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Discussion on: Automated Localization: Github Actions ❤ Localazy

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vaclavhodek profile image
vaclavhodek

I know exactly what you mean! You should take a closer look for sure ;-). Because Localazy is not only an automated tool. It's a complex translation management solution.

1) The shared translations are accurate for shorter texts :-). In fact, it doesn't work well for longer texts. And since we target mostly apps (mobile, web, and desktop), the shared translations feature is trained with this given field in mind. For short texts, it's way more accurate than Google Translate and similar services.

2) Of course, there are also machine translations available (Google and Amazon at the moment). They are better for longer texts.

3) Localazy never uses shared or machine translations without your approval! There is our unique review system, so you are always in control and can approve or reject translations.

4) We are soon going to introduce another awesome feature - the virtual contributor - translating using shared and machine translations in combination with a human touch/verification behind it on our side! It may not be the best translation way in all situations but it will be way cheaper than professional translations and good enough for starting with new languages.

5) Community around your app is the key! We invested extra effort into this part. You can invite users, contributors, volunteers, or external translators and they get a tool to translate your app, get the context that is important for quality translations, comment, suggest improvements, etc.

6) Even for the community, if you don't mark a given person as trusted, all translations go through our review, so you still retain full control over quality. This is awesome as you can spend 2 months developing new features and you are never going to be lost in what happened with translations.

Localazy exists because I, as a developer, struggled with localizing my mobile apps for years, so I know exactly all these pains you are talking about :-).

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minna_xd profile image
Minna N. • Edited

Thank you very much for your thorough response! What you've done so far and the plans you have sound exciting. I will be signing up for the tool and playing around with it for sure ("playing" since I don't have any real-life projects I could use it for).

I'm from the translation side in this and through the years the appreciation of professional translators seems to have diminished: "Google Translate is free, why do I have to pay money for translation." Or, "my nephew speaks English and took some French at school, he can do it!"

That's why it gets a bit under my skin, I admit 🙏, when translation is being reduced to just "press of a button" (I don't mean that that is what Localazy does). I love that there are projects like this that make translation easily manageable and – more importantly – accessible to more people, but on the other hand I don't want people thinking that absolutely anyone can translate and, consequently, that professional translators are redundant. Professional translators are experts and specialists in their own field, just like e.g. software developers in their own. 😊

Perhaps apps are simple enough a text type where something like this can work really well. A lot depends on what's "good enough" quality for your need: impeccable or getting somewhat understood – or something in the middle.

In closing, I'll have to admit that even though I'm not a professional translator, I got my 4 Hacktoberfest PRs from translations and am planning to contribute more translations to open source projects in the future. I trust my skills well enough to dare to do that.

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vaclavhodek profile image
vaclavhodek

I fully agree with you that high-quality localization needs more than just hitting the button.

I also fully agree that professional translators have their unique role and that they are irreplaceable. However, Localazy allows you to involve real users of your app/SW, and they, to some extent, may be an even better fit than professional translators as they have actual experience with the app, understand the context, etc.

However, when no users are willing to translate the app to their native language (and it's a typical case for some markets where localization is critical), professional translators are the way to go.

By the "good enough", I mean translation that is mostly accurate but may contain some issues. Such translation is usually an excellent motivation for users to come and help to improve it. Again, real users with real experience.

I will be glad if you try the service and let me know your comments, suggestions, and ideas. Feel free to get connected: linkedin.com/in/vaclavhodek/