Kvaløy Nettverk offers localization services into languages of the former USSR and Asia. Our in-house staff and external consultants will help you find the best localization solution for your software, video game, website or any other written translation.

As a part of the globalization process, localization is the process of modifying products or services to account for differences in distinct markets. Localization is not a mere translation activity because it involves a comprehensive study of the target culture in order to correct adapt the product for a specific country, region or group. While there is indeed an overlap between translation and localization, the latter generally addresses significant, non-textual components of products or services in addition to strict translation. Localization commonly addresses the following 4 issues:

Linguistic issues

This covers linguistic adaptation of the product or service that will be sold to individuals who do not speak the language in which it was created. Business needs also require translation of marketing and product collateral materials, web pages and support materials, training documents, internal service bulletins and all other similar components. Linguistic aspects of localization may also include dubbing and adaptation of speech-based components. Linguistic issues may directly impact other aspects of product design, for instance modification to support characteristics of a particular language, or adaptation of space requirements for languages that require significantly more or less space than the original language.

Physical issues

Beyond translation, localization often involves physical modification to products or services in order to make them acceptable in the target market. While physical modification is not required for most software and user documentation, physical differences may impact software and documentation that refers to or is embedded in hardware.

Business and Cultural issues

Local business and cultural specifics can affect all aspects of product design and localization. This includes support of local currencies and accounting conventions, local address and telephone number formats, and even the format of names. Issues of this kind are often underlooked by product designers who simply are not aware of them. However, these issues may make a difference between a product that is successful and supports high sales and a frustrating product which is rejected by customers. Other areas of adaptation include colors and graphics that must be adapted to meet the local cultural standards. Successful product designers must also be aware of political and business issues, and local cultural expectations.

Technical issues

Supporting local languages may require special attention and planning at the engineering stage. Support for some languages, including the East Asian languages, requires special design and attention; some languages are written from right to left, requiring the adaptation of user interfaces and the use of special text-handling routines in software; not to mention such issues as the order in which text is supported, date formats, the separators used in numbers, and many others.

Kvaløy Nettverk’s localization experts will thoroughly consider all four aspects to address your business priorities and needs and help you unlock new markets with greater success and confidence.