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Checklist to Translating in a New Language

Adding a new language to your translation process is an exciting move. It means your business is expanding globally, and you’re taking on new territories. When it comes to adding that new language to your Smartling project, there are a few steps that need to be completed to ensure that everything is in place before you start translating:

Skip ahead for steps to deleting a language

Step 1: Notify your Language Services Provider

The first step in adding a new language to your Smartling Project is to give adequate notice to your Language Services Provider (LSP) or Agency, to let them know that you want to translate in a new language. This is particularly important if this language is new to your entire account. Your LSP need enough notice so they can source the right linguists for each translation workflow task (step) required for this new language. This could even take a few business days.

Smartling recommends asking your LSP for the following information:

  1. their fees/rates for each translation task in the new language
  2. their preferred fuzzy profiles
  3. their workflow requirements regarding manual assignment and claiming

If a new workflow is required for the new language, ensure to create this before moving on to the next steps.

Step 2: Add a Language to a Project

Follow the steps to Add a Language to a Project.

Ensure your new language is listed under the Smartling Supported Languages.

Step 3: Configure Other Translation Workflows

Choosing the correct default translation workflow for a language will save you time and effort in your translation process.

When you select the default workflow for the new target language in the “Add Language” dialogue, the new language will automatically be added to the selected default workflow.

If it is possible that the new language will be used in other workflows in your project, you must add the new language to the other workflows.

  1. From within a project, click the gear icon on the right side and select Project Settings.
  2. Click Workflows, navigate to the required workflows and click Edit Workflow Settings from the ellipses menu beside the workflow name.
  3. Choose the new language from the dropdown list of Target Languages to the existing language pairs.
  4. Configure the workflow with any requirements gathered from notifying your LSP.

If you have any existing language-specific rules, such as the Idle String Rule, or with Dynamic Workflows, consider applying the same to the new language.

Step 4: Assign Resources

Language Services Provider

Now, you need to assign your Language Services Provider to all workflows & workflow tasks they are required to do for the new language.

  1. Follow the first step in adding workflow assignments to an Agency.
  2. Repeat steps 3-5 until all translation tasks are listed for all workflows for the new language

The Agency Owner then must assign their translators to the relevant workflow steps.

Internal Resources

Next, you might need to add internal resources or freelancers to any translation tasks are listed for all workflows for the new language. For example, if the language is new to your account, and you are using an internal review step, create a Smartling account for the new reviewers and assign them to the relevant workflow steps.

  1. Follow steps on How to Add and Assign Your Team of Freelance Translators and Internal Reviewers
  2. Repeat steps 7-9 until all translation tasks are listed for all workflows for the new language

To get started, your new team members can watch our video tutorials.

Step 5: Apply Fees and Rates

Cost Estimates

To view cost estimates for the new language in your Jobs in Smartling, you need to add the rates for the new language to the agency and/or freelancer profiles.

Fuzzy Profiles

If a customized fuzzy profile is needed, please get in touch with the Smartling Customer Success Manager with the preferred fuzzy tiers and discount profile.

Step 6: Update Linguistic Assets

The new language will be added automatically to your Linguistic Package; however, you might need to update your linguistic assets to include some language-specific details.

  1. Check and update your Leverage Configuration if any language-specific settings are required (e.g. cross-locale leverage).
  2. If an existing Translation Memory (TM) is available for the new language, import the TM to Smartling and add it to the leverage configuration.
  3. Add the new language to your Glossary.
  4. Add a new Style Guide for the new language.
  5. Add language-specific Quality Checks.

Step 7: Project Configuration

Depending on the type of Project the new language has been added to, you may need to configure the new language in the project's settings.

Project Type Configuration Notes
Connector Locale Mapping Ensure the new language has also been added in the connecting application.
GitHub Connector Restart the configuration set

Regardless of which mode the configuration is set to, you need to switch the configuration set off, and then on to initiate translation of all branch files for the new target language.

For more information, read Adding a New Language to the GitHub Connector.
GDN

Network Configuration

 Update network configuration to correctly route new language requests.
When the new language is translated, you will also need to update the language chooser to include it.
GDN

Content parsing rules such as:

Rewrites 

Rules
Swaps

 Any language-specific rules should be updated to account for the new language.
API Check configuration The API client may need to be updated tto account for the new language.
Any Jobs Automation Any language-specific rules should be updated to account for the new language.
Any File Rewrites Any language-specific rules should be updated to account for the new language.

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