10 Most Common Mistakes in Vietnamese Localization

Whether you are struggling to achieve a cost-effective Vietnamese localization project or you are just about to kick off a project, this list of the 10 most common mistakes for localizing content into Vietnamese is for you. Let’s go over 10 things that make your project costly and time-consuming while the final translation is still of bad quality.

#1. Overlook the Planning Step

Many businesses overlook the power of a good Vietnamese localization plan or make terrible mistakes when making one. A proper strategy, without a doubt, is essential for any localization project, especially for a low-cost translation task.

It provides you time to plan and pick the best resource to carry out your translation assignment. A rush or urgent translation may cost 1.5 or even 2 times as much as a standard translation. Planning ahead allows you to provide translators heads-up and, of course, cut translation costs.

In your plan, you should consider the following information:

• • The scope of your project
  • The number of languages
  • The project volume
  •  Expected turn-around time
  • The budget

#2. Be Unaware of Word Expansion in Vietnamese Localization Projects

Different languages take up different amounts of space. In Vietnamese localization, you should be aware that the length of text will most likely be increased. Text expansion has an impact on the layout and design of the translated document, particularly for high-visual material such as websites, brochures, and posters.

For instance, in an English to Vietnamese localization project, it is estimated that translated Vietnamese documents will be 30-37 per cent longer than their original in English. This is because Vietnamese expressions are often considerably lengthier and more detailed than English expressions.

#3. Only Consider the Language While Ignoring a Locale

Geographically, Vietnam is separated into three major regions: Northern Vietnam, Central Vietnam, and Southern Vietnam, each has its own spelling and vocabulary in both written and spoken communication.

Your business should pay special attention to picking the proper dialect when developing a Vietnamese localization plan. Northern Vietnamese vocabulary, considered the standard language, should be used for official documents such as agreements and contracts.

However, it is strongly advised that you customize your content and messaging for marketing materials by employing the dialects of the targeted locations to provide the audience with a better experience and image of your company.

For the best results, we always recommend you employ professional Vietnamese localization services from a reputable localization firm or certified translators who are familiar with Vietnamese regional writing styles and locale details.

#4. Send Your Vietnamese Localization Partner Poor Source Content

Sending your source material without proofreading or editing beforehand is a huge error that might cause translation quality and delivery to be delayed. The more poorly written the text, the more time it takes to complete the translation process.

Before sending your Vietnamese localization partner the source document, you should carefully review it to correct some typos, unclear points or bad wording, and cut parts that are not necessary. This is to make sure that your document is consistent and easy to read enough for your translators to clearly and accurately understand what they are about to translate.

This will also help you cut down on costs and time for your Vietnamese localization project.

#5. Forget to Prepare a Translation Glossary and Style Guide

Many businesses ignore the significance of a translation guideline. Some prepare unclear instructions, while others are unaware of their importance and prepare nothing. A guideline is similar to a compass in that it directs translators’ efforts in the appropriate direction.

If you want a high-quality translation without spending too much time or money, this is an unavoidable step in your Vietnamese localization process.

You should prepare the following instructions for your Vietnamese translators:

• • Style Guide
  • Terminology
  • Glossary
  • Do-not-translate List
  • References
  • Other Requirements

#6. Not Accommodate Different Text Orientations

The Vietnamese language is written from left to right and top to bottom. But that is not the case for every language in the world. For example, Arabic and Hebrew are written in opposite direction (right to left), and Japanese is sometimes written vertically (instead of horizontally).

When translating text from such languages to Vietnamese, you should be sure that your platform can support different writing orientations.

#7. Soly Depend on Human Translators

The translation industry has long been misunderstood as a “human-only” sector, despite the fact that it is aided by several tools and apps, particularly CAT Tools.

Translation Memory (TM) in CAT Tools allows you to considerably minimize translation costs by only paying for new words that translators actually translate. Furthermore, your translation will take less time to translate while maintaining consistency.

By utilizing this technology, you may easily achieve both goals: high quality and affordable translation costs. Long-term translation projects benefit even more from CAT Tools. The money you pay decreases as the TM becomes larger and larger after each task.

#8. Use Too Many Images with Texts

If your documents contain numerous images with texts that need translating into the Vietnamese language, you will have to pay much more while expecting a longer delivery time for the Vietnamese translated version.

This is because the translation provider needs time to separate the images and texts before translating them. After that, they will edit the newly translated text into the images. This process takes (a lot of) time.

#9. Be Ignorant of the Vietnamese Regulations

Legal duties and e-commerce practices differ by location. You must be familiar with these rules to avoid any legal issues when conducting your business in the Vietnamese market.

For smooth business operations, you should work with legal Vietnamese translators to help you handle important legal papers such as business licenses, permits, contracts, agreements, etc. For product development, you should be aware of the Vietnamese regulations for product labels, ingredients, etc.

#10. Work with Any Vietnamese Localization Partner that Offers Cheap Services

We know budget is an important factor you must consider when finding a Vietnamese localization partner. However, it does not mean you should go with a partner that offers you the cheapest quotation. You know the saying – You get what you pay for.  You can’t expect to receive high-quality Vietnamese translation if the rate your translator quote is ridiculously cheap compared to others.

Our advice is to make thorough research before you make any decision. You are recommended to contact many Vietnamese localization providers and ask for a quote from each of them and then make a comparison. It will give you an idea of the average rate for a Vietnamese localization project.

Work with GTE Localize if you are looking for a reliable Vietnamese localization provider. We are a Vietnamese-based translation and localization agency with years of experience in handling various types of content for numerous industries.

Our promise is to bring you value-for-money Vietnamese localization services, meaning the quality of the Vietnamese translation you receive is worthwhile for every dollar you pay us. And we offer a free 12-month warranty policy. If you are still unsure about our services, test our ability. We are willing to do a 300-word test free of charge.

Contact our team now and get your Vietnamese localization project started.