8 key advantages of a localizer (actually not)
From time to time small confusions occur with our sales managers when we do not know how best to answer the question of a potential client. As a rule, this happens after a potential client has already communicated with our competitors and asks us questions composed of the competitive advantages of colleagues.
Eighty level sales manager
Since localization is a professional service and from afar looks like a black box in which there are either hares or pigeons, below we will try to lift the veil of secrecy over the localization processes and help gain protection from sales managers of the eightieth level. We have compiled a list of eight competitive advantages, which in fact are not. Explain why this is so.
Any normal localizer translates native speakers - these are the basics. Talking about translation by native speakers is the same as saying that your particular car has four wheels and an exhaust pipe. Moreover, native speakers are different - for professional translators it is important to keep in touch with the language environment; for this, he must be in his native country. It is also important that localization was his profession, and not a part-time job on weekends and during school holidays. That is, it is better for an American translator to live in America, and for a Chinese person in China (think of your friends who went abroad a few years ago, and listen to how they speak Russian).
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There are projects for which the work of the carrier is not so important and for which the budget is important - then various options for work are possible. For example, a company makes software for call centers, intends to enter foreign markets (say, India and China) and localize the interface into English, while it is important to observe the terminology and retain the meaning, and the style can be sacrificed. It is difficult to call the Chinese native speakers of English, while the Indians, although he is a state, but a little bit his.
In fact, there are not so many services that automatically unload text from a build for localization, and then insert it back. But even in those that are, the main attention is removed to the processes of unloading and substituting back the text, that is, a purely technical problem, while the most important and difficult thing is to find high-quality performers for the work.
In the majority of “services” there is not even an automated download of text from the build and everything is done manually, and you just become a victim (or happy user) of the landing page and “personal account”, which, in fact, is some kind of replacement for email. In addition, below we will explain why in human translations, it’s just people who decide, not the design of the home page.
This is a standard feature of TM programs, i.e., all localizers using such programs do this by default. The skill of the localizer is manifested in how texts are segmented and how exactly (from what terms) the glossary is collected, as well as how the localizer works with Locke and with access rights for TM users of different levels (for example, do translators have the right to change the glossary and base of translation memory and how issues with controversial translation options are resolved). Some of the subtleties of the work are due to the TM-program chosen - as a rule, in server development there are more opportunities for experienced users than in SaaS systems.
In fact, large numbers make an impression, but they carry almost no information - you only focus on the emotional mood of the speaker. For example, they say with aspiration and pride: “We have 2,000 translators in our database,” and you understand that this is a lot. Or the same thing is said almost without emotion - and you think that this is normal and that it should be so. We have 5,000 translator cards in the database, 628 of them have worked with us for the past year, about a hundred people have been working with us on an ongoing basis, i.e. they receive tasks from us several times a week. What is important is not the base of performers, but the way you work with them. Ask this question to the speaker and listen carefully to the answer.
Our translators are doing both paid and free test tasks. It depends on the qualifications of the translator and on who is looking for what: translator work or we are the performer on the project.
Payment of the test task by the company does not affect the quality of the work of selected performers and the quality of the subsequent work of the company as a whole.
Black localization cylinder ( actually not )
This may be a competitive advantage of the translation market (such a thing, where customers are looking for performers themselves), but not a localizer! One of the main skills of the localization company (and, perhaps, the only important one) is the ability to select good performers and ensure that they do not lose interest in the work. Without certain knowledge and experience, the team for localization cannot be picked up at all. It is very important how the translators are selected for the project, whether there is an order of selection and certification, especially for “non-native” languages ​​for the company. For example, in our company, a translator not only performs a complex verification task for each new subject, but also is regularly evaluated by his colleagues on six parameters — components of competence. Comments and evaluations of expert colleagues are checked for validity, and for each translator we accumulate statistics in the database. Of course, this is only the tip of the iceberg. At the end of December, we assembled an international group of experts from gaming companies to develop detailed recommendations on quality control in the field of gaming localization. We hope that this spring the market will see the first version of the document. If you are offered at the end of the work to assign the translator some stars, and this is essentially the whole assessment of the translator’s work, then it becomes unclear why you need the services of this company at all - work directly with the translator, it will be cheaper, faster and more reliable. .
