How to get localised


As Poynton explains, there are three phases in the localisation process: translation, re-integration and language testing. “Following an evaluation of the product with the client, the first major task is translation, of all the assets, right down to the error messages. If the content isn’t already separated out, we may have to go through the original product and strip it out to form a script that the translators can work with. When translation’s complete, we have the task of re-integrating the content with the software engine to create a completely new, localised product. We may do this ourselves or it may be carried out by our client.”

Is that the end of the story? Not for Epicentre, who have the largest testing centre in Europe: “We use only qualified testers, trained by ourselves or ISEB accredited. Obviously for testing localised products we need the same degree of language skills that we needed for translation. Of course, the golden rule here is never to use the same people for translation and testing.” Epicentre needed all their skills to satisfy a recent client, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. 'Planet Britain' is a multimedia CD-ROM used to illustrate contemporary life in Britain - Politics, Economy, Industry, Fashion, Music and the Arts - to people all over the world. EpiCentre carried out full localisation of the CD into German and Japanese. According to Birgit Ihlau, from the British Embassy in Berlin: “We were most impressed by the speedy delivery and high quality of the German translation of Planet Britain. We use the CD-ROM regularly and successfully in Germany as a very helpful source of information.”

Is localisation something you can carry out in-house or is it a job for the specialists? Williams is quite definite: “You simply must use specialist localisation companies, people who understand your target audience completely. It helps a great deal if translators are based in the country concerned, because it only takes a few years to lose touch with the way the language and the culture are evolving. We do a lot of work for the youth market, in terms of both games and education software, so it’s absolutely vital that the language that’s used is up-to-date if the product is to have any credibility.” McCuthcheon concurs: “Localisation is extremely hard to do in-house. We only use translators who have a degree-level qualification in translation and who are still living in their home country.”

Whoever carries out the localisation, there’s no doubt that the process can be considerably eased if the product is designed with localisation in mind. McCuthcheon: “It’s vital that all the material that requires localisation is held in separate files from the software code. Ideally the basic software engine will be completely independent of content. This engine should be designed with the understanding that localised content will not always be the same size and shape as the original. For example, accommodation must be made for the fact that German text is about 25% longer than English. It must also be ‘double-byte’ enabled, to support Chinese, Japanese and similar character sets.”




E-Learning's Greatest Hits
E-learnings Greatest Hits
ISBN: 0954590406
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 198

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