multilingual websites - ux camp berlin 2012
DESCRIPTION
Multilingual Websites - Common mistakes and common knowledge.My presentation for the UX Camp in Berlin 2012.TRANSCRIPT
Multilingual Websites
Remy BlaettlerChief of the System, Supertext [email protected] | remy.supertext.com | @swissghostrider
Common mistakes and general knowledge
About me
Remy Blaettler“Chief of the System”
Engineer Spent some time to study and work in the US Now back with my own translation agency Supertext
Strings with placeholders
You had 10 visitors on Jan 27, 2012.
“You had “ + number + “ visitors on “ + date + “.”
Translated:Am 27. Jan 2012 hatten sie 10 Besucher.
What the translator gets:“You had”“visitors on”
Strings with placeholders
Format StringsFormat(“You had {1} visitors on {2}.”, number, date)
Translation:“Am {2} hatten sie {1} Besucher.”
Strings with placeholders
Plural formsYou had 1 visitors on Jan 27, 2012.
Add multiple versions:
1. You had no visitors on Jan 27, 2012.
2. You had one visitor on Jan 27, 2012.
3. You had 27 visitors on Jan 27, 2012.
Strings with placeholders
Plural formsExample in Polish with plik = file: 1 plik 2,3,4 pliki 5-21 pliko'w 22-24 pliki 25-31 pliko'w
ngettext() can solve this in PHP, Java and .NET
Resource files
Always put strings into a separate file
PHP.po files
Microsoft.NET.resx files
iPhone.strings files
Flags for language selection
Best place for the language selection
Ok BestFair
Poor
Fair Good
Language selection
Use a Globe or a Map icon
Country and/or Language Selection1. Country/Region2. Language3. Country/Region (Language)
Language selection
Always in native language
Politically correct
No need to step on someone's toes China does not recognize Taiwan as a country Status of Kosovo is in dispute
Use Country / Region for country selection
Rest of the world?
Or “Other countries”
Avoid an implicit rating of countries
Translation tools
Translation MemoryStores every translated string Duplicates and similar sentences for free
TerminologyCorporate language in a dictionary Which words are ok? What should be translated how
Translation tools
One tool for all file formatsText from InDesign, PHP files and CMS are translated in the same tool. Cross Media Corporate Language Translator doesn’t need special knowledge
Translation tools
Trados / Passolo De facto market leader Expensive (EUR 500 – 4000) Desktop app / old technology Most supported file types Strong Translation Memory fuzzy matching Complex Terminology support
Kinda like Word, nobody likes it, everybody uses it.
Translation tools
Across and StarKinda in the same league as Trados (with the same issues)
MemoQGets great reviews, but not widely used
MemSourceNew kid on the block,
Translation tools
XTM / Wordbee Cloud based Monthly fee per user (~ EUR 30) Management and workflow tools Parallel translation possible
Most common file types
Translation tools
Get Localization / Crowdin / Transifex Cloud based Mainly for software localization Weak Translation Memory and Terminology Free or monthly fee Limited file types
File formats
XLIFFXML Localisation Interchange File Format
TMXTranslation Memory Exchange
TBXTerm Base Exchange
SEO
Google translateWill get you punished!
Linkswww.supertext.deBetter for SEO
www.supertext.com/deBetter for local content
UTF-8
Your website?
Let’s look at some websites
We need YOU!
Web Developer in Zürich
jQuery / HTML
ASP.NET
MySQL
Links
Plural Formshttp://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/l10n/pluralformshttp://www.gnu.org/savannah-checkouts/gnu/gettext/manual/html_node/Plural-forms.html