Localization & Cultural Fit Check

What it does

Before you move content into a new language and market, it scans two separate risks together and hands the decision-maker a single publish signal.

1. Linguistic quality — MQM 2.0 (Multidimensional Quality Metrics). Using the industry-standard error typology, it walks the source↔target text and labels every deviation with one of 7 top dimensions (Accuracy, Fluency, Terminology, Style, Locale conventions, Audience appropriateness, Design/markup) and a severity. Severity is weighted on the exponential penalty scale — neutral(0) / minor(1) / major(5) / critical(25). The MQM Overall Quality Score then computes Quality Score = (1 − APT/EWC) × 100, where APT is the total penalty and EWC is the source word count. A per-1000-word normalization lets you compare texts of different lengths.

2. Cultural & legal lens. Against the target market's Hofstede 6-D profile (power distance, individualism–collectivism, masculinity–femininity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation, indulgence), it checks whether the tone and claims fit, and flags taboos (color, symbol, gesture, religion, number, humor) plus local advertising/labeling/data law (GDPR/KVKK wording, health claims, price display). These sit outside the score but enter the findings.

3. Skopos & transcreation axis. The fidelity axis is tuned by text type — literal accuracy for legal text, cultural resonance for slogans/marketing. With the ISO 18587 full vs light post-editing distinction it states which PE level and whether ISO 17100 second-eye revision the content requires.

Decision rule: ≥95 publish, 85–94 fix-then-publish, 70–84 revise, <70 or ≥1 critical → do-not-publish. A single critical (wrong meaning, legal violation, taboo) blocks regardless of the score.

When to use

• A final check before moving any text/UI string/marketing campaign into a new language+market.
• Weighing whether MT output is publish-ready and at which post-editing level (full vs light).
• Auditing whether a transcreation/slogan/brand name carries reversed meaning, taboo, or pronunciation traps in the target culture.
• Flagging local legal/advertising compliance in regulated sectors (health, finance, food, gaming).

Method / frameworks

• MQM 2.0 — 7-dimension typology + exponential severities (0/1/5/25) + score (1−APT/EWC)×100 (themqm.org).
• ISO 17100:2015 — translation services, TEP + revision (second-eye) requirement.
• ISO 18587:2017 — MT post-editing; full vs light PE levels.
• Hofstede 6-D — de Mooij's international-marketing application.
• Skopos theory (Vermeer/Reiss) + transcreation — functional translation; fidelity axis by text type.

Fabricated laws/statistics are forbidden: when terminology or regulation needs verification, sourced web-research runs, and unverifiable claims go to gaps.