Desktop Publishing Points to Ease Translation Issues

Our foreign language translation firm works on several different computer platforms and in all sorts of software programs when working with clients around the world.

We continue to encounter several issues that can cause higher rates for our clients due to additional time to “fix” files before they can go through translation.  Only a few quick changes can make the translation and formatting process go smoother, quicker and cheaper for you.

5 formatting suggestions to help your projects move faster:

• Use tabs, not the space bar, to align type.
• Word-processing programs may not print on an image setter with the same line and page breaks as on your office printer. The best solution is to save the document as a .pdf file. as well as providing the original document

• Delete extra blank pages and any clutter, such as unused type, boxes, and art, that remains on the pasteboard.

• Provide a proof usually a pdf of the most current version of your document.
• Place copies of your document, fonts, art, and photos in the same folder so that files link properly.

We hope this helps your translation project run smoother!

List of new Simplified Chinese Characters to be announced

According to Window of China in a recent article - the People’s Republic of China will be issuing a modified list of simplified Chinese characters.  This is in hopes of standardizing a language written by billions internationally.

China first introduced the simplified character in 1956.  The process included decreasing the number of strokes for each character to make it easier to learn.  In 1986 the official count of simplified characters was 2,235. 

Many people have felt that the symbols have been oversimplified, which have made the characters more difficult to understand.  This new release is intended to help solve this confusion. 

Don’t expect the new characters to be fully restored to traditional Chinese as that would require an entirely new education for the Chinese people.  Although many Chinese people see the traditional Chinese characters as a way to preserve their culture.

What do you think?   

Resetting your translation can be embarrassing

Just ask Hillary Clinton how embarrassing it can be. She recently presented a gift to the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and got the translation of the word “reset” all wrong. 

The translation Clinton’s team chose was “peregruzka” which actually means overloaded or overcharged rather than reset.  Oops.  When trying to impress or create a better relationship, it is better to get the translation just right otherwise the well intended gift could be an insult.

The same principle can be applied to translating your business documents.  Don’t take a chance with a translation in Bablefish or on freetranslations.com.  It could be a gaffe that you could cost you dearly. And there may not be a reset button you could push. 

Arabic Translation and Localization Tips

The Middle East is a unique situation for those who seek to do business in the region.  The geographic area is even difficult to define.  It has been known as the Near East (pre WWII), Southwest Asia, Western Asia (what people in India refer to the region).  The term Middle East is a very Eurocentric and American term. 

The multiple languages and cultures are just as varied and can be confusing.  In the largest definition, the Middle East includes a majority of Arab populations, non-Arab Muslims; Persians, Turks, Kurds, and also Jews and Christians.

Arabic is by far the main language of the region.  Yet many Middle Eastern markets include translation into Turkish, Hebrew, Pashto or Urdu.  All of these languages with the exception of Turkish are right to left languages and present all the challenges and attention to detail of bi-directionality languages.  This bi-directionality can cause issues with translation software and in the desktop publishing (DTP) software.  In addition, many technical terms do not have a modern Arabic equivalent.  Only an experienced subject matter expert whose native language is Arabic should work on these types of projects so that your products and services are truly understood in the Middle East markets.

Simply understanding the nuances of the Arabic language and the translation challenges can help you and your organization be better prepared for the localization and internationalization process.  Experienced Arabic translators understand these pitfalls and will have created software work arounds to meet the challenges of your translation and localization projects into the right to left and bidirectional languages. 

The Middle East certainly presents many benefits for businesses going global - looking east is the easy part, translating your documents can be easy too if you have the right Arabic translation partnership.

New Foreign Language Translation Agency Website

The team at IteroText Translation Services is excited to share our new website with you.  Please take some time to look around at www.iterotext.com and see what we have been up to.  We hope you will find the site easy to navigate with interesting and helpful content. 

Your opinion is important to us, we would love to know your thoughts.  Please send us a comment (above post) and we will see what we can do to make things easier for you. 

In addition, we are going to be creating a monthly newsletter with a combination of blog articles and new information.  If you are interested in signing up, please do so on the site. 

We look forward to sharing and learning in 2009 with you and often times from you! 

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