As demonstrated in the video below, by simply pointing your iPhone at the foreign words, the app would be able to instantaneously translate them into English , and best of all you would not require internet access to utilize this app.

The application  is available for free at the apple app store, but you would need to do an in app purchase of US$4.99 for each of the language pairs, currently there are only 2 language pairs available; the “English to Spanish” and the “Spanish to English” translations.

If your destination is Spain or any other Spanish speaking countries, this is one app you should try out.

source:[Quest Visual]

On the contrary, to embark on their global presence, Facebook launched an application called “Translations” and through this application, the tedious process was crowd sourced, allowing the millions of Facebook users worldwide to participate in the translation process.

Within a few weeks, Facebook managed to release its first ever localized version in February of 2008 when they launched their Spanish site.For the months to follow, volunteers from all over the world had utilized this application to help translate the social network into every other major language in the world.

After seeing the success of “Translations”,Facebook did not just stop there,instead they continued their global mapping on the other sites and applications across the internet; as long as the site or application uses Facebook Connect, they will be able to leverage on Facebook’s global community in getting it translated into any language that Facebook Translations supports.

This move by Facebook would have epitomized Facebook’s philosophy “Giving people the power to share and make the world more open and connected” but on the flipside, Facebook is at the same time patenting this crowdsourcing translations process which had helped transformed them into the global entity they are today, seeking to profit from other networks that are thinking of using similar method to localize their content.

Source: [Facebook Translations,Inside Facebook,TechCrunch]

Today, we will look at erroneous translations in a different light, a term loosely known as illegal translation.

One famous example would be JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series; perhaps the most widely read stories in the world. The Harry Potter series has sold an estimated 400 million copies worldwide and it has also been published in more than 64 languages.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the last of the seven part series by J.K Rowling

For the authorized translated versions, the publishers even got some of the world’s best translators to work on it.

However on the flipside, as translation work could only start after the English version is released, many of the Harry Potter fans world-wide became impatient as the wait was way too long.

Some had to make do with the English version and the others who did not have an adequate grasp of the English language had to settle for the illegally translated versions.

Such demands had led to a widespread movement of illegal translations, which has allowed fans to get their hands on the book way before the official version is even ready.

The illegal translators worked in groups in order to speed up the process; the copies were either uploaded on the internet or published and sold off to unsuspecting fans who actually thought they were the official versions.

Some of these translators even went to the extent of using free online translators and converting it into the language of their choice.

Depending on the language, the translations were often full or errors and inconsistency, it might even look like a joke considering the amount of mistakes made and the hastiness of the translation process.

For the true Harry Potter fans, it would be disheartening to see JK Rowling’s masterpiece being tarnished by these illegal translations, as the context from the original story would have surely been lost with such a sloppy translation process.

As a good translation requires a great deal of effort coupled with a meticulous proofreading process, an advice for true fans of Harry Potter would be to wait patiently for the authorized translated version of the book. This would ensure true enjoyment of the story as its true context would be appropriately preserved.

Source [Wikipedia]

This was what happened when ex-2PM member Jay Park had his comments on MySpace leaked out to the Korean media. His comments went “Korea is gay. I hate Koreans. I wanna come back… Korea is whack, but everyone thinks I’m like the illest rapper wen i suck nuts at rappin.”

The comments was actually posted 5 years back when Park was still a teenager studying in America, in which he admitted was due to his immaturity at that point of time, and the words used in the comments are phases that are commonly used in American rap songs.

However due to the lack of understanding of the American culture coupled with a message that was totally taken out of context, the Korean media misinterpreted his comments and sensationalized the entire incident. This resulted in an outrage within the Korean entertainment scene. In the 3 days after the leak, Park was bombarded by personal attacks in which caused him to leave his band 2PM.

If the Korean press had cross-examined the comments in its culture and context, Jay Park might still be with 2PM

Through this incident, we can see that when it comes to getting a message translated, not only must it be bought across in a grammatically correct form, factors such as culture and context must also be carefully cross-examined.

Brand name
Examples abound of companies who performed poorly in another market because of the wrong choice of name. One of them is General Motors. When it launched the Chevrolet Nova in South America, it was unaware that “no va” means “it won’t go”. After the company figured out why its cars were not selling, the vehicle was renamed “Caribe” in Spanish markets.

