Transcript Localization

Globalization
in
Multimedia
Development
Globalization in Multimedia Development
The development of W W W led to rise of the
concept of “global village”, which the whole
world links together by the internet.
 This concept is still far from the reality.
 Issues raised: languages & cultural
difference made things complex, especially
websites.
 “Globalization” becomes one of the
practices to solve the problems
 The term “Globalization” means differently
when refers to business, politics, culture and
many other aspects.
 In multimedia development, globalization is
generalized as the process of “adaptation”.
 Web sites and other multimedia applications,
are “adapted” linguistically and functionally.
 The expected result is to deliver contents to
more than one groups of audience with
different language preferences.
 The process of Globalization usually
involves 2 main elements:
“Internationalization”
&
“Localization”
Internationalization
 Internationalization(i18n) is the process of
designing a software or Web application to handle
different linguistic and cultural conventions without
additional engineering.
internationalization involves:
 design of the User Interface (UI) is flexible and neutral;
 separation of language and cultural data from the
source code.
 relevant character set;
 regional standards;
 text embedded in graphics is localizable.
Internationalization
 Ideally, internationalization should take place
during the very early stage of project development
 Thus, reduces time and cost along the way when
more versions are required to be produced to fulfill
the international expansion needs;
 Your client may ask you to produce Japanese,
Korean, Spanish or German version website
sometime after you set up a local version website.
 Without thinking of “internationalization”,
eventually, you may found difficulties to adapt the
original version in both technical aspect and
content translation.
Localization
 Localization (L10N) is the process of adapting a
website to the requirements of a target locale. It
refers to the translation of strings within the Web
site so that the user sees the correct language.
 A locale refers to a set of standards, rules and
data specific to a language and geographical area.
E.g., a French Unicode Locale will include regional
definitions for currency, the Euro symbol, date,
time, numerical notation and text messages. An
Asian Locale (e.g. a Chinese locale), will also
include input methods and dictionary editing
definitions.
Localization
UI design:
 Localize all content, readable messages, icons,
buttons in the target user's language (both written
and non-written).
 We also need to consider:
 Text space: extra space may added to dialog boxes,
control buttons, menu, etc.
 Cultural-dependent or ambiguous symbols: body parts
(e.g., hand gestures), religious symbols, graphics with
more than one meaning and cultural- specific symbols.
As they may lead to misunderstandings in cross-cultural
situation, we have to use them carefully.
Localization
Character set
 A character set is the mapping of the characters of a script
into a set of binary codes.
 In order to represent a language, an appropriate character
set support is needed.
 For English, ASCII character set should be enough, but not
those European languages require accented characters.
 Therefore, specific character sets are developed:
 Double-byte character set (DBCS) is a codeset that uses one or
two bytes. It is used for Asian languages such as Japanese,
Chinese, and Korean
 Unicode is a universal character 16-bit codeset. It includes most
alphabetic characters and symbols used in nearly every language.
Case Study 1
Nike
 Nike’s business covers over 140 countries.
 It’s website offers 13 languages.
 The website design not only translate text into different
languages, but also adapt design ideas considering the
cultural context.
 http://www.nike.com
 Even this is a comparatively successful example of web
globalization, there are still lots of languages & cultures
need attention: Russia, Middle East, Sweden, Hebrew, etc.
Overview of internet users
 The Internet was designed to be global, but not
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necessarily multilingual.
When it was originally developed, its primary
purpose was to enable English speakers to
communicate with other English speakers;
As soon as the internet became a global
phenomenon, non-English speakers began using
the Internet to communicate in their own
languages.
The research firm IDC projects by 2003, 36% of all
Internet users will prefer to use a language other
than English,
A multilingual web site becomes main focus in the
creative and production process.
Case Study 2
McDonald’s
 McDonald's has restaurant locations in 118
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countries
The global website offers around 40 choices of
locations/countries
http://www.mcdonalds.com
But the Gateway (homepage) contains lots of
menus and messages in English.
What if viewers from Saudi Arabia only know
Arabic languages, or people from Greece only
know Greek? They can't even get into the part in
their own languages in the very beginning.
How to prepare a global website:
A globalized website usually contains an internationalized
master or template design, a homepage or gateway
leading to several localized versions.
Text in graphics
 If possible, the use of text in graphics is discouraged.
 Some localizable graphics consist of text on top of some
graphic design.
 Keep a well-documented, layered source file with details of
the fonts and colors used.
 Keep in mind that text within the graphic is probably longer for
localized languages than for English so allow room for the text
to expand.
 As an alternative, use the graphic as a background and
position the text on top of it.
Symbols and other design elements
 When designing the website, try to avoid culture-
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dependent symbols that are not clear to an international
audience.
There are also many symbols that may have different
meanings in different cultures. If there are any questions
regarding the hidden meaning of some symbols, it is better
to use words instead.
As a general rule, the following should be avoided in any
graphics used:
Graphics with multiple meanings
Religious symbols such as stars, crosses etc.
Hand gestures or body parts
Shapes that are tied to culture (e.g. stop signs, sports,
mailboxes etc.)
Locale-specific content
Some of the items would need to be changed:
 Date formats (including calendar settings and day/month
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names)
Time formats (12-hour vs. 24-hour clock etc.)
Currency formats and other monetary-related information
(tax rate, postage, etc.)
Number formats (decimal separator, thousand separator
etc.)
Fonts (names, sizes etc.)
For fonts, it is best practice to use Cascading Style Sheets
(CSS) whenever possible. CSS allows fonts to be changed
for all the pages in one place, and there will be fewer tags
within the codes.
 Address formats (postal codes, states etc.)
 Name formats (first name – middle name – last name vs.
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surname – name)
Telephone number formats
Units of measure
Paper sizes
Sorting rules (different alphabetical orders, stroke counts,
etc.)
