Recipe for Success- Ingredients of Localization
Translating a Japanese recipe from Japanese into English and for an American audience is the act of localization. As an American taking a sushi-making class, one would hope that the class had been localized for an American audience. Being localized, the sushi recipes would be translated into English, the measurements would be in U.S. measurements and the teacher would be speaking English or at least have a Japanese translator describing how to make it. Just like you dont assume to go to Japan and have everything in English for you, but as American product going to Japan needs to be in Japanese, in an easy to use Japanese format and the product needs to be localized to fit into the society and cultural norms of Japan.
For exmple, products, like recipes need to be localized to make sense and be successful in other countries. In addition, Japan, like America has different styles of cuisine that are special to each part of the country and small details like that, need to be considered, wherever your product is created. Using the recipe example to demonstrate localization concerns, your company can be aware of its own shortcomings. So to make a recipe in America, translated from Japan, one may run into several difficulties.
3 Points for Recipe Localization
1. Ingredients- America or parts of America may not have the ingredients that are commonly found in Japan, or they are impossible to get or extremely expensive. Therefore, the recipe is going to be changed a little bit, and localized for Americans too. For example, eating fermented soybeans in Japan is common and delicious, but never eaten in America so the recipe is going to localized and modified for American tastes and perhaps the cooking instructor will use another type of bean or remove it entirely.
2. Flavor differences- In America, it may not be easy to obtain the same flavors one wants to achieve as it was in Japan. So, the combination of ingredients will have to be modified. For software and website localization this may mean combining two different types of software in America to achieve a similar look and design of different programs in Japan.
3. Time- People are always looking for a faster and easier way to make or design things. To create Japanese sushi in America, some sushi making classes may have the rice already cooked or suggest instant rice. The sushi making ingredients may come pre-packaged, unlike the traditional way to make sushi, but in a way to make it easier on translation. The silent ceremony and traditions behind creating sushi may not be mentioned in a sushi making class in America, because Americans will not be performing the ceremony when they make sushi at home.
In this global market of goods and services, companies need the expertise of people who live and breathe in the countries demanding international products, not just a localization tool out of a box. Professional translation and localization companies hire people from all over the world to help businesses into international markets easily and smoothly, taking into consideration all of the small details of each country when creating software, American recipes, car manufacturing and video games to name a few. Without translation and localization, its just another incomprehensible box on the shelf, ignored and shoved aside while they search for something that makes sense to them.
About the Author: Melissa Peterman is a web content specialist for Innuity www.innuity.com. For more information about professional translation, Localization tool, software localization, localization services , or Japanese translator, go to Multiling.
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