Understand when your documents require more than translation.
What language do you want your project translated into? What is the purpose of your project? How will the translation be used? Where will the translation be used? The answers to these questions will enable your language service provider to decide whether your project requires translation or localization. This often begs the question, exactly what is localization?
Localization is the process of adapting a product or service for use in a specific geographic location, according to language and culture. A product or service that is properly localized will appear to have been developed within the local culture through the use of idiomatic language translation. Additional details to be considered include currency, local holidays, jargon, geographic examples, color and cultural sensitivities, and proper names, as well as ethnicity of people in photographs.
Language
Localizing translated text is very similar to transcreation. If the Spanish statement “Entrada de caballo, salida de burro,” were to be translated, it would read “Enter on horseback, leave on a donkey.” Though this translation is accurate, it would not be meaningful to a U.S.-based audience. If the statement were localized for use in the United States, it would read as “Don’t start something you can’t finish” instead.
Localization doesn’t always involve recreating a statement or idiomatic expression, but rather dealing with influencing details. Imagine an advertisement copy for a grill that includes the statement “Joe likes to barbecue on the 4th of July.” The translation of this statement into Spanish would be “A Joe le gusta hacer una barbacoa el 4 de julio.” However, if this statement were to be localized for use in Argentina, “Joe” would be changed to a common regional name, such as “José,” and “the 4th of July” might be updated to “25 de mayo,” Argentina’s National Day. Thus, the localized version of this statement would be “A José le gusta preparar un asado para el 25 de mayo,” which is more engaging for an Argentinian viewing the ad.
Graphics and colors
Color symbolism is an important consideration when localizing your service or product. Just as you wouldn’t send your client in the U.S. red roses (romantic love) or your client in Japan white carnations (death), you wouldn’t want to print your labels or brochures on yellow for use in Egypt or on red in South Africa, both of which represent mourning for those countries.
Graphics and images are equally important, specifically when they involve photos of people. If you are localizing a brochure for use within a Vietnamese community and that brochure contains a number of photos with people, it is important that at least a few of those people are Vietnamese. If the photographs are changed to include various Asian ethnicities that are not Vietnamese, the brochure will not appear to have been developed within the local culture.
What you need to know
Localization is typically reserved for materials on products and services that will be marketed, sold, and used within a different culture than where they were originally created. If you are interested in learning more about localization or aren’t sure if it applies to your project, talk to your account manager or language service provider.
References:
http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/localization
http://www.studyspanish.com/topten_phrases.htm
http://webdesign.about.com/od/color/a/bl_colorculture.htm