Bradley F.

Tips on Software Localization

May 22, 2012 By Bradley F. Leave a Comment

Localization of software is necessary for greater acceptance of the product by users in different geographic territories. Only when prospective users get the impression that the software product has been developed to cater to their local requirements, they take the initiative to learn and use it. Although a major activity, the localization process can be made easy by using the right resources and the methodology. A look at some useful tips on software localization may be beneficial.

Analysis of the localization requirements before you begin is crucial. Make a list of all the problem areas that need localization support. This will enable you to allocate the right team and resources.
Simulate a translation and testing project so that all issues related to localization are revealed at the initial stages of the project.
Standard resources and file formats should be the norm for your software development. If you use a consistent structure for all your programs, then it would be easy to know which text is to be translated. You can also make use of translation tools in the first round of localization effort which can be then reviewed and corrected.
Translation memory tools can contribute in expediting your localization process in a major way. These tools build a repository of phrases, sentences and paragraphs and help in providing a consistent translation approach while reducing the translation time.
A style guide and terminology should be clearly defined in the beginning so that all the localized software versions have the same look and feel.
Have a localization project plan where the duration of the text translation phase is less than the complete project time. Testing and incorporating feedback should be allocated enough time and resources. Also provide for time to incorporate last minute software updates.
Ensure that the entire team is aware of the project methodology and central resources. Seamless coordination and information flow is necessary for the success of any localization project.

Filed Under: Localization

Quality Translations: Measuring Factors

May 17, 2012 By Bradley F. Leave a Comment

Every linguistic expert will agree to the fact that translation is an activity more subjective than objective. Yet with the growing needs of communication across the world, that need to overcome several linguistic barriers, translation is occupying a major role in the way businesses and societies interact. As an increasingly demanded service, the translation industry is growing leaps and bounds. However, what distinguishes a professional translation agency from its peers is the quality of the services that it offers to its clients. Although it is a difficult task to assess the quality of translation services as it is critical to the long terms goals of not only the customer but also the translation agency involved.

There are several factors that can together give a fair representation of the quality of translation. This gives an idea to the customer whether the translation agency is following the right processes and methods to achieve the desired translational goals. Also, the translation agency is able to effectively monitor the performance of its employees and the quality of its deliverables. This also helps the translation agency to further improve and refine its internal processes. Let us browse through some of the important factors that are indicative of the quality of translation.

Experience and expertise of the translators governs the quality of translated outputs to a large extent. The translational team must be chosen depending on the specific industrial domain or subject. The academic credentials and the practical experience of the team give a good idea about the quality of translation offered by the translation agency.
The intermediate steps during the translation process for review, proof reading and editing indicate how much importance is attached by the translation agency to ensure that the deliverables do not distort the true meaning. The time spent on review and correction should not be unduly large since it either means that the original translation was inaccurate or that the reviewer is not aware of what kind of mistakes to look for. The reviewer should preferably be a native speaker of the language into which the work has been translated so that he or she is quick to pick out errors or flaws that do not sound natural.
Usage of software tools, translation memory aids, dictionaries or glossaries built up internally by the translation agency are helpful tools that reduce the effort and time spent on translation activity and also brings in consistency. It also indicates that the translation agency is keen to build up its earlier experience and knowledge base.
Using standard templates and formats for all deliverables is also a quick indicator of whether the translation agency adheres to the established quality norms.
Quantification of errors in terms of number of inaccurate translations or mistakes per a given number of words is another way to keep track of translation performance. Since gauging the errors in translation is subjective, a classification level for severity of errors should be used.

Although the quality factors discussed above are not an exhaustive list, they can together provide an overall indication regarding the quality of the translated work.

Filed Under: Professional

German Tourists on the Go

May 3, 2012 By Bradley F. Leave a Comment

Did you know that German tourists spent more than 90 billion USD on their travel expenses last year despite the economic recession, as a report claims? What this means is that an increasingly high number of people from Germany are visiting foreign destinations and are not cutting out the money spent on entertainment and leisure during travel.

Is this a promising opportunity for you, if you happen to be in the travel and tourism sector? Perhaps so, since it depends very largely on the fact whether you are well prepared to tap into this exciting chance for the growth of your business. In case you aren’t well equipped to attract the market segment comprised of German speaking tourists, you might not even realize that you have missed this opportunity that has walked past you and straight into your competitor’s business.

Want to know what can distinguish you from the numerous competitors in the travel industry? Well, it is not the advertising budget or the freebies that you offer. The most effective strategy to invite German tourists to your hotel, restaurant or travel agency is the fact that you connect with German speakers in their language.

