Translation software tools may be useful in company expansions

According to USA Today, although many companies decide to expand their businesses overseas, it is sometimes not as easy as it sounds. There are many obstacles in doing so, with one of the biggest challenges being a new language and culture.


SME Web recently reported that many companies that have expanded their businesses have seen the devastating effects of incorrect translations. For example, when the American video game Call of Duty was released in Japan, gamers in this Asian nation misunderstood how to play the game due to a translation error. In English, one character says, "Remember, no Russian." However, when this was translated to Japanese it said, "Kill 'em; they're Russians," leaving Japanese players mistakenly killing Russian characters in the game.


The news outlet stated that when companies are preparing to translate their texts, they should focus on more than getting the words right. Culture must also be taken into consideration. For example, when Colgate expanded into France they named their toothpaste Cue. Unfortunately, they did not know enough about French culture to know that this is also the name of a popular pornography magazine.


Corporate professionals who are planning to expand their businesses may want to invest in translation software tools before making an embarrassing grammar or spelling blunder. 

Google Translate API - OUCH!

For those of you who think it's just a rumor, it's not. The terrible news is out - Google is cancelling their translation API! PRs and blogs, posts and Facebook pages - all appearing all over the web with pleas to Google to reconsider.

This is Google's notice in their code.google.com page for their translator:
Important: The Google Translate API has been officially deprecated as of May 26, 2011. Due to the substantial economic burden caused by extensive abuse, the number of requests you may make per day will be limited and the API will be shut off completely on December 1, 2011. For website translations, we encourage you to use the Google Translate Element

A lot of people relying on their API to promote their websites and products will be harmed by this move as well as many independent affiliate marketers and even known companies such as Babylon Translation!

Companies with alternatives are doing everything they can to promote their service since now is the best time to do so. Searching Google for "Translation API" or "Translator API" will lead you mostly to sites and forums related to Google's latest notice. However, there are a few alternatives popping up in search results. The most popular one seems to be Microsoft's (or Bing's) translation API. There are a few others, of course, but if you're going to replace huge company like Google, why not do it with a huge company like Microsoft, right?

WRONG!

We tried several different random sentences and translated to and from 8 languages. The results in Google Translate were much better than those of Bing, but the results of WhiteSmoke's Translator were also better than Bing!
So - is there an alternative to Google that actually works better that Microsoft?
WhiteSmoke's Translator is definitely better, easily allowing you to translate full texts.
The question is, do they have an API for us folk?

Critics: German Classic too Slow to Translate to English

According to the New Zealand Herald, a book that has become a bestseller was almost lost to English speakers after it was originally turned down for translation.
Hans Fallada's Alone in Berlin, which has been renamed Every Man Dies Alone in America, was originally published in Germany in 1947. A year later, it was reviewed by a British publisher, who turned down the offer to translate it into English. It was again rejected for translation in 1996.
It was not until 2009 that Fallada's masterpiece was translated into English by Penguin.
In its first 13 months of sales, Penguin sold 300,000 copies of the translation in Europe, with sales in the US topping 200,000. Alone in Berlin is now Penguin's bestselling classic, out-selling books by Jane Austen, George Orwell and Emily Dickens.

In a book review by the New York Times, writer Liesl Schillinger complained only that the book had not been translated sooner.
"A signal literary event of 2009 has occurred, but if publishers had been more vigilant, it could have been a signal literary event in any of the last 60 years," she said.
Individuals who are interested in books written in foreign languages may want to research translation software tools.

American Publishers Reveal New Bible Translations

As many Christians settle into the Lenten season, American publishers have released two new translations of the Bible, the Washington Post reports.
The new translations include the New American Bible - the Catholic version - and the New International Version - the Evangelical version - and are the first translations of the Bible in over 40 years.

According to Fox, The New American Bible, Revised Edition is an easier read for modern Christians, as outdated terminology in the Old Testament has been removed. For example, words such as "booty," "despoilers" and "holocaust" have been replaced with more modern terms such as "plunder," "robbers" and "burnt offerings."
The Washington Post reported that the new Bible edition also includes controversial changes, such as the removal of gender-neutral language that was added to a half-released 2005 version. In response to complaints from religious conservatives, words such as "human beings in our image" have been changed back to "mankind."
Despite an economic downturn, publishing company Zondervan spokesman Brian Burch said he predicts sales will be high.
"We have seen little movement in Bible sales between recessions and good times," he said.
Individuals who work with texts that are not in their native language may want to consider using translation software tools.