Irritating Expansion, or “How do we fit 20% more text in the space allowed” – InDesign Blues
The fascinating thing about language is that it tends to grow.
The positive part about that is that it adapts with the people who use it, so it never “goes out of style” – unless of course, all the people who speak it give it up for something less complicated, as happened with Latin.
But from a layouter’s perspective, growth, or better language expansion can be pretty frustrating.
Of course, what we mean by expansion is how much a text “grows” when translated from one language to another.
Take a translation of in InDesign project we recently did from German into FEPS (French, English, Portuguese and Spanish).
The text we had in German fit perfectly in the layout the global automotive client provided; after all, they have professional layouters creating their InDesign files, and their language being German, it obviously looked great.
But when you translate into French, for example, you end up with about 20% more text – that means every sentence is about 20% longer than it was in the original.
Problem is, the space allowed for the text doesn’t change, so we have to figure out how to get those 20% to still fit.
If there’s extra space allowed on the page (hint to any clients reading this!) we can compensate by simply filling up the empty space. If there isn’t, we have to start fiddling with font sizes, space between characters and lines and get pretty creative.
The fun really starts when even the font size and the spacing are only allowed to change minimally.
And then consider that Portuguese still expands 10% more than French, a total of 30% longer than the original German.
That was a headache!
But at the end of the day, what counts is that we managed, with some cooperation on the part of the client, and delivered what the client needed: a multilingual version of their user guide in print-ready InDesign format.
And besides, another challenge we tackled – if not for the first or last time – is always good for our personal sense of satisfaction.
BRIC regions – how to overcome language issues
As automotive sales in the BRIC regions are set to rise significantly over the next 10 years, international OEMs and automotive suppliers are preparing to take advantage.
We take a look at what potential language issues companies may face when entering these markets.
What languages are spoken?
Firstly, it is important to understand the local languages and dialects that are spoken in these countries to consider whether your company may encounter any language barriers.
Brazil – Brazilian Portuguese (there is a difference between European Portuguese so be sure to bear this in mind)
Russia – Russian is the official language of Russia, however 27 different languages are considered official languages in various regions of Russia, along with Russian.
India – Hindi is the official language although English is the secondary official language. Other popular languages include Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Punjabi, Gujarati, Kannada and Malayalam.
China – The main two languages in China are Cantonese and Mandarin. But your translation company will often ask you whether you need Simplified or Traditional Chinese, so it will be useful to take note of which is which. Cantonese is Traditional Chinese and Mandarin is Simplified Chinese. Mandarin is the official language of the Republic of China. Cantonese is mainly spoken in Hong Kong, Macau and the Guangdong province in China.
What are the factors to consider when translating for these markets?
Although many international OEMs and automotive suppliers regularly produce documentation that is translated, they are often unaware of the ways in which the languages of the BRIC regions can pose translation issues.
We have compiled a short list of the most common problem areas:
Font compatibility issues
Creating print-ready pdf files
Layout/Formatting/DTP issues
Authoring with internationalisation in mind
Translation vs localisation
Managing quality via in-country partners
Incorrect use of technical terminology
Incorrect understanding/use of abbreviations
Translation memory issues
Time differences creating product delays
Case studies
We take a look at a recent case study addressing one of the above issues. Other case studies will be provided over future editions of the newsletter.
Case Study
Managing quality via in-country partners
Our client approached us looking for a long-term partner to provide a Simplified Chinese language solution. Having a presence in China through several distribution channels, they had traditionally let their Chinese partners assume responsibility for the translation of their technical and marketing documentation into Simplified Chinese.
However, they had concerns that they were not able to control the quality of the documentation that was being provided to their Chinese clients.
They still wanted to keep their Chinese distribution partners involved in the translation process in some way, as they felt they offered a valuable insight into the Chinese market and how to effectively market and sell products in China.
Solution
Being highly experienced in working with this channel of information exchange, EVS Translations was able to provide its client with an ideal solution.
Firstly, we needed to assess the quality and usability of their existing Simplified Chinese technical documentation and marketing materials.
