Guidelines for globalization and localization. Is there a need for language restriction?

A few weeks ago, we shared Microsoft’s Guidelines for globalization and localization in our Twitter feed, which you can find here: https://twitter.com/MediaL0C/status/530688809697296384. 

Whilst I agree with most of the guidelines and recommendations, I have my reservations about others. For instance, some of the recommendations are quite obvious and every developer should take them into account, such as making sure to use the correct formats for numbers and dates, support international units and currencies, and display the fonts correctly. To some people, things like accents can be an annoyance, but they are extremely important. For instance, a little tilde on the “n” is the difference between “I am 3 years old” (Tengo 3 años) y “I have 3 anuses” (Tengo 3 anos) in Spanish.

But even these small, obvious changes need to be applied with caution is some cases. To give you an example, customers would expect to see their currency, with the correct number formats, displayed if they were to buy an app in the store. However, if they were playing a game whose story is based in the US and a character is buying something in a store or a bar, it would seem odd if the currency were anything other than USD. As always, it’s all about the context.

It goes without saying that things like cultural references, images, brand names, etc. need to be thoroughly researched before entering a new market, so I won’t go into much detail about that. You can read more on that here: http://medialoc.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/what-is-culturalisation-and-why-should.html and http://medialoc.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/the-cultural-dimension-in-games.html.

What struck me about Microsoft’s guidelines is the fact that they recommend avoiding colloquialisms, metaphors and technical jargon. They are indeed the hardest things to translate, but should professional translators not be able to convey them? I believe they should.

Let me explain myself. A lot of the time, this type of language is right at the core of the product and forms its very soul and essence. Let’s say we have a game or an app packed with puns, metaphors and humour. Should we not respect that, and convey them in a way that will be understood by the target audience and have the same effect on them? Why should the product be altered, so that it becomes less humorous and therefore loses part of its appeal? I am all for adapting the product to the target market, but always in a way that recreates the effect and purpose of the original. Jokes cannot be translated literally, instead a professional would find an equivalent in their target language which, in literal terms means something completely different, but appeals to the consumer in the same way the original product did and, in this case, makes them laugh.

The same applies for technical jargon. If a product is targeted to the general public, it should not contain a lot of technical terms in any language. However, if it’s targeted at a very specific segment of users who understand the jargon and use it on a daily basis, then the right translator should be used, who can understand these terms and knows their equivalent in the target language. Scientists wouldn’t expect to read dumbed down texts just because they are translations, they would expect these texts to use the same style and jargon as texts written in their own language.

In my opinion, it’s all about context and effect, recreating the purpose of the original product in the target language; and the more invisible the translator is, the better. Culturalisation implies adapting the product to suit the needs of the target market, so that it’s just as appealing as it was in the original market, not altering the very essence of the product and turn it into something that it is not.

How to save money on translation costs – 7 useful tips

Understandably, translation costs can be a concern for a lot of companies. You want to get the best possible results, but sometimes it can be hard with a limited budget. In order to help you make the most of your translation spend, here are some tips that will help you save on translation costs, without compromising the quality of the work.

1. Plan your project with translation in mind: Good planning can save a lot of money. Review your material and edit out any parts that are unnecessary or irrelevant; by cutting down the number of words you will reduce the translation costs. At the same time, take into account that some languages, like Spanish or French, are 20-30% longer than English, whereas others, like Chinese or Japanese, are considerably shorter, so plan accordingly when designing a layout and avoid costly rework later. Also, be wary of graphics, as any text in them will need to be translated; save editing time and money by only using easily-editable text in the graphics.

2. Involve your translation company early on: by getting in touch with your translation company early on in the process, they can advise you regarding the best course of action and warn you of any potential issues, whether linguistic or cultural, thus avoiding costly surprises later. Developing a relationship with your translation company will always ensure the best results.

3. Avoid unnecessary rework: make sure that the files are finalised before sending them for translation. Any changes to the source material during the translation process or after it can be expensive. If the original had been translated by the time you decide to make changes, you will have to pay for the work already carried out, plus the additional work to include the changes. It can also be messy and confusing if many changes are made throughout the process.

