[ESW Wiki] Update of "geoGettingStartedwithI18n" by 81.136.159.56

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http://esw.w3.org/topic/geoGettingStartedwithI18n


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  The globalization of Web sites has become an important issue for companies that want to increase their presence and market and sell their products in international markets. In many case, localization has proven to be the key factor for international product acceptance & success.
  
- [[RI doesn't this para just repeat the previous one? DC 25 May - agreed, seems a duplication]]
+ '''[RI] doesn't this para just repeat the previous one? [DC 25 May] - agreed, seems a duplication'''
  
  While the practice of web production has matured rapidly over the years, Web site globalization is still very much in its infancy. 
  
  Although nearly every American corporation now has a web presence, less than 15% offer more than one language. With so few examples to build upon, and few established standards, the web manager planning a multilingual site is often left with little direction and support. 
- '''[DC 25 May] But US-globalised/multilingual sites are not the only resource - seems too English/US focussed.'''
+ '''[DC 25 May] But US-globalised/multilingual sites are not the only resource - seems too English/US focussed. Do this argue that more than 15% should offer more than one language?'''
  
  Web site globalization is [[RI can be?]] a complex process, which requires a clear project plan and often the allocation of significant time and resources.
  
@@ -85, +85 @@

  [[RI It might help to add some wording to more carefully relate this concept to Web technologies.]]
  
  Central to internationalization is the ability to display the character sets and support local standards of a particular country or region. For example, before Web pages can be translated into most Asian languages, they must support double-byte characters [[RI suggest multi-byte]]'''''[[RR suggest ideographic characters, we need to get away from DB term]]'''''. If the page has been coded to support only Western European languages, it must be double-byte enabled'''''[[RR suggest -- ideographic character enabled]]''''' (e.g. by using Unicode). For more on this, please refer to the Developer View below.
+ 
+ '''[DC 25 May] In some ways I think encoding is a non-issue for managers except in tool/system support. My feeliung is that the more important issue is language declaration, eg, primary. Managers need to know about end users being able to find information in the appropriate form whether it be language or locale-related; also that the site can be voice-processed appropriately without alienating the end user.'''
  
  [[RI 'display the character sets' -> 'support the character sets' OR -> 'display the characters']]
  
@@ -125, +127 @@

  
  With XML, the use of databases to create web site content has become more widespread. For Web site l10n, this means that where traditionally large sets of HTML pages and images needed to be localized, now database tables with structured content will be translated.'
  
+ '''[DC 25 May] We used database-back systems (with and without XML), but we have few dynamic pages. Don't understand the database tables bit.'''
+ 
  == The challenge of constant change ==
  
  Many Web sites are updated at least once, if not many times, a day. For multilingual web sites this frequency of updates introduces the challenge of keeping language versions synchronized; ideally, all updates on multilingual web sites are published simultaneously in all target languages. Obviously, this requires an extremely quick turn-around time for translations. Therefore, updating multilingual Web content often requires some form of automation to manage complex workflows.  Even if you already have a content management '''''[[RR should "a content management" be "content management" or "a content management system"]]''''' in place, you’ll need to investigate whether it can handle translated content.
  
+ '''[DC 25 May] Our sites are not synchronised as such. There is no automated translation. With news the journalists in each language section need to keep content up-to-date, which they do using pan-organisation resources; sites may have different content according to the locale. Sometimes the language other than English is the resource for English news.'''
+ 
  == Translation and content management ==
  
  Various tools and web content management systems have been developed to store and manage information in multiple languages on web sites. Setting up an organization and workflow that creates and manages content in multiple languages efficiently is a complicated task that is often underestimated. 
@@ -163, +169 @@

  [[DRC 11May: Should naming conventions be established at the site design phase where possible so that there is a consistent way of reaching other language versions?
  
  A: Yes, Content negotiation, or sub site naming needs to be consistent so that equivalent content can be found and updated easily.
+ 
+ '''[DC 25 May] We don't have a one-to-one mapping between pages in different languages, although some multilingual sites do. For us the user journey would be within a particular language area. I don't thing language negociation would be so useful for us, but serving pages within a particular directory sub-structure with the correct language and encoding information is.'''
+ 
  = Design View =
  
  == Text content issues ==
@@ -172, +181 @@

  • Use consistent phrases and terms. The importance of simple, concise language is magnified when writing for translation. For example, in page navigation decide upfront whether you will use “back” or “previous“; click on”, “click”, “choose”, or “select:, when describing navigation.
  
  • Use simple, active verbs.  Compare  "Click the GO button" to "The GO button should now be clicked." '''''[[RR not clear which is good and which is bad]]'''''
+ 
+ '''[DC 25 May] I had an idea that for usability especially voice/text browsing, that 'calls to action' should take the form of 'submit this form'.'''
  
  • Avoid the use of "telegraphic English", ie., write full sentences.
  
@@ -207, +218 @@

  
  '''''[[RR suggest for clearity -- When displaying addresses always include the country/region name and for telephone numbers, always include the country code. Specify the time zone.]]'''''
  
+ '''[DC 25 May] zip code is the one that drives me mad. Also requirement of an area, eg, metropolitan UK areas such as London and Manchester, where there is no real area, though you can, if you're forced to, input 'Greater X'. Also, ordering in drop-down lists such as of countries/languages.'''
+ 
  == Cultural standards and other issues ==
  
  The general rule is to avoid culturally-specific content. This includes: humorous references; references to politics, religion and sacred objects; sports and entertainment events and figures; seasons and holidays. Equivalents in other languages can probably be found for your culturally-specific content, but this requires much more effort than straightforward translation and increases both the time and costs of translation.

Received on Wednesday, 25 May 2005 15:01:34 UTC