Your website should be accessible to all, shouldn’t it? Well it should if you intend on using it to generate profit or sell your products. If you are serious about generating revenue from your website then read on to find out why you need to translate your website in 2011.
Languages of the Web
Not everybody views your website in English alone, some visitors will auto-translate your site using machine translators such as Google Translate if they feel more comfortable in that language. Although letting users use machine translators to translate your content may impact on the message you are trying to convey or product descriptions you are using to sell your products.
English is by far (as of 2010) still the number one language in use on the web (according to internetworldstats.com) and by far the most common among major web pages. Although by simply having your website in English you are potentially missing out on the many millions more users across the world that are browsing, searching and viewing webpages in different languages.
With English still the number one language on the web with over 536.6 million English users in 2010 it is easy for designers to forget about other languages when developing applications for the web. Yet the web is a truly global medium, (according to internetworldstats.com) Chinese is the second language of the web with 444.9 million users in 2010 and looks set to continue growing through 2011 with other languages such as Spanish and Japanese also catching up.
If your website is in the business of making money or selling you are missing out on a potential 78% of all internet users by providing an English only version of your website. In many cases an English only website will suffice for small and local businesses, but if you are looking to reach out to users in other cultures using their native languages then follow some of our top tips for cross-cultural web design.
Keyword Research
Proper keyword research is probably the most important aspect of launching a website in another language, especially for e-commerce and businesses selling products or services. Many will be tempted into simply translating their English based keywords for products into the target language which is a definite step on the road to failure.
A classic example of bad keyword translation is for ‘Car Insurance’; Google Translate gives the result of ‘l’assurance automobile’ in French. While this translation is accurate it is not a typical search term that French users would use, whereas they would most likely use something along the lines of ‘assurance voiture’.
Language specific keyword research should be approached in much the same way as English keyword research by researching popular search terms using tools such as Wordtracker and Google Insight, while also employing a professional translator to help brainstorm for synonyms and popular keywords for your sector. (more…)
The UK government are again calling for tougher language tests for new immigrants as costs associated with translation services in the UK have risen by over 40% in the last year, although there has been a plight to reduce the cost of translation services.
Labour, the previous government of the UK laid out £100 million to cover translation services across government and the judicial system while it pledged to slash the bill. Although last year the cost of translation services in this are rose to £140 million.
There have been critics suggesting that these costs are a waste of money and that immigrants should face tough new language tests before entering the country. While this may be a better solution, there may be alternatives to reduce costs for translation services within the government and public sector organisations through centralised translation systems which avoid having to repeatedly translate similar or identical documents. Systems such as Global Voices Video Interpretation system are also new and innovative ways in which to reduce costs of translation services in the UK.
Yet again we are seeing examples of why it is so important to choose quality over value when choosing translation services. In the news this time a Prison in the UK made a major mistranslation in an information pamphlet for Russian inmates, instead of ‘Exercise Yard’ it had been translated as ‘Execution Yard‘. Luckily this error was picked up in the draft stage of the document, but still highlights the fact that quality control is crucial during translation projects, no matter how big or small.
The chief inspector of the prison commented that: “You could treat it as a bit of a joke unless you were that prisoner and you didn’t understand how the British prison service worked and came from a country that still had execution yards. It wouldn’t be a funny thing for him.”
Of course he is right in the fact that some countries may still have execution yards, and even the smallest of errors can mean an entirely different thing to the reader. This highlights how important choosing a high quality translation service with experience in the relevant industry is over choosing the lowest cost, because nine times out of ten the lower cost translation will end up costing you more in the long run from having to translate again.
We have experience in providing translation services for Prisons, and realise how important it is to avoid errors like this, to find out more about Global Voices translation services visit our website.
Last week, Google increased its automated translation service by adding the ability to translate Latin to Google Translate.
It is the 58th language to be added to the automated translation service, and is the only language that has no native speakers. Latin is no longer used in the modern world except for one or two special cases.
Google sees the main use of it’s Latin translation service will be by students, around 100,000 US based students study classical language every year.
It has to be said though that as of the time of writing this article, latin translations on the tool are not completely accurate, although it can be used for a bit of fun to translate those old Roman scripts or that motto you wanted to know the meaning of.
Google Translate of course produces better translations over time as more people use the translation service and contribute better translations, although machine translations will never be 100% accurate or produce quality translations. Global Voices translation services also cover Latin translations, and if this is a service you require or any other language combination for that fact then visit our website www.globalvoices.co.uk.
With over 6000 languages worldwide, it is estimated that between 500 and 1000 languages are spoken by only a handful of people around the world and that every year the world loses 25 mother tongues. With over 250 languages being lost worldwide academics have come together this week to hold a conference in Wales to discuss rare and indigenous languages of Ireland, China, Australia and Spain.
The United Kingdom is not only home to the English language, but around half a million people speak Welsh, a few thousand Gaelic, about 400 Cornish and a truly endangered language – Manx only a handful at around 100 people. (more…)
Have you ever wondered how many languages the European Union recognises as official spoken languages of Europe? Well the answer to that would be 23! There are 23 Official Languages in the European Union, these are made up of languages spoken the most in each member state.
There are more member states in the EU than there are official languages. This is because some member states share national languages such as Dutch in the Netherlands and Belgium, French in France, Belgium and Luxembourg.
Clay tablets containing strange dots and wedge type characters of the ancient Ugaritic language have baffled Translators and Archaeologists for several decades since they were discovered in the 1920’s in the port city of Ugarit.
The Ugaritic language was used in Ancient Israelite and neighbouring cultures of the time and has been extremely important in clarifying Biblical Hebrew texts. The ‘Lost Language’ was re-discovered in 1928 by French Archaeologists who found strange clay tablets containing dots and wedge shaped stylus signs, the language is thought to have been last used in 1200BC in Syria. (more…)
We have successfully completed our membership application to become a full member of the ATC (Association of Translation Companies). The ATC is a professional body that represents the interest of translation companies and translation purchasers.
Membership of the ATC requires meeting certain criteria when providing translation services, adhering to professional ethics and providing high quality translation services. Global Voices’ membership acceptance is just another indication of how serious we take our business, clients and quality of work.
Along with this membership, Global Voices has also been accepted into the EUATC (European Union Association of Translation Companies) and has recently been awarded the updated BSI quality standards accreditation – ISO 9001:2008.
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