from: abelsp 1 month ago

Presented by Ann Zdunczyk at Documentation and Training Life Sciences, June 23-26, 2008 in Indianapolis, IN. English is one of the most expressive languages on Earth; with a vocabulary of over 900,000 words, no wonder there are so many ways to say the same thing! Mission critical, life saving messages must be communicated clearly in English as in target languages. Even if your content is still in “English only”, this presentation will give you insights to more effectively communicate your intent, in words and images, to a diverse audience. Find out what global forces are eroding market boundaries and helping “make the world flat,” broadening your future audience to include languages you may not have considered before. This presentation will cover many considerations, including: * Is your content written as clearly and as to the point as possible? * Does your content use consistent terminology? * Has your company acquired other subsidiary divisions that have different standards for writing and managing content and language translation? If so, how do your coordinate your efforts in this arena? * How do you optimize source, English content to leverage as much previously translated text from legacy material as possible? * How can a professional linguist be certain of your intent during translation? * How can you validate content translated for overseas markets? * When does “fancy” formatting and page layout become an impediment to language translation? No doubt you’ve already heard about Controlled English, and the many challenges to effectively translating rich, technical content from English to other languages. At first glance, the task can seem overwhelming. Believe it or not, you are already “shifting gears” and writing at different levels of English for different audiences. The same skills you use every day in editing you own email can be transposed to effectively create focused, technical content for a broad global audience. Domestically, a significant proportion of medical staff are non-native English speakers. In an emergency, all staff must instantly grasp the intent of written instructions on complex equipment. The “life-saving” ramifications of your content become even more pronounced when your words are translated from English to another language. Attend this session to learn even more ways to avoid errors and save lives. (And you thought you were just creating content!)

Tags: translation localization globalization content audience

from: abelsp 1 month ago

Presented by Ann Zdunczyk at Documentation and Training Life Sciences, June 23-26, 2008 in Indianapolis. Creating content for a global audience can seem daunting at first, but most best practices come down to practical guidelines and simple common sense. Document assets must be packaged in a consistent and specific way. Graphic assets must be tracked more specifically than with an English-only project. Effectively converting your content into target languages and locales involves a host of decisions: * Are graphic images in your marketing materials potentially misunderstood or offensive? * How can instructive graphics of device and equipment operation be created to minimize translations costs? * How can source-file document templates be designed to allow “breathing room” for target languages that will increase word count and paragraph depth? * What computer settings are required to enable you to view content published for Asian markets? * When generating multiple outputs from single source publishing, how can content best be organized for optimal results? * How can you select and qualify in-country review staff within your company to ensure that target languages are optimized for your audience? * How can you reduce the turn-around time for in-country review? * What can you do while authoring new content to maximize the leveraging of content from legacy files? * How can you monitor your project’s progress as it advances through various milestones on the translation vendor’s end? Attend this session to find out answers to these and even more critical questions that will help get the most out of your translation budget. The world is waiting for your product and accessible information to use it. Don’t be left behind as your competitors reach even further into expanding global markets.

Tags: audience content translation localization globalization

from: abelsp 3 months ago

Presented by Joe Gollner at Documentaton and Training West, May 6-9, 2008 in Vancouver, BC Global markets are rapidly erroding "English only" markets. It is only a matter of time before something you write or create will reach a non-English speaking audience. Find out how to prepare your content so that your ultimate audience will grasp your intentions, even if they don't speak a word of English. This session is appropriate for anyone who creates technical content, be it distributed via paper, PDF, the web or mobile devices. Many North Americans have become complacent due to a monolingual environment that has lulled some of us into using "worst practices" in writing and document structure. In addition, 8.5 x 11 paper is often the unconscious lens we view our content through. (How many times have you caught yourself writing just one more paragraph to reach the bottom of the page?) Learn how to overcome these barriers and use a few simple principles and common sense to "frame" your content in the most effective way for translation, localization and globalization. This session is not another sales pitch on how much you need your translation vendor; it is a nuts and bolts "how to" session on getting your content act together for the broadest audience imaginable, the entire world.

Tags: audience localization globalization user experience