Scribers is proud to be appointed the preferred service provider for Health Promotion Board!
We would like to take this opportunity to thank HPB for having confidence in us and we will strive to render quality services for all our clients as well!
Scribers is proud to be appointed the preferred service provider for Health Promotion Board!
We would like to take this opportunity to thank HPB for having confidence in us and we will strive to render quality services for all our clients as well!
Scribers is honoured to be selected as one of the esteemed winners of the Promising SME 500 award.
The award recognises the leadership of the business leaders, innovative concepts and value for clients, consistent business performance, positive value and potential of the selected winners.
We would like to express our appreciation for your continuous support. Thank you!
Please be informed that Scribers’ office will be closed from 21st Jan 2012 (Sat) to 26th Jan 2012 (Thurs) for the festive lunar season.
The team will be back on the 27th Jan 2012 (Friday), but we will be contactable via email/ mobile if you require any assistance.
Happy Prosperous Chinese New Year!
A. The use of Chinese language
1. Spoken by over 25% of world’s population
2. China with the largest Chinese population, followed by Taiwan,
Singapore
3. Even ethnic Chinese in other Southeast Asia countries such as
Indonesia, Malaysia speaks Chinese
4. Chinese is the next commonly used language after English
B. Differences between SC and TC
1. SC is derived from traditional chinese characters, but has fewer
character strokes
2. <Table containing a few words in TC and SC for visual comparison>
3. SC is for China and Singapore, TC is for Taiwan and Hong Kong
C. Same main differences between Chinese and English
1. Representation of dates and time
2. Name formats where the last name comes before the first name
3. Address format: Country > Province > Street
4. These are only some examples
D. Is it viable to simply change SC to TC or vice versa using some
software/automated tools?
1. Chinese localization requires cultural and political sensitivity
2. One would need a experienced and professional translator to
accurately edit the syntax and terminology
3. Terms used must be sociocultural-specific to cater to the right
markets
4. While automated tools can assist in the conversion, they cannot
handle all aspects of moving from one version of the Chinese
writing system to another (quoted from LISA)
Over the last weekend, Scribers staffs pushed away their appointments and came back to office for one common reason – Scribers International’s relocation from our current office in Bylands Building to a brand new premises more than twice the current size in Ubi Techpark.
Excitement and anticipation lingers within each and every employees, managers and bosses alike.
Everybody was looking forward to stepping into their new ‘home’.
As we celebrate this exhilarating moment together, all of us at Scribers would also like to express our gratitute to the people who have make it possible for this to happen, people such as our valued clients who has constantly and consistently showered us with the support.
Thank you once again, our valued clients.
Our new office address and contact details are:
10 Ubi Crescent, #05-19
Ubi Techpark, Lobby B
Singapore 408564
Tel: 6742-6338
Fax: 6547-8280
All other details remain unchanged.
Do drop by for a short chat and coffee if you are around this area!
Heres a look at our new place
This is a very good question, but one that is surprisingly difficult to answer as no one really knows the size of this industry and companies are often reluctant to share their data because it is closely tied to global strategies.
In addition, the answer depends on whether one is interested in translation volume or strategic importance. The two differ substantially, and in important ways.
These figures represent the percentage (of those companies that are localising at all) that are localising into particular languages:
Note that English is the source in each case. Despite trends toward “reverse” localisation, localisation is still primarily a vehicle from English to other languages.
These figures are a few years old, and the priority has shifted during the past few years away from European languages towards Asian languages, which leads us to the concept of “strategic” importance.
French, Italian, German and Spanish (a.k.a. FIGS) and other European languages are “maintenance” languages for many companies: i.e., companies already have a market in Europe, and have to maintain and serve it, but the market is not one that is seen as part of a strategic plan to gain global market share. This does not mean that these languages are unimportant, but rather that they are unlikely to represent new growth areas.
In contrast are “strategic” languages, i.e., those that represent new market areas with a potential for new revenue streams. In this view, China seems to be the number one language at present (I write this based on a number of LISA presentations and the general “buzz” in the industry).
While we don’t have any hard data at present on strategic language (for obvious reasons, companies tend to keep strategic information quite close), if we look at those countries where U.S. and European businesses are trying to establish a foot-hold for consumer-oriented products and see new large markets (and where the market can be accessed easily with a single language), you will have a picture of the strategic languages. I suspect that the list would look something like the following:
While India is rising in importance, it isn’t a major localisation target yet because (1) it is fairly well served with English, at least for the most affluent sectors, and (2) for those not served by English, the picture is of immense linguistic fragmentation, with hundreds of languages that could be considered part of the localisation picture.
In conclusion, the most important language question does not have an easy answer, but there are some general trends we can identify.
Source [ LISA ]
Large enterprises invest significant resources each year developing and adapting digital content for target users all over the world. By understanding how to segment a global audience and adapt content appropriately for target users, digital content publishers can generate multilingual content that both increases international revenues and improves usability for users.
The evolution of the World Wide Web, however, facilitated the growth of international trade and the development of a global economy. Enterprises were able to advertise via email with no printing costs, sell online with no physical presence necessary, store and distribute digital content electronically with no storage or shipping costs, and provide instant customer support via email and online support centers with no telephone charges. These organizations needed to adapt as their target audiences changed from local to global in the space of a few years due to globalization (Braster 2009).
A global audience typically refers to a group of target users that are based in different regions and speak different languages. The term global refers to anything which is not bound to a place, and is independent of physical and cultural contingencies (Wiegerling 2004).
A global audience therefore, must be segmented into different groups of users, with digital content adapted to meet the requirements of each particular group. It may be segmented by the languages spoken by target users, the locale in which they are based or their individual characteristics, and adapted for them accordingly. The simplest approach is to identify which languages users speak, and adapt the source language content so that it is understandable for them. It may not be necessary to adapt content for native and non-native speakers of the source language, but non-speakers usually need the linguistic elements of the source material to be rendered into their language to be able to comprehend it. This process is called translation.
A more comprehensive level of content adaptation is localization, where a global audience is segmented according to the locales in which target users are based. Digital content is then adapted according to the linguistic, cultural and technical nuances of these local areas.
The most sophisticated method of segmenting a global audience, however, is by the individual characteristics of target users. The process of segmenting global audiences by the characteristics and preferences of target users, and adapting digital content based on individual user models, is called personalization:
| Strategy | Segments Global Audience By | What Is Adapted? |
| Translation | Language spoken by target users | Linguistic aspects of digital content |
| Localization | Locale of target users | Linguistic, cosmetic and technical aspects of digital content |
| Personalization | Individual characteristics of target users | Linguistic, cosmetic and technical aspects of digital content |
Source [ GALAxy Newsletter]
Scribers International Pte Ltd is proud to be ISO 9001:2008 certified.
ISO or International Organization for Standardization is the world’s largest developer and publisher of International Standards.
A non-governmental organization, it forms a bridge between the public and private sectors. On one hand, many of its member institutes are part of the governmental structure of their countries, or are mandated by their government while on the other hand, other members have their roots uniquely in the private sector, having been set up by national partnerships of industry associations.
This way, the organization enables a consensus to be reached on solutions that meet both the requirements of business and the broader needs of society.
With the ISO certification, we are one more step ahead in providing quality services to serve your localization needs.
For more information, please visit us at www.scribers.com.sg or contact us at info@scribers.com.sg
Preferred Service Provider for Health Promotion Board
February 24, 2012
Promising SME 500 2012
February 3, 2012
Happy Lunar New Year!
January 20, 2012
