English → Malaysian Survey Localisation with Rolling Delivery
English → Malaysian · Client: Confidential (USA-based Research Client)
A 21,500-word English to Malaysian translation assignment for a consumer survey originally generated in the USA but intended for Malaysian consumers. The assignment required more than translation - cultural nuances had to be adapted throughout, companies and brands that do not exist in Malaysia had to be replaced with locally consumed equivalents, currency and measurement systems had to be converted, and the tone had to suit the Malaysian market. No translation instructions were provided by the client, so we devised our own based on our standardised instruction sets for this industry.
Challenges & How We Addressed Them
CAT Tool Conversion
The file was delivered as a MemoQ project file. Since the assigned translator works in SDL Trados Studio, we first converted the MemoQ file into a Studio-compatible format before translation could begin - without any loss of segments, tags or translation memory data.
Rolling Delivery Against an 11-Day Deadline
The client's delivery schedule allowed 11 days for the full assignment. Receiving the complete translated file on Day 10 and completing internal QC within a single day was not viable. We split the file into 7 approximately equal parts to facilitate rolling delivery - allowing our QC to begin on the first parts while translation of the later parts was still in progress.
Maintaining Consistency Across Split Files
Rolling delivery across 7 split files introduces the risk of terminological inconsistency. We addressed this by ensuring the translator remained connected to the shared Translation Memory throughout all 7 files. Once all parts were finalised, they were recombined into the original single file and a full consistency QC pass was completed across the reassembled document.
No Client Instructions - Devised In-House
The client provided no translation instructions. We screened the source English, assessed the content type (market research survey with US-centric cultural references), and drew on our standardised instruction sets for this industry to produce a comprehensive brief for the translator before work began.
Instructions
- 1The capitalised text (i.e. interviewer instructions) within square brackets: assess whether it should or should not be translated based on context.
- 2The tone of language should suit the Malaysian market.
- 3These stay in English: names of portals/websites, social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, WhatsApp etc.), mobile apps, numbers, alphanumeric codes, brand names, names of companies, registered/trade-marked names.
- 4IMPORTANT: Any brand or company names that do not exist in Malaysia should be replaced with equivalent Malaysian brand or company names.
- 5Names of departments (typically government departments), councils/service organisations, helplines, policies/schemes, designations, Acts etc. should be translated followed by English within brackets.
- 6All capitalised words or strings in curly brackets stay in English - e.g. {QUESTION}, {QUESTION_NUMBER}, {LENGTH} etc.
- 7UI/button/webpage button terms: keep in English with translation in brackets, or translate followed by English in brackets.
- 8Special characters and tags such as {#\.}, <a href='...' target='_blank'>, <b> etc. - all stay in English.
- 9Any internet or software-related terms that are more easily understood in English: use your discretion, ensuring consistency throughout.
- 10Where strings contain special characters, translate ONLY the text between > and <. For example, in >xxxxyyyyy< the text "xxxxyyyyy" is translatable; anything between <xxxxyyyy> is not.
- 11Country-specific localisation adjustments: (a) Currency: convert US$/GBP/Euros to Malaysian Ringgit - use a conversion ratio of 1:4 for USD. (b) Education levels: localise to the Malaysian education system and inform us of any changes made so the client can be updated. (c) Names: localise US-specific brand, product, website and person names to Malaysian equivalents and inform us of all such changes. (d) Measurements: convert to metric system (metres, kilograms, litres, kilometres) using short forms as necessary.
Key Challenge
The combination of a tight 11-day deadline, no client instructions, a CAT tool format mismatch, and the need for deep cultural adaptation (brand substitution, currency, education system, names) made this a demanding project operationally. The rolling delivery workflow - splitting, parallel QC, and final recombination - was designed specifically for this assignment and executed without any consistency issues in the final delivered file.
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