In
a 2006 survey of manufacturing professionals, KPMG found
that the number one strategic priority among manufacturing
companies is penetrating new markets.
Preparing to expand
a business into new foreign markets requires significant
time and money. Success depends on careful planning and
having the right processes. These processes include globalization,
internationalization, localization and translation and
each represents a crucial step in taking a product to
a new market.
Globalization
Globalization is the
process of developing, manufacturing and marketing a product
intended for distribution in foreign markets. This is
a two-step process consisting of internationalization
and localization, with translation being an integral part
of localization.
Internationalization
Internationalization
is the process of generalizing a product to prepare it
for localization. This neutralizes the product, enabling
a more efficient localization process, improving quality
and decreasing localization costs and time to market.
Internationalizing a product just once enables a company
to easily localize that product for multiple locations.
Here is a sample list
of tasks commonly performed in the internationalization
process:
- Reduce redundant
or repetitious texts
- Finalize texts before
localization and translation
- Use standard terminology
- Create a glossary
defining any original, technical or unclear terminology
- Enforce a consistent
writing style
- Adhere to grammar
rules
- Adapt layouts to
accommodate right-to-left or top-to-bottom scripts
- Allow for extra space
since text tends to expand when translated from English
- Use programming tools
that support foreign language character sets
Localization
After a product has
been internationalized, it can then be localized. Localization
is the process of adapting a product to fit the specific
language and culture of a target market. The goal is to
make the product as natural and transparent as possible
for the user, as if it was developed with that user in
mind.
The following details
differ greatly between countries and therefore must be
taken into consideration during localization:
- time and date formats
- time zones
- keyboard usage
- currency conversion
- paper size
- units of measurement
- graphics
- colors
- symbols
- names and titles
Translation
Translation is the process
of rendering the meaning of a text from one language into
another. It is a significant part of the localization
process.
Why Is This Important?
Globalization has made
barriers to market entry smaller than ever before. However,
language and culture remain significant obstacles for
companies expanding to foreign markets. It is a common
misconception that most business professionals in the
world have sufficient knowledge of English and because
of this, English-only websites are perfectly acceptable
for a global marketplace. Companies cannot survive under
this assumption. While English knowledge is indeed widespread,
knowledge does not indicate preference. Put quite simply,
people are less likely to buy your product if they can’t
read about it or use it in their own language.
Market for Localization
and Translation Services
According to the Common
Sense Advisory, a research and consulting firm specializing
in this industry, the market for outsourced language services
is at $10 billion this year and expected to grow at 15-20%
per year. No single company consistently dominates the
market. In fact, the top 20 companies in the industry
combined hold less than 20% of the market. This means
that there are many language services providers for companies
to choose from and that pricing for their services remains
competitive.
How Can a Language
Services Provider Help?
Language services providers
offer a range of services that support globalization,
internationalization, localization and translation initiatives,
such as:
- Global content management
solutions
- Product internationalization
- Website localization
- Software localization
- Translation
- Terminology management
- Translation memory
management
- Consulting and training
When you globalize a
product, you are making a commitment to support that product
in all of your target markets for the duration of its
life cycle. This long-term commitment requires an excellent
partner who has a history of success with its existing
clients, extensive experience with localization and translation
technologies, knowledge of your industry, subject-matter
expertise and a process-focused approach to supplying
services.
Lauren Nemec is the
Marketing Manager of Translatus, Inc., a language services
provider.
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