Language Localization VS Translation
December 23rd, 2009“Localization” is a very strange word to quite a few of people today. However, localization is influencing our global village and economy all the time and this element has already been the key to our international business success. Have you ever thought why Google couldn’t defeat Baidu in China? The language constraint. Could pure translation work make our products or services accept by our intended market? The answer is “far from enough”. Localizing what we want to do business plays an important role in our business expansion and prosperity.
What is localization?
According to different definitions given by different websites/dictionaries like Wikipedia and Wisegeek, localization refers to the process of adapting a product or a service to the target country’s market. The localization process includes translation, but it is far more than a mere “translation”. It also takes geographic factors, product names, local color sensitivities, currency and many more of the destination market into account.
For example, if you want to make your website be accepted by your intended market, other basics you need to do besides website translation include:
* Website structure localization
* Website content localization like multimedia localization, webcasting, etc.
* Website style localization
* Website SEO
* More…
Is mere translation company capable of offering all of those website localization services? Definitely not. Only localization companies with rich experience, powerful supporting team, native linguists world-wide and special know-how could achieve, for example, Golden View.
If the localization has been successfully implemented, it will make your product or service be treated as the product or service produced in their country by people in your destination country. So the sale of business would rise.
What is the difference between language localization and translation?
“High-tech translation” is what many people always think about “localization”. These people neglect the complexity, importance and other aspects of this special language service. In addition to strict translation process, localization services help improve significant, non-textual components of products or services like physical structure of a product and proper forms of time and date. So the localized products or services not only have the look of the local products or services in the destination country, but also delivers a local feel and suits local culture.