Found in Translation: The Book

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Found in TranslationOn April 23, many countries celebrated International Book Day. Having a branch in Spain, it is a day we like to celebrate at Jensen Localization, since it is the day Spanish book lovers celebrate the death of their most famous writer, Miguel de Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote.

In our social networks we recommended a book to you related to the translation and interpreting industry, Found in Translation, by Natally Kelly and Jost Zetzsche.

As language and translation freaks, it is a book we of course like and we feel identified with some of the stories it features. But what we like most is that it explains with real and close examples how translation and interpreting are part of our routines and make our lives easier, like technology.

There are many surprising stories in this book. Probably, and due to the fact that in our company we deal with translation and not with interpreting, those that astonished us most were the ones related to interpreting. Examples like the interpreter of the Nuremberg trials, and the own example of Nataly working as a telephone interpreter in emergency calls show us how important it is for interpreters to keep calm at all times and not let emotions interfere in the job. These are just two of the many examples why not using professional interpreters and instead relaying these tasks in friends and relatives who have not enough experience can make you lose a trial or even miss an important business opportunity, as our colleague Eva Mª Díaz Puche explained us in the article Languages in Internationalization – Part 2. Using interpreting services for business meetings.

But there are funny stories too, like interpreters that help multilingual (and multicultural) couples and errors in the release of a product in a foreign market. Or do you think that Ikea was the first one to have sexy product names?

We are not going to spoil the fun for you of finding more examples of how our job is part of your life. Found in Translation pays tribute to the job of translators and interpreters in many different fields: literature, health care, law, natural disasters, software localization, advertising, and also in the way they can benefit from technology, with the more and more famous machine translation services. We think this is a book that will make each and every translator and interpreter proud of having chosen this profession, even if it is not always as appreciated as it should be.

We definitely recommend you, dear reader, to read this book. If you are part of this industry, like us, you will be able to identify with many of the stories gathered by Nataly and Jost. If you have nothing to do with our industry, you will now learn why we love it so much.

From this blog we would like to thank Natally Kelly and Jost Zetzsche for their hard work compiling all these stories, talking to colleagues all over the world. If you would like to learn more about this book, just visit their website, www.xl8book.com.

And just to finish with, a question for the authors. Can we expect a second part of this book? We would love to!

The perfect project. Or maybe not?

In an industry like ours, where our units of measure (and of income) are words, the switch from desktop applications to mobile apps has reduced the word counts considerably. But luckily, there are still big projects that need translation. These are the best projects. Are they?

Last week, a potential client phoned Jensen Localization to ask for the translation of two documents, one of 400 pages and another one of 250 pages. Wow! Even for Jensen this was a nice big job and our BD Manager’s eyes changed to € signs, feeling like Scrooge McDuck for once in her life.

 Scrooge McDuck

(Source: www.fabrica.it)

- So, you will need translation into US English for one of these documents, or maybe the two of them. I need to have a look at the files to make an estimation of our best rates and deadline for this job. In which file format do you have the texts? – She asked, expecting the usual reply (PDF), which, as we all know, is not the best file format for translation.

-Paper- said the potential client.

We hope the client did not notice, but our BD Manager almost fell off her chair. When she was back, she took a deep breath and explained the client the different options he could try to create files ready for quotation and later translation.

If PDF is not the best file format, paper is even worse. Of course, the option of transcribing all the text was totally discarded, as it would lead to high additional costs for transcribing the text (even higher if the text includes tables and graphics that need translation). If you want to transcribe the text yourself, that is of course an option, but if you do not want to go through the hassle of transcribing it, we suggest you to scan the text and then convert it to an editable file format, such as RTF.

There are simple options. If you have an HP MFP, you can scan the text through the HP Solution Center and select the option Text (OCR) to RTF file. This way you do not have to go through the intermediate step of creating a PDF file and then convert it. Even if the text in the hard copy is of good quality, you may still have to do some editing before using the files for translation, as some special characters may appear corrupted, but it should take less to fix them than transcribing such a big document, and allow you to quote the job even if you do not fix those characters. All MFP have a similar tool, so you just have to explore the different scanning options available.

However, if the text has tables, it may be better to work with a PDF and convert the file. We recommend using ABBYYY PDF Transformer. This tool enables you to preserve the format of tables and creates a RTF file that you can use for both quoting and translating.

There are many other tools, but in any case, we advise you to have a digital copy of your hard copy documents, especially if they are so big. You never know when you may need them and also you may want to have a backup copy of that document in another format.

If you know of any other tools or procedures to digitalize hard copy documents, please let us know in the comments section! We would be happy to know new things that can help us and our clients.

And if you have any doubts about file formats that can be used for translation, feel free to contact us!

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When the file to translate is sent “as is”

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Understanding the localization process

Previously we talked about the different concepts within localization and why we actually need it.

We have now released this infographic that will briefly explain the localization process, and make it easier to understand the different stages and also the different roles in the localization process.

