As stated by Michael Kellogg: “Today [in 2011], I have three main goals with this website. First, continue to create free online bilingual dictionaries for English to many other languages. I strive to offer translations for "all" English words, terms, idioms, sayings, etc. Second, provide the world's best language forums; and third, continue to innovate to produce the best website and tools for the world.”
1999 > THE INTERNET, A MANDATORY TOOL FOR TRANSLATORS
[Summary] The internet became a mandatory tool for translators as “a vital and endless source of information”, as stated by Marcel Grangier, the head of the French Section of Central Linguistic Services, which means he was in charge of organizing translation matters into French for the linguistic services of the Swiss government. He explained in January 1999: “To work without the internet is simply impossible now. Apart from all the tools used (email, the electronic press, services for translators), the internet is for us a vital and endless source of information in what I'd call the 'non-structured sector' of the web. For example, when the answer to a translation problem can't be found on websites presenting information in an organized way, in most cases search engines allow us to find the missing link somewhere on the network.” His services also offered an online directory called “Dictionnaires Électroniques” (Electronic Dictionaries) with links to most quality dictionaries available for free on the web.
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The internet became a mandatory tool for translators as “a vital and endless source of information”, as stated by Marcel Grangier, the head of the French Section of Central Linguistic Services.
Marcel Grangier was in charge of organizing translation matters into French for the linguistic services of the Swiss government. He explained in January 1999: “To work without the internet is simply impossible now. Apart from all the tools used (email, the electronic press, services for translators), the internet is for us a vital and endless source of information in what I'd call the 'non-structured sector' of the web. For example, when the answer to a translation problem can't be found on websites presenting information in an organized way, in most cases search engines allow us to find the missing link somewhere on the network.
Our website was first conceived as an intranet service for translators in Switzerland, who often deal with the same kind of material as the Federal government's translators. Some parts of it are useful to any translators, wherever they are. The section "Dictionnaires Électroniques" [Electronic Dictionaries] is only one section of the website. Other sections deal with administration, law, the French language, and general information. The site also hosts the pages of the Conference of Translation Services of European States (COTSOES).”
"Dictionnaires Électroniques" is a extensive directory of free dictionaries available online, with five main sections: abbreviations and acronyms, monolingual dictionaries, bilingual dictionaries, multilingual dictionaries, and geographical information. The index could also be searched by keywords. It was later transferred on the new website of COTSOES.
According to Marcel Grangier, “we can see multilingualism on the internet as a happy and irreversible inevitability. So we have to laugh at the doomsayers who only complain about the supremacy of English. Such supremacy is not wrong in itself, because it is mainly based on statistics (more PCs per inhabitant, more people speaking English, etc.). The answer is not to 'fight' English, much less whine about it, but to build more sites in other languages. As a translation service, we also recommend that websites be multilingual. (…) The increasing number of languages on the internet is inevitable and can only boost multicultural exchanges. For this to happen in the best possible circumstances, we still need to develop tools to improve compatibility. Fully coping with accents and other characters is only one example of what can be done."
Maria Victoria Marinetti was a translator from French to Spanish living near Geneva, Switzerland, with a doctorate in engineering from Mexico. She wrote in August 1999: “I have access to a large number of global information, which is very interesting for me. I can also regularly send or receive files back and forth. The internet allows be to receive or send general and technical translations from French into Spanish, and vice versa, and to correct texts in Spanish. In the technical or chemical fields, I offer a technical assistance, as well as information about exporting high-tech equipment to Mexico or to other Latin American countries.”