|
Software_Localization_What_is_it
| Software Localization, What is it?
Software localization is, in essence, making versions of
software products available,which can operate in multiple
languages. In this article we examine what’s involved in
developing such software. And it’s not as difficult as you might
imagine.
If you develop software to sell, then perhaps there might be
market beyond the shores of the USA. Have you considered making
multiple language versions of your software available? Perhaps
you’ve given it a fleeting thought but dismissed the idea as too
expensive or too difficult. Take away the jargon and buzzwords,
not to mention the expectation that it is difficult; and many
software products can relatively simply be produced for
different language speakers. Especially so if the developers
have followed reasonable development standards.
And lets face it, the extra revenue and customer base can be
very very lucrative.Nor should you under estimate the number of
people in the USA who don’t have English as their first
language. Another benefit of providing your software product in
multiple languages is that it also gives an impression that your
company is far larger than it is. When I see a web site or
software product available in multiple languages I tend to
assume that the company must be large.
So let’s take a look at the process and examine what’s involved.
We concentrate in this article on taking an existing software
product and making it available in multiple languages. The ideas
presented here are general and assume a relatively simple
product, but the concepts and approach are the same for even a
sophisticated application.
First rule: to keep things simple. There are many different
languages being used around the world and you have a wide
choice. In English we read sentences written left-to-right and
from the top, down the page or screen. This isn’t the case for
all languages. We also use an alphabet (script) referred to as
Latin, and in technical speak it uses single byte characters. So
it’s a good idea to restrict your first multiple language
projects to languages that also share these characteristics with
English.
The list is extensive and includes; Spanish, German, Italian,
Portuguese, French, Dutch among others. Even restricting your
project to these languages widens your market by about 1 billion
people. Eastern Europe uses a script called Cyrillic (Russian)
which is very similar to Latin and prices for translation into
Eastern European languages tend to be very competitive. Asian
and Middle Eastern languages offer some unique challenges but
they are manageable. But early in the process, you need to
decide exactly what languages you want your software to be
available in.
There are a variety of methods to developing multiple language
versions of software. One approach favoured is to separate out
all of the text presented to the user into a file or database
table. This text must include everything that a user will see
when using the software. It includes screen display text,
printed report text, constants, prompt, error and warning
messages, and help displays. Your product will likely include a
user guide, version notes and licence agreement, and of course
these also need to be included in the localization project.
The file or database table where all the text will exist has to
be accessible by the programs and so some sort of simple key
process and update function must be developed. Again, keep it
simple. We’ve found that having a simple key system based on
screen or report name and then a unique text item number works
fine for most applications. For large a application you may need
several text files, perhaps based on text type. You’re probably
thinking that the application’s performance will be reduced due
to the extra input/output needed to access all the text. There
will be some reduction but in practice it is minimal. And there
are some benefits to compensate. For instance if screen text
needs to be altered then no program change needs be made to
effect the change.
Our file containing all of the text is then used as the basis of
our language translation. There are all manner of options to
organise the translation including translation agencies,
freelance translators, computer based translation, even
co-workers, friends and family might be able to help. At the end
of the day most computer applications actually have quite simple
text. But before you do have the translations performed review
all the text for grammar, spelling and ambiguities. The clearer
the language used in the application then the more likely the
translation will be accurate. A word of warning. Professional
translators tend to be highly educated, and sometimes their
resulting work will require the reader/user to hold at least a
Masters degree to understand it. Always specify that you need
the translation to have an equal reader level as the original
English.
Some translators and agencies might be positive to providing
their service for free. There are numerous examples of shareware
and freeware software where professional translators have been
generous. Mozilla is a good example of
such a co-operative effort.
The object of the project is to develop multi-lingual software
in which the end result will consist of our executable files
linked to our table(s) of text. The specific text file shipped
with the product will be in the language of the user’s choice.
An alternative option is to store each translation in a specific
language file and when the user installs the software they
specify their language preference. Thus the routine that reads
the text records needs to identify the language needed and
isolate itself to that language.
And of course you need to test the resulting language versions.
This is best performed by speakers of the specific languages
you’ve decided to implement. Testing under language versions of
the operating system might also be worthwhile.
Character constants are a special case. For example, the
software might need to determine that a particular key has been
pressed from a selection. Assume the menu selection includes
Open, Save, Find, Copy and Paste. The routine in the program
might look something like:
switch (myInputString[0]) { case ‘Open’; DoOpen (); break; case
‘Save’; DoSave (); break; case ‘Find’; DoSearch (); break; case
‘Copy’; DoCopy (); break; case ‘Paste’; DoPaste (); break; }
The code above is efficient and concise, but it is difficult to
translate. The various constants (Open, Save, Find, Close, and
Paste) have to be replaced with data items that have been loaded
with the equivalent constants from the specific language file
being used by the user.
What are the potential pitfalls? A common problem is that the
space required by text on screens or reports differs between
languages. For example the phrase ‘enter name and address’ is 22
characters. In German the equivalent phrase would be ‘Geben Sie
ihr Name und Adresse ein’ which is 34 characters. We’re often
faced with the problem that the translated language requires
more screen and report space than the equivalent English. So
test carefully that truncation doesn’t occur. And consider the
cosmetic appeal of the resulting screen or report.
There are some legal aspects that you need to research.
Obviously every country makes its own laws. In Germany, for
example, there are quite restrictive laws that disallow anyone
to make claims that a product is better than another company’s
product. Not to forget that the United States also has export
laws. Encryption algorithms are an obvious example. So do a
little research, and if you are using a translation agency then
ask for advice.
Copy protection, upgrades, error reporting are all issues that
will broaden if you want to sell software offshore. You also
need to take account that date format, paper sizes, currency
symbols, sort order and addresses might differ, and lets not
forget that the majority of the world uses the metric system for
weights and measurement.
The translations don’t have to perfect. In saying this I am not
suggesting you lower your standards. But most people appreciate
that you have taken the trouble to translate the text, and will
overlook the odd mistake. And let’s be realistic, the English
used in your software will likely have the odd typo anyway.
Organising a marketing agreement with a local distributor can
also provide a useful resource not only for the product’s
language development, but in ongoing product promotion and
support.
Microsoft provides an extensive resource available on their web
site. There are several very helpful news groups that you can
subscribe to and a number of books are devoted to the topic of
software localization.
I hope this has given you something to think about.
About the author:
Copyright © 2002 Grant McNamara, All Rights Reserved. This
article may be freely distributed and published. If you wish to
publish the article, out of courtesy, please email me and advise
the url. Author Information: Grant McNamara web site:
http://www.translateme.co.nz Email:
grant.mcnamara@translateme.co.nz Grant McNamara is a consultant
specializing multilingual software development and Internet
support.
|
|
| |
| |
