Executive Summary

Our client helps world travelers confidently locate, access and pay for quality healthcare all around the world. They contracted with Scriptis for mobile app localization. The iOS and Android app allows travelers to translate useful health-related phrases and terms between English and 13 languages: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish.

The Challenge

Our client required a language partner who could handle a complex data structure of over 10,000 terms and phrases. After translation of the words and phrases, the project required voice recordings and, for some languages, transliteration to aid pronunciation. Transliteration renders a foreign word phonetically to aid pronunciation. An accelerated timeframe increased the complexity of the project.

Performance

In addition to the volume of source content and number of languages, the project presented certain challenges. The translation teams for each language required subject matter specialization. In addition, for each language, a number of phrases required multiple versions depending upon the gender of the speaker or the gender of the person being spoken of. Therefore, we needed voice talents to cover all combinations of gender and syntax structures.  

The project manager coordinated 13 translator-proofreader teams for the non-English languages to create the translations. The next stage required coordination of 28 voice-over artists (including voices for the English source phrases). The voice-over artists delivered each phrase as a separate digital audio file. The complex process required strong organization skills from the project manager and clear communication with the client’s technical team.

Results

All of the work was completed to the customer’s satisfaction. The mobile app is available from the App Store, Google Play, and Amazon. In addition to the translations, the app provides useful health-related information for travelers, including locators for nearby doctors, pharmacies, and hospitals.