Translators, Translation Agencies and the Fine Art of Language Localisation
The importance of language localization in the global marketplace could never be overemphasized.
If a business wishes to reach a more global market, and to successfully conduct transactions in more than one language, then it is necessary to approach cross-cultural and cross-language issues as professionally as possible.
Any company that requires the translation of its website, marketing materials, brochures and other intellectual property needs to understand the difference between translation and localization.
The former is generally understood to be the simple transformation of a text from one language to another, sometimes from one language variant to another (US English to UK English being just one of innumerable combinations). It is always of the utmost importance that the translator is a native speaker of the target language (the one into which the text is being translated).
Localisation, on the other hand, encompasses much more. One might describe it as added value translation. Some of the many additional issues which localization addresses is such country-specific signifiers as date, time, address and currency formats. Other, more subtle measures include cultural sensitivities, historical references and current events.
It is obviously important that you decide on which you want – translation or localization – and communicate that clearly to the language service agency with which you are working. Make sure the agency spells out quite clearly how they define localization and what additional services they will be providing.
An important caveat in this regard has to do, once again, with the translator. Since these services are now provided on a global level, and often outsourced to freelance translators, it is quite likely that an individual may be a native speaker of the target language yet not have lived in the target country for quite some time. While this may be fine for a simple translation, it can be more problematic for a localization project.
Changes in language, nuance, current referents, all of these are important factors which can seriously affect the quality of the product and which are shifting ever rapidly. Being out of country for as few as a several years can profoundly affect the translator’s understanding of the language and culture. Unfortunately this can sometimes have a negative, incorrect – or, in some cases, even humorous – impact on the results.
In addition to the above criteria, a proper localization will also be sure to carefully analyze any graphics, logos and other visual materials – even colors – which might have local significance and thus affect how the product or service is perceived. The agency should provide detailed feedback and suggest alternatives.
When working with an agency on a localization project, it is obviously necessary that there should be regular, ongoing and open communication between client, agency and translator. Ideally, both agency and translator should have an accurate and complete understanding of the client’s mission, product and brand. Again, in the best of all possible worlds, this communication should go in all directions, both laterally and vertically.