Hi Andrew,
I'm a Brit who has worked in the US for over 20 years, doing
localization as well as tech writing for the last 6 or so. I also worked
in international education programs before I changed career and joined
the Tech Com ranks back in the early 90s.
The answer to your question depends, as always, on your audience - and,
to an extent, on your budget. You don't say what you are localizing,
software? hardware? consumer goods? It can make a huge difference. I
work in software and the company that I work for has made an informed
decision not to localize for the UK. We don't worry about spelling
differences or the use of the serial comma etc. In most cases people
know they are buying a US product and make allowances accordingly. That
being said, we do follow certain conventions that lead to neutral US
English that is easily understood in both countries and easily
translated into other languages as well. This means avoiding things
like sports metaphors, humor, and obvious slang terms, and making sure
that even commonly used acronyms (common in the US that is) are spelled
out the first time that they are used. It also means avoiding examples
that are US-centric - for example, a friend in the UK was very puzzled
by a Microsoft example which used college transcripts to illustrate a
database concept. College records, how they are recorded, and the
vocabulary used are completely different in the UK. He figured out what
was meant - but the example did not clarify the concept for him. Most
Brits have enough exposure to the US through TV, the Internet, movies,
and personal travel to be able to figure things out, but, as with every
audience, the easier we can make things, the better.
However, there are areas where you need to get expert advice. If your
product falls into a highly regulated category such as medical
equipment, or you are selling to the armed forces, or there are safety
issues that you must be completely certain that the user understands,
then it is worth paying someone to do an assessment. It may even be
mandated by whatever body regulates the field you are selling into. Many
translation vendors offer this service.
If localization is not mandatory, then your UK employees are probably
your best resource to ensure that no real blunders are made. They
understand the product and have a vested interest in making sure it
sells. Have them review your documents and the UI with an eye to how
they might be perceived by the UK audience. Try to get input from
several people at several levels, and, if possible, to hear from people
who would be potential users of the product.
You also need to ask how much you are willing to spend on a UK English
version of the product. Theory is file, cultural sensitivity is great,
but most companies want to see cost/benefit information. If you go the
whole way and end up maintaining a separate UK English version of the
product - separate strings (for software), separate documentation,
separate marketing collateral, separate training materials, it can
become extremely expensive and time consuming. Unless there is a
regulatory reason do do so, it's probably not worth it. Instead, you
could look on the situation as an opportunity to prepare your existing
documentation for localization into many languages by making it as
culturally neutral and translation-friendly as possible.
There are a bunch of resources available to start you down this route -
these are just a few:
The Localization Industry Standards Association - http://www.lisa.org/
is a good place to start.
Tex Texin, longtime guru in the field, has more resources than you ever
thought possible on his website: http://www.i18nguy.com/
(he also has a bunch of Localization humor
links...http://www.i18nguy.com/instructions.html )
I also liked Bert Esselink's book "A Practical Guide to Software
Localization" and he has a newer one "A Practical guide to Localization"
that might serve your needs better.
That's about all I can do on a Sunday morning, I hope it helps. If you
have questions, feel free to contact me.
Sharon Gilmour
Principal Technical Writer
eCopy Inc.
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