The Difference Between Translation, Localization, and Transcreation

The need of knowing each other and the need to understand each other’s culture are not unknown. There must be unity in diversity for around 8 billion people in this multicultural world. So, this globalized world demands global solutions to handle diversity. For this reason, translation, localization, and transcreation help out in a number of ways. The translation is just the process of switching between the languages, localization is the clear adaptation of cultural context apart from switching, and transcreation is the generation of contextual message in a relevant way. These three models are designed to provide language solutions in all fields of life, and these three processes are offering translation and language services. Different professional translation companies and localization management platforms are hiring professional language service providers to carry out all the services. The translation is just the process of switching between the languages, localization is the clear adaptation of cultural context apart from switching, and transcreation is the generation of message in a relevant way by sustaining the emotional source. 

In the business field, translation and localization services are responsible to carry out the businesses globally. Many multinational companies are carrying out their brand’s content to target a global audience. For instance, if you want to proceed with your ideas or business globally, you need to hit the audience of that targeted region. After that, you have to take care of the language and cultural context of that particular region. Then you must go for the localization management platform like MarsHub or can hire language service providers who can localize all your relevant documents according to the context. 

Translation

Back to the year 1998, when a famous novel “Alchemist” was published in the Portuguese language by a Brazilian author, and it is famous and lessons were all over the globe. And you are sitting in America, waiting to get the idea of that book. After a time, it has been translated into 67 different languages and is, at present, one of the most famous books to read. This is what translation is. It converts the content from one language to another just like switching. 

For this process, you can hire freelance translators or professional translators who can translate your content by taking care of the grammar rules. 

You have heard of books, language, and document translation. But, now, translating a website has also become common. If your website is in English and your targeted audience lives in Spain. You can easily get your website translated from English to Spanish language. Translating your website content make it easy and convenient for a local audience 

Importance of Translation 

The need for translation can be dated back to the time when people start to think of getting social. The urge to learn about each others’ views and to study each other’s literature. Additionally, the advanced type of technology and globalization also made it compulsory to shutter down language barriers.

It is used for:

1. Medical documents 
2. Scientific documents 
3. Technical pages
4. User manuals
5. Journal publications. 

Localization 

What if you translate a book from one language to another, and that translated book is only giving word-for-word translation. Will you get the entire meaning? If yes, will you be able to obtain the contextual wise meaning? Definitely, no. So, here comes another method that is different from the process of translation. 

Localization is the cultural adaptation and it does not only fall for words. It contains the cultural context and provides meaning by taking care of all the initials. Localization is the complete cultural adaptation of products. This process is far more than the translation boundaries. It gives meaning to cultural things like dates, time, color, images, norms, context, layouts, and many more.  Thanks to the advanced and globalized world, the need for localization is never going to diminish. In fact, it is increasing day by day. Now, the world is dealing with video games localization to software localization, from mobile apps to document localization. 

The Need for Localization 

Localization has enormous benefits., especially in the case of doing business. If you want to run a business in any foreign country or are thinking of going global, the very initials that should be kept in mind is localization strategy. By no means, you lift your local business and expand it worldwide. In this expansion, you will look out for cultural to geographical context, brand recognition and familiarity of brand, awareness, and language easiness. For instance, vividly, the world has joined together in every field of life. The same goes for the entertainment industry like in video games. Games are an important link to join the public and to generate revenue. Many games like FIFA world cup, Minecraft, and many more. Minecraft is one of the most popular games for children and it comes in almost 56 various languages. This means that many nation’s audiences can understand and play this game. But where comes localization in this? Is this not like a translation?  Certainly, no. Localizing video games takes care of initials, layouts, formatting, characters, language, jargon, and specifications. Thi appeals to the audience in a targeted method and takes care of the audience’s cultural and societal norms. Because there is a possibility that not every country’s vulture accepts every genre or liberal or new ideas. For instance, there are some countries where the dressing code is more important for gender. Also, there must be some countries where gender color matters and is different from the rest of the world like in Japan. 

It is widely used for 

1. Software 
2. Mobile apps 
3. Video games 
4. Websites 

Localization and Platforms 

Apart from it, many language or software localization mistakes are being observed during the process. Many organizations hire just translators in order to get the content translated. Many times, the formatting gets mismatched because some languages are written from vertical and some are horizontal, sometimes, graphics and colors can be a big problem. Like, red is the mourning symbol in Africa, but the same red color is the fertility message in India. So, these kinds of problems can seriously hamper the progress of this advantageous process. So, to omit out very minute details and to provide the services of I10n, many localization management platforms are working in this domain. For instance, one of the reliable and authentic platforms is MarsHub. It is a 360° localization management platform that ensures the presence of all the specific stakeholders who are involved in the localization process like language service providers, vendors, and enterprises on one platform.  

MarsHub uses a cloud-based translation management system that is embedded with enriched computer-assisted tools (CAT) along with translation memory. These features help to fasten the localization process greatly. Along with it, a cloud-based TMS system helps to have access to everyone to monitor his project’s ongoing status. Apart from this, choosing this platform is reliable because it has self-styled glossaries and a separate project management system. Last but not least, the services of language service providers are in no way lagging behind in this platform during the localization process. 

Transcreation 

It is a process of adapting a message from one to another language by making it culture wise relevant and appropriate. Transcreation copies the intent of the message, tone, and style and represents in the same domain in front of the audience. It is the merger of two words i.e. translation and creation. It is an offshoot of translating that preserves the original content, internet, and tone. 

It is seen in the entertainment field mainly in TV commercials. Transcreated versions of commercials fully recast the ads and follow adjustments to the story for the local audience. Like localization, minor flaws in the transcreation process can make the content give a totally wrong meaning. It is important to transcreate the results in quality content that will assist the business in the market. 

Transcreation is mainly used for 

1. Website ads 
2.  Banner advertisement 
3. Print advertisements 
4. TV commercials 

Concluding Note

Conclusively, it can be said that translation, localization, and transcreation are important blocks in language understanding. Human beings have been striving for cultural amalgamation since the very beginning. That is when translation happened. It is the transformation between two languages. On the other hand, localization is the complete culture adaptation along with translation. It is a broader term than a translation that covers every aspect of a culture. In addition to this, transcreation is the process of adapting a message from one language to another by making it culturally relevant. These three concepts are important for language transformation and these three concepts are relevant in the conversion of languages in order to remove the language barrier. As this world is a multi-linguistic world and it needs to be handled very carefully. For this reason, many translations and localization companies are offering their services with the help of professional translators and advanced automation technology.