“Start with the end in mind.” This is my new mantra when I think about the end-to-end process of developing content for the global marketplace. If we consider translation when we write content, the quality of the translations will go up and the cost of creating the translations will go down.
In the next few posts, I will elaborate on 5 things that writers and editors should consider when they create content that will be delivered in multiple languages.
Here is a brief rundown:
- Eliminate unnecessary words
- Keep sentences as short as possible
- Say the same thing the same way, every time
- Avoid grammatical structures that are difficult to translate
- Avoid idiomatic phrases that have no meaning in other cultures and languages
As I’ve mentioned many times in this blog, I do not consider myself an expert on translation and localization. So, I am looking forward to hearing from you on additional items to add to this list.
Val Swisher is the Founder and CEO of Content Rules, Inc. Val enjoys helping companies solve complex content problems. She is a well-known expert in content strategy, structured authoring, global content, content development, and terminology management. Val believes content should be easy to read, cost-effective to create and translate, and efficient to manage. Her customers include industry giants such as Google, Cisco, Visa, Facebook, Roche, and IBM. Her fourth book, “The Personalization Paradox: Why Companies Fail (and How to Succeed) at Creating Personalized Experiences at Scale,” was published in 2021 by XML Press.
Val is on the Advisory Board for the Technical Communications Program at the University of North Texas. When not working with customers or students, Val can be found sitting behind her sewing machine working on her latest quilt. She also makes a mean hummus.
Val is on the Advisory Board for the Technical Communications Program at the University of North Texas. When not working with customers or students, Val can be found sitting behind her sewing machine working on her latest quilt. She also makes a mean hummus.
Latest posts by Val Swisher (see all)
- Pharma Deserves Better - August 22, 2022
- Resistance Comes from a Place of Fear - August 15, 2022
- There’s No Such Thing as a Perfect Structure - July 11, 2022