In fact, no matter what kind of software the company uses, the main thing is to do it right. However, there are nuances. SaaS-based TM translation software is a rather small and young market (this means that these programs are not developed by such skilled programmers as at Google, for example; besides, often the development team consists of 2-5 people). SaaS systems have not yet caught up with the server in terms of functionality, however server programs require quite serious initial investments and competence. We believe that we are using the best server program on the market at the moment (indirectly our conviction is supported by gaming companies with a localization staff that chooses the same program as we do), we know and constantly use several functions that competing programs do not have. But other companies can use other programs, and this is normal. Beginner localizers are likely to use the SaaS model, which is neither an advantage nor a disadvantage: someone loves watermelon, the other - pork cartilage.
It is important to understand what is meant by “American company” and offices. I will cite as an example our company: several legal entities, of which two are foreign. We have postal addresses and phone numbers there - in principle, we can say that we are a hot Cypriot company of localizers or Hong Kong prolific. Our clients are Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, European, American and international companies (there are few Chinese and Japanese). Most of the freelancers we work with are foreigners and live abroad, with all the management, marketing, sales, project management located in Samara and some in Togliatti (we invited our freelancers to the New Year corporate party; as a result, people from various cities - from Bishkek to Daugavpils). Therefore, we consider ourselves an international company with a head office in Samara, and in which country we have accounts is not so important.
Ask where the project managers and administrative staff sit with the company - this point on the map and should be considered the main office.
Be alert, and may the gaming power be with you.
Eighty level sales manager
Since localization is a professional service and from afar looks like a black box in which there are either hares or pigeons, below we will try to lift the veil of secrecy over the localization processes and help gain protection from sales managers of the eightieth level. We have compiled a list of eight competitive advantages, which in fact are not. Explain why this is so.
1. We translate native speakers.
Any normal localizer translates native speakers - these are the basics. Talking about translation by native speakers is the same as saying that your particular car has four wheels and an exhaust pipe. Moreover, native speakers are different - for professional translators it is important to keep in touch with the language environment; for this, he must be in his native country. It is also important that localization was his profession, and not a part-time job on weekends and during school holidays. That is, it is better for an American translator to live in America, and for a Chinese person in China (think of your friends who went abroad a few years ago, and listen to how they speak Russian).
')
There are projects for which the work of the carrier is not so important and for which the budget is important - then various options for work are possible. For example, a company makes software for call centers, intends to enter foreign markets (say, India and China) and localize the interface into English, while it is important to observe the terminology and retain the meaning, and the style can be sacrificed. It is difficult to call the Chinese native speakers of English, while the Indians, although he is a state, but a little bit his.
2. You upload a file to our web service and get a ready translation right in it.
In fact, there are not so many services that automatically unload text from a build for localization, and then insert it back. But even in those that are, the main attention is removed to the processes of unloading and substituting back the text, that is, a purely technical problem, while the most important and difficult thing is to find high-quality performers for the work.
In the majority of “services” there is not even an automated download of text from the build and everything is done manually, and you just become a victim (or happy user) of the landing page and “personal account”, which, in fact, is some kind of replacement for email. In addition, below we will explain why in human translations, it’s just people who decide, not the design of the home page.
3. We do not translate duplicate phrases and make a glossary.
This is a standard feature of TM programs, i.e., all localizers using such programs do this by default. The skill of the localizer is manifested in how texts are segmented and how exactly (from what terms) the glossary is collected, as well as how the localizer works with Locke and with access rights for TM users of different levels (for example, do translators have the right to change the glossary and base of translation memory and how issues with controversial translation options are resolved). Some of the subtleties of the work are due to the TM-program chosen - as a rule, in server development there are more opportunities for experienced users than in SaaS systems.
