September 2000   

Online businesses seeking success in a global and therefore multilingual marketplace will need some type of translation program to attract and keep customers and clients throughout the world.

Studies have shown that although many people understand English, they still feel more comfortable conducting business in their native language. The number of online persons who do not speak English as a native language is expected to grow in the years to come. (See News Briefs article, "Does Your Web Site Speak the Language?" August 2000.)

Offering a Web site in several languages can be cost-effective, because you must pay for the page design and content anyway. You can increase your customer base simply by changing the language in which the site is presented.

Once you have gone to the expense of launching a Web site, you can transfer at least a portion of the basic information that it contains to a Web site in another language, simply by translating the text. But you may increase sales and profits even more if you also localize the Web page to fit the viewer's preferences. A localized Web site contains information pertinent only to one country or region. It will include prices expressed not in dollars and cents, but in the local currency, and sizes and weights listed in metrics. You might want to include special offers or products that are not "universally" available. The Web site of an international company usually contains both international and local information.

Translators available to online businesses include:

• Translation software that translates text before posting it online
• Translation software that translates on the Web site
• A translation service that employs people to translate the text

A human translator will do the most accurate job, and probably should be your choice for translating a Web site and important documents. Your Web site is where you introduce your business to the world, and you want it to be accurate in the smallest detail. Professional translators may charge by the hour, by the month, by the word, or by the page.

Facts to Consider

Berlitz translators will return translated documents of less than 2,000 words within 48 hours.

Systran, which allies with Berlitz GlobalNet to provide human translation charges a minimum of $50 for such translation.

The Translator's Home Companion provides many sources of information for both translators and those who use translation. Sites of interest to business persons include

• Searchable Directories of Translators
• Translation Agencies and Translation Service Providers
• Translation Products and Suppliers
• Localization and Internationalization Information

But there will probably be times when you will want to utilize a different type of translator: machine translation. Machine translation often is quicker and cheaper than a human translator. It works best for email or messages in chat rooms where a translation is needed immediately.

Machine translation on your desktop can be accomplished through the use of downloaded software. Some companies require you to download a version for each language, while others offer a download that includes several languages. If you decide not to have your entire Web site translated, you can provide a link to a browser plug-in that will allow a customer to translate the site into his or her own language.

Some machines translate word-for-word, while others translate phrases or sentences. The latter types are more accurate. Machine translation may have difficulty recognizing the different in meaning between "striking a bargain" and "striking out." This type of translation often does not take into account slang, words with the same spelling but different meanings, or misspellings.

A good translation is not a word-for-word repetition in another language, but instead, conveys the context and nuances of the original, or source, language. A machine cannot do this consistently, which is its major downside. For example, it will fail in most cases to convey the true meaning of the English-language expression "to roll out the red carpet" in other languages. A good translation will choose a phrase that means the same thing in the target language, even if it doesn't mention a carpet.

Among the translation software types is the bi-directional type, which will translate from one language to another and vice versa (for example, English to French, and French to English). Some translation services offer free demonstrations on their Web pages, and you can run a test on a bi-directional translator by submitting a paragraph for translation, then taking the result and submitting it for translation back to the original language. Sometimes the result, exemplified in the following passage, can be humorous.

An Example that Won't Set You Purring:

"Summer means it's time to protect your purring pal from fleas. Here's a good way to help your feline friend avoid rolling out the red carpet for these pesky pests."

These two English sentences were translated into French online, using a free translation service. But when the French version was retranslated into English, it sounded like this:

"The means summer they are time to protect your friend humming of fleas(chips). Here is a good way of helping your feline friend to avoid rolling outside the luxurious for these empoisonnants parasites."

The second version approaches the "gist" of the original message, but it doesn't fully communicate the tone or the content, nor is it successful with the "red carpet" and "pesky" references.

To Recap

If accuracy is your top priority, select a human translator. Although this is a more costly option, you can be assured of a correct translation. On the other hand, if you need a quick turnaround in a context where the stakes are lower, machine translation may be the best choice. Just be aware of the quirks that may create a problem in this type of translation.