Sort order
 Sort order is not the same for all languages,
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particularly for languages that do not use the
Western alphabet.
In Swedish, for example, some extended
characters (e.g. å) get sorted after the letter Z.
In many Asian writings, characters are comprised
by brushstrokes.
We need to find a way to automatically sort the
items, or allow the local end-user to personally
sort the list.
To build an internationalized sorting system is still
a very difficult task.
Data
 When localizing a site, one of the first decisions to make is
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what character encoding to use.
It is necessary to ensure that the data displays correctly to
the end user
Any data sent to and from a form or database maintains
data integrity.
Web site components could include databases, form
elements, objects, JavaScript™, DHTML, ActiveX®
controls, etc.
Each component should be considered carefully.
If the HTML has been encoded natively, how will the data
be transformed so that the user can read it on the Web site?
It may be necessary to use Unicode.
XML is also a format to handle this situation.
Code content
If there is localizable text within the Code tier of the site, ensure that it
is commented as much as possible.
 Localizers, the person who translate the text content from source
language into target language. They are usually good in translation
skills, but not programming skills.
 The easier it is for the localizer to identify the localizable text, the
better.
 If the Web site contains scripting that needs to be localized, hire a
localizer with sufficient experience so there’s less chance of
accidentally changes the script of the Web site.
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Web resources - the REZ file
A solution for localizable text in code can be done in REZ file.
Essentially, translatable text is placed in a text file that is included in the
server-side scripting file.
 A statement like:
<!--#include file="text/abc.rez"-->
Code content
The basic format of these REZ files is:
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[type] id = quoted text
type is optional
id is a programmer's identifier
quoted text is either single or double
quoted text for translation
the REZ files are kept in a text folder off the
main website folders.
Pre-translation testing
Pre-translation testing is the process of exercising the site's user
interface, localizability, and site stability before localization.
 This includes:
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 Include some extended characters (e.g. é, ñ or ö) or Asian characters
 Increase the length of the terms and paragraphs
 During the design phase, run a prototype site to ensure that the design is
flexible to be translated.
 Test generated data or to ensure that the controls can display extended
characters correctly.
Pre-translation testing can be run at different stages of the project
It is to identify and resolve international issues without wasting the time
of the localizer
 Pre-translation testing can also save money, and time to market by
avoiding the need to fix bugs later in the project. This can also ensure
the overall integrity of the website .
 Pre-translation testing can't test everything.
 Testing should be a continuous effort throughout the whole production
process. There are always new issues for each localized version.
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 Yahoo customized it’s website into 23
locates
 Each website offer totally different content,
but under the same protocol.
 http://hk.yahoo.com/
Localization kits
Why write localization kits?
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To ensure that the Web site is localized correctly,
Provide instructions for the localizers, testers, and engineers.
Localizers need information on what to localize, for which audience
they localize and, in most cases, what not to touch in the files.
Who to write the localization kits for?
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localizers,
testers
engineers.
project program managers.
For example, Project managers will be interested in an overview, the
number of files and the quantity of words to localize. Engineers would
prefer the instructions to be to the point and in their lingo.
Localization kits
How to write localization kits
 Prepare the project (internationalization)
 Research specifications
 Identify the scope (file list, word count etc.)
 Identify the target audience
 Write instructions for each specific group of
people working on the project
Notes that help you to organize Localization kit:
 1. Are you prepared to provide multilingual support?
 If you set up a site in another language, you can expect to receive
email queries and possibly phone calls from prospects and
customers in that language. Will you be ready to handle them? You
would at least want in place internal staff or distributors, or possibly
an arrangement with an outside agency, to provide that language
support.
 2. What language should you translate into?
 If you're unsure of an area to target, one approach is to review your
Web site use reports to determine whether a particular country or
region represents a high number of visitors to your site.
 3. Multilingual sites might require specific programming
requirements.
 If you plan to support languages such as Japanese or Chinese,
program in Unicode at the outset. The Unicode standard can
support the scripts used by all languages. An additional feature of
Unicode is that it supports languages that read from right to left,
such as Hebrew and Arabic.
 4. If you offer several languages, permit users to select
their language preference.
 for example, "English" or "Deutsch."
 Another approach is to configure your site so that the Web browser
automatically detects what users have set as the default language
in their Web configurations.
 If the default language isn't available, the browser can display a
message asking which other available language is preferred.
 Even if your site automatically can determine the default language,
it’s better you still provide the user a way to switch to another
language.
 5. Page formats and content might vary from country to
country.
 How dates, time and numbers are displayed often varies from
country to country. For example, the number 1,234.56 in the United
States would be written as 1.234,56 in the Netherlands.
 6. Prepare to adapt the colors for your site.
 Colors can take on a specific significance in different countries.
 7. You might need to reformat your navigation bars.
 Certain languages, such as Spanish, often have words that are
longer than their English equivalent. Thus, the size of the
navigation bars -- the row of buttons or text that enables users to
select specific pages on a Web site. The formatting for your site
needs to be able to support those changes.
 8. Register with foreign search engines.
 Sites such as Google and Yahoo offer search engines to seek out
Internet pages or documents based on specified keywords. But if
you want overseas customers to more readily find you Web site,
then remember to register with local search engines, such as
Siamguru.com for Thailand. Research available search engines in
your target countries, and register your translated site.
 9. Test your Web site.
 Test for usability before you launch your site, preferably working
with locals in your targeted market.
 Also test your site on a non-U.S. operating system, such as the
Microsoft Windows versions for Chinese, France, etc.
Case Study 3
Hong Kong Tourist Board
 Over 150 choices of location / residence.
But not necessary in their particular official
languages.
 Content varies a bit according to different
language versions.
 http://www.discoverhongkong.com/