Website Localization

Website Localization is Critical in Today's Business Climate:

Localization ensures that the intent of your message is transferred accurately to the local market. The process takes into account geographic, religious, cultural and other sensitive and important factors. Outsourcing your foreign language web site needs to professional linguists has proven to be a cost effective, accurate and timely solution for thousands of corporations, organizations and institutions worldwide. American Language Services has spent years developing is own proprietary comprehensive data base of language experts. This data base allows ALS to select the best translators, for the internet-related media industries around the globe.

Localizing Your Website Allows You to Reach More Customers:

Having started in the United States as an English dominated medium, the Internet is rapidly changing to a more balanced mix of languages, thus creating larger worldwide audiences. In the final analysis, a multilingual website is perhaps the most cost effective method for bringing in new customers. The continually improving standards of website localization present companies with significant challenges as well as opportunities. As the global business community continues to find ways to "narrow-cast" and micro-target their marketing to specific communities, culturally correct localized web content is an increasingly critical aspect in how a company's product, services and image are perceived.
Translation of web content takes a great deal of technical as well as cultural expertise. Centralizing your language sources is the key to consistent marketing results.

Technical Expertise and Desktop Publishing Helps Create an Effective International Message:

While culturally correct material is of utmost importance, incorrect coding and formatting can cause your target audience to get the wrong message. Formatting website information takes a high degree of technical as well as desktop publishing expertise. It is important to hire a firm who has experience working with many technical elements for example: HTML & XML, File Formats: Java, Java Script, VB, SVG and Java, Macromedia Flash & Dreamweaver and Front Page as well as GIF, Flash, Shockwave, 3d Studio Max, Alias, Direct X; and DTP tools like Adobe Acrobat, Coral Draw Framemaker, Free Hand Illustrator, InDesign Pagemaker, Photoshop Quark XPress and Smart Suite.

American Language Services (ALS) offer its clients solution based technologies that provide for greater efficiency and bottom line cost savings. ALS offers real solutions that are there to help reduce cost and increase in final quality output. In today's ever changing, highly competitive global environment, it is essential that language companies continually implement new technology strategies to stay ahead of the competition.

ALS Also Has Proprietary Software for Translation and Memory Management:

This term describes a broad process ranging from incoming content delivery, to content evaluation, specialized localization, memory software, creation of glossaries, and use of our proprietary sourcing data base. Translation Memory, or TM, is a database that stores segments that have been previously translated by a linguist, not by machines or other artificial methods. A translation-memory system stores the words, phrases and paragraphs that have already been translated and aid human translators. The primary advantages of TM are that it has the ability to allow human translators to translate documents at faster pace. Translation memories are typically used in conjunction with a dedicated computer assisted translation (CAT) tool, word processing programs, terminology management systems and multilingual dictionaries.

Your Information Needs the Protection of a Secured FTP Site:

FTP is an acronym for File Transfer Protocol. With larger files or large files with a high concentration of graphics including pictures, illustrations, charts and graphs, a secured FTP is essential in getting the files to and from the client to ALS without unnecessary and frustrating interruptions. The ALS secure internet based FTP system is client friendly, easy to set up, easy to use and allows large files and graphically dense files to be uploaded and downloaded via the internet quickly and efficiently. Projects that are Web based can vary from long static HTML web pages to database-backed dynamic sites that present the results of a term search. American Language Services is experienced with all file types. We have many years of direct experience which allows us to offer a high level of project management for effective communications, general planning, overall coordination and technology expertise.

The business of software is also a people business, with strategic relationships that frequently require face to face meetings. American Language Services® do careful screening of the linguists they hire. They have a large collection of expert linguists that provides top quality local service in all areas of the country and the world. ALS interpreters are experienced, knowledgeable and highly effective in an international high technology environment such as a software conference presentation or investor's seminar.

We have a vast resource base of multilingual software experts and a skilled and friendly staff to help you promptly and cost effectively fulfill your request. American Language Services ® believes in providing real value to our clients. It is essential that all of our work is performed consistently and with the highest quality. Over many years, ALS has accumulated and developed some of the most impressive linguistic talent in the world. Our language experts are located in hundreds of countries across every continent, covering every time zone. These highly skilled professionals are recruited, screened and tested to ensure the quality of our work is at the highest level. Please contact us for a quote or to place an order today.

The Hardware of Language Technology

Have you ever been intrigued by the worldly glamour of the translation booths at major international events, or places like the United Nations? Although language interpretation can be performed with the simplest of means, we’ve become accustomed to the multicultural embrace of simultaneous headphone interpretation as a “must” for virtually all types of meetings.

American Language Services (ALS) offer its client’s solution based technologies that provide for greater efficiency and bottom line cost savings:

We provide the highest quality audio electronics, including top of the line brand names like William Sound Equipment, as well as other fine manufactured products to ensure state-of-the-art performance for your event. ALS sells and rents wireless FM as well as infrared headsets, receivers, body pack transmitters, sound reduction equipment, booths and other equipment critical for real-time live events. We also provide a high level of technical support through our on site technicians. We have many years of direct experience which allows us to offer a high level of project management for effective communications, general planning, overall coordination and technology expertise.

Interpretation for Public Events:

Our state-of- the art audio interpretation equipment and interpretation booths meets strict ISO 4043 specifications. Our booths are enclosed, have a comfortable work environment that can hold multiple interpreters. They work very well for sound reduction and are ideal for events with space limitations and or budget constraints.

