Differences between Localisation Services vs Translation Services
If you are not familiar with the translation industry, you might be somewhat confused with regards to the differences between localisation services vs translation services
After all, both these services involve 2 languages, isn’t that correct?
However, there indeed exist subtle differences between the two, and one follows the other.
You can translate a document without localising it, but you cannot localise a document without translating it first.
Normally, translation services involves translating the source content into the target language directly and you are done.
Localisation takes this process a step further and considers the cultural context of the content, while further refining the original translation to suit the target audience.
All this may sound quite obscure, so let us use a simple example to illustrate the difference between translation services and localisation services in Singapore.
Assume that you have a letter in English and you want to let your Chinese clients understand the content.
If you just ask for translation services, the translator will just translate the letter as it is and that is the end of the process.
However, supposing that you tell him that your clients are China Chinese who have been working in Singapore for about 5 years, tertiary educated and mainly working in the sales industry.
They are also about 40-50 years, married with children and mostly living in HDB flats.
All this additional information will certainly affect the choice of words that the translator uses in order to maximise the effect of your message, and form an integral part of the localisation process.
Types of Professional Translation Services
When translation services are required. Examples include:
- Product Manuals
Products work pretty much the same way in just about every country that they are used, so a direct technical translation services will usually suffice. There is really no need to localise the manual, unless your product is very special and unique.
- Standard certificates, including birth, marriage and education certificates
These certificates translation do not really differ from country to country, so as long as the information is translated accurately for immigration and work purposes, that would be sufficient.
Types of Localisation Services in Singapore
When localisation services are required. Examples include:
- Information related to cultural aspects or specific situations in each country
An example of this would be an article introducing the public transport system of a particular country. Even though the word taxi is used widely throughout the English speaking world, the Chinese translation can be different in various parts of the world. In China, 出租车 is the commonly used term, but this is localised to 德士 in Singapore, because Singapore uses the transliterated term from English.
- Website localisation services
When you are trying to advertise your products or services to your audience, or are just providing more information to them, connecting to them is of crucial importance. You must provide the relevant cultural references in order to increase audience interest and engagement. This builds trust and confidence, so that they will spend more time perusing your website, thus leading to more enquiries and sales. Localisation is thus necessary to invoke feelings of connection and familiarity in the readers. In such cases, website translation may not be so suitable.
- Blog localisation
If you intend to write and maintain a blog site, and also want to reach an international audience, localisation is a must. While Chinese is used in many different parts of the world, the words and phrases differ according to location and culture. One example would be the translation of the word ‘digitisation’. In Singapore and China, this term is commonly localised as 数码化, but in Taiwan, 数位化 is the more commonly used term. Just one small difference in the characters, but it can make a world of difference in the reaction of the audience.
- Software localisation
If you want to localise your software, translation followed by localisation would be the normal approach. Suppose that you want to localise your software applications into different languages. This can be a major project and be time consuming, and the cost may be prohibitive. WhizWordz has the expertise to face these challenges to carry out software localisation in a timely manner at reasonable cost, so that the final product gels with the audience to boost your sales. Kindly click here for a more comprehensive list of our clientele.
Reliable and High Quality Singapore Translation Company
Are you eager to have your documents translated or localised? Do you require related services like copywriting, transcription, typesetting or transcreation services?
Our WhizWordz friendly sales team is well-versed in an extensive and varied range of languages to help you.
For a no obligation free quotation, please email to sales@whizwordz.com or call us today at 6600 3798.
