Q – Why do I need to specify a target country for some languages?
A – There are important differences between the usage of the same language in countries such as Canada and France, Portugal and Brazil, Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China, and the various Spanish speaking countries. In the case of Spanish, there are in fact key differences between every Latin American country, Spain and the United States. Agnew will work closely with you to determine how to render your particular product for a particular target market.
Q – Do you take cultural factors into account when translating my document?
A – Yes, we definitely take cultural factors in account and advise you of any changes that we might recommend to make your translation more acceptable to the target audience. This could be anything from usage of color in graphics to educational level of the audience.
Q – How do I know that the translation you provide is correct?
A- Agnew has been in the translation business for nearly thirty years. We take great pride in our high percentage of client retention. Our company’s goal is “zero tolerance for error.” To achieve this we are careful in selecting and testing translators prior to including them in our resource data base. After analyzing any new project, we are careful in “casting” an appropriate team to produce the final deliverable. We also incorporate multiple check points during the translation process. We found that using these steps does achieve the results that our clients expect and get.
Q – How do you find translators?
A – Because we have been in business for 29 years and are well represented in the industry, we constantly receive resumes from the top translators in the world, who are interested in both full time and part time employment. Our task is to identify the best professional translators from the applicants, confirm their specialization, test them, and consider them for future employment.
Q – What languages do you translate?
A – We can provide you translations in virtually any language of the world.
Q – What do you need to provide a final estimate to localize our website?
A – We need to receive editable files from you or permission to access all your web files and databases via FTP.
Q – I have several ad campaigns in Google, each one with many ads. If we decide to localize our website with Agnew, can you adapt those online ad campaigns for the specific target market with in-country copy writers?
A – Yes. We provide full-service creation and implementation of targeted advertising campaigns in international search engines, such as Google (AdWords) and Yahoo (Sponsored Search), in all languages and for all key markets.
Q – Can you handle the localization of websites whose content is dynamically generated?
A – Yes. Agnew’s Web Team has extensive experience with dynamic websites that feature client or server-side scripting, including HTML, XML, Javascript, Mason, Perl, ASP, PHP, ColdFusion, and Ajax, to name a few.
Q – The target market for my website in Spanish will be Spain. Can you localize my shopping cart as well?
A – Yes. We will also provide consulting services on the best way to do it. Localization of shopping areas or shopping carts for certain foreign markets often requires a review of the best way to market and ship products. This can touch on issues involving civil and commercial law of the target country. These considerations can be of capital importance to our clients, since they need to develop procedures to deal with possible returns, credit card fraud, etc. Our experience helps our client “red flag” areas of concern before they become time-consuming, costly issues.
Q – Is Agnew able to take my existing video and produce it for non-English speaking audiences?
A – Agnew has reproduced hundreds of videos for a number of different industries. From casting the voice talent to writing the script, Agnew takes full responsibility and control of every aspect and detail of your project. Agnew has years of experience when it comes to overseeing production, so you can rest assured that you will receive an incredible final product that will help you reach your target markets. Please view examples on our website.
Q – What if my video has English text or graphics in it: Will Agnew be able to translate the text and place that in the video as well?
A – Agnew’s audiovisual production team is equipped with the latest industry standard software, so whether your project was built in Adobe After Effects or Final Cut Pro, we will be able to dissect, modify and recreate your video in any foreign language, no matter what challenges it may present.
Q – SOFTWARE – Do you localize software in all major platforms?
A – Yes. Our engineers can localize your software packages in Windows, Mac, UNIX and Solaris/Linux, among others. The supported database systems are Oracle, DB2, Sybase, SQL and MySQL.
Q – SOFTWARE – Do you use in-country translators for software localization projects?
A – Yes. Always.
Q – SOFTWARE – What programming languages do you support?
A – Our engineering staff enables us to provide a turnkey solution in any one of these programming languages and more: C, C++, C#, Visual Basic, Java, JavaScript, .NET and Perl.
Q – SOFTWARE – Will I need to re-translate everything when I lauch a new version of my software?
A – No. Agnew’s content management and translation memory system allows you to leverage the content of your previously translated versions.
Q – VIDEOGAMES – Can you handle the localization of video games in all platforms?
