Language Alternatives: French, Spanish, etc.

what's the best method?

[mcjohnson]

Friends,

Has anyone had any experience in offering alternative language versions of websites- I have a client who would like to offer a French version and was thinking of just linking to the alta-vista bablefish translator where you can run the site through it's filter and come up with a French alternative.

Problem is, I highly doubt the accuracy of the translation.

It seems the only other alternative is to have the text TRULY converted by a translator, and creating a real, mirror version of the site in French that is accessible via the home page.

True?

[bill]

It seems the only other alternative is to have the text TRULY converted by a translator

Yes. That is the only way to do another language. Anyone who thinks they can offer another language version of their site by using machine translation is seriously misinformed. At the rate things are progressing I doubt we'll see usable machine translation within our lifetimes.

There are no shortcuts. Use a professional translator with native ability in the target language. If you have the budget pay to get the entire site rewritten for the target market in the target language, not just translated.

[Lipik]

I can only agree with Bill.
A good translated site is a site "rewritten" for a specific language (=country(s), people).

If you write on an English travel website : "Pula (Croatia) is now connected with London by low-fair airline Ryanair"

You can translate this in German or French, but what can a German do with this info? nothing, he needs to now how to reach Pula from Munich or Berlin.

Same for lot's of other stuff (currency, miles/km, etc...)