Localisation – Texts that are accessible and understandable in all markets
Want to be absolutely sure your message will be understood abroad? We’ll help you localise your translations. ‘Localisation’ means a translator tailors your translation to your target audience and market. As a result, readers abroad will have an easier time absorbing and understanding your message.
Let’s say you have a text that needs to be translated from Swedish into English. The result will need to sound very different if it’s intended for people in Sweden who don’t speak Swedish rather than for English speakers in the UK. The audience will determine whether the text needs to refer to Skatteverket (the Swedish Tax Agency) or HM Revenue & Customs (Skatteverket’s UK equivalent). Say the translation is meant for American readers instead. In that case, certain words and spellings will need to be changed, and dimensions and units might need to be adjusted – for example from centimetres to inches. All these changes are examples of localisation. Localisation also refers to adjusting idioms, figures of speech, and words for which there’s no real translation in the target language.
Whether or not a translation will need to be localised depends on the goal of the text. Who will be reading it, which country is the text meant for? Localisation is particularly important when translating marketing copy, websites, and user manuals. It’s always a good idea to tell the translator in advance how and where the text will be used, so they know what changes to make. Here are a few examples of elements in a text that a translator can localise for you:
- Ways of addressing readers (formal, informal)
- Currencies
- Units of measurement
- Date formats
- Decimal and thousands separators
- Links to websites
- Names of companies/authorities
- Abbreviations
- Contact details (addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses)
And much more!