Transcription Equipment:

American Language Services’ highly skilled group of transcriptionists utilizes the most up to date and sophisticated equipment on the market today. Our transcriptionists are experienced in working in many highly specialized industries such as medical, legal, scientific, entertainment, production companies and training. Transcription has its own special software, transcription kits, and sound conversion equipment and ALS Software is constantly monitored and updated.

Other Special Needs:

Not all our equipment is used in interpreting foreign languages. The Hearing Helper Tour Guide System helps tour group members with hearing difficulties overcome background noise and distance from the guide - even in noisy surroundings, such as factories, museums, power plants, zoos, theme parks, tourist attractions, bus tours, or walking tours - anywhere hearing assistance is required for tour-type presentations. The Tour Guide System saves the tour guide's voice, listeners don't miss the message, and the presentation doesn't disturb others. It also fulfills the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility requirements for hearing assistance. The tour guide wears a compact, body-pack transmitter and headset microphone. Listeners use portable receivers and lightweight headphones to hear every word clearly and easily, even in the back of the group.

Don’t Forget the Accessories:

Note that headsets are sold separately, and like other accessories are usually difficult or impossible to obtain elsewhere on the day of the event. Carry Cases, Chargers, Clips, Batteries, Power Supplies and Cables, and Windscreens are among the often-overlooked items that are vital to good audio performance.

ALS is Your Technology Solution:

American Language Services ® provides Translation, Interpreting, and Transcription Services to all cities in the United States, including major metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, Washington D.C, Chicago, San Francisco, Las Vegas, San Diego, and Irvine. We also sell and rent a full array of state of the art audio equipment to ensure the highest quality audio performance for your event. At American Language Services, we believe in total client satisfaction. Even if you need last minute technical services, we are just a phone call away. Call us for a price quote or an order at 1-800-951-5020.

Software Localization

Software localization (often simply called “localization”) is a means of adapting computer software to different languages and regional differences. Specifically, localization is the process of adapting software for a specific region or language by adding locale-specific components and translating text.

In contrast, internationalization is the process of designing a software application so that it can be adapted to various languages and regions without engineering changes. Some companies, such as Microsoft and IBM, use the term globalization for the combination of internationalization and localization.

Localization is a Key Element in Reaching International Markets and Increasing Profits:

In a commercial setting, the benefit from localization is access to more markets. Some argue that the commercial case to localize products into multiple languages is obvious, and that all is needed is a budgetary commitment from the producer to finance the costs involved. It costs more to produce products for international markets, but in an increasingly global economy, supporting only one language or market is scarcely an option. This is particularly important when global markets are growing at a rate faster then that of domestic US markets. Companies are counting on new revenue streams from these important emerging markets.

Technology Solutions Help Our Clients Do The Following:
Speed up time-to-market launches
Significantly reduce localization costs
Improve the quality of global content
Ensure consistency in desired branding, look, style, and feel
Offer greater internal control and enhance content consistently for regulatory and compliance matters
Ensure the security of both source and translated content
Communicate seamlessly with international markets and their target audiences

American Languages Services prides itself on utilizing the most qualified and experienced translation specialists along with state-of-the-art industry-leading technology products that facilitate the entire scope of the translation process involved in large scale international software development. We have access to applications that are the most advanced and flexible in the industry.

Our products are fully vendor neutral, thus allowing our clients to share content repositories with ALS or any other chosen providers. We have software products that can facilitate localization in virtually all major CMS and database environments.

Best Practice Methods for Software Localization are Essential for Effective Translation of Computer Software:

American Language Services secures and maintains a detailed glossary list for companies and for their specific projects. An alphabetical list of words and their meanings or approved translations (glosses) in their various contexts are utilized on future projects to ensure consistency. This applies to standard and technical translations as well as for web site and localization. The prevailing best practice process is for applications to place text in resource strings which are loaded during program execution as needed. These strings, stored in resource files, are relatively easy to translate. To get an application to support multiple languages one needs to design the application to select the relevant language resource file at runtime. Resource files are then translated into the required languages. This method tends to be application-specific and also vendor-specific. The code required to manage date entry verification and many other locale-sensitive data types also must support differing locale requirements.

Modern development systems and operating systems include sophisticated libraries for international support of these types. American Languages Services possesses the technical know-how to handle all common and many less common file formats required for translation and localization work in all platforms.

Technical Expertise in Software Localization is Vital to Effective and Compatible International Functionality:

Software localization takes a high degree of technical as well as desktop publishing expertise. American Language Services works in virtually all software available on the market as well as all platforms. ALS also continually upgrades to new software as the software market changes and products revised or new products are added in the market. ALS has the direct experience and expertise to handle such technical elements as markup languages: HTML and XML; localization tools: Borland Resource, Apple ResEdit, MS Visual Studio, and Adobe RoboHelp; translation memory tools: SDL Trados, Corel Catalyst, and Deja Vu; specialized file formats: GIF, JPEG, PDF, Java, JavaScript, VB, SVG and Flash;website authoring tools: Dreamweaver and Front Page; multimedia tools: Shockwave, 3D Studio MAX, Alias and Direct X; and DTP tools: Adobe Acrobat, CorelDRAW, Adobe FrameMaker, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe PageMaker, Adobe Photoshop, Quark XPress and Lotus SmartSuite.

We provide a high level of technical support through or on site technicians. ALS has many years of direct experience which allows us to offer a high level of project management for effective communications, general planning, overall coordination and technology expertise. Our finest technology solutions for language services are only a web click or a phone call away. Call for a free quote at 1-800-951-5020