4. Mind the file formats: providing a format that’s easy to work with will save a lot of money. For instance, it can take hours to transcribe a handwritten or scanned text to a word processor or recreate the layout of a PDF file. By sending documents that can be worked on directly, you will save having to pay for this extra time, and the turnaround of your project will be quicker.

5. Avoid minimum charges: minimum charges are necessary due to the work that is involved in even the smallest of projects: downloading and reviewing the files, confirming availability, putting the resources in place, managing the project, checking the translations, delivering, invoicing, bank fees, etc. However, you can save by grouping small jobs together and sending them at the same time, therefore avoiding having to go through the whole process for each tiny individual project.

6. Avoid rush fees by setting reasonable deadlines: the average speed of a translator is 2000 words per day, whereas a proofread can check 8000 words a day. Anything higher than that will imply them having to work overtime or even through the night which, as you can surely understand, attracts higher fees. Avoid paying extra by, once again, planning your project accordingly and if possible adding a couple of extra days to the deadline for tasks such as file transfers, project management, etc.

7. Don’t go for the cheapest provider: as with everything else, in translation you get what you pay for. There are plenty of bad companies out there who will charge dirt cheap prices and deliver a shabby job. Of course, if don’t speak the language, you won’t notice how bad the quality is... but what you will notice is the lack of sales coming through. Instead, think of translation as an investment. Spend more money hiring a reliable company who care about your products and services and who will be able to truly speak to your customers in their own language, not only producing text that is free from mistakes, but also customising and adapting your content to the target culture’s preferences and expectations. The amount of long-term business you will get as a result will far outweigh any short-term costs. Also, by getting it right the first time, you won’t have to hire anyone else to fix the costly mistakes made by the cheap provider!

If you would like any more tips, or need any advice about translation and localisation and how to achieve the best results for your project, contact us at info@medialoc.net. We’ll be happy to help!

It's all about empathy

The concept of empathy has long been discussed in the psychology field. But what is empathy, and what does it have to do with business? According to the Oxford dictionary, empathy is “the ability to understand and share the feelings of another”. While it is clear how that can help personal relationships, it is not always so obvious how that can help businesses, which tend to be focused on bottom lines and other financial metrics.

However, aren’t businesses all about relationships too? We would be nothing without our customers, and nurturing a good relationship with them is just as important as providing a quality service. One thing cannot survive without the other.

Think about it this way: we’re all customers at some point, whether you’re making a big purchase like a new computer or deciding to go for a drink to your local establishment. When you buy products or services from anyone else, how do you like to be treated? Does the quality of the service influence where you make your purchases? Most people would say yes.

Empathy helps establish great relationships with your customers, improve their satisfaction and build trust, which in turn makes them return and therefore improves your business results.

But you may ask, how do we use the principles of empathy with our current/potential customers?

• Understand that we’re all human and may have other commitments or issues in our lives. If a customer takes a while in replying to your message, there is probably a good reason. Give them some time and, if you haven’t heard back in a few hours or a day (depending on the type of communication), send a polite reminder.

• Educating the client is all very well, but consider the situation from their perspective. If you need to take your computer to be repaired, are you interested in hearing all the little technical details or do you just want it fixed? Language services customers are likely to simply want the job done, without having to worry about any particular details, so if you need to raise awareness about a linguistic issue, by all means do so, but keep it polite, informative and as brief as possible. And try to find a solution before contacting the client with a problem. Be helpful, not pedantic.

• When it comes to marketing, consider how much you like receiving cold calls/e-mails. The person you’re trying to contact probably dislikes them as much as you, so unless you’re encouraged by their website to send a speculative CV or information about your business, try to establish hot leads.

• Take into account how busy people are these days, so keep unnecessary contacts to a minimum, and keep the message short and to the point. That said, there is nothing wrong with the occasional contact to an existing client to remind them of your presence.

• Go out of your way to offer excellent service and try help your clients when they’re in a tight spot. By empathising with their situation and giving them a hand, they’re bound to appreciate you even more.

• Lastly, empathy also applies to larger companies that hire services on an ad-hoc basis, translation companies being the prime example. When hiring freelance translators, the key to establishing a good, successful relationship is to treat them with respect. Don’t expect to get quality work at very low rates, don’t send generic e-mails to hundreds of translators and give the job to the one who replies first, etc.

