Arabic Website Translation and Localisation
Have you ever thought what your website might look like if it were translated into one of the languages that read from right to left? We’ve just translated and localised a website into Arabic, resetting all the graphics and pictures to suit the different layout.
Our native professional Arabic translators accustomed to localising websites undertook the translation and localisation work – not one of us at the office you’ll be relieved to hear! But the project got me thinking… When I attended one of our recent Community Interpreting courses, the tutor made the point that the eye automatically scans a page diagonally from left to right. This was in the context of developing a system of writing symbols to aid interpreters’ memories. What I’m wondering is, does the eye do this automatically only in languages reading from left to right, (that is, in European language translation) or is it something to do with the way the brain works… or what? Does anyone know?
Show/hide comment form
