As the saying goes, you learn something new every day. Today I learned something about the MICE industry.

250This post almost didn’t happen, because the headline that triggered it was entitled BRIDGING LANGUAGE BARRIERS IN THE MICE INDUSTRY.

Now I know as well as anyone that mice are important in scientific experiments, and I figured there was certainly an international market for the little rodents. And sure, importing and exporting mice must present a specific set of anatomical and scientific vocabulary...but would this niche topic be worth a post?

Being of the curious sort, though, I was trapped into reading a bit more of the somewhat mousy press release. “Ah!” I squeaked….

Don’t worry: all mouse-related references end here, because “MICE” is actually a travel industry term for “meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions.” And that industry is booming – at least in Singapore -- and the need for conference interpreters with it.

“Professional interpreters are a fixture of such events to ensure that non-English speaking delegates can fully benefit and participate in these events,” explains the Veztec Consulting. “Competent interpreters help to ease communication barriers and allow everyone to benefit from the presentations, and a good event is often judged on that basis.”

What is true about international events in Singapore – where English is the main language -- is true stateside. International conference and exhibition participants may well speak at least some English, but they will get more out of their experience if they have language interpretation help.

Betty Carlson

See Also

• Language Translation, Inc.
  A leading language translation and interpretation service provider for more than 20 years.