Multilingual Desktop Publishing (DTP) and Layout

Even more so than with standard translation projects, the common misconception that translation is merely the substitution of words in one language with words in another language falls widely clearly of the mark in relation to multilingual desktop publishing (DTP) projects. The results of maintaining this misconception are at best time-consuming, and more often than not very expensive.

In another section of this website, we explain how to optimise the translation of material that is to be published. [+ More about how to optimise your Translation Projects]

On this page of our website, we have outlined some factors which we recommend are borne in mind when designing material destined for multilingual translation and subsequent desktop publishing.

The layout of Asian and Arabic language texts

Perhaps the most obvious, although nevertheless often overlooked, factor to bear in mind when planning a multilingual desktop publishing (DTP) project involving Asian and Arabic languages is..text direction: Chinese and Japanese run from the top of the page to the bottom of the page, Arabic runs from the right of the page to the left of the page. Additionally, Arabic texts run from what western language speakers consider as the last page to the first page.

The use of colours

Some cultures place great importance on the meanings associated to colours. For example, green is associated with the environment in Western cultures, whereas as it is the colour of Islam to Islamists; red is associated with good luck in China, but is used to represent mourning in South Africa; Orange in general represents Hinduism, whilst in China and Japan it is used to symbolise happiness and love.

Text expansion and white space

The volume of translated copy sometimes changes by up to 30% in relation to the original. It is highly recommendable to bear this in mind when creating your original document, so as to avoid the need to reduce font sizes and interline spacing or to add pages to the translated document. Remember, try to leave plenty of white space in the original version and expect the foreign language version to change in size.

Columns

It is advisable to use wide columns in the source document in order to avoid the need to hyphenate long words in the target text.

Original source files and fonts

It is highly recommendable to provide all the original source files and fonts used when creating the original document in order to avoid the creation of a new layout for the translated texts. Additionally, when creating documents which are to be translated, it is advisable to use fonts that support the characters employed by the target languages.

Graphic elements

When preparing source files for translation, graphic elements should be anchored to the corresponding text in order that they adopt the correct position as the translated text expands.

Callouts

A "callout" is a visual device for associating annotations with an image. During the translation process, original source text located within graphic elements is removed and replaced with the translated target text. Callouts often need to be readjusted in order to accommodate the expansion/contraction of the target text. It is advisable to locate callouts below the graphic element and identify them with a key-letter reference.

Feel free to contact us by telephone or e-mail to discuss your multilingual desktop publishing (DTP) requirements.

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