Have you ever experienced the common bond you can spontaneously develop with a total stranger, provided he or she speaks your language? The comfort level established so easily is hard to replicate with any marketing tool or strategy. True that German tourists visit places to enjoy the novel locations, culture, art and history. But it is also true that without translation services available at hand; they are unable to derive the maximum pleasure of their holiday trip.

A foreign trip can be exciting, thrilling and adventurous, but lack of understanding of local language can also sometimes result in unhappy surprises that can potentially ruin the holiday mood. Have you not heard of travelers experiencing situations like loss of baggage in transit, or being misguided to a wrong location or facing law and order enforcement agencies for having unknowingly breaking a rule that they were not aware of? All such agonies and worries can be simply got rid of, by using a translation agency to help visitors. In addition to providing a translated version of all website content and documentation, a translation agency can also provide services on request at a help desk. Whether it is enquiring about making a choice between two holiday spots or which place to visit in a limited time, German translation can go a long way in assuring excellent quality of service to German tourists.

Filed Under: Industry

Hotel Industry Translations ‐ How You Can Benefit?

April 9, 2012 By Bradley F. Leave a Comment

The hospitality industry, especially hotel industry is largely a service based. It is true that many factors play a role in building up the right kind of ambience and experience for the guests such that they feel comfortable and would like to return later on. Right from the décor of the room, to the courtesy of the hotel staff, there are many ways in which the hotel industry can connect with their customers. While dealing with guests from different places of the world, a common barrier often faced is the issue of not knowing the local language.

The hotel staff is usually trained to be proficient in different foreign languages. However, not all staff can be adept in a number of languages. So how can you make your guest comfortable in your hotel, especially if he or she is a foreigner and speaks a different language?

Actually this is an issue that can be resolved without much effort. Rather than trying to teach your hotel staff to learn different languages, it would be wiser to engage the services of a translation company. A lot of information, particularly frequently asked questions regarding travel, ticketing assistance, room service, food and menu can be translated into different languages, and the same can be provided to a guest as per his or her choice. This makes the guest feel at ease and can also avoid any potentially uncomfortable situations that arise due to linguistic barriers. Many guests feel awkward in asking the meaning of a particular phrase in a language they do not understand. Gestures and signs can serve basic needs, but are not adequate to express properly in situations where more information is needed.

Have you not yet had your hotel website translated into different foreign languages? It is in fact one of the easiest ways to reach potentials visitors to your hotel. Translation services are easily available and really come in handy if you wish to grow your business without much effort. In fact it is a much focused strategy to access guests from different geographic regions, and rather rewarding too, as you will realize in future.

Get a translation quote at the earliest and calculate for yourself, how you stand to benefit by having your services translated for foreign guests.

Filed Under: Industry

Choose a Translation Company That Utilizes Translation Memory Technology

March 23, 2012 By Bradley F. Leave a Comment

Translation memory has become an important tool frequently used by the best translation companies in order to provide quality and consistency in its services. Basically, translation memory builds a database in which it stores all previously translated text. The original text and its corresponding translation constitute a pair. These pairs can be used during manual translation to speed up the translation time and also to ensure that all translations are consistent with previously translated documents.

Using artificial intelligence based logic to reduce manual effort is not something totally new. This principle has been incorporated in translation memory software. Thus all earlier knowledge and work is saved in a repository and suggestions are offered to the translator based on the translation unit pair retrieved from the database. It is up to the translator to accept or reject the suggestion.

We see that translation memory tools can effectively complement the process of human translation. The time and effort spent in creating a high quality piece of translated text is available for future within the translation company when translation memory technology is used. Translation memory software helps the translator cut down on repetitive and tedious tasks and to rather focus on translating the right context and semantics of the work. It is especially useful in situations where the product is undergoing a quick revision and the associated documentation has to be translated quickly.

A translation company experienced in the area of linguistic services will leverage the power of translation memory tools. However, it has been reported that some translators prefer no to the use these tools. On reason is that some translation companies insist on paying the translator based on the amount of text translated, and not paying or discounting the text that has been converted through translation memory software. This approach is not effective in actual practice, because the translator spends equal amount of time or maybe even more,as they evaluate using the suggestions offered by the software.

Filed Under: Software

Does knowing a language mean fluency?

March 9, 2012 By Bradley F. Leave a Comment

Often fluency is confused for mastery over a language. However this may not always be true. Fluency may indicate the conversational skills and familiarity with the particular language; but may not accurately reflect whether the speaker is really knowledgeable in that field.

