Linguistic testing: a major step for a minor investment

New interactive forms of media have given us various new ways to communicate with our audience.

The very least that you can expect from these is that they are effective and do not create errors and ambiguities. However, when the content of this new media is translated, seemingly unimportant details such as longer words or inappropriate visuals can make this media ineffective.

Examples of this include:

• a translated word that does not appear in full because the German or French translation takes up more space on a screen than the English source version;
• symbols such as a dollar sign or a traffic sign that lose these meanings or create confusion in other countries or cultures…

These are merely a couple of examples.

That is why we make our linguists available to review your interfaces. They screen for gremlins and also filter out peculiarities or sensitivities for local markets. Linguistic testing provides you with the certainty that your target audience will properly receive and correctly perceive your medium.

Interestingly, our experience has shown that this kind of testing only accounts for a small part of the total budget. So do not leave your investment to chance by skipping this important step.

Similar problems can also occur when you translate software, and testing your translated and localised content is also a cost-effective way of making sure your investment hits the sweet spot.