Buckle up everybody; the spookiest of all seasons is back. In the spirit of Halloween, here are 3 spooky stories from around the world that demonstrate the importance of language and localization services:
La Llorona And The Importance Of Localization Services
La Llorona (with the help of Spanish translation) means “the weeping woman“. There are a number of different versions of the La Llorona narrative, but the best known tale begins with A beautiful and desirable woman named Maria marrying the love of her life, a nobleman who seemed to love and care for her deeply. However, after the birth of their second son, her husband leaves her and his children for another woman. Maria becomes vengeful and seeks to repay her husband in the worst way possible – by taking his children away from him and drowning them in a river. After she realizing what she had done, Maria takes her own life in the very same waters.
Yet this is only the beginning of the story. Banned from the afterlife for eternity, it is said that Maria wanders among us to this day, roaming the waterways, crying and searching desperately for her lost children. According to Mexican tradition, she can still be heard luring children into her arms, past the tree lines and towards the water.
As you can imagine, in order to recount this story for different cultures without it losing any meaning in translation, localization services are needed to adapt the tale for foreign audiences..
Jiang-Shi And The Power of Localization Services
The vampires and zombies you knew until now don’t come close to the jiangshi (which with the help of Chinese translation services means “stiff corpse”) that extract the qi (“live energy”) of humans. According to Chinese folklore, during the Qing Dynasty, members of low-income families whose relatives had died in a foreign place were transferred back to their home town since it was believed that their souls would get homesick otherwise. Jiangshi are believed to be the souls of people who died an unnatural or violent death Therefore, their souls are unable to leave their body and turn into reanimated corpses. Another reason why jiangshi are believed to exist is because their corpses were not given the proper burial after their death which causes the dead to become unrestful and return to haunt the living. According to tradition, their key characteristics are very pale skin, long white hair, a disfigured body that doesn’t compose, and complete blindness It is said that only one touch is enough for them send their victims to the afterlife.
The Legend of Hanako-San And Localization Services
Three knocks on the third door of the girl’s bathroom is all it takes for Hanako-san’s spirit to come out. There are different versions to the story that explain how she died and became a haunting spirit.. Some say she was killed during World War II while she was playing hide-and-seek; some say she was killed by a parent; others even claim she committed suicide in a school bathroom. Either way, once you knock on her door and ask her to come out, she will grab you with her blood-stained hands and pull you into the stall that leads into hell. According to some narratives, she even turns into a three-headed lizard and devours her victims.
In some cultures, death is a sensitive matter. For example, it can be considered offensive to have the soul of dead people turn into creatures like zombies, which is why Japanese translation and localization services are important to adapt creative content like marketing and ad copy for release in foreign markets.
The Importance of Language Services
To fully capture the essence of these spooky tales and make them accessible to everyone, it’s important to understand your audience in order not to disrespect different cultures. Therefore, it is important to work with skilled translators who know how to localize content accordingly. As an experienced company with over 30 years of experience we provide businesses with accurate translation and localization services.
About Language Connections:
Language Connections is one of the top language service companies in the US. Over the last 30 years, we’ve focused on providing the best business translation services, interpreting services, as well as interpreter training and customized language training programs. In addition to top-tier corporate language training, we offer certified corporate interpreters and professional business translation services in 200+ languages. Our network includes linguists with backgrounds in all major industries. They’re ready to meet your needs, whether they’re for technical translation services, legal translation, government translation services, international development translation services, education translation services, life sciences translation, or something else. Reach out to us today for a free quote on our cost-efficient and timely translation services, interpreters, or other linguistic services.
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