1. When Does "Back" Mean "Go"?
This article was originally published on the Acclaro blog.
Category: Software
If you saw an arrow on upper left side of your
browser, you'd think it means "go back," right?
Not if you were looking at it from the viewpoint of a
speaker of a language that reads from right to left,
such as Arabic, Persian (Farsi), Urdu, Hebrew, and
Yiddish.
These languages are often referred to as "bi-
directional" languages, or "bidi" for short — even
though they really only run in one direction. Writing
begins on the right-hand side of the page and concludes at the left. However, numbers are
generally written left to right, and text written in other languages (English, French) maintain
their left-to-right status, so the final text really is bi-directional.
So what does this mean for your localization efforts?
Below are some takeaways on bi-directional language markets from today's webinar on The
Basics of Software Localization. (In case you missed it!)
When "translating," or localizing, your software for foreign
markets, remember that icon and UI placements that
make sense in left-to-right placements, such as the "Back" and
"Go" buttons in a browser, will have a different (often exactly
opposite) meaning in bidi languages.
On that note, also be aware of the differences in symbols. Say, for
instance, that you use a red hexagon to mean "stop" in the original
version of your software. In Japan, that won't fly; the symbol for "stop" is an
upside-down triangle.
Ever look at those eye tracking studies, where you can see which part of the screen web
users' eyes are most drawn to? In LTR countries, it looks like this:
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2. Can you guess what this heat map might look like in Iran? You guessed it: The exact mirror
image, with the "hot spots" being the upper right corner of the screen.
"Mirror" is the key word here. From a presentation, or visual point of view, the general
rule would be to mirror the content. The same is true on the back end. You can't just
translate your software in the same way as you would for LTR languages; you have to
physically "flip" the dialogue so that everything is reversed. Backing up a step further...
this means that in your code (html, jsp) you need to add in commands for every item
that gives you the option of flipping it.
The good news is that if you successfully "internationalize" your software, you can then
regionalize to not only a specific market (e.g., Arabic) but you can use the same rules
for other RTL languages. And there are more RTL readers than you might think:
bidirectional scripts are used in languages spoken by more than half a billion people in
the Middle East, Central and South Asia and in Africa.
Fun Fact: There is one "true" bi-directional language, where signs have a distinct "head" that
faces the beginning of a line and a "tail" that faces the end. Confusing, huh? But luckily, you
probably won't be translating your software into Egyptian hieroglyphics anytime soon.
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3. About Acclaro: Acclaro is an international translation and localization company that
helps the world’s leading brands succeed across cultures. We translate websites,
marketing campaigns, documents and software to give clients an authentic voice in
key language markets.
North America: 1-866-468-5106 Worldwide: +1-914-468-0222
www.acclaro.com sales@acclaro.com
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