News and Tips for a Multilingual World, January 2006

www.mtmlinguasoft.com - Ph: 215 729 6765

What's involved with multilingual desktop publishing?

The business situation

This article assumes that a company wants to localize "design documents" for distributing into foreign markets. The source documents that are in a single language (usually English) have been created and approved by a graphic design agency or the in-house design department. Then, the company may use an external vendor to handle either both translation and document localization or just translation when the document creation in foreign language(s) is carried out in-house.

The challenge

One may think that once the content translation is done, the tasks involved with foreign language typesetting would be straightforward. After all, the layout and the images are already prepared and one only needs to insert the translated text - how hard could that be? Well, a simple "Copy and Paste", or text import will not do it right.

The list below shows some of the design and layout elements to consider after the text translation is completed:

  • Pages may need to be reformatted in order to accommodate language expansion as well as to ensure that the impact of line and page breaking on the layout is suitable.
    		•
  • Graphics containing text need to be localized.
    		•
  • Screens captured from localized applications need to replace source-language screens.
    		•
  • Indexes and tables of contents need to be generated and proofread for accuracy.
    		•

    Actually the challenge starts before the text translation can be launched. Depending on the file format(s) of the source "design documents", getting the text out of the layout so that a translator can work on it can be its own challenge. This is why a structured and planned process need to be followed.

    The process

    Multilingual Desktop Publishing (DTP) is the process of taking translated text and putting it into a program such as Adobe PageMaker, Framemaker, or Microsoft Publisher. This is often the last step in the translation process of brochures and catalogs. Special linguistic skills and software are often necessary. Even when using the correct design application and platform, foreign language typesetting can be very challenging and requires the expertise of an experienced foreign language typesetter.



    To find out more about the localization process of "design documents", you or your designer are invited to download our white paper "The Multilingual Desktop Publishing Process". The white paper will describe the steps involved with multilingual desktop publishing and provide some layout guidelines. An extract of these guidelines is available below therein.


    Feel free to forward this newsletter to your graphic designer and/or advertising agency.

    Layout Guidelines for Preparing Design Documents for Localization

    Many problems can be avoided if the graphic designer keeps in mind that the document will be translated into other languages. Sometimes, an attractive and very professional design in English can be a nightmare for other languages.

  • Use a page layout that will not be disrupted by increasing or decreasing text lengths and leave plenty of white space.

  • Use style sheets and paragraph styles. Not only will this make your work easier and more consistent, it will also help the foreign language typesetter.

  • Unlink text frames unless there is a good reason to link them and plan adequate space within each frame.

  • Provide all the native source files and fonts used for creating the source document. If you used layers with text and images to create art effects, make sure that the foreign language typesetter receives all necessary source files.

  • Use a minimum number of columns.

  • Pay attention to cultural issues.

  • Finalize your design before sending the files for translation and foreign language typesetting.

    • Details relevant to each bullet is provided in the white paper.

    Save the Date and Register

    "Including the World in your Wide Web"

    An informational seminar
    organized by MTM LinguaSoft
    Wednesday, February 15th, 2006
    11:30 am - 1:00 pm

    You are invited to join business executives, marketing managers, international business directors and IT personnel to understand how your website can better address your strategic international business and marketing goals and meet international market requirements.

    Topics include:

  • Global marketing strategy and how the Internet fits into that plan
  • Content selection
  • Website globalization process
  • Vendor selection
  • Multilingual search engines

    • Date: Wednesday, February 15th, 2006
    Time: 11:30 am - 1:00 pm, Lunch will be provided.


    Registration: Advance registration is required. http://www.mtmlinguasoft.com/register.htm or call 215-729-6765, no later than Tuesday, February 7th.
    Location: Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, Montgomery Conference Room, 200 South Broad Street, Suite 700, Philadelphia

    For more information, call 215-729-6765 or email seminar at mtmlinguasoft.com

     

    RESOURCES FOR FOREIGN TRADE

    PEW GLOBAL ATTITUDES PROJECT

    Whether you're a businessperson, a politician, a journalist, or just somebody who wants to stay in touch with what people think around the world, the Pew Global Attitudes Project is a site you should visit. Here you'll find reports on world public opinion, based on 90,000 interviews in 50 countries. You'll be able to see what people are thinking about topics such as globalization, religion, immigration, democratization, the Iraq war, the SARS outbreak -- all the latest issues. Just click on "Reports" and you can read summaries, or download the whole report in PDF format. You can also read commentaries on the reports, and look at the survey data itself.

     

    Sources for RESOURCES FOR FOREIGN TRADE include the newsletter "Really Useful Sites for International Trade Professionals", a free, bi-weekly email publication of FITA - The Federation of International Trade Associations. Please feel free to subscribe to this newsletter at FITA Useful.