Language is one thing, culture is another – what requires localisation?

For assessments and tests, it is often vital for the content to be translated, localised and adapted, or else the results of the test will be badly affected.

In this case, the first step to be carried out would be for your assessment to be evaluated to see if the content can lend itself to being localised and adapted for another country or culture.

Our SMEs can carry out such an evaluation for you so that you can make an informed decision about the viability of a translation, localisation and adaptation project. Additionally, our experienced translation teams will also be on the lookout for things that won’t work in their culture or country.

For a couple of recent projects in the area of clinical psychology, we had to adapt and localise all of the items below. This had to be done and agreed before we could even start the translation, so the preparation steps prior to translation are key elements for a successful outcome.

1. Currency: local currency and in realistic amounts for that country.
2. Currency calculations: quarter, nickel, dime, penny (four different coin names in the USA) vs. the cent in a lot of Europe. Calculating amounts with four different names makes things much more difficult than with one.
3. Phone numbers: directory assistance, emergency numbers, format of actual phone numbers.
4. Names of people and organisations.
5. Method of payment: you can’t pay by cheque in some countries and the layout of bills is different.
6. Doctors’ appointments and the nature of the appointment: regular check-ups are not necessarily carried out as standard in many countries.
7. Word lists: in many clinical assessments, you have lists of items such as birds, which people are shown and then asked to recall. A bluebird means nothing to people in the UK, so it is not an item that would be easy for someone to recall.
8. Addresses: both the layout and the actual data will need amending.

We will soon be looking at other documents that may need to be translated as part of the process; if this type of post could be useful to you, don’t forget to subscribe below!