According to research by Ethnologue, there are over 7,000 different languages spoken in the world today, with 23 languages accounting for more than half the world’s population. The fact is that words define who we are as individuals and in an ever more globalised world, being able to effectively communicate with different people, cultures and languages across business, government and educational settings could not be more important.

There are several reasons why this is key. Within business, the move to remote working, coupled with the challenges created by the Great Resignation, has driven organisations to look beyond their geographical boundaries and employ previously untapped talent from a range of different countries. At the same time, ongoing political unrest and conflict is increasing the number of migrant workers looking for new roles. While having access to a larger pool of skills is great for business development, language is one challenge that can hinder the best recruitment and talent development plans.

Outside of the business world, educational and government establishments are becoming increasingly diverse. In school settings, more and more students start their education with English as an additional language (or not at all.) Not only do teachers need to support language needs in the classroom, but they also need the means to communicate with parents who would otherwise be excluded from their children’s educational experience.

For governmental agencies, having the means to communicate in a variety of languages is also essential. Government workers often provide information to constituencies that speak a variety of languages, and they need solutions that can help them do this and better serve their growing and changing communities.

Providing the same level of technology accessibility to everyone is key to overcoming any of these challenges. Employees need to be empowered to do their jobs, and students to learn, with technology and solutions that work effectively for them no matter what their native tongue.

Recognising the importance of this, Lexmark has today announced a new Translation Assistant (LTX) that translates scanned documents from English into one of 20 selectable languages. With new languages added frequently, the solution will ultimately allow users to communicate across the globe in dozens of languages. All users need to do is to choose the LTX icon on their MFP and choose their desired target language. Any document will then either be printed or emailed in the user’s local language. It’s as simple as that.

The Translation Assistant is an important new solution for our customers that are becoming increasingly diverse, and we’re excited to bring this to market.

For more information about Lexmark’s Translation Assistant, see here.