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Successfully localizing mobile games
Apple’s Apps – applications specifically designed for mobile phones – face some tough competition these days. Only the very best games and tools achieve high volume sales in many regions. With a quarter of a million competing products to choose from, localization quality has to be perfect to impress a savvy audience.
Canadian Translation Standard – CAN/CGSB-131.10-2008
The Association de l’industrie de la langue/Language Industry Association (AILIA) is Canada’s industry representative in all matters pertaining to the language industry, including sectors such as translation, interpretation, terminology, training and technology. In 2008, AILIA launched the first ever national standard for translation services, CAN/CGSB‑131.10‑2008, Translation Services.
Localizing in times of economic downturn
The global recession has companies stuck between a rock and a hard place: While the belt is being tightened all around, localization budgets are re-evaluated to achieve short-term savings. However, those cutting down on localization efforts might miss out on life-saving business once the economy picks up.
Translating for humanity: Interview with Translators Without Borders Founder Lori Thicke
Translators Without Borders (TWB, Traducteurs Sans Frontières) was founded in 1993 by Lexcelera, a language service provider based in Paris, France, and its General Manager, Lori Thicke. Over the years, TWB has provided quality humanitarian translations through a network of trained translators to vetted NGOs who focus on health, nutrition and education. On average, TWB volunteers translate 1 million words per year, focusing on humanitarian translations.
Comparison of online machine translation tools
Which is the best online translation tool for language learners and general users of freeware? A recent research paper evaluates the quality of the three popular online translation tools Google Translate, Bing (Microsoft) Translator, and Yahoo Babelfish. Among other findings, the data reveals that while Google Translate is widely preferred when translating long passages, Microsoft Bing Translator and Yahoo Babelfish often produce better translations for phrases below 140 characters. Also, in general Babelfish performs well in East Asian Languages such as Chinese and Korean and Bing Translator performs well in Spanish, German, and Italian.
Snap shots from the GALA conference 2010
From 9-12 May Robert Etches attended the GALA conference in Prague. He captured his impressions and thoughts in his in-depth conference report.
From segment focus to context orientation
In the last 15 years, Translation Memory Systems or TMS have made a definitive contribution towards streamlining translation processes. Since the potential of a conventional TMS appears to have been exhausted, many manufacturers are revamping their solutions in search of further ways of rationalizing them.
Translations with a quality stamp
Reliable, constant quality is possible only through defined and traceable processes. Standards such as the ISO 9001 and EN 15038 are used as differentiators against competitors in the translation industry. But what do these standards add to the quality of translations? What benefits can clients expect through their application? And what is the role they play in selecting service providers?
Winning and keeping your customers in the translation and localization industry
In most cases, we do not accurately record the true cost of a sale – it is not reflected in the monthly balance sheet. Yet the cost of customer acquisition and retention should be one of the key measures for any organization. So, how much money could companies save by reducing the financial and time investment associated with identifying and securing new customers, and focus more on increasing business from existing customers who may be the target of advances from the competition?
Running a successful in-house translation department
If translation was a fairy tale, it would be like the following scenario: Everything is running smoothly and we spend our time at work by clicking a “Submit” button every now and then. Translations roll in and out and everybody in the company is happy. Costs are minimized, controlling leaves us alone, because they know that everything is optimized and no project could shock the translators no matter how harsh the deadline is or how inferior the source language quality might be. The reality – of course – still looks slightly different. However, at Translation Management at SMA we keep this scenario in mind, as this is what we are aiming for.
English in Chinese and Japanese – Adopting loan words in foreign languages
Loan words are part of each language and they enrich its vocabulary and texture. Some are used to explain new words and fields, some are used just because they are cool. Today English is the international lingua franca. So let's have a look at how the Chinese and Japanese languages incorporate English terms and how they are used.
Ten good reasons for using a translation memory
More than 20 years after the first commercial translation memory products became available, surveys indicate that while the vast majority of those surveyed do use a translation memory system, less than 30 percent of translators use this type of tool for every translation project or on a daily basis. Even studies of translation memory usage among the most advanced users show that it is still not well understood that the benefits of using a translation memory go well beyond re-using existing translations.
