The Complexity of Translation
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| Every language has the substance of its own culture |
It’s simply because every language has the substance of its own culture; the complexity of the culture is even extended to the names of its people. For some famous Chinese writers who originally write their novels in English like Jun Chang, Ha Jin and Geling Yan, when their stories set foot in China, the Romanized Chinese names of the characters still bother me. Not only that they're hard to remember, the vivid meanings behind a Chinese name can no longer be discerned. It's the same effect when I read celebrity names like James Watkins, Daniel Craig, Tom Cruise or Cameron Diaz in Chinese, you have to sacrifice extra brain cells to figure out who is who.
We are lucky because our commercial products have nothing to do with literature. The language we use to explain our products can be very simple and straightforward, users do not need to read between the lines. But still, you simply cannot trust any machine or software or Google Translate to do the job; to translate accurately, human factor is crucial.
We have no doubt that translations and localizations are vital for business to compete successfully in the global market. According to 2006 Common Sense report that surveyed more than 2,400 consumers in eight countries, in fact, 52% of consumers will only buy something from a website in their own language. In France and Japan, that figure increased to more than 60%. We have to bear in mind that consumers who do not speak any English are six times more likely to avoid English websites altogether.
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| Can you speak my language? |
Customers would perceive companies that can speak in their native tongue as more credible, but that’s not the reason why we privilege translations and localizations. As we steer our practical branding in full gear, we don’t want language to become the barrier for our customers to understand and to use our products.
And for that particular reason, we are managing a large volume of contents for translations everyday.
Let me explain why our translation work is complex. We have websites, software, hardware, usual manuals, video guides, technical tips, training and marketing materials, voice clips and etc, and for some materials, we translate them to more than 10 languages. We also frequently upgraded our software and hardware, and improving all kinds of support materials all the time. The contents around the products have to sync with the latest upgrades, hence the translations need regular updates as well.
When it comes to details, we know that translators always stumbled at literary works and sometimes decided to rephrase the sentences to bring the gist out rather than translating them directly, the same might happen to our products as well. For example, when we created some usernames as the sample data in software user manual; translators would need to be reminded to create different set of localized usernames instead of using the same names for translation. Isn’t it weird for users in the Gulf to read Wong Ah Kow as a name even if it is written in Arabic?
To manage contents and translations more professionally, this month, we have promoted Nattalina Zainal to this new position, Content Manager, to oversee the market and support of FingerTec products across languages.
by Teh Hon Seng, CEO, FingerTec HQ
Biometric Attendance Systems And Facial Recognition Is Not Just ForSpies
Growing up you may have seen a spy movie or two. You know how they all seem to have the coolest, most efficient software and machines. Their office will have some kind of finger scanner or retinal identification laser. They check in on some complicated computer and they get a brief introduction of their assignment from their Chief.Well, what if your office could have this cool stuff and actually have it mean something, not just using it to seem flashy. Well that's what FingerTec USA is here for. They provide biometric technology for the home and office to keep your materials safe and the environment productive.
Using their biometric time clocks your workers check in efficiently, log breaks, and can get compensated for overtime. You can also install a fingerprint door lock for added security to ensure only authorized personal access certain rooms. And if you want to be extra safe, you can even program a facial recognition program for granting access.
So, next time your friends or family says, "That kinda stuff is only in the movies," you can reply with a suave, "Oh, contraire!" and sit comfortably in your chair because you know your stuff is safely protected with high tech equipment by FingerTec.
by FingerTec USA Tuesday, 28 February 2012
Great Support Is What Great Support Does
Last night I watched a very hilarious episode of 30 Rock, where Queen Latifah assumed the role of Congressman Bookman who is finding her way to fail the merger between Kabletown and NBC. Using a politician’s style of speech, she spoke with a lot of passion and energy; she made everybody listen to her and not the details of her speech. The dialogue went like this, “I don’t know where I’m going with this! But if I continue talking like this, everybody will pay attention and they will clap their hands when I’m finished talking!!” And lo and behold, everybody ended up applauding her for the so-called speech. I ROTFL; so to speak. That scene also depicted the term lip service quite obviously.
