“Do not train children to learning by force and harshness, but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may better be able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.” Little did Plato know while putting forth this opinion that centuries later, the concept of e-learning would revolutionize the field of education, training and development, spearheading this very concept of transforming the learning process from a conventional process forced upon the learner to a fascinating process of discovery and knowledge at one’s finger tips. The popularity of e-learning modules has soared high across all organizations, be it educational institutions like schools, colleges and universities or the corporates that need to impart training to their workforce. Being a powerful medium that facilitates uniform and systematic learning across multilingual global platforms, the proliferation of e-learning has necessitated the requirement for professional, reliable and efficient multilingual translation and localization services in order to transcend linguistic and cultural barriers for effective learning.
For effective translation and translation of e-learning content, there are several key aspects that need to be kept in mind. Firstly, the original content needs to be clear and concise, which is beneficial from the developer’s point of view in terms of cost efficiency as well as helpful for a translator as it makes the process less cumbersome. Simple, logical steps while developing e-learning content include using bulleted points as opposed to lengthy paragraphs, avoiding unnecessary idiomatic expressions etc. Also, it is highly recommended that Unicode-8 character sets be used for ease of localization in multiple languages and font properties be customized in an external XML file. Embedding text in graphics might result in unnecessary time and cost devoted to redoing the graphics again post-translation since script lengths could vary drastically between languages. (For instance, German script is 30 percent longer as compared to English, while Chinese scripts are much shorter.) Only an experienced professional Educational Translator will understand the nuances of executing culturally neutral or culturally appropriate gestures. This entails years of experience and research to study the political, social, cultural and economic background of the end-users, which is why native translators are most suited for the purpose. Some further in-sights into this process could be shocking; for instance the “OK” sign made with the thumb and forefinger in the USA is actually offensive in Kuwait (it signifies the evil eye) and is considered highly vulgar in Greece and Turkey! So if you are on the lookout for professional translation services for your e-learning modules, ensure that the translation company that you choose is well versed with these subtleties of educational translation.
TridIndia IT Translation Services Pvt Ltd is an ISO-9001 certified, CRISIL-Rated company with a highly qualified team of Certified, Native Translators, Literary Experts and Academicians who have been undertaking and executing seamless Educational Translation Services for over 10 years, with diverse areas of expertise that include translation of all categories of Educational Books as well as E-Books, Reference Materials, Guides, Academic journals, Research Projects, Academic Reports, Dissertations, Thesis, Training Modules, Training Manuals, Institute Prospectuses, Educational Catalogues, E-Learning Modules and Multimedia Content. Our translation services are in over 50 languages (both Indian and Foreign Languages), and our services are efficient, reliable and affordable.