2009 ends with hope for future growth
Language service providers around the globe have been heavily impacted by the economic downturn, but optimism for growth next year has increased substantially, according to the Globalization and Localization Association’s (GALA) most recent quarterly survey. For the seventh straight quarter, GALA asked its members (language services and technology providers) about the economy and its impact on business, allowing the association to draw a picture of the effect the recession has had on the language and localization industry.
Building a localization framework
Every localization project brings with it a new set of rules, checklists, information sheets and contact details. What seem to be unrelated chunks of project-specific information might actually reveal a pattern when compared with a series of different projects. Could this information add up to become your localization framework?
Finding the needle in a foreign haystack
As international business continues to grow at a rapid rate so has the need for translation of legal documents. When a case involves multiple languages, the challenge is to extract the critical information from the large volume of foreign language material and make it available and comprehensible for members of the litigation. Any mistranslation can cost an entire case. Electronic discovery (e-Discovery) describes the process in which electronic data is sought, located, secured, and searched with the intent of using it as evidence in a civil or criminal legal case. So how can you manage foreign languages in e-Discovery?
Internationalizing websites for search success
When the internationalization of a website is mentioned, the first thing that comes to the site owner’s mind would probably be localizing the web content. It is a huge improvement since many site owners used to think that internationalization meant having a website in English and a few other languages. However, companies need to start thinking about the next evolution and start internationalizing their websites for search success.
Internationalizing your content: Authoring with localization in mind
Internationalization is a precursor to localization and involves the process of planning, designing and implementing a culturally and technically neutral product, which can easily be localized. Internationalization helps decrease translation cost and speeds up time-to-market by addressing crucial technical, aesthetic, cultural, and linguistic issues at project start-up. It also has the unique advantage of streamlining not only the localization of your content but authoring in general.
Skills to compete in the new economy: The growing area of web localization
Rapid pace of globalization, unfettered innovation, mass connectivity, and shift in global production are some of the megatrends that are re-shaping global markets. These megatrends are also defining the skills needed to succeed in this dynamic global economy. To really thrive in this volatile market people need high-end knowledge skills which can prepare them to respond to these changes in the global economy.
Digital content for global audiences
These days the production of digital content runs at high speed placing enormous pressure on global organizations to localize it. Digital content can be classified as enterprise content and personal content. We will examine each of these and take a close look at the challenges faced by enterprises localizing digital content. We will also offer a potential solution to one of the most significant problems encountered: the cost of localization.
GALA conference 2009: The Language industry and beyond
The Globalization and Localization Association (GALA) held its first-ever conference last month, 14 – 16 September at the J.W. Marriott in Cancun, Mexico. The conference, entitled GALA 2009: The language of business. The business of language, was filled with rich content and many opportunities for networking in the sun.
Website globalization for the United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is part of a traditional society full of symbols, rituals, values and contextual elements, as well as surprisingly unique patterns in consumer behavior. According to the UAE Ministry of Planning, the UAE is the most wired nation in the Arab world and also one of the top nations in online presence worldwide. In order to reach this potent market, a company’s website should be reviewed for both cultural customization and correctness, as well as be localized into the target languages for the locale.
The state of the translation and localization industry
Language and localization really became their own ‘industry’ forty years ago. That’s when professionals began to establish language service providers (LSP), professional quality became tantamount and companies began to respect the value of project management and translators with subject matter expertise. Since then the industry has grown very successfully. Today there are more than 5,000 LSPs around the world.
Measuring QA to improve translation cost and speed
Cost, time and quality should be balanced when structuring translation programs and, more specifically, translation project processes. We consistently hear that quality needs to take a back seat to cost and time, especially in the current economic climate. It is more important than ever to get products to market in a timely and cost-effective manner.
