Introduction
These Translation & Localization Specifications collect together the requirements for multilingual communication productions that should be defined prior and simultaneous to the work.
Product Line and Project Specific Parameter Groups
Since translation and localization only beget the need for more translation and localization to support end users as they engage with products and services, these specifications make a distinction between the requirements that should be met in:
- the development of translated and localized product lines, and
- when completing individual projects to achieve the full localization of product lines.
The requirements that apply specifically to a particular project within a product line are defined in the project specific parameters. These parameters should be documented for each project submitted within a product line. The requirements that guide how work is completed for entire product line are collected under the rest of the parameter groups. These parameters generally do not need to be re-documented for each project submitted within a product line, though they can be made more robust over time.
Here’s a list of broad parameter groups covered in these specifications:
- Product Line - General information
- Foundational Infrastructure (market expertise, legal language, data security, risk management)
- Outcomes to be achieved with the language (translation) and the design (localization)
- Process Management (people, process, technology)
- Money/Time Matters, and
- Project Specific Parameters
Key Terminology
Within these specifications, language work - for example, translation - is defined in harmony with the Translation, Localization, and Transcreation (TLT) paper by the International Federation of Translators (FIT) as work performed on the textual aspects of the content for rendering. Within these specifications, design work, i.e. localization, is defined as work with non-textual aspects of the content for rendering. See too the discussion of the concept of design from MQM.
“Design includes text, paragraph, and user interface element formatting and markup, integration of text with graphical elements, and overall page or window layout.” Lommel, Arle. 2020. “Design.” MQM Terminology, W3C.
To produce T&L specifications, you’ll also need to understand the following specialized terminology.
- specifications - “explicit set of requirements to be satisfied by a material, product, system, or service’ (ASTM International, 2023)
- requester - “person or entity placing the order for translation services” (ASTM F2575, 3.1.20); note: a requester can be either internal, as in a department within the same organization in which work is performed, or external, as in a client that contracts with an outside consultancy of some kind for the work to be performed
License and Disclaimer
Disclaimer: This repo is maintained by LocEssentials. These specifications are uncontrolled after download or being forked from this repository. We are not responsible for changes to the files, nor are we responsible for errors that result from putting these specifications to work. Third parties use this template at their own risk.
This repo has been shared under a CC BY 4.0 License.