10 Things I Know About...Language Translation
Wendy Pease is executive director of Rapport International, a Sudbury-based interpretation and translation company.
10. Just Do It
A huge share of the business market is being missed if you are only targeting English-speaking audiences. Less than 10 percent of the world’s population speaks English as their first language, yet if information about a product is in a person’s native language, that person is four times more likely to purchase.
9. Provide Good Copy
Providing well-written English copy is the most important first step to insure a quality foreign language translation.
8. Quality Of Linguist
Use a trained and reputable linguist from a qualified translation company. One hospital tried to use a bi-lingual cleaning lady to interpret for a doctor and patient but culturally, the cleaning lady felt uncomfortable questioning the doctor and asking for clarification. Unfortunately, she told the patient that she needed stomach surgery when she only needed a pap smear.
7. Know Your Audience
Translate for the audience. If you use a Caribbean-French translator for Canadian documents, it will look sloppy because of the geographic language differences.
6. Keep A Consistent Voice
Using different linguists is like using different writers – everyone has their own style. One may use the word “dinner” and another may use the word “supper.” You want consistency.
5. Use Correct Grammar
Catchy marketing phrases do not work across cultures and languages. For example “Got milk?” was translated to “Are you lactating?” Try to avoid double meanings – they rarely ever translate.
4. Avoid Colloquialisms and Slang
In English, we understand what it means to say “that’s hot” or “that’s cool,” but it doesn’t carry the same meaning into other languages.
3. Localize
Localizing the document means making it appropriate for the audience in a particular target area. If selling in a particular country, consumers will want to see the right cultural innuendos, currency, jargon, etc.
2. Review And Edit
Always have the translated document reviewed and edited. Translation is like writing – the more eyes the better. Do not use machine translations.
1. Track Changes
Keep track of all changes when editing the original copy to save costs on translation edits.
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