry as much as any other line of work. And there’s perhaps no better indicator of their dominance than this month’s MultiLingual magazine. An annual fixture of our publication, MultiLingual’s influencer feature centers on the biggest movers and shakers we’ve noticed in the past year. Some built their following on social media, while others found prominence through their industry presence. Either way, they all share a common talent to communicate and capture attention. And in the modern era, that’s a powerful skill indeed.
We hope that the insights they share inspire you in your own professional journey. Who knows? Their thoughts and ideas could plant the seed to spread a little influence of your own.
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Event Recap
Translating Europe Forum 2024
The 2024 TEF took place November 6–8 in Brussels, Belgium. Many sessions addressed artificial intelligence (AI), including Marina Pantcheva’s keynote, which compared AI and human translators with characters from the Asterix comic series.
Column
PAST TENSE
The Golden Voice of Humanity
The Voyager space probes’ Golden Records — which carry the voices and sounds of Earth into space for any extraterrestrial who might one day find them — exemplify the ultimate edge case in translation and localization. How do you convey meaning when you can’t assume anything about your audience — not their language, their cognitive processes, or even their sensory capabilities?
Community
Language Industry Influencers
Meet 16 leaders shaping the field in 2025
The 2025 MultiLingual magazine influencer list includes individuals with all manner of specializations and roles in the language industry. While their influence is sourced from different experiences, their common skills of effective communication and leadership make them unlikely members of the same club: industry luminaries with a voice too impactful to ignore.
Betty Cohen
President of OTTIAQ
Claudio Fantinuoli
CTO at KUDO and Senior Lecturer at the University of Mainz
Dave Ruane
Global Director of Client Solutions at Lion People Global
Gabriel Fairman
CEO of Bureau Works
Hani Alotaibi
Project Manager at Global Wordsmiths
Inge Boonen
Growth Consultant at Nimdzi Insights
Jan Hinrichs
CEO at Beluga Linguistics
Jean-Francois Lymburner
CEO of the Translation Bureau of Canada
Johan Botha
Director of Folio Online
Jose Palomares
Director of Localization at Coupa
Libor Safar
VP of Growth at Argos Multilingual
Marina Pantcheva
Director of Linguistic AI Services at RWS
Marleen Julien
CEO of Creole Solutions
Nathalie Greff-Santamaria
Head of Language Services at AViceVersa
Nora Díaz
Linguist and Trainer at Ninguna
Stavroula Sokoli
Senior Researcher at the Computer Technology Institute
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Language Access
Lessons From the Mayan Languages Preservation and Digitization Project
How preserving indigenous languages leads to equity in language access
The Mayan Languages Preservation and Digitization Project is a wide-scope initiative that aims to provide resources for essential services to Mayan language speakers. This article describes the project’s efforts with the hope that it serves as a roadmap for all indigenous language communities.
Sponsored Content
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