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A Hard Science

© Nancy A. Locke

On his organization's web site, managing director of the Localisation Industry Standards Association (LISA) is quoted: "Localization means more than simply translating a corporate website and rewriting a few purchase orders." Any product that is "properly localized has the look and feel of a product manufactured nationally - not of a product made in America being sold in a foreign market. American references must be removed."

Of course, Mr. Anobile is right but only partly. It is true that a product or service must meet regulatory and technical standards of the target market. To truly localize a product or service, however, there are subtle distinctions and decisions to be made. The Guide to Translation and Localization (published by Lingo Systems and LISA) provides a vivid example:

"Anyone can drink Coca Cola or wear Levi Strauss jeans, for example. However, the bottle size may need to be adapted to foreign vending machines or the logo on the jeans may need translation."

Coca Cola had to get control of their brand name in China so that homegrown translations didn't muddle the message. For some locales the Coca Cola transliterates the text, but the colors (red and white) and the bold white script are unmistakably "Coke-esque". Why? Because Coke is Coke. Yes, it is American, but that's part of the appeal. The Coca Cola logo, transliterated or not, means "the real thing."

Levi Strauss may have to localize their sizing specifications for many locales. As for the name Levis, a quick surf to France, Germany and Japan would suggest that the name remains the same no matter the locale. To judge by these web sites, "Levis" means jeans.

Not so long ago, marketing (or buying) wines on the strength of a made-in-the-U.S.A. "look and feel" was unimaginable. Until California wines found a niche and earned some "street cred," they often mimicked their European cousins. Even now, many Napa Valley wines sport French monikers. Would you mix a vodka martini with a product that touted it's Toledo (Spain or Ohio) origins?

If you're familiar with the Old El Paso salsa, and you watch TV, you might remember the publicity. Rough and tough cowboys sneer at an unnamed competitor produced in ... New York. Or the advertisement featuring Catherine Deneuve? "Don't hate me because I am beautiful," she said with her inimitable voice and accent. Now imagine the same lines uttered in the opposite of what you might consider a "seductive" accent.

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