Heather M. Chandler, executive producer at Media Sunshine, Inc., and author of The Game Localization Handbook recently shared some advice about becoming a video game translator:

“If you're interested in a career as a games translator, you need to first figure out the languages in which you will specialize. You will want to get at least a BA in the language you are learning, and the university will probably have courses that deal specifically with translating entertainment…Some universities are offering programs that specialize in games translation…

Additionally, it's useful to be familiar with the customs and culture of the countries that speak the language into which you are translating. This way you can identify any areas in the game that may be culturally insensitive or may not translate well (for example, humor does not translate well sometimes).”

(Extract from “Ask the Experts: Translating Video Games,” Gamasutra, July 28 2008)

Ms. Chandler’s explanations hold true for all types of localization: translation is just part of the game. Cultural aspects must also be taken into consideration in all localization projects.

Interested in knowing more about the difference between localization and language translation? Don’t hesitate to contact Language Translation, Inc. for more information. Located in San Diego, California, we have been providing language services to clients in the USA and abroad since 1989.

Betty Carlson

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“The explosion of Web 2.0 has impacted the way people gather information and communicate. Large audiences around the world, as well as those with very specific interests, have equal access to information through social networks, virtual worlds and video sharing sites.

While some may find Web 2.0 fragmented, confusing and uncontrollable, the social nature of blogs and community websites offers the opportunity to communicate beyond one's target audience at a fraction of the time or cost of traditional techniques. Geographic and socioeconomic borders have little meaning online, allowing information to be targeted to an array of groups that may be interested in your company.

For small-business owners, this represents a potentially exciting opportunity to generate attention--and business--from customers who never would have had the chance to learn about your products or services.”

(Extract from “Reaching Beyond Borders” by Rachel Meranus, Entrepreneur.com, July 23 2008)

Website localization can allow your company to break across borders and reach out to new potential consumers. At Language Translation, Inc., we use a ten-step localization process to ensure accuracy and client satisfaction when converting websites for foreign targets. Our company offers language translation, interpreting and localization services in over 40 languages. Don’t hesitate to contact us for a free quote.

Betty Carlson

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Looking overseas for business can be a successful strategy for companies facing economic trouble on the home front. Indeed, we can see many examples of corporations which are coming out ahead internationally while lagging domestically.

In a recent post on the Global Watchtower blog, globalization expert Donald A. DePalma gives six examples of American companies whose revenue is growing significantly faster overseas than at home: Caterpillar, GM, PepsiCo, McDonald’s, Dupont and IBM.

In the case of GM, international growth is the only bright star on an otherwise bleak horizon. “GM boasts 10 percent sales gains internationally, including 20 percent in the BRIC countries: Brazil, Russian, India, and China,” writes DePalma. “However, those results couldn’t offset a 20 percent decline in North American car, truck, and SUV sales, so the company’s global numbers slumped five percent for the quarter.”

The other companies were experiencing slight gains at home but marked progress overseas. The article concludes that reaching out for international business is one of the best ways to meet current economic challenges.

Website localization is the key to communicating across borders in your potential customers’ native language. At Language Translation, Inc., specialized project managers oversee our ten-step localization process to ensure accuracy and client satisfaction. Our company offers language translation, interpreting and localization services in over 40 languages. Feel free to contact us for a free quote.

Betty Carlson

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A recent New York Times article points out how familiar Western magazine titles such as Vogue, Rolling Stone, Cosmopolitan, and Good Housekeeping are selling well to India’s press-hungry middle and upper classes. But although the magazines are published in English, the content is clearly Indian.

“Most of the new Western magazines being published in India are not really Western at all — they are written, photographed, edited and designed almost completely in India,” writes Heather Timmons in In India, Magazines That Translate Well. “Instead of Heloise’s syndicated household hints column, for example, Good Housekeeping runs ‘Ask Mrs. Singh.’ This month, Mrs. Singh tackles how to keep your home fresh during the monsoons that sweep through India during the summer (rubber mats and fresh flowers help).”

This is an excellent example of how localization, or adapting products or written material to a particular culture, can be necessary even within the same language. If Western magazines are hits in India, it’s thanks to their localized content, which has been carefully suited to the target culture.

At Language Translation Inc., our ten-step localization process guarantees flawless international communication. Don’t hesitate to contact us for a free quote. We can also help you with all of your language translation needs, from document translation to telephonic interpreting.

Betty Carlson

Subscribe to Language Lines, our monthly newsletter, for current information about language and technology in the global marketplace.

“The world is in the middle of an unprecedented explosion in the middle class, but the pace is set to pick up significantly further. By 2030, an astonishing two billion new people could join the global middle class, having a significant influence on spending patterns, resource use, and environmental and political pressures. This, in fact, dwarfs even the 19th-century middle class explosion in its global scale.

These are the findings of a research report by Jim O'Neill, global chief economist at Goldman Sachs. According to him, global income distribution is getting narrower, not wider. So while there is a lot of focus on widening inequality and the embattled middle class in developed countries, globally the opposite is true.

Defining the middle class as those with incomes between $6,000 and $30,000 in PPP terms, the report says the story of the Expanding Middle can be seen in two related ways. The first is the ‘shift in spending power towards middle-income economies’ (and away from the richest countries), to a point where they may dominate global spending for the first time in decades, as the largest population countries enter the middle-income group…”

(Extract from 2 billion new people may join global middle class by 2030, July 9 2008 ECONOMICTIMES.COM)

Website localization is the key to communicating across borders to new potential customers worldwide. At Language Translation Inc., specialized project managers oversee our ten-step localization process to ensure accuracy and client satisfaction. Our company offers language translation, interpreting and localization services in over 40 languages, including 10 Asian languages.

Betty Carlson

Subscribe to Language Lines, our monthly newsletter, to keep up with the latest developments in language, technology and the global economy.