Expertise in the written and oral form of communication varies from person to person. People with an outgoing and extrovert nature may be more fluent in their speech, however, their grammar and usage may be incorrect. On the other hand, some people are more comfortable expressing themselves in the written form. They may possess a great knowledge about the language, its vocabulary, grammar and usage, but may not be fluent in speech.

Fluency represents being able to express oneself correctly and smoothly without pausing to search for the right words or phrases. Many a times, people who are fluent speakers exhibit their command over the language by brandishing a rich and overpowering vocabulary. Language however is meant to communicate with people and not to create barriers. Fluency in a language should not be misconstrued and misused to forcibly put across one’s views.

Translation of a language requires a strong knowledge and experience in both the original language as well as the language into which it is to be translated. Normally a person who is performing a Spanish translation or German translation is expected to be fluent in Spanish or German. While this is very likely to gauge the knowledge level of the translator based on his or her fluency, it may not be the most appropriate indicator to gauge his knowledge of the subject. Of course, when you require oral translation services on the spot, fluency is important. However, when it comes to translation of written matter, evaluating a person’s linguistic ability only on the basis of fluency may not be completely correct.

Filed Under: Translators

Does your product “speak” your client´s language?

February 29, 2012 By Bradley F. Leave a Comment

Creating, developing and launching a product to serve the needs of a customer are a long drawn process that requires several inputs in terms of effort, time, energy, finances and creativity. The whole cycle is the culmination of activities of a number of people working on this activity who have put in their best efforts to produce a great product with exceptional features. It is important that your product is understood by your potential customers and users so that they can appreciate its features. One of the common mistakes made by companies is to spend a lot of effort in developing the product and not giving adequate emphasis to ensure that the product is marketed to potential customers. This mistake turns to be very costly if you are planning to market your product in foreign territories where people are not familiar with the language in which your product has been originally developed.

Translating product user manuals is not sufficient to ensure that you have done your bit to reach customers speaking a foreign language. If you decide to translate a website and your website has a couple of different linguistic versions, then it conveys that you are a firm with a global outlook. When you translate webpage you are opening several channels of communication with millions of potential customers around the world. You are thus providing multiple pathways to receive important customer feedback and valuable business enquiries. You also come to know customer preferences based on linguistic categories. This information is useful in developing different versions of your product tailored to the needs of customers speaking different languages.

Make sure that your product speaks your clients’ language in a direct, simple and effective manner. The quality and expertise of skills needed to translate website goes a long way in determining the acceptance and credibility of your product eventually.

Filed Under: Localization

Russian dialects

February 16, 2012 By Bradley F. 2 Comments

The Russian language is the eighth most spoken language based on the number of native speakers and the fourth on the basis of number of speakers globally. Widely spoken in Eurasia, Russian translation is necessary to reach out to a large non-English speaking population.

There are fourteen kinds of Russian dialects commonly used. Also there are over a dozen variants on a finer scale. The Northern Russian dialects are the Arkhangelsk dialect, the Olonets dialect, the Novgorod dialect, the Viatka dialect and the Vladimir dialect. The Southern Russian dialects are the Orel or Don dialect, the Ryazan dialect, the Tula dialect and the Smolensk dialect. The Moscow dialect and the Tver dialect form the Central Russian dialects. Then there are also the Northern Russian dialect with Belorussian influences, the Sloboda and Steppe dialects of Ukrainian and the Steppe dialect of Ukrainian with Russian influences.

In order to access the Russian speaking community of a given region, you need to use the translation services of an agency which is familiar with the dialects and their regional grouping. Each of these dialects is characterized by specific vocabulary, grammar usage, intonation and pronunciation. Some of the dialects use words that have long been discarded by the modern language speakers. This is true for any language. As time passes and culture evolves, new words are added and some of those which are no longer relevant are discarded. Russian translation calls for a complete understanding and familiarity with various dialects and their usage.

We understand the finer aspects of the Northern and Southern Russian dialects and have a strong experience in doing Russian translation. It is not only important to reach out to the large Russian speaking population, but also to access the rich legacy of culture, scientific knowledge and technology available in Russian texts. Our strength is based on the fact that our team comprises of people who have firsthand experience of Russian culture and language. This is something which cannot be achieved by machine based translation tools.

Please contact us for a translation quote and give us a chance to showcase our Russian translation skills.

