Many of us have heard about translation and localization  but are not clear whether these two are interconnected, different  or same. Well, if you are also in this confusion then here you get the right answer. So, let’s start with the basic definition of these two words: Translation  and Localization Services.

A piece of advice:  it’s important to be clear about what you actually need to consider among translation and/or localization for your website. The choice is all yours as per the requirements: whether you are only looking for accurate translations or engagement boosting localization only or either both at the same time. So, make sure to not ignore the differences between both to pick an optimal and effective way for your web content.

What Is Translation?

A process of changing a piece of writing into another language is known as translation. While translating, a translator must be clear about the context of the text so as to recreate it in another language perfectly.

FYI, translating is done between two languages that use the same alphabet and writing system. And these days there is a great demand for professional online translation services.

What Is Localization?

To modify the text and media used in a game, app, website, etc the process of localization is implemented to make it culturally relevant for end-users. To appeal to different markets localizing includes adapting voiceovers/and several resources as well.

Differences Between Translation and Localization

Both of these differs from each other in many ways such as:

• Language

In case of translating, two languages are used by following the same writing system while in localizing two languages are used along with two writing systems to change text and media both. 

• Time

Time taken for translating a piece of text takes less time as compared to localization. In short, to change the text and media it may take several hours to weeks in localization services.

• Editorial Changes

There are no editorial changes to the translated text during the translation process as word-for-word translation is done only. Although localizers make editorial changes such as from presenting information to removing inappropriate content. It takes time for the team of localizers to make editorial changes carefully.

• Cost

It’s very obvious that translating a piece of text is cheaper than localization as for the task of translation only a few hours are spent while for localization it usually takes several weeks.

• Availability of Resources

For translating, only a translator is needed while with localization, the transformation of both text and media requires translators, editors, graphic designers, audio engineers.

• Audience Translation

Translating is often done for academics, hobbyists, etc  however localizing is mainly done for video games and other media such as TV shows, apps, websites, etc. In short, localization is a process of transformation performed by considering the different cultures.

• Language Experience

For the translators it’s important to have global knowledge of English and another language to understand the content properly before translating it. Meanwhile, the localizers need to have a good understanding of target language (in which product is localized) along with an excellent command of the source language.

• Creativity vs. Clarity

It’s always fun to do translating as it’s more creative to retain the source document’s actual intent and meaning. On the other hand, in case of localization to better fit your changes (text and media) based on the target culture is something not that much easy. Hence, localization is something you may call clarity while translating is a job of creativity. But both these tasks of translation and localization services need proper research.

Let’s summarize – the main key distinction between the two processes:

In translation, only text transformation is done while in localization the entire content (text & media) is transformed. Although there are endless limits of localization, as per the process of localization to make the content authentic and locally accepted it requires time, skills, and a lot of hard work.

On a tactical level, both these approaches are different from each other. As you know, translation is appropriate for some content types in particular markets and localization is required to make the content more adaptable across the regions. There are various factors you can consider before finalizing or opting for a right approach:

• Be clear for what type of content you require localization and/or translation.
• Keep an eye on the budget also as both the approaches have their respective resources and cost.

Meanwhile, you can go with the blend of translation and localization to get the flavor of clarity and creativity to make your content or brand message acceptable globally. In order to expand your business, be mindful about the right or profitable approach. Make a good research while choosing the experts or professional online translation services.