Optimizing Content for Localization from Acrolinx

OPTIMIZING CONTENT FOR TRANSLATIONACROLINX AND VISTATEC

Copyright Acrolinx 2012

We’ll look at these questions.Why does translation cost so much?Why is it hard to keep content consistent?Why is it hard for an organization to create good quality content?What can we do to optimize content for translation?What do we need to consider for multilingual search engine optimization (SEO)?


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Content used to be simple


Now it isn’t…


Even Life‐Saving Content


Even Life Saving Content…


Customers

Marketing Support DevelopmentTrainingTech Docs

CONTENT IS CREATED IN SILOS


Silos might be external…


From Development 4. This document will be presenting operating instructions for Acme Wonderwidget. To begin, charge the battery for at least 8 hours.

From Training 5. Getting started with Acme WonderWidget™– Connect power cord to AC Power Supply.– Charge the battery for at least 6 hours.– Press red Power Button.– After bootup, click Starting WonderWidget from the high‐level menu, and follow instructions on AWW screen.

1. Acme Wonder Widget®From Marketing

From Website 2. www.acme.com/aww

From Website 3. Thank you for purchasing the world’s finest widget, built by an incredible team of professionals to meet your every need from now through eternity.

Causes complexity and inconsistency


English is difficult to translate…• Translator challenges

• To understand what is being communicated in the first place • Must communicate concepts, which is often not possible by translating

word for word –Must know all the subtleties of the English language• Phrasal verbs (2 or 3 words) are common in English, but not in other

languages• To turn on / turn off / turn over / turn around • To get up / get over / get on with / get around / get down / get done• To put on / put up with / put through

• English has definite and indefinite articles (the, an)• Western European languages have both• Asian and Slavic languages have neither• Arabic and Hebrew have definite articles, but not indefinite articles


Machine Translation is really difficult• Rule‐based MT, Statistical based MT, Hybrid Engines• All pretty difficult and expensive to deploy, manage and customize• Customizations are possible so you can focus on a specific area i.e. weather

reports, legal documents, automotive manuals. Depending on how the content is consumed, it isn’t great output

• MT doesn’t cover all language combinations, FR, DE, SP, JP• Raw Output isn’t typically great.• Process

• Customization • Prep the translation• Post‐editing• Post translation

• These engines run much better if the English content is pre‐edited• Shorter sentences• Active voice• Consistent terminology


IncorrectTerm, error,

or phrase

SalesPresentations

Tech Docs

Website

Marketing

French

German

Japanese

Italian

French

German

Japanese

Italian

French

German

Japanese

Italian

French

German

Japanese

Italian

EXPONENTIAL ERRORS

Quality

• Higher costs• Poor translations• Increased review time

• Increase customer issues

What is the problem?


EU’S VIEW ON POOR QUALITY“The cost of a badly drafted or badly translated text… (e.g. a piece of EU legislation, a web page, press release, brochure, impact assessment, etc.)…must be taken very seriously: unclear, ambiguous texts take more time to understand and risk being misinterpreted. This implies a cost, in the best case in terms of extra time needed to understand a text; in the worst case because an unclear legal text leads to a dispute between two parties, ending in a court case. This possible "chain reaction" of events gives an indication of the importance of clear texts and therefore of high quality translations.”

“Quality Efforts and the Consequences of Poor Quality in the European Commission’s Directorate‐General for Translation” January 2012


What can you do about it?• When you optimize a document for translation, you do the following:

• Create simple content that is easy to translate (more on this later)• Eliminate culture‐specific references• Reduce the amount of content• Design the documents so that formats, layout, character set,

fonts etc are flexible and can be changed for each locale• By doing this these things you

• Create culturally neutral, intelligible content• Simplify information for native AND non‐native speakers• Improve usability for different levels of education, backgrounds,

etc. • Reduce translation costs and improve the quality.


