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| Showcase: Articles Managing Translation Projects: A Quick PrimerEverything goes better with a horse stuffed with wax! Avoiding the pitfalls of translation and internationalization.
by Lara Bahn “Sophia Loren is a beautiful woman.” “No, I’d say she’s … exquisite.” “Well, I’d say lovely.” “No, guys, she’s just gorgeous.” We’ve all had arguments with friends in casual conversation about finding the perfect word to describe someone or something. In business, we will spend thousands of dollars on it. Upper management insists on company-wide content standards. The sales department spends weeks on phrasing their words just so, creating the perfect sales pitch. The technical writers argue over “stop” versus “cancel” in new documentation. The marketing department writes, rewrites, and re-rewrites advertising copy. Legal and Regulatory keep a tight rein on everyone and make sure content is free of litigation risks. But what about all this effort, all these arguments, all these meetings, time, and money once the document is translated? That’s easy, you say, the translators are professionals -- they know what ‘beautiful’ equals in Spanish and what ‘lovely’ equals in Chinese. Just translate the words! Sorry to disappoint, but it’s just not that straightforward. It’s a common misconception to assume that there is a one-for-one translation into other languages. There is no one-for-one into other languages. Translation is not cryptography and translators do not wear secret decoder rings! Human languages are multifaceted and full of ambiguity. Unfortunately, this means that many translation projects are multifaceted and full of ambiguity also. Managers of translation projects must be thoroughly prepared before a project begins, and be diligent in their communication process with their translators and clients throughout the process. What is glossing?One of the most important things to understand about managing multilingual projects is the difference between translation and glossing. To gloss a sentence or phrase is to create a word-for-word account of a language. In turn, translation considers not just each word, but the grammar and culture behind a language as well. For example, take the sentence “Sophia Loren has a je ne sais quoi.” To gloss the French phrase “je ne sais quoi,” we would write “I, not, I know, what.” But we know the phrase holds more meaning than “Sophia Loren has I not know what.” To produce a quality translation, we might write “Sophia Loren has an attractive quality about her that is indescribable.” Well, it’s close enough, isn’t it? Won’t they get the gist?No, not always or often. Consider this true story: The Coca-Cola ® company missed a step when managing the translation of their first round of marketing materials in China. After many advertising slogans were already printed, they were told their attempt to gloss “Coca-Cola” into Chinese characters had resulted in gibberish. Imagine their advertising slogans across China reading, “Everything goes better with a horse stuffed with wax." Not a good marketing campaign. Later attempts, with the help of a professional translator, switched a few vowel sounds around and produced the much more appealing result of “Happiness in the mouth.” Now, that goes much better with Coke! Every translation project requires the knowledge and advice of a professional translator, but it also requires a well-prepared manager. Even when you have hired a very talented translator, words and terminology can still get in the way of a quality translation. Managers of translation projects need to know that English has one of the largest lexicons (set of vocabulary) of all the world’s languages. Synonyms in English often translate into just one word in other languages. Frequently when an English index is translated, entries are duplicated several times over in other languages. For example, an English index may have 800 different entries, but the Spanish translation might have only 600 different entries (with 200 entries duplicated but each meaning different things). Imagine how this can affect the Spanish version of your Help application or confuse technical terminology in translated medical documentation! Even more worrisome, other English terms or words can have the opposite result. For example, look up the noun “fire” in an English-to-Japanese dictionary. There are over a hundred entries for “fire” in Japanese! How will this affect the documentation of the Help application or index that you have so carefully constructed? O.K. We get it, you say. Managers not only need to hire a competent translator, but they also need to manage and control the language and terminology of a project. So, what can we do? Problem: Out of control terminology and content Solution: Impose controls on terminology and the source (original) content through the practice of Terminology Management and Controlled English. Learn more about:
Internationalized Design and TemplatesDid I mention content length and grammar yet? Not only does a manager of a multilingual project need to get control of terminology and word usage, they also need to prepare for text expansion and changes in word order. Below is an example of a graphic designed for an online catalog in both English and French.
Notice how the French text takes up more room then the English? Most English documentation will experience text expansion of around 25 to 30% after being translated into another language. Languages like German and Japanese can end up doubling in length. Still, nothing is a for-sure deal in the world of localization and sometimes the opposite will result; Chinese and Swahili can take up less room than English. Word order can also change from language to language. The above drop-down lists for the online catalog are poorly designed and they do not take into account French grammar. Often in French, descriptive words are put after the noun they describe. Quite a few languages have that grammatical rule. That’s why a rule of thumb in international design is to avoid embedding text within graphics. Managers of translation projects must not only hire a professional translator and control the source language and terminology, but they must also prepare the team for global design. A good global design for the pre-mentioned online-catalog drop-down lists would have allowed for text expansion/shrinkage and unique grammars, as shown next:
Problem: Layout and graphic design that’s a mess when translated Solution: Parallel translation, internationalized templates, and global design Learn more about:
Local TestingManaging terminology and language controls, using parallel translation, designing globally, and internationalizing templates can help to make translation and localization projects go more smoothly. Still, even after all that preparation , one of the most crucial elements of a translation localization project is local testing before the project is closed. Local testing can reveal all those parts of culture that we take for granted. Like paper size, for example. One of the very first translation projects I was involved in took three intense months of translating and design work, but ended poorly because our project manager and team did not realize that standard paper size in the States was not the same as in Vienna, Austria. The entire manual needed to be reworked, with the cost charged to us, because of our cultural blind spot about office paper size. Local testing can reveal cultural habits and histories that we may take for granted or never begin to guess might be an issue. In another case, a colleague designed a Chinese patient manual and worked diligently, making sure to control terminology and design globally. Still, the project was rejected and a re-do was required even though the client said it was “a beautiful product.” It had been translated and designed for Traditional Chinese characters and the intended Chinese audience required Simplified Chinese characters. The project manager had no idea there were two forms of writing in China, and the youthful translator assumed the content was to be in Traditional Chinese. The local audience knew what was culturally required and if it had been tested locally earlier, the project would have never required reworking. Problem: Cultural stuff I could never have imagined Solution: Locals must test the translation before launch Learn more about:
In closing, language, design, and culture are all issues that can create challenges for managers of translation projects. Although the solutions in this article are just a quick primer on how to manage for quality translation, they can help you prepare for a much smoother journey. Keep in mind that managing translation projects is a lot like a trip to a foreign city. Before you go, do your research, have references handy, and ask for advice from a knowledgeable local. Some very readable and very usable books on the subject:
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About the authorLara Bahn has been involved in various forms of education for more than 10 years. She has also worked as an editor, indexer, translator, terminologist, and usability professional. She has a keen interest in how and why people learn and in intercultural communication. Her own education includes a BA in Linguistics and English, a M.Ed. focusing on educational psychology, and a M.S. in Scientific and Technical Communication focusing on international communications and human resource development. Most of all Lara loves to travel and hopes to visit every continent some day. Yes, even Antarctica! |
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