LESSON 1.

0
Localization, Globalization,
Internationalization:
Brief Introduction:

Localization, globalization, and internationalization: These all sound like

similar concepts, and indeed many people often use them interchangeably.
However, subtle distinctions set them apart, and understanding the
differences is key for anyone tasked with helping a company “go global” —
and ensuring their brand message resonates globally.

What is GILT?

Researchers have created the acronym GILT (globalization,

internationalization, localization, and translation) to refer to the activities
that businesses engage in when they expand beyond national borders, Of
these terms, “translation,” which refers to the process of converting text
from one language to another, is the most readily understood.

Globalization

Globalization refers to any activity that brings the people, cultures, and
economies of different countries closer together. In business, “globalization”
(also called “going global“) refers to practices by which organizations
become more tightly connected with their customers and partners around
the world. This includes any aspect of operating in different national
markets, from product design to marketing.
  Globalization: A Few Examples
Still a bit too vague for you? A few examples of globalization in the
world of business:

 Online marketplaces like eBay and Amazon make it easy to buy

products from businesses or individuals on the other side of the planet.
Even products sold in traditional brick-and-mortar stores like Target
often make stops in several different countries before reaching their
final destinations. Consumer electronics, for example, are commonly
sourced from raw materials in India, made in China, then sold in
America.
 Many large restaurant chains, like McDonald’s, operate in dozens of
countries. McDonald’s specifically has franchises in upwards of one
hundred countries, and diners around the world recognize its brand and
logo.
 Netflix operates in more than 190 countries and customizes content
offerings for individual markets with subtitles and programming in
local languages.
 The instantly recognizable “swoosh” logo of Nike transcends different
cultures and languages. Nike has formed partnerships with athletes
who play a variety of sports in many different countries and uses these
endorsements to support its worldwide expansion.

There are many benefits of globalization for both companies and

consumers. The impact of global inter-connectivity has been a boon for the
world economy in recent decades and has increased the world’s GDP from
$50 trillion in 2000 to $75 trillion in 2016. Globalization has come hand-in-
hand with the most transformational advances of the 20th century, such as
international air travel and the Internet.

The terms localization and internationalization both fall under the banner
of globalization. In the next two sections, we’ll discuss the differences
among globalization, localization, and internationalization.

What Is Internationalization?
Internationalization is a corporate strategy that involves making products
and services as adaptable as possible, so they can easily enter different
national markets. Internationalization often requires the assistance of
subject-matter experts, technical experts, and people with international
experience. Industry experts sometimes shorten the term
“internationalization” to “i18n” (18 represents the number of characters in
the word).

Products intended for use by speakers of multiple languages typically

undergo an internationalization process. For example, IKEA
internationalizes the assembly instructions for its furniture by using only
diagrams and illustrations, without including any text that would need to
be translated. Products with instructions that do require translation are
still often written with the goal of being as culturally-neutral as possible.
This, of course, is easier said than done.

In the case of software products and electronics, internationalization

involves a number of different concerns:

 Data encoding: The ASCII character encoding is sufficient for texts in

most Western European languages. However, languages that use non-
Latin alphabets (such as Russian, Chinese, Hindi, and Korean) require
larger character encodings such as Unicode.
 Hardware support: Software designers must consider that certain
hardware devices may not be available in all countries.
 User interface: If a software application will be translated into
multiple languages, the user interface needs to include enough space for
the text in all of these languages.

According to most definitions, companies must first internationalize before

they can localize a product. In the next section, we’ll discuss the difference
between internationalization and localization.

What Is Localization?
In order to define localization, first keep in mind that internationalization
helps a product become adaptable to and user-friendly for audiences in
many different countries. Localization, conversely, is the process of
actually adapting that product to a specific target market once
internationalization has taken place.

As mentioned, McDonald’s operates over 30,000 restaurants in 100

countries. Its worldwide expansion is an example of globalization. By
design, the corporation creates a menu adaptable to various local tastes
and customs. This policy is an example of internationalization.

Many of the McDonald’s restaurants in Israel serve kosher food and drink
and close during the Sabbath and Jewish holidays. McDonald’s has also
opened a meat-free restaurant in India, a country in which much of the
population does not eat beef or pork. In both cases, McDonald’s has
maintained its global brand identity but tailored its products and services
for local markets. These cases exemplify localization.

How is Localization Different from Translation?

In short, translation refers to the conversion of written text from one
language to another, while localization is the process of making a product
or message resonate with a specific target culture—as if it were created
there in the first place.

For most products, localization includes—but is not limited to—

translation. There are many localization challenges. It requires
consideration of multiple cultural factors that transcend the words a
company uses to describe or explain its product.

When creating its film Inside Out, for example, Pixar modified its
animation to accommodate multiple versions of a scene where a character
points to and reads a sign. In the Arabic version of the film, the character
motions from right to left, rather than the left-to-right direction the
animation takes in the English version of the film.

