This part deals with knowledge as a cornerstone in Arabic localization.

C. Transcreation is (indeed!) all about knowledge:

The most important misconception about translation is not attributing it to knowledge. Knowledge is with no doubt the only guarantee that you will effectively use your talent and techniques to meet the client's expectations, and House of Content's standards. You have to be knowledgeable in the subject matter, and this knowledge we are talking about is not only the general knowledge of the concepts and facts of the particular field, but also having a strong background in the Arabic translation standards and practices in this particular field. Readers should never feel that they know more about the subject matter than the person who transcreated the text they are reading.

This part offers tips particular to Arabic translation and localization.

Language notes

Arabic has always represented a major challenge to anyone working in translation. Not only that Arabic has a unique set of syntax and semantics, but even more importantly, because of the difficulties met when translating modern terms, whether in technology, tourism, fine arts, cuisine, business, and many other domains.

Unfortunately, we still don’t have time honored institutes that can govern the arabization of modern terms. The orphaned attempt to unify Arabic medical terms, back in the eighties, through the Unified Medical Dictionary, is a clear example of how such projects have negatively impacted Arabic translation, instead of advancing it.

This part deals with the most important quality of a good translator or editor: Being a perfectionist.

Being a perfectionist

Although our profession is a creative one, the demand for fast high quality translation services with turnarounds sometimes as short as a couple of hours is increasingly becoming the most prevalent feature of what we do. I can tell you from experience that this has cost us many great talents who simply could not cope with the new rhythm.

But the most alarming impact of this market change is even more dangerous: Many great talents started compromising quality in favor of deadlines.

This part deals with the role of technology in general, and translation technology in particular.

The role of Technology

Technology is increasingly dominating the transcreation scene in almost every language on Earth. Arabic is still far behind in using CAT (Computer Assisted Translation) tools, which is a bad sign for the industry, but could also be a good sign for people less acquainted with technology. Maintaining the human nature of the industry is one of the very important goals House of Content is set to achieve, but at the same time, we are determined to introduce the latest advances in translation technology into the market. House of Content has its own highly innovative addition to the CAT Tools world, the House of Content online platform, that should be ready for all of you to use in the near future.