By Verónica Gonzalez de la Rosa, translator, @vgdelarosa& Antoine Lefeuvre, UX designer, @jiraisurfer

www.TranslationIsUX.com@TranslationIsUX.com

Translation is UXManifesto

Translation plays a major role in the user experience.Why should it be neglected?

“Copyrighting is Interface Design”.So is translation.

Making copy understandable and appropriate requires a lot of effort. Translating it is just as demanding.

Would you put a robot in charge of the interface design?No, it's science fiction, of course. However machines are frequently given the responsibility of the translation.There's no C-3PO yet!

“Translating is a respectable, valuable, creative and worthwhile use of a human brain”

Community translation is developing, for better or for worse.Open source is fantastic. But it does not necessarily means amateurishness. Let's get the best from community development: Open, professional and subjected to quality controls.

Glossaries are stylesheets.Making sure the same font is used everywhere is good. Making sure “module”, “plugin” or “extension” aren't used to refer to one same concept is a good thing, too.Glossaries must be the team's document: Understood, used and fed by all.

Designers, developers and translators. A wonder team.Removing barriers between professionals is essential. It's time to enrich your team working arm in arm with translators.

What you can do.Web professionals: Translate early, translate often. You may even try “Foreign First”: Launching a foreign version before the original one.

Translation professionals: Learn programming languages. Understanding the code (HTML, CSS, JS) is understanding the people who code.