To sum it up, when in business always remember to see things from the other person’s perspective, and treat them how you would like to be treated if you were in their situation. Empathy goes a long way.

What is culturalisation and why should I care about it?

“Culturalization is going a step further beyond localization as it takes a deeper look into a game’s fundamental assumptions and content choices, and then gauges the viability in both the broad, multicultural marketplace as well as in specific geographic locales. Localization helps gamers simply comprehend the game’s content (primarily through translation), but culturalization helps gamers to potentially engage with the game’s content at a much deeper, more meaningful level.”

(Chandler, Heather Maxwell & O'Malley Deming, Stephanie. The Game Localization Handbook, 2nd ed.)


In short, we could say that, whereas localisation takes into account all the different cultural aspects, it mainly involves text, from the more basic tasks of inclusion of different alphabets and number formats, to adapting cultural references, jokes, idioms, etc. Culturalisation, then, would take this cultural adaptation one step further, to include the product's artwork and design.

It has to be pointed out that, although the quote above refers to games, culturalisation exists in other translation disciplines, such as website localisation.

Why culturalise a product?

The answer is very simple. Culturalising a game, or any other product, will make its audience engage with it much more deeply; therefore, the reaching potential in foreign markets increases dramatically. Fail to culturalise, and you risk your product not selling in a market in which it could have been extremely successful. Or even worse, you could potentially insult or offend your audience.

A good example of this is this campaign poster for the Spanish version of the TV programme The Voice, which features presenter Jesús Vázquez:

Whilst this poster works well in the Spanish market, the gesture would be considered rude in the UK, where the programme also exists, akin to showing your middle finger to the audience.

A famous example of a culturalisation fail happened in 2003, when Microsoft was forced to pull the game Kakuto Chojin off store shelves because it contained Qu'ran verses in the background of the theme song for a character. The issue became headlines news in Saudi Arabia, whose government demanded an apology, forcing the company to withdraw the game worlwide (it had been released in North America despite this).

Changing the content of a product can be quite time-consuming and expensive, of course, and that is why it's so important to consider culturalisation from the very beginning. The earlier you think about cultural aspects, the less likely you are to get a "surprise" at the end. And considering how much of a positive impact it can have on sales, it's definitely worthwhile.

For more information on the cultural aspects in videogames, please read this earlier post: http://medialoc.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/the-cultural-dimension-in-games.html 

Why cheaper isn't better part 2 - An illustration

How many times have we bought something cheap that has turned out to be a massive mistake? Like the girl in this picture, for example. Maybe if she'd bought better quality trousers that were sewn properly she would have avoided making an arse of herself (excuse the bad joke!).

I think we all understand that cheap products can turn out to be very expensive indeed. However, for some reason, people in search of translation services still think that the cheaper they can get them for, the better. Or free even (stand up Google Translate and co.). It doesn't quite register in their minds that this is a professional service provided by trained and knowledgeable experts and that, if it's surprisingly cheap, there is a reason for it (as explained in this entry http://medialoc.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/why-cheaper-isnt-better.html).

But let me illustrate my point.

This is a menu from an actual restaurant in Spain, whose name I won't publish to save them the embarrassment, taken from a blog called La Cueva del Oso.

Mmm, "Salad of pretty", sounds delicious, doesn't it? At least certainly most filling than the "Fried big holes".

What do you think this tells their customers? Well, something along the lines of "We want your money, but we're cheapskates so can't be bothered to spend a bit of ours on you". Or "If we care this much about our menu, wait until you see our food".

Here is another example:

I think I'll have the "Skewers of fruits with sauce of yogourt of fragmentation hand grenade"; I always fancy something explosive after dinner...

Of course mistakes like this are not limited to restaurants. They are everywhere, as these signs perfectly illustrate:

Very reassuring to know thieves don't have to pay to steal our luggage at the airport, isn't it?

No words for this; are we in the groceries section, or the X-rated movies aisle?

