Poll: Do you translate your Web site into other languages?
Thursday May 31, 2007
There was a point in time where I was maintaining a Web site in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
And while I studied Spanish in High School, being able to say "Yo hablo español" doesn't sell very many products, especially when that's all you can say... (Well, ask me if a donkey is an animal - I know the answer to that...) I went from there to managing the HTML (but not the content) for the same site translated into like 21 languages. Studying Linguistics in college didn't prepare me for that, either.
Do you translate your Web site into other languages?
- Vote Now
- Yes, our site is translated into more than 10 languages
- Yes, between 5 and 10
- Yes, 3-4
- Yes, 1-2 other languages
- No
Who does the translation for you? Do you hire translators? do it yourself? Use computer translation? If you don't translate your site, why not?
Comments
I think most people speak English, even in foreign countries, and since this is America, it is in English. Let them learn English.
Most people don’t speak English, don’t bother learning it and want content in their own languages.
And even in USA English is soon going to be a minority.
Although I agree that there’s nothing wrong with having your site in English only, if English speaking people are the people with whom you are trying to convey your message or conduct your business; however, I think it’s a little harsh to expect everyone else to learn English. I guess it’s just the way Sherry used the English language: “Let them learn English”. Sounds like Sherry has been listening to too much conservative talk radio.
Sherry,
Sorry, you’re wrong. I don’t know where you’ve been, but there are many foreign countries where hardly anybody speaks English.
And to expect those people to learn English sounds quite ignorant (if not arrogant) to me.
And by the way, looking at your writing, your English is not flawless either.
Kind regards,
Juancho
If as a commercial web designer, you don’t at least recommend that a client offer a Spanish language version of his/her web site, can you accept the responsibility for having deprived your client of millions of potential customers? I say always propose bilingual sites, and let your client decide.
I planned to translate my sites, but it was too much work. A trustworthy and accurate translator is hard to find, automatic/ computer translators are not that accurate, and translating everything myself is a huge headache. And only know a few languages.
You know, like Juancho said, i disagree with Sherry. Language is also a point of accessibility. If your user can’t understand the content of your site, what’s the point to visit it?
My opinion is that, these days, English is a universal language, there are people who can’t understand, but i’m sure that is more easy to understand something in English than in Japanese.
I guess that if you are seeking for international visibility, you gotta have your site in English, otherwise, only your native language it’s enough.
I have my online portfolio only in portuguese, since i’m brazilian, and my target audience is Brazil. But i’m going to translate at least my about and contact page. For that, i will translate by my own, and ask for someone to revise it. If it’s a commercial work, i ask for a professional translator.
In my opinion, language(s) offered on websites should be viewed as an accessibility issue. You don’t want to ignore the growing number of visitors to your website that use alternative browsers by presenting them with a website that only works properly in a single browser. Similarly, if a substantial percentage of your site’s visitors are from a country or region that speaks a language other than English, you don’t want to alienate them by offering an English only site. At the very least, it does not make good business sense.
Know your audience, existing and target. Analyze your traffic. Know what your competitors are doing. If you live in an officially (or unoffically) bilingual country or region, consider the ramifications of only offering English on your website. Some bilingual countries legally require certain information to be provided in both languages.
I don’t suggest that it is practical to offer translations in every language. If most of your audience is English speaking and you are content with that, it might not make sense to translate your site at all. But by doing your homework, you are more likely to arrive at a decision that is right for your business - and know how you got there.
And finally, take a look at your own attitudes. Arrogance found in statements such as “Let them learn English” are likely appearing elsewhere in your business - maybe even your website!
Gaynor translates our website into French.
Woa! Sherry didnt asist to her geography class.. Well most countries in America (including central and south) are spanish speaking countries.
Sherry is 100% right. If she doesn’t want to deal with people who don’t speak English, why bother. For those of you who want to deal with other languages, go for it. She doesn’t.
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KrazyKyngeKorny (Krazy, not stupid)
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Actually, we in America don’t speak “English” — we speak “American”. Don’t believe it? Go talk to a Britt! In Sherrie’s defense, I think she’s right. If someone wants to be an American, then they need to learn the language. If I went to live in Germany, it would be up to me to learn German — not up to the Germans to learn to speak English so they could sell to me!
But that’s a cultural issue. As pertains to my website, it needs to be easily accessible to the customers I am targeting. Since our business is selling and chartering buses in the “central states” region of America, I’m not particularly interested in attracting customers in Japan and Pakistan; so our site is in English. We do, however, sell a large number of new and used school buses to the Mexican community. So we have a special home page designed for that market and professionally translated into Spanish. That page tells our Spanish-speaking customers who we are, what we do, and that the remainder of our site is in English. It’s amazing how many people in numerous cultures have access to someone who can speak English and translate for them when the need arises!
First, Shelley, America is greater than USA…I am in America, South America. In America, more people speak Spanish-like than English-like. I say that, because I dont speak spanish, I speak Argentinian.
And my web site is in spanish, english and french, because I want to reach a large amount of people..and I love both foreign languajes.
Saludos…
When it comes to translating a site, it’s all about economics. If it makes financial sense companies will translate, advertise, and go after any customers any place in the world. Our company provides website translation from English to Spanish (www.montoyaconsulting.com) because having a link that says Espaňol is a competitive advantage. The reality is that most companies in America are trying to acquire a slice of the $700 billion dollar Hispanic market.
If you are in the United States you should have to be able speak English.
When I travel to Mexico I do my best to speak Spanish because I respect their culture. I don’t go over there and expect them to speak my language in their country, and I don’t expect to have to learn their language when they come to my country.
But having different language translations for a website really depends on the audience.