16 Sep Software localization: an ideal service for any market
What is software localization and why might it be right for you?
In previous articles, we already discussed what we mean when we refer to the term localization. Refreshing your memory a bit, we could say that localization consists of the process of adapting a product (in this specific case software), for a different target market than the original one.
So it’s user friendly: localization means approaching a local reality that is different from the one in which you started. It may sound simple in theory, but when you considering the entire underlying process, that’s not exactly the case. Indeed, localization involves a whole series of elements and consequent steps which must be entrusted to the hands (and minds) of professionals. Indeed, only in doing so is it possible to achieve the desired result: to make all users, wherever they are in the world, perceive the product or service as tailor-made for them. This identification will inevitably result in success and credibility for the company, all on an international and/or global scale.
Software localization as a mosaic of details
If we were to imagine software localization as a kind of mosaic, meaning complex to put together but with a jaw-dropping final effect, translation would most likely stand out as the brilliant centrepiece. In fact, it’s important to remember that translation does not coincide with localization, but rather represents a part of this extended and articulated activity.
In any case, it would be a rather risky and reckless move to consider entering a foreign market without considering the target culture: and what, if not language, stands as a banner of identity, a key to opening doors to lands and peoples?
Therefore, when deciding to go down the road of software localization, it is essential to recognise the crucial part played by translation. Yet the other “peripheral” pieces also call for attention, which are simultaneously minor and equally important. As accustomed and distracted consumers, we can afford to take these factors for granted.
However, those behind the scenes at this stage are not granted the same “luxury”. Indeed, the same software cannot be used wherever you are in the world merely by pure chance, and more importantly, this must occur as a smooth, harmonious, and seamless experience. This can only occur thanks to the skills of experts responsible for adapting the software to precisely those “minor” pieces we mentioned.
Which perhaps are not actually minor, since we are talking about elements such as:
- different date and time formats;
- alphabets in non-Latin characters, perhaps written from right to left or from top to bottom;
- unit of measurement;
- different currency exchanges and payment methods;
- copyright and local regulations;
- graphics and content to be specially designed so that they can be practical and generate a good response in each country.
Had you never thought about it? Lying behind a usable and functional user interface (UI) anywhere and in any language is the painstaking attention to all these details. For that matter, the same scenario applies to website localization: an equally useful tool for an internationalization strategy.
The step relating to the preparation of software that can meet all the mentioned requirements and thus adapt to a foreign market and audience is internationalization. In essence, this activity precedes and makes localization possible, which on the other hand, is the actual adaptation of the software and all its documentation into the foreign language.
This is when the skilled and chameleon-like translators enter the picture. As always, they have the daunting task of creating finished work that gives the impression not of having been translated, but of having been conceived precisely in the language in question. For this to happen, the translators must not only have a strong, rich background themselves, but also a clear and well-structured approach to their work so as to provide the right context to the translation of the various strings, making them consistent and appropriate.
So it is not difficult to understand how fundamental it is to have synergy between the client and the translation team. This is why, at least on an ideal level, design and development should go hand in hand with software localization and not precede it: such a modus operandi ensures even more immediate and effective collaboration and, by extension, even greater speed.
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Last comes the final stage, a “quality” check conducted on the three salient fronts: linguistic, functional, and GUI. Having ascertained that everything has been done perfectly, the job, or rather the localized software, is done.
Conclusions
Software localization allows your product to cross not only geographic, but also and especially linguistic and cultural barriers.
The momentum towards international markets presupposes a key factor, namely a deep awareness of all the differences, even the most subtle, that exist between different cultures: a wealth of nuances to be respected and celebrated in the global landscape.
In fact, this may be the famous key to success: knowing how to put yourself in the “shoes of others” and go from there.
We at Creative Words are here to offer up a trained, multifaceted team that can help you to achieve all your ambitions projected towards distant worlds.
Get in touch with any further questions or for more information!
Lara Panicucci (Marketing team Intern at Creative Words)
Translator (and, ideally, bookseller) wannabe, she dreams a life between pages and words. Some would say, and probably already did, that she is like as an “autumn evening” (“Doctor Zhivago”). Note that she is also a world champion of dunking biscuits into hot tea.
