Language Manager: Maybe This is Your Future Career Choice

12/31/202401/06/2025 Şeyda Aydınlı 0 Comments

Language Manager: Maybe This is Your Future Career Choice

Hello everyone, this is Şeyda Aydınlı. I am studying at Karadeniz Technical University, and my department is English Language and Literature. Besides literature classes, we are also responsible for translation classes. Thanks to New Trends in Translation, I have had the opportunity to gain detailed information about translation companies and professions. Therefore, I would love to share my experience and knowledge for a profession called as language manager. Maybe I can help brighten your path during the journey. To make it more fluent and understandable, I will present my information under headings. I hope you both enjoy it and find the information you are looking for.

DESCRIBING THE LANGUAGE MANAGER:

In fact, I feel that defining a language manager in just a few words can be limiting. Contrary to what is often seen, known, or assumed, I believe it is a role based on extensive knowledge, experience, and a fast-paced environment. However, of course, I would like to give you a general definition as well. A language manager is a professional responsible for ensuring consistency, accuracy, and effective use of language within an organization or company. In other words, they are the last line of defense against off-brand content trying to reach consumers. Based on my research, I would like to provide a more detailed job description:

Content review,editing, and translation
Creating brandglossaries and styleguides
Taking decisionson approved terms
Managing a network of linguists
Providing cultural consultancy
Giving advice on brandstrategy
Quality control
Team management
Delivering contentsuitable for the target audience
Problem-solving and risk management
Tracking performance and reporting
Communication and collaboration with stakeholders
Managing translation and localization

As far as I understand, the list could go on depending on the company or your role but don’t worry. All these tasks run in parallel and follow a certain order. In other words, you’re not trying to find your way alone in the middle of a desert. The final decision is yours, but you’re not alone. You’ll have colleagues helping you and a team to manage. Let me make this clearer by sharing some information I learned from Buket Vidinlisan, who is currently a language manager at Google.

BUKET VİDİNLİSAN: LANGUAGE MANAGER AT GOOGLE

Under this heading, I will present the experiences and insights that Buket Vidinlisan herself shared in the video.

Buket Vindinlisan monitors the quality of all Google products in Turkish. To achieve this, she ensures that the translation and review team, consisting of over 60 members, adheres to the conventions of the Turkish language while also staying attuned to emerging trends in business and technical circles. Buket Vidinlisan also collaborates with local teams such as marketing and PR, to work on very highly visible content like a press release or a homepage promo sometimes. Besides, she works with other members of her team to develop new projects.

She also does some terminology work, and together with the local marketing team, they decide on the names of new products that are going to be launched in Turkish. They decide to keep them in English sometimes, or they just brainstorm and come up with a new name in Turkish. She worked with Google’s education team, Google for Education, and they were developing this online course for “computational thinking” which was going to be adopted by the Turkish Ministry of Education and integrated into computational thinking curricula across all high schools in Türkiye.

This team came to her asking what computational thinking is in Turkish because there was no term for computational thinking in Turkish. They reached out to professors from top universities in computer science departments and cognitive science departments in Türkiye. Then they together decided on a new name. This is how they reproduced a new term in Turkish, so computational thinking is now “Bilgi İşlemsel Düşünme” in Turkish.

Vindinlisan says that she has two main challenges. One is terminology, and the other one is truncation. She says Turkish is still an evolving language. “When there are new concepts in business or the technology cycles, it is very difficult for the Turkish language to catch up with those.” She gives the example of the word ‘online.’ “In Turkish, we don’t have a translation for it, so we decide on how to translate it depending on the context.” Also, she mentioned truncation. “Turkish is a very, very long language. When there’s an

UI button, for example, that says ‘Thanks’ in English, that’s just seven or eight characters.” However, she says, in Turkish, this is ‘Teşekkürler.’ “It is a very long button, so sometimes the translation does not fit into the screen. Consequently, it causes bugs, and she has to find the work around to fix those bugs every day.”

These are just the tips of the iceberg, and I truly believe they are incredibly valuable. Still, I want to share with you the insights I’ve gathered from this video and things I think you should know. Along with this information, I believe the most important thing is mastering your native language. You need to have a solid grasp of your native language’s grammar, terminology, and cultural nuances. Without fully absorbing your own language, focusing on others will only lead to going in circles. Instead, we must focus on a long road ahead, filled with successes. Then, we need to have a deep understanding of the culture and grammar of the target language—the one we’ll be translating into. We must know it down to the finest detail so we can fulfill the tasks asked of us exactly as required. Also, we need to learn how to adapt to our target audience’s needs and priorities. It’s not enough to say, “This sounds right to me” or “This is the common usage,” because doing so could lead us into a deep pit. Most importantly, a valuable piece of advice from dear Buket Vidinlisan: “Have one focus on what you want to do with your language, and then the rest will follow.”

REQUIRED SKILLS AND TOOLS & SOFTWARE

As I mentioned in the job description, the necessary skills are fairly clear. However, I’d like to highlight a few points, particularly the ones I believe are crucial.

Language Expertise

Naturally, as expected, you need to have an exceptional command of the organization’s primary language(s). The key here is that you should also have expertise in languages other than just English. Mastery of grammar, syntax, style, and cultural nuances is absolutely essential—it’s not just a nice-to-have anymore!

Project Management

You must consider the fact that you’ll often be working on multiple projects at once, with different people, at the same time. This requires strong organizational and prioritization skills. Honestly, being able to manage stress effectively is a big part of the job.

Communication Skills

Having excellent written and verbal communication skills is a must. You’ll be required to give constructive feedback to linguists, and you’ll be working in parallel with people from various fields, as I mentioned. This makes communication an absolute key skill in your role.

Team Leadership

Managing both internal and external language teams, motivating them, and providing direction will be part of your job.

Problem-Solving

The ability to identify and resolve linguistic challenges in translation and localization processes is essential. You must be detail-oriented, as the final product or content you deliver must be flawless.

As for tools and software, here are some general suggestions. You’ll need to be proficient in CAT tools, translation management systems, machine translation engines, and terminology management tools. These will become as integral to you as your hands and feet. Of course, depending on the organization, the tools or software you use might vary, but these are tools most commonly used across the industry.

HOW TO BECOME A LANGUAGE MANAGER

Of course, we need concrete evidence to prove that we comply with the job description. A degree in fields such as Linguistics, English Language and Literature, or Translation and Interpreting is necessary. Having experience in translation-related work is an advantage. Mastering multiple languages and localization skills is essential. Experience in translation and project coordination will be a significant advantage. Learning tools such as CAT software and project management platforms are a must. Additionally, gaining knowledge and engaging in studies related to fields that Buket Vidinlisan emphasizes, such as Anthropology, Cultural Studies, or Sociology will be a major asset. Stay updated, build your network, and showcase your expertise.

Overall, I have once again realized how excited I am about pursuing a career in a multifaceted and rapidly evolving field like language management. This profession is not just about linguistic knowledge and translation skills; it also involves building cultural bridges, creating new concepts, and contributing to the development of language. Everything I have shared reflects the passion I feel for this journey. One day, I aspire to work as a professional in the field of language management and personally experience the challenges and rewards of this profession. Sharing what I have learned with you on this career journey has brought me great joy. I hope that what I’ve conveyed helps shape your dreams and supports your progress in this field. If you are considering a career in this area, remember that success is not only about talent but also about effort, discipline, and passion. I truly believe that each of you can achieve wonderful things for yourself and others by harnessing the power of language.

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