Language translation

[EternalOptimist]

I have been asked to quote for the translation of a VB application from English to Italian.

So that would be all the captions, messages, error logs etc.
I did a quick google to see if there was anything quick and easy but with no joy.
Has anyone had any experience of this ?

[Jubber]

Just put an 'o' after every word, with comments to 'slap ones forehead' as they say it.

schiaffeggi la vostra fronte

[TimberWolf]

I have been asked to quote for the translation of a VB application from English to Italian.

So that would be all the captions, messages, error logs etc.
I did a quick google to see if there was anything quick and easy but with no joy.
Has anyone had any experience of this ?

IIRC, aren't textual messages stored in plain text files in VB that can be edited in, for example, notepad? And use something like Balel Fish to translate?

(Or just SHOUT the English words, works for me)

[tim123]

I have been asked to quote for the translation of a VB application from English to Italian.

So that would be all the captions, messages, error logs etc.
I did a quick google to see if there was anything quick and easy but with no joy.
Has anyone had any experience of this ?

When my last project had to do something like this we had to get the phrases translated "professionally", you really can make silly errors if you don't. As an example, the correct Spanish translation for switching ON and OFF is YES and NO (SI/NON), you would not get this context correct from a dictionary.

Tim

[chicane]

Has anyone had any experience of this ?

I've never had the pleasure of converting an existing English app into a different language, but I have written web apps that are designed to work with multiple languages. This isn't too bad because you get to store all your translations in a central storage location and use a standard API to pull out the translated phrases where necessary.

In contrast, an application not written especially with multiple languages in mind is likely to be a PITA. Your English language phrases are likely to be scattered all over the place - in the code itself, in data files, in resource files and so on. You'll need to hunt all these down and alter them manually.

In addition to this, you're likely to have to make numerous changes to the code to cope with things like:

- Variable-based messages, where the way in which the error message is written depends on input passed in. For example - "You have 1 message in your inbox" versus "You have 15 messages in your inbox".
- Cultural or regional differences - for example, the Italian version of the app may need a different method of validating postcodes to the English version
- Differences in the way measurements such as currency and distance are measured and presented - pounds versus Euros, miles versus kilometres etc.

There's no reason to shy away from this project as long as you can get a reputable translator on board - just make sure you've got an extremely good idea of the clients' expectations and the desired specification before you get started.

[EternalOptimist]

I've never had the pleasure of converting an existing English app into a different language, but I have written web apps that are designed to work with multiple languages. This isn't too bad because you get to store all your translations in a central storage location and use a standard API to pull out the translated phrases where necessary.

In contrast, an application not written especially with multiple languages in mind is likely to be a PITA. Your English language phrases are likely to be scattered all over the place - in the code itself, in data files, in resource files and so on. You'll need to hunt all these down and alter them manually.

In addition to this, you're likely to have to make numerous changes to the code to cope with things like:

- Variable-based messages, where the way in which the error message is written depends on input passed in. For example - "You have 1 message in your inbox" versus "You have 15 messages in your inbox".
- Cultural or regional differences - for example, the Italian version of the app may need a different method of validating postcodes to the English version
- Differences in the way measurements such as currency and distance are measured and presented - pounds versus Euros, miles versus kilometres etc.

There's no reason to shy away from this project as long as you can get a reputable translator on board - just make sure you've got an extremely good idea of the clients' expectations and the desired specification before you get started.

You have answered my question, there is no easy way to do this.
I would have to hunt down all the variables and build a function to translate captions. The regional differences do not apply in this case. I have quoted him 5 days to build the functions and install the caption translator, plus 20 days to find and amend the variables, with no guarantee that I would get them all.

merci

[VectraMan]

I've done this sort of thing (but not in VB, God no). Obviously a lot easier if you've designed it to have all the strings in one place, but there are lots of other problems. I remember once explorting a load of strings into an excel spreadsheet and sending that to a company for translation, which they dutifully did, but you soon realise that's only about 1/4 of the job. For one thing, if it's a GUI app the amount of screen space you need for something in English turns out to be woefully inadequate for same message in say, German.

There's also the question of context: the literal translation might make no sense to the user. So you need somebody who speaks the language to test it for you, which then means they're sending you corrections you don't understand and the potential for screw up is high. You'll probably go through several iterations until you get it right.

A bit of a nightmare job. I would avoid it, unless it's really really worth it. Or find somebody who can speak both languages to subcontract to.

[MrMark]

I know the guy (Rory is his name, currently residing in Spain) behind this - wordperfectsolutions and not only is he hot on languages, he has plenty of contacts of native translators in case you need difficult technical words to translate. Bookmark it if you think you'll need any translation work doing in the future.
One tip - if you're looking for European translation services, try (if possible) to do it in July/August. Often they'll be only too glad to help out as other work dies out at that time of the year; you may be able to negotiate a discount. However contact them before August as they may already have decamped to the beach!
Edit: his hosting company needs a kick tho. My success rate at loading the front page is below 50%. Maybe a business opp for someone?