Introducing the project “Centre for Next Generation Localisation”
Very often language and regional barriers restrain the free flow of information, products and services. The project “Centre for Next Generation Localisation” – an Academia-Industry partnership with over 100 researchers – helps to break down these barriers. It enables people to collaborate and disseminate their innovations and ideas without the barrier of language and cultural conventions.
GALA 2009: The Language of Business. The Business of Language.
This year, the Globalization and Localization Association is introducing its first-ever international conference: GALA 2009: The Language of Business. The Business of Language.” Find out what it's all about.
Using technology to find the right person for the right job at the right time
Meet Nelda, Jesus, and Mauricio. Three continents, one language. They are independent translators who have never met and rarely communicate with each other, but who complete projects in real time seamlessly. They are part of a new vision: a new way of working together that streamlines the translation cycle without jeopardizing quality.
He said, she said: On the other side of the wall....
Ever wondered what is on the other side of that wall? Or maybe, really: Who is on the other side of it?
Moving toward machine interpretation
Translation memory (TM), computer-assisted translation (CAT) and machine translation (MT) tools are widely used for text-based applications, but spoken language communication is largely neglected. Though many business communications employ speech as the primary mode of interaction, the status quo of current localization business models and technologies remains limited to written applications. However, emerging technologies enable spoken inter-language communication through TM leverage, terminology databases, and computer-assisted interpretation (CAI), all of which point to move toward machine interpretation (MI).
TMS with a groupware flavor
From 2002 to 2005, STAR Servicios Lingüísticos, a Barcelona-based localization vendor, developed from a single into a multilingual language vendor. In doing so, it faced some typical problems regarding the ever-growing complexity of translation management. Soon it became obvious that the existing tools were no longer sufficient for the job. Searching for the right Translation Management System, the company took a different approach.
Language and localization industry shows robust growth
As the 2008 tcworld conference and Trade Fair gets underway in Wiesbaden, fear and uncertainty cloud the global economy. But one industry heavily represented at the conference is bucking the trend, showing signs of strong growth that is expected to continue for years to come.
Technical communication sector faces new challenges
As topics at the tekom Annual Conference and tcworld conference become more and more diversified, the image of the technical communicator is also changing. Research reveals that today’s technical communicators not only have to know their business, they also need to have intercultural competencies. Those who are proficient in both are entering into a prosperous field with a promising future.
The translation market in ten years' time - a forecast
The analysts agree: the volume of documents for translation will increase within the next ten years, even if opinions differ as to the extent to which this will happen. The language variety created by the expansion of the EU, for example, not only leads to a larger translation volume within the European institutions like the translation of minutes from meetings or legal drafts. It also increases the demand for translations at commercial firms and manufacturing companies, as the EU dictates that all technical documents are to be translated into the national languages (RL 79/112/EWG).
Click, cliquer, кликать - Is clicking global?
Are cultural differences evident in online help system navigation? A study conducted by the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, Germany, examines not only a cultural model, but also sheds light on the question whether navigation structures in online help systems need to be adapted to different cultures.
Russian translations: now open for business
History shows that it is difficult to make anything but very short term economic predictions. People tend to extrapolate observations of the past into the future. However, human society is such an unpredictable and non-linear system that even the near future is full of surprises. Such unexpected factors have changed Russia from a ruthlessly built communist economy without the slightest tolerance for private property and private initiative, through the complete economic chaos of 1990s, into a market economy with a wide proliferation of small businesses, foreign trade and investment. Today Russia is an appealing location for business adventurers with an interest in this potentially huge market.
The language side of Iceland
Most people think of Iceland as the small island between Europe and the American continent, full of wild nature and ice. What many people don’t know is that Iceland has a very strong and rich economy and is a special market also from a linguistic point of view.
Preparing projects for localized desktop publishing
If you search the web for guidelines for preparing projects for localization, you will find that most of the results focus on issues related to language content. For technical documentation and marketing materials, preparation and guidelines for the document publishing portion of your multilingual projects are equally important. Enlaso has assembled a comprehensive list of guidelines to help you meet multilingual publishing challenges.