Segment 40 – Should Local Partners Translate Materials?
Businesses that are serious about attracting local clients abroad will always localize. English may be the lingo franca for business or technology; however consumers tend to trust information presented in their own language. Consider the U.S., while most people speak English fairly well, companies and governments continue to provide information in Chinese, Spanish, etc… because it is simply easier for consumers to understand and trust...
In software and information technology, many users understand English because computer science or technology lingo is often created in English, so it's easy for software companies to just leave their materials in English, or have their partners translate it as needed. Why not? It’s typically easier for the home office or HQ to delegate the effort; it’s certainly convenient to have local partners cater the materials to the local market, and of course they might do it for free, saving the home company additional costs.
Be warned – There’s no such thing as a free lunch!
1. If the translation is NOT done by a professionally trained translator, there will likely be mistakes. A professional localization service provides translations, editing, proofreading and QA by a team of linguists. A professional translator will be educated with a BA or Master level degree in Linguistics and/or translations within the language pairs, and will have practical experience.
Wouldn’t you value tax advice from a CPA, rather than merely someone who is good at math? While one can be good at languages, it doesn’t always mean that he/she is disciplined with following proper grammar rules and evolving language trends. For examples, accountants understand the changing accounting practices and tax laws; the software does the math part. Likewise, linguistics is a trained profession.
2. If the translation is NOT done by a good marketing or software specialized translator, there will likely be inaccuracies or mistranslations. If a term is translated with a term that is not industry appropriate, the material could simply be translated wrong. Industry specific nomenclature is critical.
Would you write a legal brief if you were not a trained legal professional? Professional translators typically specialize in areas of expertise by both education and practical experience. For example, medical translators usually also have a degree in medicine or health related studies, likewise for legal translators.
3. If the translation is NOT done using a centralized approach, there will be inconsistencies and potentially higher costs. Do you want local partners to represent your product your way, or their way? Many organizations prefer to maintain control of the messaging or product materials. Style guides, terminology glossaries and translation memories help provide consistency across the organization, and with consistency comes cost control.
Why do business travelers choose Hertz across the globe? Consistency in quality, service, pricing and consumer policies is important. Consistency builds trust. If the company cares about their global brand or image, then consistent messaging is key, regardless of who implements, licenses, franchises, or represents the brand abroad. Less time and costs will be spent on re-building brand reputation and trust, allowing efforts to be focused elsewhere such as operational efficiency.
4. What is the primary objective of local partners? Local partners are typically in place to implement, service, license, franchise, represent and/or SELL the product abroad. They are professional business development and sales professionals with hopefully, amazing networking and relationship building skills.
Would you ask an artist to do your bookkeeping? Business development and sales professionals are at their best when dealing and conducting business. Companies want these people in front of clients, consumers and buyers, not at a desk with pen and paper translating text.
Before going down that path, global companies should seriously consider the opportunity costs involved. Local partners are business development professionals. The opportunity cost of NOT being with clients is simply too high for local partners and the companies which they support.
As my old economics professor used to say: There’s no such thing as a free lunch! So there you have it... good advice without getting a PhD in Econ, nor winning the Nobel Prize in Economics!
… Stay tuned for the next Segment of HT Localization Presents Language Translations for Real Life Series, where we’ll continue … with more stuff.
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This article was written by Rachanee Thevenet, Co-Founder of HT Localization. Rachanee is an Asian-American expat living in Spain with her family. She loves all things international including food, art, literature, culture, languages and people. She has years of professional product marketing expertise and global expansion experience.
HT Localization, LLC. is a worldwide translation & localization agency providing a full range of professional language translation services, including social media localization, marketing translations, website translations, software localization, eLearning materials, documentation translations, etc. With locations in the US, Spain, France, Zambia & Thailand, and coverage across all languages and most industries, HT Localization is well positioned to provide around the globe services for all translation needs.
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