It takes a Sexually Stimulated Man to Make a Chicken Affectionate
Resources for Localization on the Internet

By Don Huntington

The title of this article appeared in a TV ad for Perdue Chickens; the Spanish translation of their original tag line "It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken."

As technical writers, we are important participants in moving the information age into an increasingly global culture. We face interesting and often intimidating challenges as we create information in forms that can be easily moved into other languages and cultures. The other part of the localization challenge, of course, is to eliminate all the affectionate chickens from our documents.

The Tech Encyclopedia offers a good description of localization:

Customizing software for a particular country. It includes the translation of menus and messages into the native spoken language as well as changes in the user interface to accommodate different alphabets and culture.

Getting down to business with localization

As with almost every other topic in the world these days, the Web provides a fecund source for information and help with all kinds of localization issues. My search for localization links led me to a page with the odd name of WebBudget.com. The site provides links to pages offering solutions for specific languages, including sites dealing with English, Spanish, German, French, and Swedish.

If you are involved in outsourcing your project's localization tasks, the Internet provides access to a large number of companies in the business. Eclectic Communication attractively offers localization services for web sites, technical documentation, and software. It also provides localization humbugs that humorously illustrate the challenges of moving words across language groups.

Another good localization source is a site called Aquarius.net. It offers to connect you "with the people, projects, and products that make the world of language go around." Aquarius links translation agencies and end users to an international network of quality freelancers.

NOTE: Are you looking for work in the area of localization? Aquarius also offers connections to job openings—both in-house and openings at other places in the industry.

Technical writers involved in software testing may find QACity.com a helpful source. QACity lists numerous resources for internationalization and localization of software. If you are a localization professional, or hope to become one, check out the free Translation Journal provided by accurapid.com. It has details about the various translation events that are going on in America and throughout the world.

Translating documents online

When you are rushed for time on documentation deliverables, you can do everything online. Berlitz.com, for example, offers online translation services by professionals, with the rather catchy slogan, "Don't just translate it, Berlitz it."

You can use Berlitz services to translate a single document, or create an account with them. Either way the site apparently provides hassle-free, "on the fly," paperless documentation services. Berlitz offers translation services in Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish.

There are also a number of free online services that translate text and web pages. A good example of this is Freetranslation.com. The site offers free translations, in either direction, for English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, and Portuguese.

In this article, I've presented a small bit of information about the kinds of resources available on the Internet on the topic of localization and translation. You can go crazy from this point, if you wish. I doubt you could ever become a modern day "renaissance man" if you defined localization on the Internet as your entire universe.

Localization Humbugs

  • Chevrolet Nova didn't do well in Spanish-speaking countries —Nova means "no go."
  • Bacardi concocted a fruity drink with the name "Pavian" to suggest a "French chic," but "Pavian" means "baboon" in German.
  • When Gerber first started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the USA—the cute baby on the label. Later, when investigating lower than expected sales figures, they found out that it is common practice in Africa to put pictures of the contents on food package labels.
  • Coors slogan, "Turn it Loose," translated into Spanish as "Suffer From Diarrhea."
  • When Coca-Cola first came to China, it was given a similar sounding name, but the characters used for the name meant, "Bite the Wax Tadpole."

For more communication bloopers, visit these web sites:

swlocalization.com/humbugs.htm
advertising.utexas.edu/research/humor/lost.html
world.std.com/~jimf/humor/advertisements.html

The Devil Mountain Views -- May/June 2002
(ebstc.org/newsletter/front.html)
For  suggestions, complaints, or (especially) compliments, contact dmvashwini@yahoo.com