All these mistakes have no doubt been produced by using machine translation, that is, Google Translate or a similar programme. However, using somebody who's not a professional translator can be just as damaging. Just because you know someone who spent 6 months living in France, doesn't mean they can speak French properly, and much less translate it. That's not only insulting to professionals who spend years training and work very hard at keeping up and improving their skills constantly, but it can be hugely detrimental to your business.

And it is not only essential to use a translator with an excellent command of their native language, but also one that perfectly understands the source language, including idioms, slang, cultural references and jokes. I was once correcting a translation and couldn't help but laugh when I saw the translator had rendered the English expression "horses for courses" as "courses for horses", interpreted literally instead of using a Spanish expression that worked in the context. The image that came to my mind was very much like this:

So, hopefully, it becomes clear from these images that commissioning a translation is not a matter of looking for the cheapest quote and hoping for the best. It should be taken seriously. Just like you wouldn't go to a back-street doctor if you had a serious ailment, you shouldn't risk commissioning your translations to any other than a professional. After all, this is an investment, and the better the quality of the work, the more customers you will attract, which "translates" into more sales and more money for you.

The cultural dimension in games localisation

As translators and interpreters know, it is very important to bridge the gap between cultures. In certain disciplines, the meaning and the effect that the text has on the reader is far more important than the words. This is especially true of localisation, which has been defined as the “adaptation of a product, application or document content to meet the language, cultural and other requirements of a specific target market” (Ishida & Miller: 2005).

In the specific field of games localisation, this adaptation goes well beyond the words. As we all know, different cultures perceive things in different ways so, if a product is to be successful, it’s important to make sure that it adapts to the target markets, as the picture below amusingly shows. In fact, at least 50% of the revenue in games comes from localised versions (Chandler: 2006), which shows why localisation efforts should not be underestimated.

A while ago, I had the pleasure of witnessing a very interesting presentation by Melissa Clark-Reynolds, Founder and CEO of MiniMonos, a company which provides a virtual world for children in which they can create a monkey avatar, socialise with other monkeys and play minigames. She spoke of how sometimes they release minigames adapted to their local markets. One interesting example was a minigame which involved monkey poo, as can be seen in the following pictures.

                         

This type of minigame would have never worked in the Australian or New Zealand markets, for instance, where children are not as obsessed with their digestive system as they are in the UK. Despite speaking the same language, the cultures in these countries are different and being able to adapt to British “tastes” (if we can call it that in this case!) proved an extremely effective strategy, making this one of the most successful minigames for the company in the UK.

Another company in the world of online gaming, Zynga, famously decided to enter the Chinese market a couple of years ago. They rebuilt the game Farmville and, although the Chinese version is quite similar to the original Farmville, there are some changes that reflect the preferences of this target market. For instance, some changes were made to the colour palette and the plots of farmland are larger than in the original version.  And some new crops were also introduced, as can be seen in the picture below:

                                    

These crops, like the ginseng or the Caterpillar fungus, reflect the kind of crops that would grow in the region.

All this has huge implications for the games localiser, who must not only be a master of the written word, but also become a language consultant, and provide advice to clients when they come across something that could cause a potential issue in the target market.

Some time ago, I was working on a Japanese game for a portable device. The title included a minigame in which the characters had to compete to finish a big bowl filled with some type of alcoholic drink. The first one to finish it won the game, and the characters were depicted quite obviously drunk, and then complaining about having a headache the morning after. I had been told that the age rating of the game was 3+, so I immediately identified a problem and warned the client that a drinking minigame was going to be problematic in the target market, especially for such a young audience. All the translators discussed the problem as a team and we developed an idea to turn the drink into some sort of sugary potion and change the text so that the characters got a sugar rush instead, as children often get when having too many sweets. That saved the client a lot of time and money by not having to edit the game, and they were very grateful.

Other times, this cultural dimension can appear in the form of cultural references within the games themselves. For instance, in World of Warcraft there is a trinket called the Six Demon Bag, and its description text reads “Blasts enemies with the power of wind, fire, that kind of thing!”. This is a reference to the movie Big Trouble in Little China, in which Egg Shen’s describes the contents of his Six Demon Bag using the same words. In these cases, it’s important for the localiser firstly to identify the reference, and secondly, to look for the equivalent, that is, the official version of the movie in the target market (whether it’s dubbed or subtitled), and use the same wording in order to achieve the same effect that the original version of the game aims for.

