1. Try to simplify the total number of fonts used in the document.
2. Ideally select fonts that are available on both Mac and PC.
3. Avoid custom and proprietary fonts that can add extra expense to the project.
4. Remember, character styles used in Western Europe or US English layouts are not always transferable to Asian languages (e.g., bold and italic, upper and lower case).
5. Decorative fonts can be make accents and special foreign language characters difficult to read or illegible.

There are ways to work around these issues, by sending over your fonts or by converting files to a foreign language font that is similar.  We are used to working in these situations but your forethought is greatly appreciated.

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For example, when translating into a romance language such as French or Spanish, text can expand as much as 20%. Other languages such as Dutch and German tend to use longer words than English and can expand as well. This can present formatting and desktop publishing challenges if not planned well. For example, a table in English that fits nicely on one page may spill over to the next page if translated into Korean.  I have provided approximate expansion or contraction rates below when translating from English into the following languages:

Language % Difference

Arabic                                         104

Chinese                                        61

Czech                                         117

Dutch                                         128

Finnish                                       103

French                                        111

German                                       108

Hindi                                            83

Hungarian                                   113

Italian                                         109

Japanese                                    115

Korean                                        123

Portuguese                                 110

Russian                                       115

Spanish                                       117

Swedish                                        95

Keep this in mind when formatting your English – don’t squeeze all of your text into a cramped space with tiny font as this will cause issues for your translation projects.

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1.  Don’t use synonyms – For example: log in vs. log on – stick with one and use it

2.  Don’t change your formatting – For example: Click the next button vs. Click the NEXT button. 

3.  Create segments that can be used in several contexts.  Insert CD vs. Insert Disc

4.  Make generalizations – the three steps are vs the steps are

By keeping these technical writing tips in mind you will not only save money but create consistency and standards for your content.

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1.  Keep your target market in mind.  Creating copy for global audiences should not include acronyms, puns, plays on words and national contexts as these will lose impact when they are translated into a foreign language.

2.  Proofread your English source documentation.  This will help the foreign language translator understand your text and prevent delays and confusion.  In addition, be sure to have your translations proofread.  An omitted word, a spelling error, and incorrect punctuation can harm your organization’s reputation in your new market.  First impressions are everything.

3. Translating from English into a foreign language typically means an expansion of text.  Translations typically require more words to communicate the same thing in English.  This concept is called the expansion factor – a 250 English word document could expand to as much as 400 words after translation.  This is important for two reasons.  One – be sure your formatting and layout allows for text expansion – so leave plenty of white space.  Additionally, check with your translation or language service provider charges by source or target word as that will effect your costs. 

Taking the time to translate your documents with these tips in mind can help your organization take their products/services global. 

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A match refers to segments of text that are the same or similar to previously translated and identified segments of text.  In translation, the segment pairs (source and target languages) are stored and saved in a TM database.  Why is this important?  You can leverage your matches across your documentation whether it is by product year, model or brand. 

• Exact matches are 100% the same – meaning the text segment is exactly the same word for word.  This is also known as repetitions.
• Fuzzy matches are exactly that – a match but only a certain percentage of the words are the same.  This can vary by translation service provider from 70%-99% of a the text must be similar.  
• New – are segments that must be translated from scratch.

The less translation you need the lower the cost and time requirements for you and your organization.  Be sure to think about reusing your text segments so that you can capitalize on cost cutting and saving when you go to translation.   

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Issues to consider:

1.  Design: 

• Book form, fan-fold or an innovative sheet fold form. 
• Use of photography and line art instead of text – usually takes up less space and is much more appealing
• Logical and structured format of ideas
• Avoid jargon and overly technical language

2.  Safety aspects and compliance with overseas directives:

• Requirements around the world vary greatly, be sure that your product/documentation is in compliance
• Standards – complies with all laws and safety regulations
• Documentation should be available during the entire life-cycle of the product
• Hazard Analysis – using a hazard and risk analysis to ensure the product does not provide danger to the user
• Target Market Conformity – many countries including the EU require declarations on the technical documentation

3.  Localization:

• Simply translating the documentation is not sufficient as the same words in the same language in different countries can have different meanings
• Source language should be perfect with no errors or mis-spelling
• Use professional translators with technical translation experience and are subject matter expertise
• Use short words/sentences with easy words and expressions, no idiomatic phrases or puns
• Utilize photos with text to help provide context
• Test the documentation with a sample in market audience before full distribution

Last but not least, be sure to utilize consumer feedback on all your documentation.  Even a team of seven reviewers can catch up to 90% misunderstandings in text, process or steps. 

The work you do before you distribute can help prevent miscommunication, liability issues and a bad impression when taking your products global. 

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What exactly is DITA?

An information model/content management system that is used for content-rich and multi-channel environments.  According to Wikipedia, DITA is an XML based architecture introduced by IBM in 2001, to automate creation, authoring, producing and delivering technical information. This DTD system divides content into small, self contained topics that can be re-used in different deliverables and reduces information redundancy.

Three Basic Topic Types:

1.  Task – works for procedures and lists of steps to accomplish a task or outcome. 

2.  Concept – contains definitions, rules and guidelines

3.  Reference – describes command syntax, programming instructions, and other reference material.

Features:

• Modular content vs. long book oriented files
• Topics can be reused in various deliverables
• Allows for conditional text, index markers and topic to topic links based on audience, platform, model, and product
• Structure is similar to HTML which can be used directly in DITA Topics
• Topics are easier to find using an extensive metadata
• End to end architecture using specifications of elements, attributes and rules.

DITA can be used in Windows, Linux/UNIX and Mac OS operating systems. 

Output formats:

1. PDF
2. XHTML
3. HTML Help
4. Eclipse help
5. Java
6. Rich Text Format

The DITA Open Toolkit is an active open-source free DTD that has been contributed to from several companies. 

Translation and localization companies like Iterotext Translation Services can use your DTD files and your XML files to provide multi-lingual documentation.

If you are looking for more information please visit the Toolkit User Guide or the DITA Blog.

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IteroText has lots of experience placing translated text into the original source layout, however, there are many things to think about.

1.  Foreign language translations expand when coming from English – typically 20% or more.  This means the English text fit perfectly, but now how do you fit 20% more text in that same layout?  Often times we can reset the document entirely or shrink the point size and the leading.  However, by shrinking translated text, the finished product looks crammed and your message may get lost in the crowd.

2.  Leave plenty of white space when you know your documents will be translated.  This way there will be room for the expanded translated text.  Narrow columns may not work with languages such as German as their words are much longer and hyphenation could be in appropriate.  How we hyphenate in English can be very different in other languages, as the rules vary.

By thinking ahead you can save yourself the pain of an awkward layout and crammed text. 

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I am assuming of course that you are going to be working with a professional and reputable translation agency or translator and that they have the foreign language skills, subject matter expertise and is completely capable to provide a professional translation.  These folks usually expect a few tweaks to their document and will include that in their pricing.  However, if there is a complete rewrite – they will charge significantly more.

The purpose of an in-country review is to verify your industry terminology and ensure that your company’s style is utilized and is consistent with your brand and messaging.  Some in-country reviewers think that when they are asked to look at a document that they must mark it up all over the place to show they did their job.  When in actuality these changes are merely language preferences.  You may want to discuss your expectations and timeline before handing over the document for review…discouraging excessive word choice and stylistic changes and stressing your due date. 

Keep in mind that you do not allow your local salespeople to review and completely rewrite your English documents.

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