Localizing Declarations of Conformity
Does your documentation contain Declarations of Conformity with European Community standards? If it does, here is some due diligence you should undertake before having the docs translated.
The EC has promulgated a long series of directives on a variety of industries ranging from aerospace to toys. Some of these directives describe industrial policy and consumer protection. If your product falls into the category of those covered by a set of directives, then 1) the product must conform to the directives; and 2) you must declare that it conforms and list the directives with which it conforms.
This second requirement leads to some of the driest text with which you'll ever fill pages in a user guide; for instance:
If you're localizing your U.S. product for sale in Germany, the translation of the names of these standards with which you're declaring conformity should match the German names acknowledged by the EC. You could hand off the English text to a German translator, who could trip through several technical dictionaries creating his own translation. The numbers of the directives would be correct (because not translated), but strictly speaking, the titles would not be correct, unless your translator was extremely lucky.
Fortunately, the EC has made this easy. Depending on the industry, they offer accepted translations of the titles and text of the directives in as many as twenty languages on their Web site. With a bit of digging, your translators can find and re-use approved text. This will not only save them (and you) time, but will ensure you of a better fit for your localized documentation.
The EC has promulgated a long series of directives on a variety of industries ranging from aerospace to toys. Some of these directives describe industrial policy and consumer protection. If your product falls into the category of those covered by a set of directives, then 1) the product must conform to the directives; and 2) you must declare that it conforms and list the directives with which it conforms.
This second requirement leads to some of the driest text with which you'll ever fill pages in a user guide; for instance:
Protection requirements concerning electromagnetic compatibility to Article 3(1)(b)
Harmonised standards applied:
EN 301-489-1, V1.4.1 (2002-08); Electromagnetic compatibility and Radio spectrum Matters (ERM); Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Standard for Radio Equipment and Service. Part 1: Common technical requirements
ETSI EN 301 489-25 V2.2.1 (2003-05)
Fascinating reading. And, it makes for even more fascinating translation work.If you're localizing your U.S. product for sale in Germany, the translation of the names of these standards with which you're declaring conformity should match the German names acknowledged by the EC. You could hand off the English text to a German translator, who could trip through several technical dictionaries creating his own translation. The numbers of the directives would be correct (because not translated), but strictly speaking, the titles would not be correct, unless your translator was extremely lucky.
Fortunately, the EC has made this easy. Depending on the industry, they offer accepted translations of the titles and text of the directives in as many as twenty languages on their Web site. With a bit of digging, your translators can find and re-use approved text. This will not only save them (and you) time, but will ensure you of a better fit for your localized documentation.
Labels: documentation localization, translators
posted by John White, Localization Guy at
15:40
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