4. In our database, quadrillion (any number is more than a thousand) translators.
In fact, large numbers make an impression, but they carry almost no information - you only focus on the emotional mood of the speaker. For example, they say with aspiration and pride: “We have 2,000 translators in our database,” and you understand that this is a lot. Or the same thing is said almost without emotion - and you think that this is normal and that it should be so. We have 5,000 translator cards in the database, 628 of them have worked with us for the past year, about a hundred people have been working with us on an ongoing basis, i.e. they receive tasks from us several times a week. What is important is not the base of performers, but the way you work with them. Ask this question to the speaker and listen carefully to the answer.
5. We pay test tasks to our translators and spend XXX dollars per month for the selection .
Our translators are doing both paid and free test tasks. It depends on the qualifications of the translator and on who is looking for what: translator work or we are the performer on the project.
Payment of the test task by the company does not affect the quality of the work of selected performers and the quality of the subsequent work of the company as a whole.
Black localization cylinder ( actually not )
6. We have a convenient client’s personal account in which you can choose translators.
This may be a competitive advantage of the translation market (such a thing, where customers are looking for performers themselves), but not a localizer! One of the main skills of the localization company (and, perhaps, the only important one) is the ability to select good performers and ensure that they do not lose interest in the work. Without certain knowledge and experience, the team for localization cannot be picked up at all. It is very important how the translators are selected for the project, whether there is an order of selection and certification, especially for “non-native” languages ​​for the company. For example, in our company, a translator not only performs a complex verification task for each new subject, but also is regularly evaluated by his colleagues on six parameters — components of competence. Comments and evaluations of expert colleagues are checked for validity, and for each translator we accumulate statistics in the database. Of course, this is only the tip of the iceberg. At the end of December, we assembled an international group of experts from gaming companies to develop detailed recommendations on quality control in the field of gaming localization. We hope that this spring the market will see the first version of the document. If you are offered at the end of the work to assign the translator some stars, and this is essentially the whole assessment of the translator’s work, then it becomes unclear why you need the services of this company at all - work directly with the translator, it will be cheaper, faster and more reliable. .
7. We manage projects in the Yellowopuk SaM TM-program.
In fact, no matter what kind of software the company uses, the main thing is to do it right. However, there are nuances. SaaS-based TM translation software is a rather small and young market (this means that these programs are not developed by such skilled programmers as at Google, for example; besides, often the development team consists of 2-5 people). SaaS systems have not yet caught up with the server in terms of functionality, however server programs require quite serious initial investments and competence. We believe that we are using the best server program on the market at the moment (indirectly our conviction is supported by gaming companies with a localization staff that chooses the same program as we do), we know and constantly use several functions that competing programs do not have. But other companies can use other programs, and this is normal. Beginner localizers are likely to use the SaaS model, which is neither an advantage nor a disadvantage: someone loves watermelon, the other - pork cartilage.
8. We are an American company, we have offices in the USA, Germany and Ukraine.
It is important to understand what is meant by “American company” and offices. I will cite as an example our company: several legal entities, of which two are foreign. We have postal addresses and phone numbers there - in principle, we can say that we are a hot Cypriot company of localizers or Hong Kong prolific. Our clients are Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, European, American and international companies (there are few Chinese and Japanese). Most of the freelancers we work with are foreigners and live abroad, with all the management, marketing, sales, project management located in Samara and some in Togliatti (we invited our freelancers to the New Year corporate party; as a result, people from various cities - from Bishkek to Daugavpils). Therefore, we consider ourselves an international company with a head office in Samara, and in which country we have accounts is not so important.
Ask where the project managers and administrative staff sit with the company - this point on the map and should be considered the main office.
Be alert, and may the gaming power be with you.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/209148/
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