Localization

The cheapest path to translation

February 7, 2011 techcommdood

I found a question on Quora asking about the cheapest way to translate a document. My response follows. You need to define “cheapest” as there are costs to cutting corners to get a less expensive translation. Sure, you can pump your text through Google Translate and have something in a target language. It might be [...]

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Shippin’ up to Boston… for the Gilbane Conference

November 17, 2010 techcommdood

The Gilbane Conference in Boston is less than two weeks away! If you haven’t heard of it or haven’t been, it’s a great event aimed at content management and content strategy. While there are in-depth sessions, the conference is ideal for strategic leaders who want to improve their processes, broaden their reach and reduce overall [...]

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The tortoise and the hare: global pictograms

November 17, 2010 techcommdood

There’s an interesting conversation today on the techwr-l listserv regarding pictograms and regional idenification/appropriateness. If you look at most landscaping equipment, most throttle controls have pictograms of turtles and rabbits to indicate slow and fast. The original question was about whether there was subtext there suggesting “take it slow” to win the race, but the conversation [...]

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I bit the wax tadpole

June 29, 2010 techcommdood

Image by Joseph Wu Origami via Flickr Language is an amazing and beautiful yet dangerous thing, especially when crossing its barriers. Just as Coca-Cola learned about it’s Mandarin transliteration, I too recently discovered an interesting twist to my long-standing personal brand ‘techcommdood’. One of my LinkedIn connections wrote me with the following: I can see [...]

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SDL Author Assistant now free plugin for FrameMaker

March 5, 2009 techcommdood

It looks like Author Assistant – SDL’s content author plug-in for grammar and phrase checking – is now a free plugin for FrameMaker 9. This utility caught my eye a few years back for its ability to check what you write against your existing translation memory in order to maximize 100% matches when translating your [...]

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Do you localize your documentation?

February 19, 2009 techcommdood

With an ever-growing global market, demand for localized content and demand for controlling those costs are increasing. Do you localize your content for use in foreign markets? And if so, what steps do you take to control the costs of localization?

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