Brand values
What one culture values may not be held in high regard by another. To succeed in a particular market, it is imperative that the brand value of a product or service is in sync with the cultural values of the population. When BMW presented images of status or success in its marketing campaigns in New Zealand, it found that these generated little to no interest in its cars. The company realized that this is because New Zealand has a highly egalitarian society where the pursuit of status holds little appeal. On shifting the focus to the quality of its engineering, BMW was able to generate more sales in this market.

Brand presentation
Cultural conventions will determine how your market responds to messages. The color of a logo may have positive connotations in one market and negative ones in another. The same applies to symbols used and the tagline that accompanies the logo. Furthermore, a more informal communication style works better in some markets.

Montblanc for instance customizes its letterheads and invitation cards in different states in India. They not only translate the text into the local language but also vary the colors and amount of decoration used. This is because consumers in northern states like Punjab expect a more lively tone and lavish presentation as compared to their counterparts in the south. In making such adjustments, Montblanc ensured that it was connecting more closely to each market in India.

Writing the right copy
There is a good reason why the literati applaud whenever a new, improved translation of a great foreign novel is released. The work of maintaining the nuance, connotation and mood of the original language takes knowledge and skill.

Therefore, direct translations of brand messaging are often ineffective, if not downright disastrous. Kentucky Fried Chicken’s “finger-lickin’ good” slogan was so poorly translated in China that it came out as “eat your fingers off”.

To communicate effectively in a new market, a brand has to first find the right words to best convey who it is, what it does and why customers should care. Therefore, keyword selection should be the first step in localizing any marketing content.

As analogies are often used to confer certain qualities to a brand, it is also worth investigating whether the concept or entity being compared is understood or valued in the same way in the new market. In the US for example, “capitalist” is a widely accepted word, even a way of life. However, Forbes magazine’s effort to promote its “Capitalist Tool” credit cards was met with a negative response in Indonesia. This was because capitalism was an alien, even taboo, concept in this country.

Ideally, the translator of the content is not only an expert linguist but also a subject matter expert. This is because the translation of marketing materials involves an interpretation of the essence of the message. On top of distilling the message, the translator has to identify the key elements and present them in a manner that the target market will respond to. Without an understanding of the industry, it would be difficult if not impossible for the translator to achieve this.

Translating the images
If a picture is worth a thousand words, whatever it says has to be translated as well. Like words, photos can contain a host of political, social and economic landmines. Compaq was ordered by the authorities to redo an ad campaign in China because the map on its posters did not show Hong Kong and Taiwan as part of China. Pepsi was sued in India for glorifying child labor when it ran a television ad showing a young boy serving its drink to the Indian cricket team.

Images often reflect social hierarchy and relationships between people, groups, and entities. Given that these vary from country-to-country, the content of the images must therefore be adapted accordingly.

This article brings you up to speed with 8 excellent reasons.

1 ‐ Foreign markets are golden gooses in the making
Research carried out by Nielsen Netratings  described  foreign  internet  markets  as  “low-hanging fruit,” that is, with foresight and willpower, one can generate considerable revenue with relatively little effort.

The studies revealed that internet use in the traditional strong holds of the USA, Germany, the UK and Sweden has reached a plateau. On the other hand, in  countries  where English is not the native language such as  France,  Hong Kong,  Italy  and   Japan,  internet use is increasing exponentially.

As Kaizad Gotla, senior analyst at Nielsen Netratings states, “The  easiest opportunities  are in countries where internet usage patterns and user/site relationships are less  established. Acquiring users in markets that are currently in their growth stages  will  lead to a loyal user base that will pay dividends for internet companies in the future.”

2 ‐ Be the leader of the pack
Think outside the box if you want to get ahead in today’s competitive environment. Differentiate  your business from your competitors’. If they do not have multilingual websites, step up and take the lead. Establish your company or brand abroad before they do so. Eventually, companies without multilingual websites will have to contend with competitors who do. It is hardly surprising that customers would choose the website of the competitor that literally “speaks their language”.

3 ‐ Your website is your window to the world
The cost of localizing your website into another language is nominal compared with the returns you could gain. A multilingual website will bring an influx of new customers. By having your site accessible to potentially hundreds of thousands of people, you are showcasing your company across the world. For non‐English speaking users looking for your product or service, you automatically capture their attention.

