20 October 2022
FIGS – What is it?
FIGS is an acronym used in the localization industry that indicates a group of highly in-demand European languages. They are French, Italian, German and Spanish, and together, they are the most commonly requested languages in many software industries. Unsurprisingly, they are some of the most common languages requested from Alpha CRC translation services.
As one of the world’s most widely spoken language, it’s not difficult to see why French is such a sought after language. In fact, localizing your content in French provides access to the market of roughly 97.1 million people who identify French as their mother tongue, including those in France, Luxembourg, Belgium and French-speaking areas of Canada. Of course, you’ll need to ensure that all content is localized specifically for each dialect.
While Italian isn’t quite as widespread as French, there are still clear reasons to translate into Italian from English and other languages. If we take the gaming industry as an example: Italian speakers count for over 26million gamers, and contribute over $2.08bn in revenue to the industry. With Italian being such an in-demand language, software has to be localized effectively in order to reach a significant audience – Google Translate into Italian just isn’t going to help businesses find the success they’re looking for.
As the largest economy in Europe, and a powerhouse of the automotive industry, it’s no wonder that translation into German is such an in-demand language. The country features an impressive workforce, with an almost 97% employment rate, and is a hub of multinational trade conferences. With a population of over 80 million people in Germany and a further 7 million in Austria and 5 million in Switzerland, failing to localize into German means missing out on undeniable market opportunities. Just make sure that you get the right variant of German for each region!
Spanish is a language that can pose a challenge for companies looking to localize their products, services or content – after all, just what is Spanish really? Generally speaking, Spanish can be divided into two broad categories: European Spanish, otherwise known as Iberian Spanish, is the main variant spoken in, you guessed it, Europe, while LATAM Spanish is an amalgamation of Spanish varieties spoken throughout Latin America. While Spanish speakers can be found throughout the world, it’s important that businesses identify which specific variants they need to use before starting the localization process. Either way, Spanish is the key to getting your content into the hands of millions of potential customers.
Alpha CRC is an end-to-end provider of Enterprise Localization services, with extensive experience in a number of industry sectors, from automotive to medical and gaming. Some clients look to translate English into German, while others need to translate Italian into English – either way, Alpha CRC’s teams of expert in-house linguists are able to provide deep insights and help clients reach their international audiences in new ways.
