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Website translation
On 31 March 2011 2,095,006,005 internet users were recorded around the world, which translates into a huge number of requests performed through the different available web browsers.* In the past, for many companies, institutions and services providers, having a website meant having a shop window to the global market place. Most of their visitors knew their url address beforehand and accessed the site without necessarily looking for it in any web browser or any international address book. Nowadays, websites are mostly searched through web browsers and how well they are translated plays a crucial part in their use. Translating a given website into a new language opens it up to the outside world and establishes an important presence in a new environment or field as well as in a potential market. If the English translation of a website is a common user expectation these days, its translation into the most widely-spoken languages in the world, such as Spanish, Chinese or Hindi, expands the website’s visibility to millions of potential users. In a global market and a world in which cultural exchanges have gone from local to global, it is extremely important that companies and organizations present their own services or information in the language of the speakers they want to meet, and most of all, in their appropriate cultural context. Indeed, studies show that a user is more likely to find the information he is looking for in his own mother tongue, even if it means reading a translated version of a website he is visiting, as opposed to reading it in its original language, thereby showing once again that information exchange is global and not just local. Website translation services are not only focused on translating content but also on the sensitivities of internationalization and the localization of what is presented on any given website. Internationalization and localization are processes by which a given product, which has been designed and developed for a defined target market or environment, is adapted for different target markets or environments, and in particular other nations or cultures. These range from websites to user guides, from medical and scientific papers to the labels of products being sold in international markets. Internationalization is often carried out during the product-design phase when all necessary elements are being taken care of so that international users can easily understand the given product. A good example of this process is the choice of product name. Localization, on the other hand, is carried out on a product that is distributed to a particular foreign market and the translation of its content, adaptating it to the local culture, when necessary, is part of the product itself. The difference between internationalization and localization is subtle but fundamental. Internationalization is the adaptation of products for their potential use outside the given market or place for which they have been designed, while localization is the addition to these products of special characteristics that allow its use in particular markets or ‘local’ places. These processes are complementary and need to be carried out in unison so as to create a product that works both at a global and local level. Localization focuses on: linguistic translation and particular support for some languages, as for example, Far East languages; local usage and content, symbols, sorting methods, aesthetics, cultural values and social context.
OnTranslation works with translators who can take care of your website and provide a translation that can fully address your needs. Do not hesitate to contact us to look at how we can work with you to address the translation needs of your website.
* www.internetworldstats.com
* www.internetworldstats.com |