Simplify Your Globalization Efforts

By Michael Rosenblatt

If you have localized web sites to update and manage, here are a couple of fundamental ways to make it easier and less expensive to create and maintain multilingual support material. The first is a method for designing culturally appropriate material from the start. The second is to do away with words entirely, providing users with graphical and rich-media-based content that requires little or no localization.

Globalization-at-Source
Incorporate globalization from the start. Try to create information in a manner that anyone, from any country, can understand it. Globalization-at-Source is a methodology we use to design and write support information in a way that minimizes the impact of translation. We provide this as a service and it means using a consistent style and terminology that makes content easier to understand, easier to translate, and better optimized for translation memory.

Following this methodology doesn’t mean your content should be bland. However, the technical nature of most support information lends itself to a formulaic style that should make it easy to use templates, standard formats, and consistent language. It’s reasonable to include culturally-specific material, but only when and where appropriate.

Eliminate the words
If there are no words, there’s nothing to translate. Take advantage of rich-media, and the growing availability of high-bandwidth connections to deliver information in ways that do not need to be translated. For example, use simulations to demonstrate correct product usage. While it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to eliminate all translation (you would still have to translate taxonomy information so that graphically-based support information can be searched and indexed), localizing fewer words could provide significant savings compared to localizing entire FAQs.

Online learning principles and instructional design theories can be used to help create graphically-based information that is understood by all. Consult an eLearning provider who is familiar with learning styles and user expectations in other countries. Eliminating text provides additional benefits aside from simply eliminating the need to localize the content. It also presents a significant time-to-market advantage since graphical information doesn’t need to go through a localization process. Once the information is created, it’s immediately available and understandable by everyone.

About the Author
Michael Rosenblatt is an Enterprise Solution Director for Lionbridge Technologies. He is responsible for helping companies adapt existing processes and technology to deliver globalization solutions that meet specific goals. Lionbridge Technologies provides complete multicultural content creation, content management, and localization services for the Global 1000. You can reach Michael at Michael_rosenblatt@lionbridge.com.