Another important cultural aspect is related to characterisation. Many games contain fantasy characters such as orcs, wizards, fairies, but also pirates, gangsters and similar. The localiser will need to be familiarised with the way those creatures or characters speak in the target language and follow the conventions. It could be possible that an equivalent accent might need to be found in the target language to portray certain stereotypes or, lacking that, the use of certain interjections, expressions or pet phrases. Rude language and swearing can be particularly tricky because, whilst the effect on the player has to be maintained, cultural sensibilities also have to be taken into account. Some languages and cultures are more accepting of this type of language than others.

Of course, all this doesn’t mean that the content always has to be adapted. Sometimes aspects of the source culture have to be kept in order to maintain a certain local flavour. It wouldn’t make much sense for a game clearly based in New York, where the city is central to the story, to have characters speaking with a very marked regional French accent, for instance. However, both localisers and developers need to be aware of these issues and use their skills and expertise to ensure that the localised product meets all the requirements and needs of the target market if the product is to be successful. After all, this is a business, and the better the quality of the localisation, the higher the potential for revenue.

Translator-client relationships. Part 2: the client.

Following part 1, in which I focused on what translators can do to improve their relationships with their clients, now I would like to explore what those clients can do to make their translator’s life easier and achieve the best possible results.

1.  Information is key

The more information you provide about your project, the easier it will be for the translator to get a feel for it and achieve a product that maintains the spirit of the original. It’s important to clarify the purpose of the text, how and where it will be used and provide some context. In the localisation industry, it’s quite common to work without having seen the product at all, which can cause all sorts of problems, from sentences that can mean different things depending on the context to even gender issues (for instance, is it a male or female character speaking?). So provide as much information as you can and make your translator’s life much easier; in turn, they won’t have to get in touch with you to ask a lot of questions.

2. Communicate, communicate and communicate

Throughout the translation process, it’s important to keep communicating with your translator. Inform them as soon as possible of any changes and pass on any additional information you may have. Similarly, do not ignore any questions that the translator might send you, it’s important to get clarification on those issues in order to achieve the most suitable translation. After all, you are both working together to make this project a success in the target market.

3. Translators are not machines, so don’t treat them as such

If it takes you two months to write a piece, why would you assume it can be translated in two days? Translators are not machines, they don’t have a switch you can press and the text comes out automatically in another language. In fact, translation involves more thinking than it does writing. You have to read carefully the original and assess the purpose of the text (to inform, to sell, to make the reader laugh, etc.) and how the writer has used all the different nuances of the language to achieve that effect. You might have to adapt cultural references, like changing the name of celebrities to names of famous people in the target market, finding an equivalent accent in the target language which carries the same sort of stereotypes (or another strategy that will achieve the desired result), adapt jokes, etc. And sometimes do all this whilst sticking to ridiculous length restrictions! Translation is indeed an art, and as such it takes time.

Also, good translators tend to be quite busy most of the time, so you can’t assume they will drop any other projects they are working on so they can take care of yours immediately. It helps to give a bit of warning if you are close to finishing a project that will need translating.

4. Be aware of language combinations and specialisations

Nobody can know absolutely everything about any subject area in the world. That is why translators tend to specialise in just a few fields (usually 4-5). This allows them to understand that subject area completely and familiarise themselves with the specific terminology and style of writing. As a client, it pays off to be aware of your translators’ specialisations; you will get a much better result quality-wise if you assign the right project to the most suitable translator. Also, the translator will be able to work faster as they won’t have to stop constantly to check for new terminology, so it benefits both parts.

In addition, I know it sounds pretty obvious to say that, if you need a translation say from English into French you should hire a translator that works in that language combination, but many translators are still getting requests for languages they don’t know, so it’s important to pay attention to the languages they do work with. And bear in mind that translators should only work into their native language! That is the only way to ensure that the text will read fluently and naturally and will have the correct style, register and cultural nuances.

