LOCALIZATION

Q: What is localization?

A: Localization is a multi-step process for creating local language versions of products, software applications, training materials, print, multimedia materials and websites. The goal is to ensure compatibility, optimum performance and acceptance among local users/readers. Localization accommodates important culturally specific details, such as idiomatic expressions, concepts, graphics and colors, content, measurements and date format.

TESTING

Q: What do government and military language tests measure?

A: These tests generally measure proficiency in a language–writing, reading, speaking and listening skills. They rarely address performance skills such as translation, interpretation and localization. JTG's expert teams offer both proficiency and performance skills. (See "Skills" for more detail on the difference between translation and interpretation.)

Q: How does JTG qualify its translators and linguists?

A: JTG has maintained the same stringent testing criteria since its inception in 1991, even after the post-9/11 demand for translators and linguists loosened standards for some. JTG's testing and qualifying procedures take into account multiple variables:

• Professional background, including track record and areas of expertise
• Formal training, including university degrees and certifications
• Familiarity with language software
• Skills measurement and testing
• Performance in personal interviews and feedback from references
• Ethics

A: Tests vary according to the project. All measure knowledge of source and target languages, including grammar, syntax, culture and the ability to translate accurately and idiomatically. A secondary test may measure subject matter expertise. Tests are evaluated by relevant language and subject matter experts.

TOOLS

Q: Does JTG use language software technology?

A: JTG uses a variety of standard productivity enhancement and workflow tools to add client value and ROI.

Q: What is MMT (Memory Management Tool)?

A: MMT is a productivity enhancement and quality assurance tool designed for language practitioners. It does not "translate" a text but instead builds a database of translation text segments that have already been translated by a human being. MMT is best used to speed up translations through leveraging previously translated material or to improve consistency of terminology throughout a document.

Q: Does JTG use MT (machine translation)?

A: MT software "translates" text from one language to another "automatically" without human intervention; however, the results are not yet ready for public understanding. JTG uses MT, along with other tools and human expertise, as a time-saving tool when translating large amounts of grammatically simple, repetitive text.

QUALITY ASSURANCE

Q: Does JTG follow a standard quality control process?

A: JTG has published Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) that detail every step of the company's translation and localization process. These are designed to provide a logical and efficient way to monitor a project's progress, check that requirements are being met and obtain feedback. As a result, JTG project managers are able to take preventive measures before an issue becomes a problem.

Q: Does JTG follow a code of professional conduct?

A: Yes, the ATA Code of Professional Conduct.

SKILLS

Q: Is there a difference between being bilingual and being a professional translator or interpreter?

A: Yes. Translation and interpretation are learned skills requiring schooling and training. Professional interpreters generally have a college degree, are native speakers of a language and have an area of expertise such as physics.

Q: What is the difference between a translator and an interpreter?

A: Translators provide a written rendition of a text, mirroring original content. They do so without using word-for-word translation which is a sign of an untrained translator. The final product in translation work must read as if the text were created in the target language. Interpreters, on the other hand, provide an immediate rendition of spoken words. The skills and training are different.

Q: If I am rated as a 3/3 DLPT or a level 4 or 5 on the ILR scale, can I work as a translator?

A: It depends on the context. The government and the military have very specific language needs and have developed proficiency tests that meet those needs. In other settings, proficiency in two languages is the starting point of a career in localization, translation, interpretation or a related field. The next step is to learn how to translate and how to interpret. You need two hands to be a surgeon, but having two hands does not make you a surgeon -- you need to learn the profession. Professional interpreters have a college degree, are native speakers of the language they translate into, and have an area of expertise. If you translate biochemistry, you need a degree in biochemistry or proven professional experience in that field.