When we talk about translation, most people understand that it involves finding the equivalent of a text in one language in another so that speakers of that language can understand it.
On the other hand, localization consists of adapting content (not necessarily textual) to the audience of another country, region, or specific group.
Let’s start with the main differences:
Only texts are translatable, but localization can be applied to different content, images, or ideas.
Translation is only required when there are two different languages, but localization can be done to adapt to a different market with the same language.
When we translate, we try to use a standard language that all speakers of that language or region understand (for example, Latin American Spanish); however, when we localize, we can do it for a much more specific sector, such as a town, a locality, or a population segment such as men, women, youth, etc.
Translation seeks to be as similar as possible to the original text, while localization can totally modify the text according to the target audience’s requirements.
Translation serves to make a message understandable, while localization serves to make people identify with it.
Basically, if we put all these ideas together, we can conclude that localization is not limited to saying the same thing in another language but seeks to adapt the message to the context to which it is intended, such as the culture of a country, idiosyncrasies, values of a target audience, etc.
Localization is widely used in marketing. For example, when “localizing” an English-language campaign for the Latin American audience, there will be countries that commonly use “vos,” others use “usted,” and others use “tú.” Therefore, it is important to know these variations and adapt the message accordingly. But this does not end there: localization to adapt to a different audience and their customs is key for any brand that wants to expand internationally.
A leader in this area is McDonald’s since they often implement variations in the menu and available food for each country in which they operate, depending on what that audience is used to eating, and this includes the language and name of menu options.
Another example is Coca-Cola, with its campaign of putting people’s names on the label to be closer to their customers. This campaign was modified for China, where it is disrespectful to address people you don’t know by their given name. In this case, they solved the issue by using other words on the bottles such as “friend” and “partner,” among others.
That’s why at Tecnitranslations we always emphasize the importance not only of knowing the language deeply but also its respective culture and idiosyncrasy. That’s why we not only translate but also localize content.
Let us know if you know of any other successful examples of localization.
Five Differences between Translation and Localization
When we talk about translation, most people understand that it involves finding the equivalent of a text in one language in another so that speakers of that language can understand it.
On the other hand, localization consists of adapting content (not necessarily textual) to the audience of another country, region, or specific group.
Let’s start with the main differences:
Basically, if we put all these ideas together, we can conclude that localization is not limited to saying the same thing in another language but seeks to adapt the message to the context to which it is intended, such as the culture of a country, idiosyncrasies, values of a target audience, etc.
Localization is widely used in marketing. For example, when “localizing” an English-language campaign for the Latin American audience, there will be countries that commonly use “vos,” others use “usted,” and others use “tú.” Therefore, it is important to know these variations and adapt the message accordingly. But this does not end there: localization to adapt to a different audience and their customs is key for any brand that wants to expand internationally.
A leader in this area is McDonald’s since they often implement variations in the menu and available food for each country in which they operate, depending on what that audience is used to eating, and this includes the language and name of menu options.
Another example is Coca-Cola, with its campaign of putting people’s names on the label to be closer to their customers. This campaign was modified for China, where it is disrespectful to address people you don’t know by their given name. In this case, they solved the issue by using other words on the bottles such as “friend” and “partner,” among others.
That’s why at Tecnitranslations we always emphasize the importance not only of knowing the language deeply but also its respective culture and idiosyncrasy. That’s why we not only translate but also localize content.
Let us know if you know of any other successful examples of localization.
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