English, Queen's and American

[Kristina Ricks <kristina_ricks -at- MAIL -dot- MEDICALOGIC -dot- COM>]

     This thread makes me think of another thread that came up recently,
     about translations into other languages, and its inherent complexity
     with cultural issues.

     A project I worked on about two years ago involved translating
     documents into Canadian French. If a few of us are incensed over
     British vs. American spellings, multiply that by probably a thousand
     and add in a province ready to secede from Canada, and you've got the
     toes we were anxious not to step on with our translated manuals.

     I learned that there are significant differences between the French
     spoken in France and that spoken in Canada, and the levels of anguish
     over those differences. The translation company (AT&T Business
     Translations) luckily was also.

     They also encouraged us to find a friendly reader who is a native
     speaker of Canadian French, and who is familiar with our product, to
     review their work throughly. We did (one of our sales reps in
     Montreal) and the result was great--she found all kinds of things to
     change which the translation company happily did for us.

     I think the point I'm trying to make is that there is no substitute
     for impressions from the end users (or as close as you can get to
     them).

     Best of luck with your projects.

     Kristina Ricks

     kristina_ricks -at- medicalogic -dot- com