In business, many advertisements and marketing efforts are not as what they seemed. A gigantic burger could turn out to be just a normal burger. A mouthwatering pizza with extra cheese could turn out to be a hard pizza with a thin layer of cheese. Not only do many companies boast unrealistically about their products, many also highlight great after-sales service and excellent technical support to close business deals. But when push comes to shove, do they actually experience the greatness and excellence that were promised? It’s very crucial to note that the inefficiency of lip service does not only apply in politics; lip service does not work in business as well. Delivery of the promises, on the other hand, does.
Apart from strengthening the company’s support systems, monitoring of the delivery of support must be second to none. Currently, we are using the world's renowned CRM, Salesforce, which means no emails or technical enquiries could be left unattended. All enquiries must be replied within our specified time. Now, how do you monitor yours?
At the end of the day, great support is what great support does. And only your satisfied clients can verify this testimonial. You can scream with a microphone from the top of a mountain that your company has great support, but if you fail to deliver your promises to your clients, business is not going to prosper in a long run.
by Norana Johar, COO, FingerTec HQ
by Norana Johar, COO, FingerTec HQ
Build Your Internal Strengths
During Secutech Taipei Show, in April 2010, a company’s sales director approached me and he invited me to visit their HQ in Beijing to explore the collaboration opportunity on face recognition technology. When I finally paid my visit and stepped out of their HQ in June the same year, my instinct told me that they were not the right company we should be working with, even though they had just been listed on Shenzhen Stock Exchange early that year, and their initial share price skyrocketed.
Their flamboyant marketing approach didn’t make me feel they are a company with strength. I was less impressed when I later read in a magazine about how their CEO put up a frivolous show before the media by smashing an ice-sculptured apple to assert their confidence and smashed an iPad with their tablet products.
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Unfortunately, their sales slumped last year. And in reverse their tablets were 'smashed' by Apple and to add salt to injury, their eBook reader sales dropped sharply due to the lack of ebook contents to support users like Amazon has. To make matter worse, their biometrics division was never really took off.
I have always believed that companies without internal strengths would have a short life-span. A lot of companies just bet on sales and sales strategies to grow their business, the rests to them are just costs, so the lesser the better. Many short-sighted businessmen are hoping to maximize profit, hence they cut down budget on trainings, administration and technical supports, not to mention the investment for the future i.e R&D.
Once, I met this typical businesswoman who said that every square foot of an office space counts when she visited our office, shaking her head in disagreement. For her, maintaining a cozy working environment should never be a consideration.
When Amazon.com hemorrhaged in its first ten years, why were the investors not losing their faith, and continued to support the company? Simple, because everybody knew that it was just a matter of time for the company to make a turnaround.
And when Amazon starts to make profit, everybody believes it would continue to make profit forever (or at least it seems so). My perception is, other tech giants may one day be losing their momentum, but not Amazon, because they had built an internal strength that could almost last them forever.
You can't talk about Apple without talking about the iPad, iPhone and iPod, however for Amazon, it's a different case. Even without its Kindle or Kindle Fire, Amazon will continue to expand mammoth-like, swallowing any merchandise that may come their way. Their internal B2C platform encompasses with layers after layers of service system that they built over the years, has become a fortress for them to stand for any challenges, and selling anything that they want, from a toilet roll to an airplane.
After in-depth analysis and a long list of comparisons, we have decided to choose Amazon as our cloud computing platform partner to jumpstart our SaaS for TimeTec Cloud. In general, we are confident to select Amazon as a partner, that is famous for their customer service. Go figure!
by Teh Hon Seng, CEO, FingerTec HQ
From Finger Scanner to Facial Recognition
You may be thinking, "Why would I need a finger scanner?" Well, as we've discussed in previous posts, a scanner uses your biometrics to identify you. They can be used to block access to anything from computers to safes to rooms. But these aren't the only kinds of scanners available to keep things secure.Something we have yet to discuss in detail is facial recognition. Facial recognition technology uses high resolution infrared camera to scan your unique facial structures. This is a wonderful option for contactless identification. It's a more convenient way to allow employees access to a room. All they have to do is stand still in front of the scanner and it will do the rest of the work. They can act as a time attendance system too. This way employees aren't huddled around one machine once they enter a building just to check-in. They get the process done as they enter.
FingerTec has the new Face ID 3, a slim and stylish door access model that uses their reliable TCMS V2 software. Having a modern check-in system also makes your company look very professional. It has an almost futuristic appeal and it shows you're ahead of the trend. You obviously stay up-to-date with the way you handle your business.
by FingerTec USA Monday, 20 February 2012
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