Utilising our large team of in-house translators and our in-house localisation engineers, we aligned their English and Simplified Chinese documentation to establish a translation memory. This memory was fully analysed and cleaned with the input of the client and their distribution partners so that it contained only accurate and acceptable client-specific terminology which is to be used for all future translations.
We then got together on dissecting their documentation for client-specific and industry-specific technical terms and abbreviations. The English terms and abbreviations were then submitted to all of their Chinese distribution partners to compile a list of equivalent Chinese terms and abbreviations. This can be very challenging because some of the terms simply do not exist in Chinese, so suitable alternatives had to be carefully considered.
Interestingly, even though these partners all work in the same industry for the same client, their suggestions were not identical – even for those terms and abbreviations that do exist.
Alongside the suggestions of the partner, EVS Translations submitted its list of equivalent terms and abbreviations as well.
Now, all parties (EVS Translations, its client and its distribution partners) communicated together to create a final master glossary list.
Once the glossary and TM had been established, our client had a secure way of monitoring and improving its quality and consistency for all of its Simplified Chinese documentation. The glossary and TM are constantly updated after every translation using the same communication exchange channels to ensure that they are always accurately maintained and up-to-date.
Future
The client has now partnered with us to provide a translation solution in over 10 languages.
For more information on how EVS Translations could help you, please contact us:
E-mail - uk(at)evs-translations.com
Phone - +44 1159 644283
EU membership and the Croatian automotive industry
At the European Summit in December, the European Union and Croatian leaders signed Croatia's EU Accession Treaty. Following the recent Croatian referendum on EU membership, it seems the large majority of Croatian people want to join the European Union and accession is now foreseen for 1 July 2013.
The set of official EU languages is now bound to grow.
In order to reduce translation and interpreting costs, some European diplomats unofficially proposed that a single language, a hybrid of Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian and Montenegrin be admitted. Such a language would not be changed when other Western Balkan states eventually acceded to the EU. Such suggestions, however, have been deemed incompatible European Union legislation.
The EU's acceptance of Croatian as an official language will result in a considerable increase in the demand for Croatian translations and for some industries, the result will be that all documentation accompanying products sold to Croatia will have to be translated into Croatian.
How will EU membership affect the Croatian automotive industry?
The automotive sector in Croatia can be attractive for foreign investors.
The main strengths of the Croatian market:
- Cost competitiveness
- Geographical proximity to markets
- Strong historical legacy
- Skilled workforce
Croatian Automotive Cluster
- Founded: December 2006
- 50 member companies
- Total employment: 6,000+ employees
- Total turnover 2010: EUR 420 million
- Exports - 90% to Western European countries/regions
- Cluster members: production companies, engineering companies, R&D institutions
- Export markets: Germany, Austria, Italy, France, etc.
- Major clients: BMW, Bentley, Ferrari, Ford, Mercedes, Opel, Renault, Peugeot, Scania and Volkswagen Group.
Some of the cluster's clients are the most prominent companies in the global automotive market.
As of 1 July 2013, all companies from the automotive industry marketing their products in Croatia will be obliged to provide a Croatian translation of any product documentation.
This will impact the global content strategies of companies wishing to take advantage of Croatia’s EU membership status.
For further information on how EVS Translations could be your ideal Croatian language partner, please feel free to contact us.
E-mail - uk(at)evs-translations.com
Phone - +44 1159 644283
Website - www.evs-translations.com
Multilingual websites
Analysis
We conducted a study of the UK exhibitors at 4 major European automotive exhibitions to analyse how many companies currently have their website in the local language of the country that they are exhibiting in.
Results
We analysed a total of 82 UK companies’ websites and here are the results:
Exhibition one – location: Germany
23% of the UK exhibitors have their website in German.
Exhibition two – location: France
39% of the UK exhibitors have their website in French.
Exhibition three – location: Italy
20% of the UK exhibitors have their website in Italian.
Exhibition four – location: Russia
17% of the UK exhibitors have their website in Russian.
What are the benefits of multilingual websites?
