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Subject:Re: Humor 'n' more From:Bill Burns <BillDB -at- ILE -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 16 Jun 1998 15:54:12 -0600
Max,
> Humor is indeed extremely difficult to translate. However, banning humor
> from a documentation just because it will be translated is rather dumb.
>
> BUT, you will have to get a good translator, and you will have to accept
> that this translator will essentially rewrite your documentation ... with
> the humor and cultural references for the target culture.
>
Perhaps this is where translation and localization differ. If we were just
taking a document and translating from English to one or two target
languages, dealing with humor would not be as huge an issue, given competent
translators/writers. But we don't just translate into one or two target
languages. Our clients want quality translation at the least expensive cost.
And they want it in 30 languages, all to market simultaneously. So
no--avoiding humor in our documentation is not dumb; it's a cost-effective
way to get the task accomplished in a way that meets our clients needs,
within the schedule constraints our clients provides, and at the quality
level our client requires. Even with a single target language, as you note,
humor requires rewriting--not just translation.
In many of the cultures for which we localize, humor is not appropriate in
technical documentation--period. You could put the humor in, but the
user--in many instances--would be turned off, feel insulted, consider the
documentation a waste of their time, etc. What's funny in a culture is one
issue; when humor is acceptable is another. The example of the Italian
version of *Macintosh for Dummies* was an example of that. If our client
wants a product that works for a world market and can be translated from one
source with minimal customization, it's best not to include humor. If they
are willing to have a publication rewritten for use in another language,
that's a very different--and much more expensive--proposition.
Bill Burns
ILE Communications/Eccentric Technology Consultant
billdb -at- ile -dot- com
> Madness takes its toll. Please have exact change.
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