Filed Under: Trendy

Why you should translate into Asian languages

February 9, 2012 By Bradley F. Leave a Comment

If you are planning to grow your business at a global scale then you need to have appropriate marketing strategy to address your customers all over the world. Although it is desirable that your product or service is able to reach out to prospective users scattered throughout the globe, it is not only uneconomical but also impractical. A good marketing plan should therefore be devised to select the markets which are fast growing and therefore most likely to grow your business prospects as well. The Asian markets, particularly the Chinese and the Japanese segments assume an important role in this scenario. If you wish to enter these lucrative markets then you will first have to conquer the critical barrier of language. This is where the services of a good translation agency can help you bridge the linguistic divide.

As a translation agency having a strong background in Oriental translation, namely Chinese translation and Japanese translation services, we have added value to the business efforts of several companies. Trying to break into a foreign market can pose to be a major challenge. Understanding the markets, the requirements of customers and redeveloping the product or service portfolio to suit the local needs requires effort in customization of the product as well as a good knowledge about the local practices. By using Chinese translation and Japanese translation for product promotional material, website content, advertising and media campaigns, it becomes easy to establish a connection with the local consumers. Everywhere, people are accepting the fact that the Asian economy is growing rapidly and is emerging as a dominant player in the global business landscape.

Apart from marketing plans, Chinese translation and Japanese translation are also needed in the context of market research, competitive intelligence and for devising entry strategies in new areas. News having economic and political significance has impact on business as well. Movements in stock market and performance of major industrial players can also be well predicted with the help of translated news and updates.

Another emerging area is the field of research and development. Advances in science and technology happen due to the simultaneous efforts of lots of researchers all over the world. While many of these researchers collaborate, they also need to keep themselves abreast with the latest happenings in their research area. Scientific publications and patent applications also need Chinese translation and Japanese translation.

The Chinese and Japanese customers are knowledgeable about the functions of a product. Also they are accustomed to a technologically advanced industrial sector which is capable of serving their requirements. If you wish to position your product or service uniquely and desire to distinguish your company from the local competitors by highlighting its strengths, then you must choose the right translation agency. A professional translation agency like us relies on translators with domain expertise, educational qualifications and certifications that fairly judge the proficiency skills in the native and foreign language. Best practices of our translation agency include a rigorous checking and review process to ensure that the intended message is not distorted in any manner.

Filed Under: Trendy

Why is book translation so important?

February 8, 2012 By Bradley F. Leave a Comment

Books represent the rich blend of knowledge and culture in a society. They truly reflect the thoughts, ideas and values of a community. Reading a book written in a foreign language helps one to get acquainted with the thoughts, traditions, principles and actions of the people from the region.

As Ray Bradbury said, “You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” When people do not have the provision of getting to read a good book merely because it is written in a language they do not know, they are kept in the dark about a huge resource of ancient knowledge and traditional wisdom. Book translation is an activity of great importance. A good translation agency with an expertise in skills such as Arabic translation can play a significant role in unlocking the vast literature that has been unavailable to a majority of non-Arabic readers all over the world.

Arabic translation of ancient texts can reveal useful insights about the culture and traditions practiced by the people in those times. This provides important clues as to how and why these beliefs have evolved over the years. This would be of particular interest to academicians, scholars and researchers. As a creation of one of the oldest civilizations, the Arabic literature carries a rich legacy of thoughts, social beliefs and philosophy. It is an irony that in the present times, these texts have been misunderstood and misinterpreted to distort the very humanistic values they stood for. Book translation can be used to correctly portray these facts and figures. Ignorance of the Arabic language can be effectively resolved by availing services of an experienced translation agency. Unless the Arabic translation is carried out by people who are well versed not only with the language, but also the culture of the community, the translation would not be rendered accurately.

Each language has its own unique features and peculiarities. What has to be literally translated and what has to be understood and correctly represented depends largely on the choice of appropriate words by the translator in an honest manner without deviating from the main meaning of the text. Book translation thus calls for more stringent and higher quality standards as compared to skills needed for translating other documents since there is a moral obligation towards the author as well. Recreating the original work is a big challenge.

Services of a competent translation agency for book translation can be leveraged to convey thoughts, ideas and beliefs of an ancient civilization to a vast majority of the world. There are many non-Arabic speaking people who are interested in unearthing the mysteries of Arabic literature. Sharing this knowledge in the form of translated books has a meaningful impact on the way in which the Arab world is perceived and understood. Creativity and intellectual prowess have no barriers and they should be enjoyed, analyzed and appreciated by all readers who wish to use Arabic translation of books to enhance their knowledge of a particular subject.

Filed Under: Book