The Miasma of Multimedia Localization
By James M. Allred, Language Solutions Consultant, Globalization Group, Inc.

By nature, multimedia localization is very complex. There is more of everything – more components to localize, more technical interaction between components and more people involved. How does a multimedia professional clear the miasma of multimedia localization? Think global from the beginning! Here are a few “globalization” tips to help you escape the multimedia localization fog:

Legalities
Be aware of legal ownership. Video, music, artwork, etc., are copyrighted in their countries-of-origin. Seek in-country legal counsel before releasing products abroad. Remember, not everything is okay to use everywhere, nor are your legal rights the same in every country.

Company policy
Does your company have policies and procedures that make sense for the domestic product but conflict with the localization process? You might have some internal battles to win before you localize. Approach these challenges as an educator and with openness.

Localize or not?
It doesn’t make sense to localize in every situation. Make sure you understand all of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats associated with your product. In addition, understanding product sales cycles and marketing windows used by competitors is essential to international sales success.

Culture counts
Cultural differences can be roadblocks in multimedia localization. Stop signs aren’t red octagons everywhere. Some cultures might not take offense to slight oversights, but others require extreme attention to detail. Get to know the target cultures.

The written word
Remember, some languages are written right to left and not all alphabets use Western European characters. Provide plenty of white space in source documents and video to account for these differences.

Font fitness
All fonts used must support upper and lower case characters in ISO 8859-1, or Latin 1.  These are font standards that help ensure international character functionality.

The Code Word
Make sure your product is double-byte enabled. Developers must provide anti-aliased text for double-byte languages like Chinese, Japanese and Korean. If not, character-sets under 16 points will be unreadable for these languages. Also, all UI text must be externalized from code; this will streamline localization and reduce cost exponentially.

Does it fit?
Generally, localized versions are larger than the English original. Plan for text/vocal expansion by ensuring that at least 10% of text/vocal file size is reserved as CD “free space.” Also, keep in mind English graphics can expand 20% vertically and 10% horizontally when localized for a target language.

Audio concatenation…not sound!
Although it may sound like a good idea, audio concatenation does not work when going global. Word order can change and there can be word gender issues when creating composite sentences from localized terms/phrases.

Naming files
File naming conventions should be consistent, reflect what the file contains and be date-stamped. Also, well-named files in an organized file structure ensure file identity and that component are not lost.

Build, upon build, upon build…
Build the domestic product right the first time and keep it organized and clean. If the product goes global, localization will be easier and less costly.  

What time is it?
Times and dates shown by the product must be changeable and reflect the user’s locale settings.