Bridging Worlds: Differences between Translation and Localization
January 24th, 2024
In the extensive landscape of intercultural communication, translation and localization are both essentially processes. While often used interchangeably, they are different methodologies with their own unique objectives whilst both playing a vital role in breaking down linguistic barriers.
What is translation?
Translation is the art of rendering text or speech from one language into another. It involves more than mere linguistic substitution; it encapsulates the essence of the original message, preserving its meaning, tone, and intent while adapting it so that the same message relates to a different linguistic audience.
Consider a literary masterpiece traversing borders, translators are entrusted with the delicate task of transmuting the originality and depth of the work into a new piece of content, ensuring its resonance remains undiminished. From literature and poetry to legal documents and technical manuals, translation serves as the cornerstone of global communication, fostering understanding and enriching cultural exchange.
What is localisation?
On the other hand, localisation extends beyond linguistic borders, delving into the intricacies of culture, context, and audience preferences. It involves adapting content to suit the cultural norms, linguistic nuances, and market trends of a specific region or locale. Unlike translation, which focuses primarily on linguistic fidelity, localisation seeks to imbue content with cultural relevance, ensuring it resonates authentically with the target audience.
Cultural, Regional, and Linguistic Context
The first target of any localization effort is to provide context for a local customer base. And this often begins with textual translation. When localizing your products, it’s highly important that you dig deeper and focus on translating your content to make it as culturally relevant as possible.
This generally involves considering many linguistic factors. For example, certain translations may either be offensive or simply don’t sound native to the local audience in the region. If you’re looking to break into a new market, localization requires you to prioritize these culturally and regionally exclusive elements of your products.
This is why when localizing site content, you cannot afford to translate text literally. It would make sense to engage the services of a native speaker who not only understands the predominant language but also the cultural expectations of the audience. This relates to the local nuances, terminologies, and slang that natives in the region can easily identify with.
Proper localization might also sometimes require you to even tweak important brand elements like your brand name. Coca-Cola’s localization effort in China serves as a perfect example here. The brand name adopted in the region is pronounced as “Kekou kele” and translates literally as “Tasty fun”.
Let’s take a look at a bad example. Here is what happened to Dolce and Gabbana when they didn’t invest enough in professional Chinese localization.
Through a 3-video Ad campaign on the Chinese social media platform Weibo to advertise its upcoming Shanghai runway extravaganza, or “The Great Show,” as dubbed, Dolce and Gabanna provoked the Chinese audience’s outrage and uproar.
This campaign ended with a public apology. And that’s not all; the backlash was so severe that the show was canceled, and the hashtag “#DGTheGreatShowCancelled” was trending and gathered nearly one billion views. The ad portrayed an outdated view of Chinese culture and made fun of its traditions. So, the Chinese audience considered the campaign offensive and racistic.
Expanding into the Chinese market can be challenging for any industry. To succeed, it’s essential to team up with a professional Chinese translation and localization team that can provide the necessary resources to help you stand out among your competitors. And that’s precisely what we can help you get at WELLinguist. We are accurate, responsible, cost-effective, timely and responsive. We are you best choice!