5. Treat your translators with respect

As a client, adopt a professional approach towards your translators and value them for what they are: professionals who have studied and trained long and hard to master what they do. Do not treat them as mere accessories to your processes or, worse still, as people who don’t really know what they’re doing but you need to use for whatever reason which you’re unsure of. If you treat them with respect, they will respond in kind. Common courtesy helps establish and maintain a good relationship with your translators: warning them when a project is due to arrive, saying thank you when you receive their files (especially if they’ve gone out of their way to accommodate an urgent request), listening to them when they point out certain issues, etc.

Part of treating your translator with respect also involves queries/doubts and feedback. Quite often, I have had clients complain because we translated X as Y, whereas according to certain online dictionary the translation for that should be Z. Instead of pointing the finger at the translator, check politely with them why that might be. In many cases, there are many different ways of saying the same thing or a word is much more appropriate than another in a certain context. Besides, you shouldn’t trust dictionaries blindly! If the whole translation has received negative feedback, you could have it checked by another translation to establish if there really was a problem with it, or the changes made are simply stylistic and a matter of preference.

6.  A little flexibility goes a long way

This applies to both parts, actually. Translators should be flexible so they can accommodate their clients’ requests, including occasional last minute changes and requests. However, flexibility is also an important quality for the client. For instance, clients should be prepared to listen to their translator and extend the deadline a bit if it’s too tight, or they should also accept suggestions or perhaps even listen to constructive criticism. If a translator points out possible issues with the text or suggests an alternative working method, they’re not trying to undermine the client but quite the opposite; they’re only trying to help in order to achieve improved results which will benefit both parts.

7. That said, don’t make your translator jump through hoops

Yes, flexibility is extremely important for the translator, but at the same time it’s not a good idea to drive them crazy with constant updates and changes to the project, additions, new instructions and the similar. These can be very time-consuming and force the translator to check the whole project again and again in order to apply those changes throughout, increasing the chance of inconsistencies. It is better to plan the project accordingly so no changes are needed in the original once it has been sent for translation. Sometimes this might not be possible, but at least try to keep them to a minimum.

Similarly, even though most translators are quite happy to accommodate the odd urgent request, do not expect them to regularly drop whatever other projects they are doing in order to complete your request immediately.

8. Do not assume cheapest is best (in fact, assume the opposite!)

As I explained at length in this entry here, in translation, as in any other industry, you generally get what you pay for. I understand clients are trying to save some money in this economic climate, but bear in mind that good translators spend a lot of time and money on training, research, technology and improving themselves constantly, so if somebody is promising you to translate your projects at rock-bottom prices you should think about what the reason behind it is. A bad translation is worse than no translation at all, so if you don’t want to risk losing your own customers because they can’t understand the material you have sent them or it’s so bad it’s laughable, make sure you hire the right professional.

9.  Pay on time

This is somewhat related to treating your translators with respect. If you want to have a good relationship with your translator, based on trust and honesty, make sure to pay within the stated payment terms. The translator will feel more appreciated and will be more willing to work with you again. Small delays due to oversights are acceptable every now and again, but don’t use the economic situation or the late payment by your own client as an excuse; when you hire a translator you enter a contractual relationship with them, and them only.

10. Do not assume anybody can translate

I have lost count of the amount of times that, after telling people I am a translator, I have heard “Oh, can you make a living out of that? I speak another language too, maybe I should do the same”. Worse still, I have also heard things like “I’m going to ask my (replace with unidentified friend or family member) to translate my document for me, they did French at college/spent a summer in Spain, etc.” I’ve even had clients doing their own translations into Spanish which I had to fix because they were atrocious! They might have studied Spanish in school, but obviously not long enough to realise they will never sound like a native speaker.

There is a reason why a profession called “translator” exists. You wouldn’t say that anybody can be a doctor or a solicitor, and the same is true of a translator. It requires very specific skills that most people with knowledge of other languages won’t be able to master. It’s not just about writing without spelling and grammar mistakes (which these days seem to be a lot to ask for already!) but also about writing style, creativity, cultural knowledge, technical skills, subject area knowledge... I could go on.

As for automatic translation tools, like Google Translate and such... copy a paragraph written in any language and see how they translate it into your language. Would you really send that to your customers? Enough said.