What are the common localization problems that publishers often encounter? How do we tackle these problems during the localization process? For those looking for an answer to this challenge, let’s explore the article below.
Here are several common localization problems:
When localizing websites, video games, or applications, one common issue is that the multilingual features have not yet been integrated into the source code of these platforms. This, in turn, brings about certain difficulties for publishers during the translation and localization process.
Before localizing the content, publishers need to conduct a test run of the multilingual feature on these platforms. It’s crucial to integrate those features into your platform first, prior to the localization process.
Translation quality assurance is a must for a thorough localization process of websites, video games, or applications. In other words, translation quality plays an important role in the success of the product in the target market since this is the foundation for ensuring the message is conveyed faithfully to the target audience.
For top-tier translation quality, you should consider choosing a reliable and professional translation agency that has experience in Localization Testing. Bear in mind that this is also accompanied by an increase in your localization budget.
SEO is an important technique to optimize content to boost visibility and reach more target audiences. However, many publishers seem to overlook the importance of multilingual SEO, thereby missing the opportunity to approach their prospective customers in local markets.
The primary reason lies in the difference between the language structure of each region. This can shorten or lengthen the translated text compared to the original language, causing some problems with text arrangement. For example, publishers must consider how to organize the text logically without compromising the user experience.
Besides, in the same space, the translated text might be bigger or smaller than the default placeholder. For example, when an English text is translated into Vietnamese, the text length is often greater due to differences in the language structures, requiring a larger display space. This is related to the efficiency of UI/UX design for the platform, requiring publishers to invest more time in making appropriate adjustments before launching the official version.
This is considered one of the most common localization problems. Computers are more easily compatible with the Latin alphabet. However, for languages using alphabets with special characters such as Korean language and Japanese language, this could lead to multiple problems relating to text display.
The disparity in the reading and writing system of the source and target languages pose difficulties in content localization. For example, in the same paragraph, the number of characters in the translated version is greater than that of the source language, which could be challenging when it comes to layout arrangement on the frame.
Furthermore, different alphabets of two languages also present a challenge in the localization process, requiring extra time and effort while localizing the content.
Variations in the date and time formats of the two regions can also pose challenges in localizing websites, video games, or applications.
For example, the United States uses the month-day-year format, while Vietnam follows the date-month-year order. Although this is a fairly small detail, overlooking this feature during localization can result in serious misunderstandings for the target audience.
Another issue when localizing is collaborating with different partners. This may cause the project to lack coherence and lead to inconsistency in different parts of the project. Additionally, clients should spend time searching for agencies providing services that can meet their requirements.
Differences in legal and cultural regulations between markets are a concerning issue when implementing content localization strategy. The purpose of localization is to ensure that the target audience can fully appreciate your content.
A small error related to cultural and legal factors in the local markets can severely affect the publisher. Therefore, the localization agency needs to do in-depth research about the target audience, taking local cultural factors into consideration.
How do we solve localization problems and errors? Here are solutions to common localization problems you can consider:
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Boasting a team of native expert linguists specialized in diverse fields, we are committed to ensuring the highest accuracy of translation. Besides, Thao & Co. also provides many value-added services to help improve translation quality such as:
With a streamlined workflow managed on our proprietary platform, you can easily track your project progress and directly interact with our linguists. This efficient process contributes to cost, time, and effort savings for all parties involved.
This article covers some common localization problems and how to deal with them effectively. We hope that this article has provided you with valuable information on this intriguing topic.
For further questions or consultations regarding localization services, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us via our Get a Quote page for prompt support.
