Who the F..k is Jim?

LocalizationGoogle Proprietary

Aeh RatanavibhasGoogle Language Manager - Thai

Who the F..k is Jim?Recreating Google-Speak Across the globe

Localization

Localization Google Proprietary

Google’s Mission Statement


Our Credo!


The Google Style


“Honesty is mostly what I need from You-hu…” Billy Joel


Don’t over-do it...


How do we do it?


■ Writing guides for source content■ Stakeholder brainstorming■ Translation & Review Style Guides■ Style & Tone trainings

How do we do it?


Local Challenges (Formerly known as issues (formerly-formerly knows as problems))


Real examples from us...

Localization Google Confidential & Proprietary


It’s from Star Trek!


Poland:

Ciemność, widzę ciemność!

(Darkness, I can see darkness!)

A quote from a popular Polish SF comedy "Seksmisja" about 2 men who go into hibernation and wake up in a post-war, all-female world.

Israel:

זה סופו של כל חלון

(That's the end of every window)

Paraphrase on a recurring line in a famous kids book "A tale of 5 balloons".

The Hebrew word for Window "חלון" (Khalon) is almost identical to the Hebrew

word for Balloon (Balon)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexmission


Japan:

強制終了しました

(The system has been forced to shut down.)

“Inappropriate to be cute when inconveniencing users. The message has been converted to a straightforward notification message.”

Korea:

종료되었군요!

(It has crashed.)

“The Korean translator chose to use a direct and clear message because Korean users are not familiar with "He's dead, Jim" quote”


Spain and South-America: ¡Houston, tenemos un problema! (Houston, we have a problem!)

ItalySei stata terminata! (You've been terminated!)“A quote from Terminator movie”


Thailand:

เขาตายแลว, จิม!

India (Hindi):

यह मर चुका है, िजम!

(He is dead, Jim!)

“Literal translation though Joke is not well known”


We have come far from “He’s dead, Jim” days!User query in English: Do you like your family?

Assistant answers in English: “Families are like fudge—mostly sweet with a few nuts.” —Les Dawson

Assistant answers in German:"Das Schönste hier auf Erden ist lieben und geliebt zu werden.“– Wilhelm Busch

[The most beautiful thing on earth is to love and to be loved]


True localization is the keyTop quality hospitality. Don’t hold back acknowledging and apologizing if the customer’s inconvenienced.

In Germany, professional company needs to be serious. We sometimes cannot be as playful or fluffy as source.

Most product names translated - unlocalized names don’t make sense.

For consumer products, we make the product talk to the user like a human, lively. Simple, direct. People prefer images and videos than texts.

We have seen more and more transliteration in Thai language. Google always follow the phonetic rules from the Office of Royal Society even if popular transliteration is different

There are 22 official languages in India. Maintaining the consistency

for Product Names across Indic language is challenging. Sometime end-up leaving them in English for

Branding purpose

Who the F..k is Jim?

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