We talked to two of our most experienced Multilingual QAMs at Terra to offer expert insight on this challenging task.

The Three Functions

Both Verónica Ríos (Senior Multilingual QAM) and José Antonio Buzón Carbajo (Multilingual QAM) agree that the position has three main functions. On the one hand, they perform the final quality checks before delivery. They use QA features in CAT tools or specific software to do so. “We have the capability of searching for severe errors or in compliance with client’s instructions or glossaries in any language,” José explained. Stylistic or preferential changes are not under their scope, since that’s what native editors review.

On the other hand, their second function is to make all the client’s preferences, style guides, and instructions easily accessible to vendors. As Verónica said, “We manage and update all the resources and instructions regularly because our job is both corrective and preventive. We try to define guidelines for issues that we know may pose challenges among vendors. By doing so, we try to avoid mistakes or compliance before they happen.” Because of this, Multilingual QAMs need to be very rigorous and organized to correctly classify and update the materials and instructions for every language pair.

Lastly, QAMs manage feedback. They receive and analyze clients’ evaluations, and try to translate them into clear instructions for the teams. However, they also provide feedback to vendors. “At this point, building a solid communicational approach is key for us,” José added. As he explained, it’s the basis to provide constructive feedback to receptive linguists, who likewise help QAMs when they have questions about the text in their native languages.

QAM Starter Pack

QAM in general and Multilingual QAM, in particular, rely on specific IT resources, such as CAT tools’ features or QA software. These are mandatory tools that ensure quality by avoiding or detecting evitable errors that the human eye may fail to catch. “We as QAMs take full advantage of the resources memoQ offer,” Verónica explained. Term bases, translation memories, QA rules, auto-translation rules, and non-translatable lists, all allow the integration of important guidelines into CAT tools, and that reduces the margin of error or compliance.

Moreover, José and Verónica recommend collaborative online resources to share information, like Google Spreadsheets. If supervised, updated, and organized, they allow sharing in real-time valuable information with vendors around the globe. They can be helpful for many uses, like Q&A sheets, instructions, or feedback.

Curiosity and Imagination

Regarding the skills needed for Multilingual QAMs, Verónica thinks that experienced editors “have a trained eye to know what to correct and what to prevent,” she explained. Furthermore, being enthusiastic about QA automation and organized with time management and resources are, for her, mandatory assets.

Apart from that, as José sees it, a Multilingual QAM must be creative and willing to find new solutions to the project’s needs. “Too much imagination is never enough in this role,” he concluded. Any challenge is a new opportunity to search for ways to boost a team’s capabilities, always with QA tools as allies.

The post Global Needs, Multilingual Solutions: Meet Multilingual QA Managers appeared first on Terra Translations.

In order to successfully go global, you need to take a local approach to each market, taking into account the culture and the language variants. This requires research to confirm that the product or service will resonate with that target market. It also requires adapting the language you will present to customers in a meaningful way. Localization prioritizes making text both linguistically and culturally accurate to the region it will be distributed in. Localization goes a step further than a direct translation, as that is often not enough to connect with a new audience. 

Follow these tips for going global successfully!

1. Research and Personalize

First things first, a high level of research is necessary when building out a product or service to bring to a market and when it comes time for the localization process. All markets have different language needs. For example, your company’s name may mean something totally different in the language of a target market than it does at home. In some cases, that translation may be offensive or confusing. The same thing can happen with slogans, product names, and other key copy details. Just like you wouldn’t launch a product in your home market without doing your research, you should do the same due diligence when launching in a new market. 

2. Meet Local Peculiarities

When determining a localization strategy, doing in-depth research on the region and markets you plan to enter can make all the difference. Research what values a culture has, what their history is, and what their local dialect is like compared to the overarching language they speak. Major companies have spent millions crafting global campaigns to only find out that their slogans or campaign copy translates to something offensive or ridiculous.

3. Build the Right Team

Who is on your localization team will make all the difference when it comes time to make a splash in a new market. Your team will need the right skill sets and talents to launch in your specific chosen market. Hiring native translators who have the ability to transcreate is often necessary, as they can understand local slang and vocabulary. A native translator will also be able to capture the tone and voice of your intended audience better. Transcreating steps away from direct translations and involves adapting and recreating marketing and other creative content by preserving the original message, context, emotion, and tone. The right translators for your team will have not just a strong linguistic knowledge of your target market, but a deep cultural understanding as well.

