Multilingual content in the process area

Important at the outset:

The implementation options described for including content in different languages are pure workarounds. These should be used when it concerns isolated content and this content must be created, for example, due to an external requirement (e.g. supplier audit). If a management system for practical guidance is to be set up for an international company with several sites, the Q.wiki MultiSite solution is recommended. This allows the principle of interactive management systems to be implemented across language barriers, without effort being spent on often pointless and erroneous translations.

In Q.wiki, two components are distinguished for the language:

• The system language (control elements such as save button).
• The language of the content

Multilingualism of the system language

German or English are offered as system languages. For a user, the system language depends on the language set in the browser:

• If the language in the browser is set to German, Q.wiki appears in German.
• If the language in the browser is set to another language, Q.wiki appears in English.

E-mails are sent in the language of the initiating user.

The system language can be forced to German or English for Q.wiki in the configuration. This configuration is adapted by the Model Aachen Support.

Multilingualism of the content language

The content of the Q.wiki appears in the inserted language. Q.wiki does not offer automatic translation.  

There are several possibilities to display Q.wiki content in different languages, which differ significantly depending on the use case:

• Different locations have different languages
  • If you have several locations in your company with different spoken languages, the introduction of the Q.wiki multisite is a good idea. In this case, a separate wiki is implemented for each of the different locations and/or languages. Globally applicable content is also made available locally in the corporate language.

If the same content is to be presented in different languages, the following methods are possible:

• Integrated translation
  • The integrated translation is recommended if isolated contents are to be translated and thus one language predominates. With this option, too, the person responsible for the page should be able to include all the languages offered. If content is to be offered in another language, this is added to an additional column of a table in the process description/work instruction.

• The managed translation
  • The managed translation is recommended if the content in the different languages should not diverge over the revisions. The person responsible for the page should be able to bring in the languages offered himself. To implement this, the content in the additional language is added, e.g. below the existing content or as an additional column. The different language blocks are marked with a heading (e.g. German / English) and the automatic table of contents is inserted at the beginning of the page. The person responsible for the page thus ensures the synchronisation of the content within the scope of his or her approval.

• The downstream translation
  • The downstream translation can be used if individual contents are to be translated into languages that are not mastered by the person responsible for the page. Individual pages are created for each language offered and linked to each other (e.g.: "<link to the english process>" or "<link to the german process>"). If content is changed, the page owner must ensure that the other page owners also update their page. The Q.wiki does not support this process of downstream translation because the effort and logistical problems involved contradict the basic principle of an interactive management system with many small improvements.

You might be interested in this article: Translate Q.wiki with the browser