Here are just a few of the important considerations companies need to

address when localizing a product:

 Naming conventions (e.g., people from certain cultures may not have
last names or may have multiple last names)
 Telephone number formats
 Date and time formats, such as DD/MM/YYYY and MM/DD/YYYY
 Currency (symbol and amount)
 Writing direction (left to right for most languages, but right to left in
Hebrew and Arabic, and vertical in some Asian languages).
 System of measurement, i.e., metric or imperial
 Punctuation, such as quotation marks (“”) in English, low quotes (,,”)
in German, and guillemets (<<>>) in French.
 Symbols and pictograms, e.g., check marks, stop signs, and the use of
color to convey information
 Electrical voltages, frequencies, and plugs
 Legal requirements (such as the GDPR for the use of European
Union citizens’ personal data)
Apple’s Siri virtual assistant represents a product that has been
successfully localized. When users ask Siri for the weather report or
directions to a specific address, Siri can provide the answer in Celsius or
Fahrenheit, or kilometers or miles, respectively, depending on the user’s
location. Users can even select their preferred accent for Siri’s voice (in
English, the choices include American, Australian, and South African).

When building a website, developers should have a robust website

localization strategy by addressing these concerns during the planning and
design phases. Successful internationalization precedes commensurately
successful localization.

For example, currencies such as the Chilean peso and the Japanese yen do
not use subunits in practice, because each unit is so small (one U.S. dollar
is equal to roughly 700 Chilean pesos). Therefore, e-commerce websites
that Japanese developers design for a Japanese audience can use only a
single-integer variable.

If the website expands to a U.S. audience, however, the developers will

need to add another variable to store both units and subunits (i.e. dollars
and cents) or convert the integer variable to a decimal. This process can
become both time-consuming and bug-prone for highly complex code bases.

In review: Localization, Globalization,

Internationalization
Globalization refers to the processes by which a company brings its
business to the rest of the world.

Internationalization is the practice of designing products, services and

internal operations to facilitate expansion into international markets.

Localization is the adaptation of a particular product or service to one of

those markets.

Whenever you anticipate expanding a product to multiple national or even

regional markets, you need to consider internationalization and
localization. Planning for these processes before the project begins will help
you design products that include and satisfy users of all regions, cultures,
and languages.

Getting important localization and internationalization right can be tricky.

At Lionbridge, we’re passionate about producing and adapting content for
international audiences. If you want your message to resonate around the
world, contact us. We’d love to help.

Download our Buyer’s Guide for Localization Services and find out how to
choose the perfect partner for translation and interpretation services.

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#globalization #internationalization #languageservices #localization

#translation

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Content Creation for Multilingual SEO in 2020 and Beyond
Writing Equity Research Reports
Writing Equity Research Reports
What to know about financial advice in
multilingual markets
Last Updated: January 15, 2020 11:27PM

A thoroughly analyzed equity research report can increase your business

and build trust in your investment bank as your clients learn to listen to
your advice. Let’s break down this offering to see where your team could be
making a bigger impact.
What is Equity Research?
Equity research is a deep dive into an equity or stock. It incorporates
financial context to explain and predict financial performance. Research
takes place on the far side of an information barrier separating research
for sell-side publications from investment banking teams.

What is an Equity Research Report?

An equity research report serves as a source to justify investment
decisions. It can focus on something as narrow as a single stock or as broad
as an entire industry.

Clear, concise writing is imperative. Readers should all finish reports with
similar conclusions rather than needing to infer takeaways. The
investment advice should be actionable and well-supported. It should also
be accessible to an audience ranging from individual to corporate investors.
An equity research report has a few key elements:

 company highlights
 industry overview
 financial ratio and valuation analyses
 description of risk factors
 analyst recommendations (e.g. buy, sell, hold) and summary
 investment thesis, including rationale for the recommendation
 disclosures (as needed)

Who Reads Equity Research Reports?

The audience for equity research reports is mainly fund managers and
anyone responsible for managing wealth and investments. Although retail
brokers might not need to meet the same fiduciary requirements as
financial advisors, they do need to act in a certain “best interest” and can
also use these reports to make recommendations. Hedge funds and mutual
funds have different appetites for risk, but they can both use these reports
to guide their strategy.
All these players are also choosing where to make their investments and
through whom. That’s why it’s crucial equity research reports be
thoughtful, reliable publications in any language.

Who Writes Equity Research Reports?

Research analysts need to be efficient writers capable of meeting short
time-to-market requirements. They need deep industry background to
reduce on-ramp time. Although these reports can be many pages long,
often readers will skim for highlights. The inverted pyramid writing style
applied in journalism helps report consumers get the most important
information as soon as they start, so they don’t miss a key piece of advice
deeper into the piece.

To access the widest possible audience, a multilingual writer is ideal.

Unless an analyst is truly bilingual, the original writer may not be the best
choice for consistent translations.

Who Should Translate Equity Research Reports?

Of course, not every institution has these staffers on hand all year round—
nor should they. That’s where language service providers come in. The
specialists at Lionbridge include financial writers, research editors and
translators, all with years of experience. They know derivatives, bonds,
equity and more in markets around the world and will work with your
team to create accurate, on-time publications.

Get in touch
If you want fast, quality, scalable financial content, reach out to see how
we can help.

ShareTweet

#equityresearchanalysis #equityresearchreport #finance

#investmentwriter
AUTHOR
April M. Crehan

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