The post Localization: “Local Focus at Global Scale” appeared first on Terra Translations.

What is Globalization?

The term globalization has not one, but two meanings. On one hand it can refer to the globalizing economy or business activity. However, in the field of translation and localization, globalization centers around business activities that relate to marketing either a product or service in various regional markets. Globalization can take a local or regional phenomena and transform it into a global one. 

The globalization process stems around bringing cultures, economies, and people from different regions closer together. This allows organizations and businesses to connect stronger with their consumers or business partners from across the globe. Consumers can benefit from globalization as much as companies can, as it can provide them access to transformational advances. 

When it comes to the translation industry, globalization focuses on the product development cycle. A few examples of where globalization is applicable are:

What is Internationalization?

Internationalization (also known as i18n) falls under the general umbrella of globalization, as does localization. The process of internationalization helps adapt a product to a specific market easily. Internationalization is a strategy used in business to make a product or service adaptable so that entering different national markets is more seamless.

In order to go about the internationalization process properly, subject-matter experts, technical experts, or people with a level of international experience may be called upon. In general, any products intended for use by consumers across multiple languages will undergo the internationalization process. Some areas of product development and usage that internationalization can apply are:

• Time zones
• Currency
• Addresses
• Postal codes
• Social Security and social insurance formats
• Telephone formats
• Assembly instructions

The Main Differences of Globalization vs Internationalization

When it comes to differentiating between globalization and internationalization, it is essential to remember that internationalization is covered under the umbrella of globalization. Internationalization is typically viewed as a strategy, not as a task to undertake at a later date.

Put simply, globalization is a process used by a company to bring its business to new locales, whereas internationalization refers to the act of designing a product or service in a way that makes the expansion into international markets a simpler process. 

Globalization and internationalization go hand in hand. Both should be used if a business plans to expand a product to multiple national, and sometimes even regional, markets. Ideally, a business will plan for these processes before a project begins, which will allow them to design products or services that users across different cultures and languages can utilize.

The post Globalization & Internationalization: What Role Does Each Play? appeared first on Terra Translations.

International Success Depends on Cross-Cultural Appeal

By 2015, the gaming industry posted revenues of $91.5 billion worldwide, dwarfing the box office take of global revenues from movies of $38.3 billion. In recent years, the most successful major titles such as the FIFA franchise, Fortnite, and Grand Theft Auto V, among others, have produced hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue within months of their release (and sustainably throughout their continued lifecycle).

Today’s international blockbuster video games have completely broken down the wall between mainstream culture and the traditional niche of gaming as a sub-culture. This is not to say that gaming sub-culture has faded away or is going to despite gaming becoming a more mainstream phenomenon across demographics of age and gender. Committed communities of superfans have continued to thrive and expand. Internationally, gaming and esports have attained mass appeal, especially among younger fans. A WaPo-U Mass Lowell joint poll found that among Americans age 14-21, almost as many respondents were fans of esports and competitive gaming, 38 percent, as were fans of American professional football (40 percent).

Commitment to cross-cultural appeal is essential to any publisher hoping to compete in the global market; therefore, successful localization is not an “extra” feature that’s nice-to-have, but an absolute requirement for a successful product launch. In short, game localization has become a universal vertical in the industry that is here to stay.

Would games like Fortnite and Grand Theft Auto V have achieved the same preeminent cultural status and sales records if publishers had been short-sighted about localization requirements? Translation of in-game text and voice-overs may be the most important localization task to enable creators to stay true to the characterization and storylines they have worked hard to achieve. It’s also the foundation for all the collateral involved in making the game playable by international players (directions, walkthroughs, guides, etc.) It’s hard to imagine games getting off the ground and gaining a global fan base without careful translation and quality control.

It’s amazing that players in the Bundesliga (the world’s football – a/k/a “soccer”), have been miming celebrations from the game Fortnight after scoring a goal at the same time that elite athletes in United States’ National Football League (an entirely different sport and cultural niche) are celebrating big plays with their own imitations of Fortnite in-game celebrations! Although each is a sports celebration, it is a tribute to the unbelievable cultural and commercial success of the game. It’s hard to imagine how a game could transcend linguistic, cultural, and geographic boundaries across continents without effective localization practices integrated into its development.

The post Video Game Localization: How to Sell Games Globally appeared first on Terra Translations.