Nabil Freij - Enabling Globalization: A Guide to Using Localization to Penetrate International Markets

Enabling Globalization: A Guide to Using Localization to Penetrate International Markets

Nabil Freij

Copyright 2015 by Nabil Freij

Smashwords Edition
GlobalVision International Inc.

www.EnablingGlobalization.com

Editor: Molly Froats

All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of GlobalVision International, Inc.

276 Turnpike Rd. STE 234

Westborough, MA 01581 USA

Tel: (508) 616-6660

www.globalvis.com

Trademark information: gvProject, gvAccess, gvCollab, and gvTerm are trademarks of GlobalVision International, Inc. Adobe FrameMaker, Adobe PageMaker, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Flash, and Adobe RoboHelp are trademarks of Adobe Systems, Inc. MadCap Flare is a trademark of MadCap Software, Inc. QuarkXPress is a trademark of Quark, Inc. WebWorks Publisher is a trademark of Quadralay Corporation. Windows, Microsoft Publisher, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Excel are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Context TM is a trademark of SDL Trados. Google AdWords, Google Translate, Google Translator Toolkit are trademarks of Google. Java is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. oXygen XML Editor is a trademark of SyncRO Soft Ltd. XMetaL is a trademark of JustSystems Corporation. Arbortext is a trademark of Parametric Technology Corporation. Epic is a trademark of Epic Systems Corporation. Altova XMLSpy is a trademark of Altova. Giza++ is held under the GPU General Public License. ISI ReWrite Decoder is licensed by the University of Southern California. IBM Candide is a trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. Pixar is a trademark of Pixar Animation Studios, Inc.

4th Edition

ISBN 978-0-615-34853-7

Table of Contents

About the Author

About GlobalVision International, Inc.

Abstract

Introduction

Part 1: When and Why to Localize

Chapter 1: To Localize or Not to Localize?

Chapter 2: The Visible and Hidden Benefits of Localization

Chapter 3: Finding the Right Markets

Chapter 4: Choosing Your Localization Strategy

Part 2: Localization Myths and Missteps

Chapter 5: Top Five Localization Myths

Chapter 6: Top Five Reasons Why Product Localization Fails

Part 3: Best Localization Practices

Chapter 7: Product Localization Processes

Chapter 8: Single Sourcing for Technical Translation

Chapter 9: Authoring For Localization

Chapter 10: Dos and Don'ts of Localizing Art

Chapter 11: Selecting Your Localization and Translation Team

Chapter 12: Selecting Your In-Country Reviewers

Chapter 13: How to Plan and Budget for Localization and Translation Projects

Chapter 14: Fuzzy Matches and Word Count Demystified

Chapter 15: Last-Minute Updates and Your Budget

Part 4: Promote Quality and Contain Costs

Chapter 16: Reducing Localization Costs

Chapter 17: Ten Tips to Reduce Localization Update Costs

Chapter 18: Localization QA: How Important?

Chapter 19: Ten Tips for Achieving Quality in Localization

Part 5: Technology, Translation, and Localization

Chapter 20: Why use a Translation Management System (TMS)?

Chapter 21: Translation Management System Benefits during Localization

Chapter 22: Search Engine Geo-Optimization

Chapter 23: Googles Free Translation Portal

Chapter 24: Statistical Machine Translation for All

Part 6: Challenges

Chapter 25: Localizing Your Website

Chapter 26: Localizing into Chinese

Chapter 27: Collaboration in Localization

Part 7: Keeping the Commitment

Chapter 28: Ten Localization Resolutions

Lessons Learned

References

Index

About the Author

Nabil Freij is the founder, owner, and president of GlobalVision International, Inc. He is trilingual and holds an MSEE from Brown University, as well as an MBA from Bryant University. With over 20 years experience in the hardware, software, and localization industries, Freij has traveled the world and lived in five countries.

He is frequently published and quoted. His articles and interviews can be found in magazines, books, and websites by groups spanning the localization industry, academics, business organizations, and beyond.

The Society for Technical Communication invited Freij to speak at the STC Technical Communication Summit and 55th Annual Conference, where he presented Translation Management Solution (TMS) Benefits during Localization. The Society also publishes his articles in its magazine and its journal of scholarly white papers.

Many of his companys clients have recommended Nabil Freij based on his expertise, customer-focused approach, and high-quality results. His project management skills and ability to accommodate the special demands of a wide range of projects are also often cited as reasons why clients continue to turn to Freij and his company for their localization needs.

Nabil lives with his wife and two children in Florida. You can read his blog at http://www.globalvis.com/blog .

About GlobalVision International, Inc.

Founded in 1996, GlobalVision International, Inc. is a privately held company specializing in translation and localization solutions for a wide range of industries:

• Information Technology

• Software and Online Documentation

• Hardware

• Medical Devices

• Media and Web Communications

• Telecommunications and Engineering

• Manufacturing and Industrial Production

• Consumer Products

• Business, Legal, and Finance

We are globalization enablers. We help companies penetrate international markets by localizing their products, documentation, websites, pay-per-click campaigns, video, and marketing and sales collateral into all commercial languages.

GlobalVision International, Inc. has offices in the US, Japan, Europe, and the Middle East. We employ native talent with advanced language, technical, and project management skills to handle not only Latin-based languages, but also other turnkey languages that have double-byte or bidirectional requirements.

Our company relies on the latest technologies in Web 2.0, search engines, databases, workflows, and computer-aided translation to facilitate efficient translation reuse and maximize quality. We use innovative software and communication tools often unique to our company.

Our mission: To enable our clients to reach their global markets by providing them with high-quality localization and translation services, on time and on budget.

www.globalvis.com

Abstract

Comprehensive and easy to read, this book is designed for anyone who is considering penetrating international markets via localization or is currently localizing but wants to do it more efficiently.

The book begins by defining localization and distinguishing it from translation, which is just one step in localizing a product or its documentation. Seven parts clearly mark the topics that its chapters explore. Part 1 explains the benefits of localizing, and then helps readers choose the right markets and strategies. Part 2 illustrates why entrusting localization to experienced professionals is the most cost-effective approach by exposing ten myths and mistakes that cause so many projects to fail.