Trans Infopreneur – Indian Languages Translation

Indian Languages Translation

We specialize in translation from/into various Indian languages. We handle Indian language translation requirement of several Indian clients and overseas translation agencies in technical, medical, legal, IT, tourism, agriculture, environment domains, among others.

The major Indian languages used in the Indian sub-continent are:

North India: Hindi, Punjabi
South India: Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam
West India: Marathi, Gujarati
East India: Bengali, Assamese

Official/major languages of other countries in the Indian sub-continent are:

Pakistan (Urdu), Bangladesh (Bengali, Sylheti), Sri Lanka (Sinhalese, Tamil), Nepal (Nepali), Bhutan (Dzongkha).

Several other languages are used in India. We can translate in all of those languages too.

Please click here for a complete list of Indian languages.

Major projects handled by us in various Indian languages are as follows:

Majority of Indian language projects would either be from English into Hindi or multiple language projects (depending on the target audience).

Clinical trials, patient consent forms, blood glucose monitoring, manuals on common health issues (diabetes, BP, renal dialysis, schizophrenia, osteoarthritis), drugs/injections, health plans, and several other projects.

Instruction manuals for fitters, CNC machine, household products, detergent leaflets.

Credit card usage, family health plans, CMS/Drupal system content transfer.

Insurance policies, immigration documents, real estate agreements, HR policies.

CAD software, payment gateway.

What are the challenges faced in Indian language translation?

Paradoxically, Indian language translation projects are difficult to handle due to paucity of quality translators. Even though India is a very large country, there are very few qualified translators who have equally good command over English and their mother tongue/vernacular languages. Linguists who have studied in vernacular medium find it difficult to comprehend the nuances of English. Conversely, linguists who have studied in English medium find it difficult to write fluently in their mother tongue (even though they can speak it fluently). The problem is more acute when translation has to be done from Indian languages into English.

Other issues faced:

Lack of standardized terminology in various domains (transliteration and terms used in popular media are often adopted as a substitute).
Several older translators are not adept in handling Unicode fonts as different keyboard layout has to be mastered, CAT tools cannot handle ttf fonts effectively, workarounds are required for several DTP software, typing is slow as several keystrokes are required to type a complex accented character.
Overseas agencies tend to assign translation to non-professional Indian translators who reside in their country. The quality of such translation is ordinary; translators are unable to type characters properly due to inadequate knowledge of Indian keyboard layout. We are required to edit such amateurish translations.

How do we handle such challenges?

We use the services of highly experienced translators who are perfectly bilingual. They charge higher but do deliver consistently high-quality translation.

Terminology research takes longer than that for European languages as information is not easily available over the Internet. Specialists from respective professions have to be consulted. For example, for medical translation we have to consult a doctor who has good command over his/her native tongue. He/she can guide us as to which term would be understood by the target audience (in most cases, the common man). Terms used in standard bilingual medical dictionaries may not be understood in vernacular/rural environment.

On the other hand, if legal documents have to be translated, the standard administrative terms used by the respective state government and high courts would have to be used. Such terms may not be understood by the common man.

We have vast experience in handling complex languages in CAT tools, Visio, and DTP software.

Case Study (Indic Language Translation/Localization)

Localization of display strings and interface for a major European mobile phone manufacturer in eight major Indic Languages.

We have experience in using Excel tool length checker, Sinhalese input and rendering on Windows platform. We tested the product onsite at the client’s Europe facility. Innovative thinking is a key issue for evolving languages. Several of our suggestions were implemented by the client (Indic language keypad, SMSing procedure).

An in-country translation company like ours would have a better understanding about Indic locale-specific issues. As Indic languages are not really conducive for technical translation, terminology is a major challenge. Terms used in media play a significant role for mobile telephony translation, website globalization, products aimed at the vernacular market, pharmaceutical documents and such like.