RE: this weeks q&a -- final HTML

Phil,

Many thanks for providing this file.  It worked fine when uploaded. You
can now see it at
http://www.w3.org/International/questions/qa-international-multilingual.
html (note that the extension is now .html rather than .htm)

I have the following suggestions (use what you choose):

[1]
Background, last sentence: in 'the design' you should probably leave out
the word 'the' or add something later

[2]
Answer, para 2: 'Such sites' is slightly ambiguous - I think you mean
'such regional sites'


[3]
Answer, para 3: how about replacing 'a foreign word or phrase' with
'embedded foreign text'?  It seems to me a bit of an edge case to call a
page with a single foreign word in it multilingual.

[4]
Answer, para 4: I think an important element of web site design that is
affected by multilingual vs international is the approach to navigation
- you may want to add this to the list in the first sentence.
International sites typically navigate users through country/region
selections plus language.  Multilingual sites may just involve language
selection.

[5]
By the way, para 1: since this is an English page, you might get
slightly more impact by reversing the 1,547 and the 1.547 - this is not
at all important though

[6]
For me, one of the interesting differences between international vs
multilingual sites is their relationship to content.  Here are some
thoughts which also include the question 'Which one should I be
developing?" Perhaps this would be good for another question, or perhaps
we should make this question "What is an 'international' or a
'multilingual' web site, and which should I be developing?" (you're
welcome to use any of this that you like):

===============================================

International sites may attempt to present the same monolingual content
to an international audience.  This runs the risk of alienating
potential readers or customers, either because they don't understand the
information or because they don't feel comfortable with the cultural
approach.  Such sites may use international English and remove
potentially troublesome cultural references, but this can lead to
cultural blandness. On the other hand, it is probably a relatively low
cost approach.  Other international sites may remain monolingual, but
attempt to vary content for the local reader, increasing impact and
relevance.  This is somewhat more costly and complex to manage, but may
pay dividends in terms of user responsiveness.  

Sites that provide multilingual content address understandability but
not necessarily cultural differences. Some multilingual sites are purely
a translation of the original web site.  This helps users understand
material better, but may still lack sufficient impact and relevance for
the local reader.  Translated sites may be appropriate for technically
oriented sites such as the W3C web site, but if your site, or a part of
your site, is attempting to persuade the reader to do or buy something
the ideal is to have multilingual sites that are adapted to the reader's
local culture and interests.  This approach requires you to balance the
dividends of impact against the costs and complexity of implementation.

The decision as to which of the above approaches you take will depends
on the type of material you are dealing with and your financial means
and resources.  Simple technical material is often at one end of the
spectrum, and marketing material at the other. Some approaches, though
desirable, may be simply too complex or costly to support your business
case.

===========================================
============
Richard Ishida
W3C

tel: +44 1753 480 292
http://www.w3.org/International/
http://www.w3.org/People/Ishida/



> -----Original Message-----
> From: Arko, Phil [mailto:phil.arko@scr.siemens.com] 
> Sent: 07 July 2003 17:06
> To: 'ishida@w3.org'
> Subject: this weeks q&a -- final HTML
> 
> 
> The html document is attached for the 
> international/multiligual Q&A. I used a previous Q&A as a 
> template, so I'm hoping this will work well when it is 
> uploaded. Please let me know if I should do anything futher 
> with this Q&A.
> 
> Many thanks,
> Phil
> 
>  <<qa-international-multilingual.htm>> 
>

Received on Tuesday, 8 July 2003 06:40:00 UTC