Translation Localization Services

What Is Localization Translation – And Why Do I Need It For My Certified Translations?

by brian on August 5, 2011

Your documents are translated into a foreign language. They’re performed by a certified translations company who has attested to their accuracy. You think you’ve dotted all your I’s and crossed all your T’s.

But, to your surprise, you discover that your translation is incomprehensible! What went wrong? It’s not that the words are incorrect – it’s that there’s no localization translation performed on your documents.

Certified translation is a crucial, yet oft-forgotten, step to your translations. But what is localization exactly? Simply put, it’s a technique experienced translators use to port your documents into a foreign language, country, and/or culture.

For instance, certain turns of phrase may not make much sense in a foreign language. “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch” may make sense to an English speaker, but it becomes an incredibly confusing phrase when translated directly into a foreign language.

Neglecting translation localization for your documents can make them not just difficult to understand – they can also make them insulting, embarrassing, and unprofessional as well. If the words used happen to mean something it shouldn’t, then you may find yourself in a heap of trouble.

For important business and personal documents, it’s essential to find a company that performs localizations with all of their translations. That way, you can be sure that your translations make sense to their target audience and are highly professional. So obtaining a translation localization is truly putting your best foot forward.

Translation localization can’t be done by just any translations company – you need one that has years of experience performing this valuable service. My Certified Translations is a leader in providing accurate, quality localization services for thousands of satisfied clients. Their 31-year reputation precedes them in this regard.

For more information, call 800-281-5084 or visit their free instant quote page for pricing information and to find out what translation services are right for you and your business.

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Localization Language Mix-Ups: Three Famous “Mistranslations” That Just Aren’t True

by brian on July 12, 2011

We all love a great story of someone unexpectedly embarrassing themselves due to incompetence. That feeling of schadenfreude is never more apparent than with localization language errors. We all love a great story of how an unsuspecting politician, government agency, or business hilariously mistranslates something, creating an unexpectedly funny new meaning.

But sometimes, these stories just aren’t true! The Internet is full of mistranslation stories that just don’t add up. Here are three of those popular – but apocryphal – NOT certified translation stories:

1) The Japanese unintentionally translated the title of Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” as “The Angry Raisins.”

Most of us remember the singing California Raisins, but they were always pretty happy – not angry like the image this title presents. The story alleges that the true title of John Steinbeck’s novel was lost in translation due to the similarity of the words in Japanese.

However, the evidence just doesn’t add up for the story. It appears that all official copies of the book, published in Japan, do contain the proper word for grapes (budou) and not the one for raisins (hoshibudou). So the localization language was indeed correct, although it still makes for a humorous way to refer to the otherwise-serious Steinbeck novel.

President Kennedy and his German “Jelly Donut” speech.

Talk about poor localization language on the part of Kennedy’s German translator: It’s alleged that in his famous 1963 speech to denizens of East Berlin, Kennedy stated not “I am a Berliner,” but “I am a jelly-filled donut,” also humorously dubbed a “Berliner.”

But was he? It turns out that the grammatical mistake was to include the article before “Berliner,” as in saying “I am an American” instead of “I am American.” But according to German language experts, both usages are correct – and context is obviously key to understanding a speaker. So donut conspiracy theorists can put this one to bed.

Chevy Nova: Is it a “No Go”?

Sometimes for car enthusiasts, the name means everything. So when Chevrolet decided to bring its Nova to a Latino market in Mexico, they were miffed at its low sales. Turns out that their localization language was pretty shoddy, as “No va” in Spanish means “No Go.”

But wait – it turns out that bad localization language was not to blame in this case. In fact, the car sold well in Latino markets. Apparently different phrases other than “No va” are used to indicate a malfunctioning car, and the two phrases are pronounced differently anyway.

For the best in localization language services, contact My Certified Translations and their team of translation experts. They’ve been serving the business community with language localization services for over 30 years. Call 800-281-5084 or visit our free instant quote page to find out more.

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Oops! Three Ways That Companies Badly Mess Up Language Localization

by brian on July 8, 2011

You’ve got your company’s documents translated into Spanish, German, or the language of whatever country in which you intend to market your products. You release the ad campaign on the unsuspecting citizens, hoping to see a huge increase in product purchasing. Yet several months later, you notice that your profit margin hasn’t widened even one centimeter.

What happened? Your advertising campaign flopped because of poor language localization. Even if the words themselves are an accurate translation, your translation company may not have considered the advertising campaign from the perspective of a native speaker. So what are some things to watch out for when getting localization language service from a translations company?

1) Make sure that your translation company is aware of cultural customs of the area your documents will appear.

Are you a beef company trying to sell your wares in India? Your certified translation company, when performing language localization, should be aware of these cultural differences between the US and other countries when performing a translation. They can point out what will work and what won’t in your advertising campaign as viewed from a local.

2) Ensure that the document contains proper punctuation and use of grammar.

Just because your documents are translated properly doesn’t mean that they will look right from a native’s standpoint. There are grammatical and cultural idiosyncrasies to be aware of when bringing your documents to another country. Make sure your translation company is qualified enough in language localization to understand these differences to tailor your advertising campaign accordingly.

3) Be aware of local slang and double meanings of what you’re trying to say.

Many advertising and marketing campaigns have been quickly scuttled by being based around something that’s just not appropriate for the target culture. For instance, while a picture of a woman with long hair may not raise eyebrows in most countries, a Middle Eastern nation would be highly offended at the photo of a woman without a veil. Your translation company should be sensitive to those cultural differences and point them out to you in your translations when performing language localization

To make sure you have the best language localization services possible, contact My Certified Translations. In business since 1980, we have a strong track record with our clients, who come to us time and again for the best in translation services. Call us at 800-281-5084 or visit our free instant quote page to receive our service rates and find out what translation services are best for you.

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Cultural Differences Can Make Translation Localization Have Unintentional – and Disastrous – Results

by brian on June 29, 2011

Despite what certain online translation tools may claim, there’s no such thing as translating something 100% into another language. But translation localization allows you to get as close as possible to the original meaning, considering the language, the culture, and the country in which it is spoken. When all of these things are considered, you get effective international advertising campaigns and instruction manuals and other documents that serve people from all across the world.

And when that translation localization service is done poorly? Well, then your embarrassing moment will live on forever as an exhibit in the vast halls of the Internet.

Take the story of one US airline who advertised to its passengers hip “rendezvous lounges” to its passengers. The ad was dutifully translated into other languages, but not with the attention and care that one would expect when dealing with a major rebranding and advertising campaign. When the ads hit the shores of Brazil, passengers shunned the airline in droves – “rendezvous” in Portuguese means a room rented out for prostitution. That’s wasted advertising dollars that could have been used to increase – not decrease – customer numbers.

Or consider the tale of Colgate-Palmolive launching a new brand of toothpaste in France, called “Cue.” Sounds classy, right? Well, the translation localization team here didn’t do their research, not recognizing that their toothpaste shared its name with a popular pornographic magazine.

Finally, consider another embarrassing error in localization committed by car maker Mazda, and their van model called Laputa. While the name sounds innocuous enough in English and Japanese, Latino car distributors begged the company to change the name for its release in Central America, reminding them that “puta” has an entirely different meaning in Spanish.

To avoid these embarrassing translation localization errors, choose the experts at My Certified Translations for your translation needs. We offer translation localization services that can fit businesses of any size. Call 800-281-5084 or click here for a free instant quote on your translation localization. A language specialist is standing by to contact you with a free quote for our low-cost translation services.

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