Hi Mark - I managed the localization work for the Getty's Visit section 4 years ago and can give you some tips. From an accessibility point of view, you want to have human-translated language, not use Google. In general translation services are ok, but they make mistakes. You also want to think about non-English language search engines and SEO in other languages as well. So localization is not just about translation. Feel free to contact me - I am happy to talk on the phone to discuss.
Things have probably changed in the last 4 years - I do wonder if Google translate services, which are much more accessible these days through search, are more commonly accessed and used by users. But ideally a user from China, for example, isn't coming to your English pages and then clicking on a button to change the language. They shouldn't see your English page at all, and should just be sent directly to the Chinese page. Again, this requires search optimization in that language, as well as language declaration on the pages. Susan Susan Edwards Associate Director, Digital Content HAMMER MUSEUM 10899 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90024 310-209-7921 sedwa...@hammer.ucla.edu On Mon, Oct 22, 2018 at 5:04 PM Megan Richardson < megan.richard...@museedelhistoire.ca> wrote: > The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam offers its whole website in Dutch and > English, and key visit information in 9 other languages. > > Megan Richardson > Directrice, Musée virtuel du Canada > Musée canadien de l'histoire > Director, Virtual Museum of Canada > Canadian Museum of History > 100 rue Laurier Street, Gatineau QC K1A 0M8 > T 819-776-7189 > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: mcn-l [mailto:mcn-l-boun...@mcn.edu] On Behalf Of Mark Andrews > Sent: October-10-18 5:23 PM > To: mcn-l@mcn.edu > Subject: [MCN-L] Multilingual websites > > Hi. I'm wondering if anyone has any recommendations about language > translation for museum websites. Currently, the Exploratorium has a series > of single pages for visit planning for seven non-English languages (e.g., > https://www.exploratorium.edu/es). But as we try to attract and serve > more non-English speakers, we're thinking about other approaches. > > For instance, for anyone who is using (or has used) a Google Translate > widget in your universal footer or header, did you find it successful? Did > it get good usage? > > It occurred to me that I don't really have a sense of -- broadly -- how > people use foreign language websites. Are they translating at browser level > (or device level), making a site-specific widget superfluous? Or is a > widget actually useful? > > Any insights or stats are appreciated! - Mark > > -- > > Mark Andrews | Director of Online Media > e x p l O r a t o r i u m > mandr...@exploratorium.edu > mobile: 415-830-1578 > _______________________________________________ > You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer > Network (http://www.mcn.edu) > > To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l@mcn.edu > > To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit: > http://mcn.edu/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l > > The MCN-L archives can be found at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/mcn-l@mcn.edu/ > _______________________________________________ > You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer > Network (http://www.mcn.edu) > > To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l@mcn.edu > > To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit: > http://mcn.edu/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l > > The MCN-L archives can be found at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/mcn-l@mcn.edu/ > _______________________________________________ You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu) To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l@mcn.edu To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit: http://mcn.edu/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l The MCN-L archives can be found at: http://www.mail-archive.com/mcn-l@mcn.edu/
