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Offer HN: We'll translate your iOS application to Japanese for free

89 points by dturnbull ↗ HN
Here's the offer:

My partner — a native Japanese speaker and actively working translator — and I want to translate a handful of iOS applications from English into Japanese for free.

Why?

Well, we're hoping to snag a few testimonials, smooth out any snags in the process (although my partner has translated multiple apps already), and also be able to say on our website, "These are some of the apps we've translated..."

Here's the catch:

* We're a two-person team, so we can't handle a lot of volume. (The exact amount will depend on the complexity of the apps that people send us.)

* There's no hard limits on the amount of words we'll translate, but we probably won't accept apps that have thousands upon thousands of words (like games with a lot of dialogue).

But for those who we do accept, the translation will be done with a lot of care (which is important, since Japanese is a highly contextual language) and, since Japan has one of the fastest growing App Stores, we're hoping you'll also see an uptick in sales.

To take us up on this offer, send an email to hello@davidturnbull.com. We'll get back to you within 24 hours if you're selected.

Regards,

David Turnbull, iostranslate.com

23 comments

[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 71.2 ms ] thread
dturnbull
Note: We were having trouble with the original email in this post so I've switched it over to my personal email. If anyone's sent a message already, please resend. Thanks. :)
ajani
I can't locate your personal email in this post. Am I missing something? Or you edited the original post and the email in it is the personal email?
dturnbull
Sorry for not being clearer. I edited the original post, so use that email. :)
hrjet
Why only iOS? If you and the developers use a tool like GetLocalization.com you can support many platforms easily.
dturnbull
Because we feel like we can offer better service by specialising, since we can test the apps ourselves, etc. We want to give every app a considerable amount of attention so the final result isn't just a translation that "makes sense," but that will be truly appreciated by users in Japan.
hrjet
That's a fair point; though I am not sure what limits you from testing on other platforms. Even if you don't have real hardware for them, most of them have cross-platform emulators.
AznHisoka
They're doing it for free. They have a right to be picky :)
majc2
Damn right! They have a right to be picky if they're charging too :)
dturnbull
In that regards, it's mostly a matter of simplicity. It's easier for us to work with the devices we have (and love) and to market based on a specific target.
robzyb
Because its less fun if you can't see the results.

And fun is important when you're doing something for free.

asiekierka
That still doesn't explain, for instance, cutting out translating web applications or PC/Mac software.
ekianjo
You should be specializing in translation, regardless of the format you work for. And I'm pretty sure you can find a cheap Android phone around to test if things work right.
dturnbull
My partner already does "specialise" in translation. She does freelancing for a living. I simply had the theory that it'd be more effective to niche down, and I chose to target iOS because: I'm a user of iOS, I have some iOS development experience, and the App Store is growing in Japan. We're not basing our livelihoods on the decision. It's just something we're testing.
DevX101
Pay them enough and I'm sure he'll consider your suggestion.
SchizoDuckie
Would you be willing to translate an open-source web-app / chrome extension? I've currently autotranslated the stuff through google translate but I can imagine that's hilariously wrong:

https://github.com/SchizoDuckie/DuckieTV/blob/angular/_local...

Even if you won't : kudo's for posting this offer to hn!

xorcist
Serious question: Why would you do such a thing?

I'm asking because I have this feeling it has become more and more common during the last years. Just because I sent a header that I can read a certain language, a lot of websites send me completely unreadable autotranslations.

There is nothing hilarous about it. If it's not a proper translation, if it's not something a native speaker would understand, then why send it at all?

Why butcher a beautiful language, put the pieces back together with random dung and then throw the resulting muck in the face of your users?

Are you that afraid that someone from France, Finland or the Faroe Islands would stumble upon your site, in the vast sea of the English speaking Internet, and then never come back just because it's not translated to their mother tongue?

Truly sorry for the rant. It was something built up. I do wonder about the prevalence of autotranslations however.

steveridout
Completely agree, especially since Chrome now offers to translate web-pages in other languages when the user opens them. It's far better to leave the decision to use machine-translation to the end user.
melling
I've had issues trying to get my language apps translated in Japanese. I just had someone do it for a second time. My translations are in this Google Spreadsheet:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1z-bF17uM76g7YsGB0Cbn...

I've got several language apps but my reviews in Japan haven't been good.

Spanish: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/h4-spanish-lite/id388918463?...

French: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/h4-french-lite/id687567532?m...

Anyway, if you could verify my app localization, that would be great.

ttty
What about web apps? you can test them too with any browser (:
scrumper
YHM. Very interesting offer - thanks.
[dead] scrumper
YHM. Very interesting offer - thanks.
stcredzero
The good thing about this: Cultural and language barriers create opportunities. This is a very powerful factor and there are huge opportunities for arbitrage.

The big unknown in this: For such arbitrage to work, the key is to demonstrate there is good understanding of the language, culture, and market on both sides, and that there is a mature process for delivering a quality product. I can't think off the top of my head how such things can be demonstrated to developers who don't already understand the language, culture, and market on both sides.

DanGTZ
Hi, I've got an iOS app that allows car enthusiasts to measure their car performances :https://itunes.apple.com/app/perfexpert/id549390700?mt=8 I would be interested for the translation in Japanese. I can send you a promo code to download the app for free, so you can see the amount of text to translate. Thanks Claude Joseph-Angélique Founder at PerfExpert