For a company that sells globally, at Jensen Localization we believe that it is important to view localization as a part of your product development. The localization of a product or service must not be neglected, because it is one of the most important steps in the internationalization of a company or product, and it is just as important as your marketing strategy. If your company does not have complete knowledge of the target language and culture, etc, you can easily end up with a non-desirable image and in the end lose potential customers.

Now, let us explain the actual process and the different stages in the localization process.

Infographic_Localization ProcessThe first and most important step is to choose a good localization vendor who appreciates the value of close communication. This way you will have much more to say during the process and in the end receive a much better result.

Also make sure that you know exactly what you want so you can explain it to your vendor and avoid any misunderstandings.

Once we have the files for translation, the first step is evaluation, analysis and, if required, correction/adaptation of the original text.

The second step is the preparation of reference material such as glossaries and style guides. This is especially useful for a company that makes several products and that releases frequent updates. The use of glossaries and style guides helps to make your content consistent throughout all the versions of the product.

Then, the translation files are created.

Translation, editing and proofreading (TEP), carried out by a minimum of two different translators, is the next step, followed by DTP/SW or online Help compilation and DTP check/Testing.

During the whole process, feedback from you and queries from the translators may arise, so the files will be fixed until they are final and are ready for printing, online publishing or software compilation.

We hope that this blog post along with the infographic have given you a wider understanding of the localization process and what can be localized.

If you feel there are still issues we have not explained to your satisfaction, please have a look at the articles below, who were published previously, or just contact us to know how Jensen Localization can help you to prepare and translate your software products and documentation.

Also feel free to follow us on our different social media for updates and news about the translation and language industry.

Related articles

Languages in Internationalization – Part 3. Translation and localization for business management

The Localization Project. Part 1: What is Localization (l10n)?

The Localization Project. Part 2: Defining a Localization Project

The Localization Project. Part 3: Creating the Source Files

The Localization Project. Part 4: The Reference Material

The Localization Project. Part 5: The TEP Process

The Localization Project. Part 6: The DTP Process and Final Delivery

Buying medicines in a foreign country

Buying a medicine in a foreign country may be a difficult task, not only because you may need a prescription, but because you do not know how to order that medicine in the foreign country.

For this reason, and also to comply with regulations, current medicines include the country and the brand name under which they are available, which may or may not be the same as the one in your country.

Look at the information leaflet for your medicines. Do they include the different brand names in different countries? In these pictures you can see two examples of Spanish medicines available in several European countries (click on the pictures to enlarge them):

 Flunutrac Bilaxten

If these medicines are available in these countries, you can of course expect that information leaflets, packaging and all product information have been translated to local languages. As we have explained in previous posts, errors in the medical industry can lead to fatal consequences, so the medical and pharmaceutical industries have very specific translation and QA procedures to make sure this does not happen.

If you are travelling abroad and you want to know how to order any specific medicine, you can also check www.drugs.com, where you will find the countries, manufacturers and brand names of more than 24,000 medicines.

Jensen Localization has a long experience in the medical industry, translating medical devices and medical software, among other types of texts within this field. If you would like to learn more about how we can help you with your translation and localization needs, do not hesitate to contact us.

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Why do we need localization?

We have talked in previous posts about what localization is and why it is important to localize your products when entering new markets.

Now, we are publishing this infographic that will act as a compilation of what we think are the most important concepts in localization.

A very common mistake that companies make when they want to go global is that they forget or underestimate the importance of making information available for the target country and in the target language. English may still be the language of B2B communications, but it is neither the language of the Internet nor the language of B2C interactions. See below:

  • 82% of European consumers are less likely to buy online if the site is not in their native tongue (Eurobarometer survey).
  • 72.4% of global consumers are more likely to buy a product if the information is available in their own language (Common Sense Advisory).
  • The English language currently only accounts for 31% of all online use, and more than half of all searches are in languages other than English.
  • Today, 42% of all Internet users are in Asia, while almost one-quarter are in Europe and just over 10% are in Latin America.

Source: How Foreign-Language Internet Strategies Boost Sales

Infographic_LocalizationLocalization goes beyond translation, it takes into account the cultural differences as much as the linguistic differences. This way, when you localize a document, it will be seen as if it was written in the original language instead of just a word by word translation.

When localizing a product it is very important to know the target language, but also the culture so that you do not risk translating something that might have a completely different meaning than it was supposed to have. With good quality localization you remove the risk of misunderstandings.

For a company trying to reach a new market, misunderstandings or even smaller errors can have major consequences because the company will fail to deliver correct information and appear to be very unprofessional. Localization should be considered an investment, as important as any other investments made by a company, such as technology or machinery.

We hope that this will help you gain a wider understanding of the benefits of localization and the consequences of a poor localization or even the absence of it. Click on the picture to enlarge it.

The Internet stats have been taken from

To learn more please feel free to contact us or follow us through the different social media.