Foreign Language Deployment

| Translation & Interpreting | Voiceovers | Arabic Translation and DTP |

Arabic Translation and DTP

Obun is a one-stop solution for Arabic translation, DTP, printing, and more.

Obun networks with major Arabic translation firms both in Japan and abroad. We are ready to meet all of your Arabic translation needs.

While much of our work is in English and the major European languages, Obun has long considered Arabic translation to be a vital part of our business. Indeed, we have more than 20 years of experience in servicing Arabic translation needs.

The importance of Middle East business has increased rapidly in recent years, driven in part by economic developments in cities such as Dubai. Firms from all major industrial countries—including, of course, Japan—are actively working to take advantage of new opportunities in this region.

Arabic Translation and DTP

Obun has long experience in translation and production of Arabic product manuals, usage guides, and workplace manuals. We also produce Arabic brochures, and provide professional narration and dubbing. Please turn to us when you need help in reaching an Arabic-speaking audience.

Language Support

In general, we provide translation from English to Arabic. All of our translators are native Arabic speakers. For information about translation from Japanese to Arabic, please contact us.

Main Areas of Activity

  • User manuals and brochures for automobiles, machine tools, and general household electronics
  • Translation of news articles

Translation & Production System

We can handle the entire process, starting with translating and continuing through DTP. A translation director coordinates the entire effort, assigning tasks and schedules to translators, checkers, production directors, and DTP operators. Several of our translation directors are fluent in Arabic, ensuring that communication can proceed smoothly.

Manual Production: One-Stop Solution

We can easily support both original writing of manuals and production of manuals in multiple languages. Our manual production directors coordinate the entire process: writing, translation, DTP, and printing. For more information, go to Foreign-Language Deployment > Technical Writing & Manual Production.

Voiceovers

For more information, go to Foreign-Language Deployment > Voiceovers.

Supported DTP Software

Mac platform: InDesign CS and CS2 (ME versions); PageMaker 6.5 (ME version)
Windows platform: InDesign CS and CS2 (ME versions)
Note: FrameMaker not supported (not available in ME version).

Careful Checking at Every Stage

Text is double-checked by native speakers after each step in the translation and DTP process.

Features of Arabic

  • Written from right-to-left... Layout is a mirror-image of the typical English layout
  • Many dialects... But documents are generally translated into MSA (modern standard Arabic)
  • Avoids loanwords... Translations are generally into pure Arabic

The most well-known feature of Arabic is its direction—from right to left. Arabic publications and English publications open from opposite sides. When translating a text from English, it is generally necessary to invert the entire layout, and it is often necessary to redo all of the DTP work. When translating a manual, we also usually invert all of the illustrations and other graphics.

Arabic has a number of distinctive grammatical properties-such as the use of a dual form in addition to singular and plural forms.

Using Trados Software for Arabic Translations

Trados® is an important translation support tool widely used for European languages, and we are delighted that it is now available for Arabic as well. The software maintains a dynamic database of previous translations. When presented with new text, the software finds the nearest matches from within the database and presents these to the translator for review. By allowing for the effective reuse of text, Trados saves time and costs while also enhancing consistency in terminology and style.

Delivery Format

We can deliver files in PDF form or as outline data. Note that PDF files utilize embedded fonts and are ready to print without further processing.