localization for the dummy I am... Thread poster: Nicolas Bonsignore
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Hi all,
I just wanted to know how localization works. I already translated some texts with Trados Workbench and Tag Editor but the text was in .doc.
I never did the whole job (conversion, tags, ...) and I would like to know how to proceed.
What are the best software ?
When you got the html, xml,... file what do I need to do ?
What are the average rates ? Hourly rate or rate per word ?
Thanks a lot...
Nicolas
| | | | | A bit more specific??? | Sep 21, 2004 |
Hi Nicolas,
Your question is close to kind of "what is localization?"
The specific tasks and tools involved highly depend on several factors, e.g.
- is it for a direct client or an agency
- is it a Windows application, a PC game, a console game, a mobile phone interface or whatever
Some companies use their very own file formats as their resources, others use common stuff that can b... See more Hi Nicolas,
Your question is close to kind of "what is localization?"
The specific tasks and tools involved highly depend on several factors, e.g.
- is it for a direct client or an agency
- is it a Windows application, a PC game, a console game, a mobile phone interface or whatever
Some companies use their very own file formats as their resources, others use common stuff that can be edited in traditional localization tools. Others simply extract all the strings into Excel or Word at their end and do the re-integration themselves.
So, you see, there is no ONE answer to any of your questions, I'm afraid.
However, as far as rates are concerned, I for myself have three different rates when it comes to the different parts of localization:
- one for Help and Documentation (lowest)
- one for Software strings as well as timed (i.e. length restricted) Audio scripts (higher)
- one for lip synch Audio scripts (highest)
All of the above on a per word basis.
Regards,
Stefan ▲ Collapse
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Stefan Keller wrote: Hi Nicolas, Your question is close to kind of "what is localization?"
Well, it is actually! ;o)
I really do not know how it works and I would like to get info on the process for
- videogames
- soft
- help
Thanx
| | | | | as said before... | Sep 21, 2004 |
... that *depends*
Videogames:
Suppose an Xbox title: You will most definitely need MS LocStudio to translate all the in-game on-screen texts. You will most certainly have to translate all the audio scripts for the recording sessions.
Now, take a PlayStation title, and forget about MS LocStudio again, because you will need another tool. And so on...
Help can be based on RTF, HTM or XML, or a combination of any of them, so most CAT tools should perfectly hand... See more ... that *depends*
Videogames:
Suppose an Xbox title: You will most definitely need MS LocStudio to translate all the in-game on-screen texts. You will most certainly have to translate all the audio scripts for the recording sessions.
Now, take a PlayStation title, and forget about MS LocStudio again, because you will need another tool. And so on...
Help can be based on RTF, HTM or XML, or a combination of any of them, so most CAT tools should perfectly handle them.
Software, guess what?, depends on what software it is. If it's plain RC files, you can use most CAT tools again, if it's a dedicated format created by the software vendor, it could be anything. If it's Windows DLLs, you can choose from quite a range of Localization tools.
Same for doc: FrameMaker, PageMaker, Quark, InDesign, Ventura, etc., etc. ... name any DTP application, you don't know before you start talking about a specific project.
So, I'm really sorry, but there's no single and generally valid answer to questions like "How to translate a videogame", I'm afraid...
Regards,
Stefan ▲ Collapse
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Hello,
maybe it is an possibility to take a job in an translation agency and learn the whole process in the next years.
Another possibility is to read, to read and to try.
I think that it is impossible to answer this question in some posts.
With kind regards
Hans
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Another possibility is to read, to read and to try.
Hans
My question is : where can find stuff to read about that ?
Do you have some links ? titles ? authors ? references ?
Thanks a lot....
| | | | Hynek Palatin 
Czech Republic
Local time: 07:05
Member (2003)
English to Czech
+ ...
| Start with documentation | Sep 22, 2004 |
nicolas bonsignore wrote:
My question is : where can find stuff to read about that ?
Do you have some links ? titles ? authors ? references ?
As for the different file formats, try to read the TRADOS File Formats Reference Guide. I believe it's part of Trados or you can download it from www.translationzone.com/download.asp?menuItem=3.
You can also go to the Files section of the TW_users group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TW_users/files and download various conversion utilities that are useful for localization.
[Edited at 2004-09-22 16:36]
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