Question 1

What is translation

Accepted Answer

Translation is the process of converting written text or spoken words to another language. It requires that the full meaning of the source material be accurately rendered into the target language, with special attention paid to cultural nuance and style. The difference between translation and localization can be defined as follows:

"Translation is only one of the activities in localization; in addition to translation, a localization project includes many other tasks such as project management, software engineering, testing, and desktop publishing."
In localization, there is stronger emphasis placed on translation tools and technology compared to the traditional translation industry.

Question 2

What is Localization

Accepted Answer

Localization is the translation and adaptation of a software or web product, which includes the software or web products, which includes the software application itself and all related product documentation.

The Localization Industry Standards Association (LISA) defines localization as follows:
"Localization involves taking a product and making it linguistically and culturally appropriate to the target locates (country/region and language) where it will be used and sold."

The localization project may be on different language. For example:

Afrikaans localization
Albanian localization
Arabic localization
Armenian localization
Assamese localization
Azeri localization
Basque localization
Belorussian localization
Bengali localization
Bulgarian localization
Catalan localization
Chinese localization
Czech localization
Danish localization
Dutch localization
English localization
Estonian localization
Farsi localization
Finnish localization
French localization
Georgian localization
German localization
Greek localization
Gujarati localization
Hebrew localization
Hindi localization
Hungarian localization
Icelandic localization
Indonesian localization
Italian localization
Japanese localization
Kannada localization
Kashmiri (Indien) localization
Kazak localization
Konkani localization
Korean localization
Latvian localization
Lithuanian localization
Macedonian localization
Malay localization
Malayalam localization
Manipuri localization
Marathi localization
Nepalese (Indien) localization
Norwegian localization
Oriya localization
Polish localization
Portuguese localization
Punjabi localization
Romanian localization
Russian localization
Sanskrit localization
Serbo-Croatian localization
Sindhi localization
Slovak localization
Slovenian localization
Spanish localization
Swahili localization
Swedish localization
Tamil localization
Tatar localization
Telugu localization
Thai localization
Turkish localization
Ukrainian localization
Urdu localization
Uzbek localization
Vietnamese localization

Question 3

How does localization differ from straight translation

Accepted Answer

In scope it is certainly true that localization involves translation (e.g. of manuals and other documentations, screens, help texts, and error messages). Equally, product names may have to be changed to avoid unfortunate associations in the target language. However, the process also requires other non-linguistic skills.

On the software programming side, screen dialog boxes and field lengths may have to be altered, date, time and currency formats changed, delimiters for figures replaced, and icons and colors adapted, to give only a few examples.

On the content side, programs often have to be changed to conform to national and cultural norms. In multimedia applications the color, size, and shape of objects such as coins and notes, taxis, telephones and mailboxes, and buses and ambulances, traditionally vary from country to country. Vehicles may suddenly have to drive on the other side of the road, while dress codes will vary, and symbols take on a new significance. Similarly, mainstream business applications such as address databases and financial accounting packages have to be adapted to the procedures and conventions applicable in their new environments.

The difference in general is:

Traditional translation is typically an activity performed after the source document has been finalized. Localization projects, on the other hand, often run in parallel with the development of the source product to enable simultaneous shipment of all language versions. For example, the translation of software strings may often start while the software product is still in beta phase.
Translation is only one of the activities in localization; in addition to translation, a localization project includes many other tasks such as project management, software engineering, testing and desktop publishing.

Question 4

What is document translation

Accepted Answer

Most of the localization projects contain some user documentation. Here are some examples of documents often included with software applications:

Installation Guide
Getting started guide
Online manuals
Collateral material

Most of the instructional text will be included in the online documentation. It is now quite common to have reference or administrative guides that are published on online format. the only printed books generally provided with the software are the Installation or the Getting Started guides. Software products also contain collateral material that is translated. Standard items include quick reference cards, marketing pieces, disk labels, and the product box.

Question 5

What is software translation

Accepted Answer

In general, software translation refers to the translation of all graphical user interface (GUI) components of a software application, such as dialog boxes, menus, and error or status messages displayed on screen.
Most localization projects starts with the software translation. Translation of online help and documentation should not begin until the software is fully translated and reviewed, because online help and documentation typically contain many references to the software user interface.
In the software application, the following UI components would normally be translated:

Dialog boxes
Menus
Strings

Question 6

What is software localization (l10n)

Accepted Answer

Software localization (l10n) is a process for adapting a software product to the linguistic, cultural and technical needs of the target market. This process is labor-intensive and often requires significant efforts from development teams.

During localization, some references to history or culture are replaced with an equivalent native reference, which ideally does not change the meaning of the statement. There are tools that can simplify the localization process.

Traducere și localizare

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translation and localization

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