A slew of North American and European magazines are making it big on the Indian market – but not without major cultural localization efforts.
A recent New York Times article points out how familiar Western magazine titles such as Vogue, Rolling Stone, Cosmopolitan, and Good Housekeeping are selling well to India’s press-hungry middle and upper classes. But although the magazines are published in English, the content is clearly Indian.
“Most of the new Western magazines being published in India are not really Western at all — they are written, photographed, edited and designed almost completely in India,” writes Heather Timmons in In India, Magazines That Translate Well. “Instead of Heloise’s syndicated household hints column, for example, Good Housekeeping runs ‘Ask Mrs. Singh.’ This month, Mrs. Singh tackles how to keep your home fresh during the monsoons that sweep through India during the summer (rubber mats and fresh flowers help).”
This is an excellent example of how localization, or adapting products or written material to a particular culture, can be necessary even within the same language. If Western magazines are hits in India, it’s thanks to their localized content, which has been carefully suited to the target culture.
At Language Translation Inc., our ten-step localization process guarantees flawless international communication. Don’t hesitate to contact us for a free quote. We can also help you with all of your language translation needs, from document translation to telephonic interpreting.
Betty Carlson
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- Language Translation Inc.
Language Translation Inc., a San Diego-based company has been serving the U.S. and countries abroad since 1989 with professional document translation, certified conference interpreting, and software / website localization services.