ChecklistUse good grammar and spellingKeep sentences shortConsistently apply style guide rulesConsistently apply company‐wide terminology and glossaries.Reuse content wherever possiblePractice minimal content creationWrite clearly and use simple EnglishBe aware of formatting considerations like text expansion (audit your format)Consider using tools to help you control the above


Checklist…Maintain consistency of content from different departments like Tech Pubs, Marketing, Support.Use clear and simple language Avoid the excessive use of commasMake sure that direct and indirect objects are unambiguousAvoid slang and idiomsDefine acronyms and abbreviations, store these in the glossaryInclude relative pronouns (which and that)


Checklist…Use the active voiceAvoid cultural references, such as gender‐specific roles, humor, ethnic or historical referencesAvoid the ambiguous use of modal verbs, such as will, would, may, might, can, could, shall, should, have to, ought to and mustCustomize formats to fit the target country (date and time formats, currency, etc.)Compile a Global English Checklist with these and other items…


Don’t forget…Measurements• Standard (Inches, gallons, etc.) vs. MetricDates• Month day, year vs. day month yearTime and Seasons• AM/PM vs. 24‐hour clockCurrencies• Dollars vs. othersNumber separators• 1,000.25 (One thousand and one quarter) vs. 1.000,25

(same)Addresses, phone numbers• Styles vary across countriesKeyboards• Keyboards vary across languages


Formatting ConsiderationsText expansion is a key issue for Software UIApplies to content as well


Graphic LocalizationAvoid using text in graphics use legends insteadIf graphic does need to include text then use a separate layerBe Aware of icons and symbols that might not apply in different locales


How to help content creatorsTraining sessions, workshops on localization. Localization 101.• Style training , peer review meetings, process training• Tools to help you with writing – review meetings of outputs

from toolsSend samples to translations, ask LSP for specific feedback on translatability issuesCustomer support calls trackingTalk to your in‐market teams, sales teams etc.Customer SurveysROI – calculate out the impact of extra time and effort, pages, long sentences, too much content


Tangible Translation Costs• Translation is charged by the word/hour• Cost example of reducing the number of words

• 100,000 words at $.20 a word into 10 languages costs $200K• 75,000 words in 10 languages at the same price costs $150K• 25% fewer words, saves $50K

• Reused and Fuzzy words are charged at a lower rate (typically 25%‐66%)

• Translation can be controlled by • Reducing the volume• Reuse as much as possible• Building quality upfront

• Other factors include: • Graphics Editing Needed• Complex formatting or engineering work• Printing and distribution costs (more words = more pages)


Intangible ‐ Costs of poor Quality


Global Search considerations


• Keyword Research is the critical starting point to Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

• Localized keywords require testing for frequency, appropriateness, relevancy and competition

• Requires on‐going maintenance as how and what people search for in markets changes constantly.

• Localizers may not have much knowledge about search so will need as much support from the source material as possible. i.e. they might need variations of keywords and context.

• If the source language keywords aren’t developed managed and USED consistently and in line with a companies business then multilingual SEO efforts are compromised.

• SEO process requires localization not translation• As with technical content it all begins with the quality of the English

keywords and correct localization process of SEO keywords

Search Engine optimization ‐ Keywords


Search Engine Optimization ‐ Content79% of users scan your copy instead of reading every word and they’re reading, at most, 28% of the words*.Make sure your pages are well‐written (check for grammar, spelling, etc.). “ Top recommendation from “http://searchenginewatch.com”It is essential to have consistent content in the source language so that an equivalent global market content aligns to it.Content that is inconsistent can negatively impact search resultsDon’t forget different cultures use and react to pictures, colors, social media etc. differently

*Source: Harald Weinreich, Hartmut Obendorf, Eelco Herder, and Matthias Mayer: "Not Quite the Average: An Empirical Study of Web Use,"


ImproveImprove Global customer satisfaction

EnableEnable self‐help

SaveSave on translation

CommunicateCommunicate more effectively

IncreaseIncrease search rankings

IN SUMMARY


Thank YouThank YouFor more information, please contact:

Connor [email protected]


Optimizing Content for Localization from Acrolinx

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