Translating e-learning content is a daunting process. E-learning text could be either short or long. Translating the content gets even more complex when it has to be translated for a non-English audience. Also, this contains a huge volume of text and content involved due to the course needs and translation issues into one or more languages. The translators need to be attentive and vigilant while translating educational content and their experience can also help them to understand the pitfalls and counter them accordingly.
Here are a few of the potential challenges that translators have to encounter.
Major Blocks of the Text
People find it impressive to present the text in long paragraphs which is sent for e-learning translation services. They feel that people might like the text that way. However, this is not the right practice. As people don’t prefer to go through lengthy text and look for short and brief content. Moreover, it also matters how you present your text. Consequently, it is not appropriate in terms of translation too. The translators have to struggle a lot to make this large part fit into the target languages particularly.
Large blocks of text do not get fit in the translated version as many languages have more than 30% words as compared to English. These are complex to skim through and comprehend. Breaking up the content distracts attention and hinders comprehension of concepts.
The precise content and short extracts contribute to better e-learning content. Therefore, the text should be precise enough to get fit in the provided space. Using bullet points, bolding the letters and short sentences can help to convey the information. Concise content is easier to use and read and translators will also not have to struggle with it.
Culturally Inappropriate Images
Cultural changes are evident when we talk about different regions and countries. Also, images are inseparable from the content. The images and audio help in the visual learning of the courses. When it is about writing for multiple audiences, audio-visual factors are important to choose and select. Hence, it is imperative to make sure that the images in the content are according to the culture of the target audience. As it gets challenging for the translators to find relevant images and get them to fit into a new language. Therefore, it is better that the original content producers pay particular attention to this issue and make sure that they have the best replacements according to the culture and traditions of their target audience. Taking care of the cultural images and factors should be the top concern in certified education translation. That too when they are aiming for multiple markets. It is better to choose general images while writing for multiple audiences.
Idioms, Puns, and Jargon
Every language has different idioms, puns, and jargon. It also includes the cultural saying which can only b comprehended by local people and relevant audiences. What can not be understood by the people of other languages easily is of no use and neither its translation can help. The instructors and content producers often end up adding a lot of idioms and jargon unintentionally and naturally. However, it gets tough for translators to translate such content into the target languages. Idioms and puns in particular hardly get the appropriate words to translate and the translation process gets more challenging.
Therefore, the writers should make sure they review the content after writing and minimize the use of jargon, puns, and idioms. There could be an alternate way to convey your point.
Video and Audio Timings
English is one of the most precise languages which doesn’t require much of words to write. Many other languages use more characters in single words to counter. Due to the translation in other languages, translators find it extremely challenging to synchronize the audio and video timings. Moreover, subtitles can also go wrong to improper frames and supplemental content. This factor if not translated well can put off the students and hinder their learning process.
Hence the instructors and writers should ensure they leave some additional space while creating the courses. The right timings and placement of content and images is also significant factor in professional advertising translation services. The people involved should be doing it for the better placement of audio-video files with the content. They should also consider the course’s length and should have an idea about the text length in the target language too.
Incompatible Fonts
Many instructors and writers don’t consider this important but the fact is the choice of fonts can impact the translation project. All the fonts do not have equivalent accents for some languages which can create problems in the translation. The translators many times have to consult the instructors and original owners to confirm if he is getting the word rightly.
Therefore, the concerned people should always use neutral fonts. A neutral font allows people to read and use it easily.
Diverse and Multiple Mediums
While working on multiple mediums translation process gets tough making the whole process more than challenging for the translators. These mediums may include audio, video, and interactive content. The translation content should be simple and concise enough for the translators so that they can translate the whole content quite conveniently.
In order to counter this challenge it is advised to hire professional translation services and transcreation services for the marketing content as all types of content require quality translation. The language vendors have proven experience so hiring one helps in better and more consistent translations.
Conclusion
E-learning has become very popular now. People like to learn new things and courses without leaving their places. Translating e-learning content is, however, quite complex and can get challenging for translators. They often have to struggle with large text blocks, culturally inappropriate images, translating idioms and industry jargon with a lot more.