A – Our engineers can localize your game in most platforms, including XBOX, Sony Playstation, Nintendo Game Cube, Microsoft Windows, Mac, Solaris/Linux, and other handheld gaming devices.
Q – Emerging markets will be key for us this year, and we have decided to start in Latin America with Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Mexico. Can we use the same standard campaigns that we have been featuring in the US?
A – There is no simplistic answer to this question. We analyze each company and campaign separately. However, generally speaking, Agnew strongly believes that ads that have a local flavor create a stronger emotional connection with the local audience.
Q – I want to start marketing my products in Spain and Portugal. My company has a slogan in English… Should I adapt it or should I create a new slogan?
A – It depends on your slogan and how well it could be adapted to those markets. If your slogan expresses a concept that defines your company, Agnew can either adapt it or – if adaptation is not the best solution – we can create a new slogan that will not only be effective and attractive for those markets, but that will also respect and project your identity.
Q – Do I need to change the name of my company or the name of my products?
A – We will analyze the name of your company taking into consideration the language and culture of the target market, but – generally speaking – it will not need to change. With respect to your products, our recommendation will depend on many variables, including the cultural particularities of the target market, the target language, your industry, and the target market’s age segment that you are after, among others.
Q – What exactly do you do in your Art Department when you include Desktop Publishing and/or Graphic Design as part of the process?
A – DTP stands for desktop publishing, which is the use of a computer to design and produce professional quality printed documents. There are hundreds of software programs that allow graphic designers and production artists to typeset and layout illustrations and photographs in a wide variety of printed materials from brochures and manuals, to books and posters. Graphic design is a more ample concept, which refers specifically to the use of any graphic media to communicate a style or expression. In essence, graphic design is the applied art of arranging image and text to communicate a message in any language. It may be applied in any media, such as print, digital media, motion pictures, animation, product decoration, packaging, and signs.
Q – I only have a PDF in English and I want the layout in German to be in InDesign… Can you use our PDF file as a source file to create the layout?
A – No, your PDF was created from an original InDesign file (or maybe from a Quark or Illustrator file). In order to recreate the layout in InDesign, we need to receive the original InDesign file. If your Art Department cannot provide you the original source file, we will have to create one for you based on your design specifications; this would be an additional step requiring more time.
Q – Can I change the layout and make modifications to the foreign language file once I receive it from you?
A – Agnew strongly recommends against making changes to foreign-language layout unless you speak the language in question or have it double-checked by someone who does. However, if you have the appropriate program (InDesign, Quark, Illustrator, etc.) and the necessary fonts (for non-Roman alphabet languages such as Thai, Turkish or Russian) you will be able to make changes in most languages. On the other hand, for double-byte languages like Chinese, Japanese and Korean, as well as for right-to-left languages such as Arabic, Farsi and Hebrew, special software and/or operating systems are necessary, so you likely will not be able to make changes to the text. If you decide to make the changes in a language, we suggest that you have us review the final product.
As your single source for language services, Agnew can work with you and your designers to incorporate any changes to your layout and provide a final product ready for your printers and technical staff.
Q – Can you handle non-Roman, double-byte and/or right-to-left fonts and layouts in all media?
A – Agnew has an extensive font library, which allows us to pick and choose the perfect font to help mirror your specific project, in any language and/or format. Regardless of the media (print, video, web, software) Agnew’s team will determine what font will best help optimize your project and make it attractive to your audience.
Q – Is there a per-page cost for layout in foreign languages? How do you calculate the price?
A – It is very difficult to generalize the cost of each page of layout. The cost of each page varies based on words per page, file format, and how intricate the layout on the page is. Agnew’s team of graphic designers will work diligently to analyze the document, and give our clients the most precise and transparent quote possible based on – among other things – format, word count, and layout.
Q – When do we use Traditional Chinese or Simplified Chinese?
A – Please use the chart below as a reference: Chinese speaking areas and application of Chinese
| Areas | Written Chinese | Spoken Chinese |
| U.S. | Traditional Chinese | Mandarin and Cantonese |
| Mainland China |
Simplified Chinese | Mandarin |
| Hong Kong | Traditional Chinese | Cantonese |
| Taiwan | Traditional Chinese | Mandarin |
| Singapore | Simplified Chinese | Mandarin |