Why investing in professional, human-led translation creates better business outcomes

Geographical boundaries have long since ceased to be barriers to international trade. Today, companies of any size can do business globally, benefitting from easy, instant digital communication and the opportunities for worldwide buying and selling that the Internet brings. Technologies enabling e-commerce and digital payments, and the increasing influence of artificial intelligence, help large and small businesses alike reach new customers in new markets.

International trade, however, isn’t without its challenges. In order to take advantage of global markets, businesses must make considerable investments to overcome the obstacles that persist. One of the most significant of these is language.

The cost of not investing in languages

Although we might now exist in a ‘global community’, our cultural and linguistic differences set us apart and cause expanding organisations one of the most difficult hurdles. What works in one culture, might not work in another, especially if it’s miscommunicated. People make judgements and decisions based on the messages they receive. If the message that’s delivered via translation doesn’t resonate with the people it targets, the failures can be stark.

Top of the list is the loss of customers and sales. If you alienate your future customers with poor or unsuitable translation, they are less likely to purchase from you. Your brand reputation will also take a hit, as it becomes associated with sub-par language. Mistakes in translation can be expensive to fix and could also mean delayed product launches orthe need for redesigned marketing campaigns. If the errors have caused serious harm, there may be legal implications which need to be dealt with.

All these unplanned extras mean expanding budgets.

It has often been said that when translation is successful it goes unnoticed. While that is true to a degree, the flip side is that when translation goes wrong it tends to stick in the memory. In the internet age, many examples persist, living on in the digital realm.

A lack of investment in workable language solutions can have long-lasting effects.

When translation goes wrong

Both big and small businesses can be affected by linguistic letdowns. In 2020, one of the world’s largest technology and e-commerce companies, Amazon, was left severely embarrassed when the launch of its Swedish retail website was hit by some less-than-perfect translations. Amazon’s linguistic blunders were made worse by the fact that much of Sweden’s population speaks English and many took to social media to ridicule the company’s often offensive product descriptions. Although machine translation was thought to be behind the mistakes, Amazon should have been aware of the need for human post-editors to ensure quality. Checks by human linguists are still needed in the majority of machine translation scenarios and ensure mistakes like these don’t happen.

Small businesses can also fall foul of bad translations. From the familiar problems with restaurant menus or the many mistranslations of notices and signs around the world, it’s not just big business that suffers. Although these are often more amusing than dangerous, repeated poor communication will ultimately lead to lost customers and revenue.

Over the years many companies have made the mistake of retaining their brand names in new markets without proper research. What appears to be a catchy, apt and well-thought-out name in one place can become memorable for all the wrong reasons in another. Vicks is a household name in the UK but the company quickly realised that using this name in Germany and Switzerland was a mistake. More recently the cryptocurrency company Nonce Finance launched in the UK where the first word of its name has another meaning entirely in British slang.

A quick internet search will reveal many examples of when brand and product names, slogans or entire campaigns encounter translation troubles. Although some of these will have become exaggerated over time, most businesses would prefer to avoid being on these lists altogether, and planning careful translation strategies from the outset helps bypass unwanted attention.

When translation quality counts

In some business sectors, translation accuracy is crucial for avoiding harmful consequences. Here, one wrong word can have significant repercussions.

In the legal sector, translation errors can’t be tolerated. When both people’s lives and commercial success can depend on precise and informed legal wording, working with experienced expert linguists is essential.

Legal systems and principles differ between nations, meaning that translators must be legal specialists in both cultures they’re dealing with, have expert knowledge of legal terminology and be proficient in the two languages.

On a personal level, certified translations of legal documents like birth and marriage certificates, bank statements, wills and power of attorney, must be carried out by approved and qualified translators. For business, accurate translation of commercial and employment contracts, land deeds, privacy policies, patent documents and many more, is vital for the smooth operation of companies expanding to new regions.

Mechanical and plant engineering is also a field that relies on steadfast multilingual communication. From technical manuals to product specification sheets to safety information and training, translation in this sector must also be word-perfect.

Compliance is paramount in the engineering sector and with standards varying considerably across borders, vague matches and imprecise vocabulary are not an option. Translations need to be done with an excellent understanding of the technical terminology involved and often with specific subject matter expertise.

Although in the tourism industry, multilingual mishaps are common, they can still be costly and in a competitive field, are certainly damaging to organisations and tourist destinations.

With growing numbers of travellers globally, more of us than ever are visiting areas where we don’t understand the language. Although we can use translation apps to find our way around and order food, we rely on local translations for immediate safety guidance and information related to environmental care or municipal laws and regulations.

A recent investigation by the city of Kyoto in Japan discovered that out of 3,600 translations scrutinised, 399 were inaccurate. City officials feared this would damage Kyoto’s reputation and deter future visitors. They quickly established a number of initiatives to improve the city’s multilingual approach.

Can we trust automatic translation?

Interestingly, the last example from Japan goes a little way to answering this question. In its recently issued guidelines, The Kyoto City Tourism Association warns against the overuse of AI-powered translation systems because, it believes, they produce translations that are not nuanced enough.

Whilst perhaps less frequent than before, machine translation gaffes are still very much present. Recent letters to The Connexion in France or yet another Meta apology for wayward messaging both give us evidence that ‘auto-translate’ mistakes are alive and well.

Although today’s tendency is to turn to online machine translation tools and generative artificial intelligence for translation in an attempt to save time and money, these recent examples illustrate why using it solo is still a risk. Machine translation has its place (we look at recent developments here) but for translations that matter, it’s unwise to use it without human supervision.

Translation helps businesses grow

Despite current geopolitical factors, predictions for global business in 2024 and beyond are largely positive. International trade is now part of day-to-day operations for millions of businesses around the world and effective cross-market communication is top of their agenda.

Language barriers, however, persist. The many examples of mistranslations that are still in evidence point to a refusal in some organisations to recognise the importance of communication tailored to fit new audiences. Not understanding the benefits of adapted, accurate and trustworthy translation is a major factor in preventing successful cross-border commerce and ultimately, business growth.

Talk to t’works today about how we can help you achieve your global communication objectives.