Web Translation: Multilingual Web Sites

Statistics show that web site visitors spend twice as long and are three times more likely to buy from a site with information in their native language.

More than 50% of web users today are from outside the United States, and if a web site is available only in English, you are ignoring an entire section of the world's population whose native language is not English (only 8% of the world's population are native English speakers).

To unlock the full potential of the web and globalize your web presence, there is a dire need for multilingual web sites and therefore translation is one important aspect of globalization.

WHY TRANSLATE?

- Build and manage a global presence
- Transcend language barriers
- Increase e-commerce revenues by attracting new customers

  and boosting web traffic
- Identify world markets and promote e-business
- Enhance customer 'stickiness' and support
- Reduce expense and time
- Increase the speed of localization
- Interact with users personally

In a nutshell, a multilingual web site ensures instantaneous worldwide communication.

WHO NEEDS TRANSLATIONS?

Real time applications like breaking news and live sports coverage, entertainment, financial, health and technical content when made available as multilingual content tend to establish solid and real partnerships with customers on a global scale.

Promotions, portal information, customer service content, online technical manuals, data sheets and online sales can be marketed through new channels to international and ethnic markets.

WHAT MAKES A GOOD TRANSLATOR?

A translator converts written material from one language to another. By definition, they are language professionals, but they also have to cultivate knowledge of the areas they work in. A translator ensures that your web site looks equally attractive to all your customers, anywhere in the world and in all languages.

A human being and a computer (CAT-computer assisted translations) can perform what is termed a 'human translation'. In addition to understanding the source language and translating it into the target language, a translator therefore needs to feel comfortable with the latest word processing and communications software and hardware.

Let us survey what it takes to make a good translation -
- Accurate reproduction of the original content without omissions or alteration of any  

  information
- natural, clear and interesting
- good representation of the cultural perspectives of the two languages
- strike a balance between fidelity of the source and readability in the target language
- ability to work on different browsers using different language settings

Translations are not simple and easy. When English is translated into most other languages, there is an expansion of 20% in text area. Therefore, text on a navigation bar in a web page can get unduly large and expand outside the space allotted. The worst case scenario is when text is embedded in graphics. It helps to keep text out of graphics and maintain a workable size of text on web pages that require translations.

Translations of abstract terms are more complex when the cultural contexts of two languages are different. Terms that have no direct equivalent in the recipient language must be identified and then expanded in the right manner to convey the meaning effectively.

Also, certain specialized translations pertaining to fields like medicine and science may require additional research.

MACHINE TRANSLATION VERSUS HUMAN TRANSLATION:

A computer translates an entire document automatically and presents it to a human being. This is machine translation. But, computers have no sense of audience and just blindly follow rules. Words with ambiguous meanings are not accounted for when translating and this presents a serious drawback.

Instead it is useful to use a database driven web infrastructure to save on maintenance and programming costs. Some of the translation tools available in the market are listed here. These companies also offer translation services and translation software.

ESSENTIAL TOOLS FOR A TRANSLATOR:

The Babylon Tool is a glossary and information tool that provides instant information about any word you click on. Software translation tools that can be downloaded easily are also available from this site (www.babylontool.com). TRADOS is another web site that develops and markets tools for professional translators such as translation memory systems. A global leader in translation technology they offer database enabled translation memory technologies. IBM's Translation Manager is a computer assisted translation system that automates repetitive tasks and tackle voluminous translation work. It builds up a Translation Memory that offers translation proposals for future use.

Links:

www.translations.com : is a site that offers translation services and establishes communication across a wide variety of cultures. Customized marketing content is translated in multiple languages.

www.ewebtranslator.com: A leading translation and software localization company that provides multilingual translation services for web site, user manuals, source codes, databases in over 40 languages.

Translations: professional translation to and from all languages by Lengua Translations.

Free Translation 1-800-Translate: Fast, accurate translation interpretation, and localization in 157 languages.

Translators from London: Translation company based in London, England serving businesses throughout the world. London Translations offer the expertise of in-country translators and interpreters combined with the simplicity and security of dealing with a
company based in the UK.