4 ‐ Give your brand international presence
Having the ability to communicate to a whole new international audience in their own language will deliver results not only in the financial sense but also in terms of marketing and creating awareness of your brand, your range of services and products. A multilingual website is certainly one of the most cost effective ways of marketing your company, capturing new users, building relationships with new clients and giving your brand an international presence. Image is everything. A multilingual website demonstrates you think, work and deal across cultures and across borders.

5 ‐ Put in the personal touch
A multilingual website, if designed properly, overcomes potential cultural barriers through
allowing access in the local language. This immediately puts the user into a ‘cultural comfort zone’ as they are able to navigate, understand and interact with the website. This gives you bonus points as consumers who feel at home will be more willing to  engage your services or purchase your product.

6 ‐ Gain the trust of consumers
For many cultures there is an issue of trust when it comes to buying over the Internet, especially if the website is in a language they have trouble understanding fully. Offering your products or services in their local language allows customers to feel secure in the fact that they know what they are buying, the procedures they have to undertake and the people they are buying from.

7 ‐ Appeal to the popular search engines
Search engines lead people to your site. In China, Japan and France, Google, Yahoo and MSN are not the default search engines. Home-grown search engines are emerging and they are proving successful because they operate in their native languages and are focused on the habits and needs of their users. Such search engines are a key to tapping those markets and having pages of your site available in those languages ensure maximum potential for your site being picked up in searches.

8 – Test the waters with your website
Still unconvinced about the advantages of having a multilingual website? Well, a multilingual website is actually the perfect platform to test the response of a foreign market before you pump in more resources. With a multilingual website, you can communicate with a large audience and yet avoid the need to deal with the printing and distribution costs of having printed collaterals. Frequent updates to your website can be done with the click of a mouse, without incurring reprinting costs.

With the far-reaching advantages having a multilingual website brings, what else is holding you back?

1. Using a global template
To differentiate segments of your global audience, you could use a global template to help segregate your different target audiences and direct them to the respective site corresponding to their locale.

Examples of such usage is in the form of a splash page for visitors to select their location as shown below in the example of McDonald’s international site, and Manchester United’s main site, in which visitors can select their respective language through a dropdown box.

The use of global templates would help set the platform for your global operations as visitors can easily navigate and find the webpage in their native language. Newly localized sites can also be added easily to the global template.

2. Ensuring Cultural and Political Sensitivity
To avoid any form of backlash, it is of utmost importance for businesses to cultivate a sense of cultural and political sensitivity in terms of their website content.

It might be considered alright to use a banner that contains pictures of scantily clad ladies in more liberal nations such as the United States however it would be considered culturally insensitive to do so in regions such as the Middle East.

Failure to ensure cultural and political sensitivity in your web content will not only affect your business operations, and depending on the severity of the issues, businesses might even be forced to shut down their operations in that particular region, inevitably damaging their global reputation.

3.Creating a local experience
Although you might not have local offices set up in your target markets, it is still possible to ensure visitors to your site can have an experience that caters to their locale;

One such example will be the use of local phone numbers in the website. Calls can then be directed to the nearest regional offices. Another example would be the use of local currencies in your product catalog.

Other factors to look into are demonstrating an awareness of public holidays. Some successful global brands put up notices of well wishes and even change their website themes to commemorate special occasions. The following is an example of Google’s thematic change to commemorate Singapore’s National Day.

4.Using of icons
As you might not have translated your website to the native language of your target market; a practical approach to go about this language barrier would be the usage of universal icons instead of just words for your links. This will ensure that visitors who are not familiar with your language would still be able to navigate through the website even with differences in terms of language understanding.

5.Optimizing your website
Even as high speed internet access is somewhat prevalent in most developed countries, there are still many parts of the world that do not have such a luxury. Thus it is important that your website is properly optimized so as to ensure browsing consistency.

Some simple steps you can take are to ensure that your images are properly re-sized and other multimedia elements, especially those with huge file sizes, are used sparingly.

A good practice would also be to test the loading time of your website in various connection speeds as it might take a much longer time to load due to differences in bandwidth in other parts of the world.