The main purpose of multilingual websites is to improve communication with a global audience by giving them access to the same information as your English speaking audiences.
Given the huge growth expected over the next 10 years in non-English speaking countries such as Brazil, Russia and China, as well as strong alliances forming between Western and Asian companies, providing information in multiple languages is becoming an essential component of the modern day automotive supplier.
What should I consider?
Often companies do not achieve their desired results even though they have their websites in multiple languages. In theory, website translation should be relatively straightforward. Companies already have the English text, now all they need to do is have it translated and watch the clients roll in. But unfortunately, it is not that simple.
Careful consideration needs to be made to the following:
Although you have your website in multiple languages, how will local users find you?
Companies spend thousands of pounds every year on making sure their English website content is properly optimised for search engines, pay-per-click campaigns and internet marketing. They constantly monitor and analyse the content to make sure they are keeping up with local market trends and search patterns. This same attention to detail should be made for all of the languages on your website.
How can EVS Translations assist?
Having teams of SEO copywriters for each language means that we can offer clients a full multilingual website localisation and SEO service.
For some of the major automotive OEMs and sub-suppliers, we have conducted:
Localising website content
Keyword research
Multilingual PPC campaigns
Link building
Online PR and Social Media management
Copywritten email marketing campaigns
For more information please contact us:
E-mail - uk(at)evs-translations.com
Phone - +44 1159 644283
Dow Jones – the most important language is English
Worldwide the most important language for translations is English. In most countries, such as France and Germany, the volume of work into and out of English makes up more than 80% of the translations carried out.
USA is the most important translation market worldwide
One important corollary is that in monetary terms, 50% of translation orders come from the USA and Great Britain. To a certain extent this is clear. For larger established international corporations, the market is the world and content has to be prepared accordingly.
Many languages
An examination of how many languages are used on the websites of the Dow Jones 30 companies is revealing, spanning the range from only English to 35 different languages. The languages found on these websites is also interesting - of course English is present in all cases, followed by Spanish, German and Chinese. Altogether, 40 different languages can be found on the websites of the Dow Jones 30 companies.
For more information on the importance of English in the financial community, just click on the online version of the DIRK presentation: English as financial language
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DAX 30: Annual reports in English – vocabulary and figures
A short analysis of the vocabulary and format used in the annual reports of the DAX 30 companies reveals considerable differences and some simple mistakes in terms of wording.
Vorstand, Aufsichtsrat in the DAX 30 companies
There is 100% agreement on how “Aufsichtsrat” should be translated into English: Supervisory Board is chosen by all 30 companies. And this general unanimity continues with the “Vorsitz” of this board – there are 28 Chairmen, 1 Chairperson and 1 Chairwoman.
However, things become much more diffuse when it comes to the “Vorstand” and its “Vorsitz”. There are 10 Boards of Management and 10 Executive Boards, followed by 6 Management Boards, 2 Boards of Executive Directors,1 Managing Board and 1Board of Managing Directors. This represents a total of six differing designations for the same German function.
The man at the top is called the Chairman 19 times, CEO 7 times and twice both Chairman and CEO and President and CEO.
There may be historical or structural reasons for these designations.
Figures in the DAX 30 companies
What is much more surprising is the lack of agreement on the simple manner of expressing figures in the 2010 annual reports of the DAX 30 companies.
25 corporations simply used the “€” currency symbol, 2 used “EUR”, 1 chose “euro” and 2 opted for “euros”.
When expressing larger figures, 13 companies used “million”, 8 preferred “millions”, 6 used the simple “m” and 3 presented figures in “thousand”.
The “€” was placed before the figure in 28 cases, and after the figure in 2 cases.
Standards
The Economist prescribes use of currency symbols €/$/¥/£ and the abbreviated “m” to denote million(s).
Conversely, ISO recommends a three-figure currency code[1], e.g. EUR, USD, GBP, JPY, while the Financial Times uses “€3bn”: the currency symbol, figure and abbreviation of billion without spaces between the symbol, figure or unit of measure.
