French Canadian Week

Well, this week was unofficially "French Canadian Week" here at ICD. Catherine and Madeline went to Montreal for 3 days to meet with clients, and attend a Trade show. While I had to deal with some interesting French Canadian projects. No, we really don't have language weeks, but it might be fun to have a language week. Maybe we could sample food from that particular country where the language originates, blog about a particular project in that language, and even dress in the local costumes (this might be stretching it a little).

Anyway, the French Canadian project I had was placing French Canadian translations and English text for a bi-lingual label. First off, the label was designed for one language, so the bi-lingual label had to have smaller fonts so everything would fit. Secondly, the client wasn't familiar with the idea or concept of a bi-lingual layout, which is ok, and I fielded a lot of questions about it. So, the project was finished and it was English/French Canadian, and the client asked if it was appropriate for English to go first followed by French Canadian. Generally, this is the accepted layout, but I did ask my translator in Montreal, and his response was rather interesting: " The bilingual version made for Quebec is fine as-is, but could be made 'French before English', which would be more appropriate since the majority of Quebecois are French-speaking. However, Canadians, whether they are Anglo or Franco, are very used to seeing both languages side by side. This bilingual version for all of Canada would also address French-Canadians living outside Quebec."

Well, this comment is interesting because I found out today from Catherine upon her return from Montreal, that the government of Quebec requires that if a child born to two Quebecois (French Canadian speaking couple, both parents are from Quebec) are ONLY allowed to attend schools where French is the medium of instruction. The government does this to maintain the French heritage and culture in Quebec. I just thought this was an interesting way to sum up French Canadian Week, plus I learned a little fact about Quebec and the French Canadian culture.

Translation is Expensive! Really?

Many manufacturers believe that translation costs are a miscellaneous expense. An afterthought when a buyer or distributor actually needs to understand the products functionality. The realities of translation costs finally set it when they receive a quote from a translation company and then they wonder why it cost so much? Why is is so expensive to translate something when it could be figured out by looking at the diagrams. There are exceptions when translation is required, or when it's a matter of choice. For instance Canada requires both French and English content on manuals and packaging that are marketed and sold there. The EU requires that languages spoken in the member countries appear on products and accompanying literature. I know, most of you reading this entry know this little secret about globalization, but my point boils down to a matter of needing or wanting translation.

Yes, you will need to translate materials if you want to sell it in Europe and Canada, you don't want to, but you will need to do it. Therefore, should you dole out thousands of dollars to have it translated correctly? or just use the cheapest possible means as long as it's translated, and what appears to be German or Italian appears on your labels. Who cares if: "Warning: Acid is harmful" reads "Warning: Acid is possibly harmful" in German. On the other hand, if you were not required to translate your materials, but you wanted to make it easier to market and sell your products overseas, then maybe you are more inclined to spend the money getting it done right. If you're a company who is beginning to take a step into the big bad world of international markets, maybe it's not such a bad idea to spend a little extra at the beginning. Have your materials translated correctly, and have your products marketed successfully without anything being "lost in translation" (Jeff from sales loves to use this line). When your profits grow from international sales, and you have tons of material that needs translation, you can consolidate and lock in some better prices with your translation vendor, and of course you are also building a memory that ensures consistency and re-use of content. This will save you tons of money in the long run. Translation is a long term investment like your retirement plan, or that condo in South Beach. It will pay off in the end.