The Wall Street Journal uses the “€” followed by the figure, then a space followed by million (e.g. €24 million).
Even within EU institutions, there is inconsistency on the plural of “euro”. In its English Style Guide[2], the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Translation specifies the use of “euros”, whereas EU legislation sometimes uses “euro” for the plural[3] and sometimes “euros”[4].
However the currency is expressed (as “€”, “EUR” or “euro”), the plural forms “millions”, “billions” and “thousands” should not be used when writing figures such as “EUR 10 billion”, but only in contexts such as “The government spent tens of billions of dollars on buying back government bonds”.
EVS Translations operates in line with customer requirements and customer style guides. As a general rule, it recommends the following format for currency: EUR 10 billion (abbreviated in tables to EUR 10 bn).
[1] http://www.iso.org/iso/support/faqs/faqs_widely_used_standards/widely_used_standards_other/ currency_codes/currency_codes_list-1.htm
[2] English Style Guide, seventh edition, retrieved on Jan. 14, 2012
[3] http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:343:0035:01:EN:HTML, accessed on Jan. 14, 2012
Specifics of Arabic language translation and localisation
Arabic language is the fifth most widely spoken language throughout the world based on the number of native speakers. It is one of the world’s oldest languages and is the official language of 26 different countries. Furthermore, because Arabic is the language of the Koran and is the liturgical language of Islam, millions of Muslims in other countries speak Arabic as well.
The Middle East nations are now among the most promising markets for doing business.
The vast business opportunities in the oil producing nations have increased the demand for professional Arabic translations. (more...)
Going Mad – Well, not quite like the Mad Hatter: Adventures in MadCap
One of the fun things about my job is that you can’t ever really get bored.
Things in this industry change so fast, and especially in the area of the technology things have expanded so much, that it’s nearly impossible to ever have finally learned everything there is to learn.
Not that MadCap is all that new, or that difficult to learn, but it is certainly different than some other tools on the market.
And getting techies to learn it is not a problem anyway: we love “new stuff”.
The difficulty we usually have is getting translator to do it.
And that’s where the fun starts.
Some translators, I’m convinced, would be better off using a typewriter.
Be that as it may, my job is to make sure the project is prepared in such a way that the translators can do what they do best – translate – and don’t have to fuss with technology that they don’t want to deal with anyway.
So we techies learn MadCap and figure out how to make it translatable for translators who are experts in their field, but would rather use a typewriter. (For the record: I am naturally exaggerating a bit. Still, a translator who is an expert in the field of vision technology is not necessarily an expert in HTMLHelp.)
That means using MadCap’s built-in export feature, pre-processing those exported files into other formats the translator can handle, then post-processing them back into the export/import format for MadCap, and finally checking everything in MadCap.
Thai language translation: challenges and specifics
Thailand has never been governed by a European power nor had any foreign invasions. It is for this reason that no other language in Thailand gained excessive prominence. English is a mandatory subject at most Thai schools but the number of fluent speakers remains very low, especially outside Bangkok.
These facts make the need of professional and accurate translation services a must when doing any business in Thailand. With an own unique script and language pattern, Thai is considered a hard language to translate. In translation business Thai translation is a challenge to translation services providers. An in-depth understanding of Thai culture, as well as the language, is needed for successful Thai translations.
Brave new vocabulary year
If words were to have their own popularity contest I suppose it would be word of the year or WOTY (in line with that American propensity for acronyms) established with the American Dialect Society in association with Merriam-Webster and the Global Language Monitor. The list is dictated by a number of arcane and obscure rules, but mostly by the number of tweets they generate.
But what better way to celebrate the vivacity of a language?
The multitude of media from iDevices (yup, that exists) to standard computers and pagers we use to communicate with one another serves to encourage linguistic creativity with varying results. Actress Drew Barrymore's character in one of those feel-good summer movies put it best:
"I had this guy leave me a voice mail at work, and so I called him at home, and he emailed me to my BlackBerry, and so I texted to his cell, and now you just have to go around checking all these different portals just to get rejected by seven different technologies. It's exhausting."