A translation’s success hinges not only on accuracy and quality, but also on meeting important deadlines. How can you assist your language service provider with faster turnaround times? These considerations will help to fine tune content to ease the translation process and reduce delays due to clarification requests.

Evaluate Source Content

Read through your material for any content that may be not appropriate or understood by the target audience. Check for company buzz words, colloquialisms, and idioms. Equivalents may not exist. Clarify abbreviations and acronyms.

Remove Content Before Translation

Consider the user interface, guarantees, purchase options, service contact numbers, and legal content that may not apply to the translated material.

Insert Specific Market Content

After removing content, insert any country specific information or requirements that may differ from the source. Also consider how to handle measurements and acronyms. Some choose to have both the source content and the localized material, while others opt for only one version.

Use Straightforward Language

Ensure sentences are short and clear. Consider the implementation of STE (Simplified Technical English) when writing instructions and manuals. Below are two helpful resources:
• https://plainlanguage.gov/media/FederalPLGuidelines.pdf
• http://www.asd-ste100.org/

Create Corporate Standards

An established, approved term base will ensure consistent corporate material with the same terminology. This applies not only to your source content, but also to translated content.

Ensure your company’s experts in other countries provide their feedback regarding preferred terminology. Some terms may have two or three different options in another language, so it is important to have your company reviewers involved in the approval of the term base as well as a style guide.

A style guide will determine language conventions and translation guidelines such as punctuation, capitalization, and abbreviations. Your translation provider can assist with creating a localized version of these governing documents.

Streamline the Deadline

Following these five simple recommendations prior to translation will ensure your translation provider has clarity and direction to proceed without delays.

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Terralingua is a leading ISO 17100, 9001, and 18587 certified translation agency. We assist global companies with translation and localization needs in over 40 different languages. Please visit our website to obtain a same day, no obligation quote through our secure client portal.

The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted how we are all globally connected. Vital equipment has been flown into countries all over the world. We all want the best for our front-line health care workers.

In the business world, this highlights the importance of translation when distributing in another country. Liability and safety are the highest concern to ensure a product or machine is properly used.

Example: Germany 2006

This is a well-known medical case which stresses the importance of professional translation. A German hospital received a consignment of femoral components for knee replacements. The supplies came from America. German instructions were inside the packaging, but the labels on the outside were only in English.

The hospital didn’t think to use a professional translation service. Instead, they relied on English speaking hospital staff. They created new labels. Unfortunately, the translations were incorrect. The labels read ‘without cement.’ They should have read ‘with cement.’

The hospital carried out 47 knee replacement operations without using cement. Of course, the replacements failed. All the patients had to have another operation to rectify the mistake.

The patients sued the hospital for pain and suffering. The hospital sued the manufacturer of the supplies. The lawsuits amounted to millions of dollars. All because of a lack of professional translation for labels.

Non-English Speakers in the United States

Other sectors also need to provide clear instructions for their workers. For example, in America, many workers are Spanish speakers but only have information provided in English.

Construction, manufacturing, and farming all rely on employees who may not have English as a first language. A lack of comprehension puts the safety and wellbeing of the workers and companies at risk.

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OHSA) website provides help and advice to business owners. Their website raises awareness of safety issues at work. It helps companies who want to put safety best practices in place.

The construction sector, for instance, employs around 2 million foreign workers. This amounts to approximately 23% of the workforce. Many of them are native Spanish speakers.

Five years ago, OHSA teamed up with The Center to Protect Workers Rights (CPWR). Together they created a 10-hour safety course in Spanish for construction workers. The course included handouts and class materials.

Their evaluation report included this quote from a wise 20 year old Hispanic worker. “I think that, in the future, training in one’s own language will be available and, when that day comes, many accidents and deaths will be prevented”.

How Translation Can Save A Company Money

Not only does information in one’s native language keep the workforce safe, there are many other benefits when investing in translation. Fewer accidents and fewer claims mean savings on lost wages and productivity. Fewer insurance claims could also result in less expensive policies.

Often businesses must learn the hard way the consequences of a free machine translation or the result from someone who is not a qualified translator. Unfortunately, that lesson can mean the loss of life or limb. It is a lesson we should all take to heart.

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Terralingua is an ISO 9001, 17100 and 18587 certified translation leader. We care about the workforce and proudly present at the AEM Safety Conference. Please visit our website to request pricing or for more information about our services.

Businesses take great care selecting the preferred language to describe their products, explain services, and represent their brand. Communication always considers the appropriate industry norms and requires accuracy regarding technical aspects.

However, many companies have different product divisions and departments that produce their own materials, independent of each other. The brand message and corporate identity can be further divided when localization occurs. Different departments may use various providers to create translated content. Though it is understandable how this happens, it does not forgive an inconsistent brand message, disjointed corporate identity, or unsatisfactory client experience.

Does your company have an answer to this very important question – who is responsible for ensuring consistency?

Implementing Solutions

Consistency is a key quality control metric. Uniformity when establishing product or service protocols are a given. However, standardization is often overlooked with an organization’s language.

How can you ensure consistency throughout your organization – from marketing materials to technical document? Establish a corporate language protocol with input from all departments and divisions.

If all content creators have the same standards, you will have:

• Corporate consistency
• Improved customer communication
• Efficiency with time to market
• Improved translated content
• Risk reduction through improved comprehension
• Production savings

Create a Corporate Glossary

A glossary will ensure only approved terminology and phrases are used in corporate materials. This should include marketing materials, instruction manuals, websites, product specifications, user guides, instruction booklets and catalogues. “What do we call things?” is in integral part of team education and corporate standardization.

This applies not only to the source documentation, but localized content as well. Ensuring your translation providers are all on the same page with an approved terminology database is extremely important. Even if different divisions call upon various providers, a governing set of guidelines should be implemented and provided. Your translation partner can assist with creating a glossary by pulling key terms from your materials, providing suggested translations, and then asking your team to approve or revise the term. Many partners already include this in the scope of their work, and you may only need to request a copy. If you have many different providers, then you will need to request all versions, review internally and then provide a final approved glossary for all to implement.

The glossary is integrated with the translation memory database. Updating and maintaining the terminology database should be within a translation project’s parameters when you return review comments. Translators use industry tools to create this database to not only ensure consistency, but to also provide cost and time savings. Always ask your translation partner if they will assist with the creation of a glossary, allow for your company’s preferences, update the database with review comments, and provide this asset upon request. The last aspect is critical to not only to share with other translation partners, but also to protect your investment. It is only with the translation memory database (abbreviated as TM) that you will be able to reuse and repurpose content as well as ensure consistency between providers.

Establish Brand and Style Guides

A style guide is a common requirement especially when producing technical content. When was the last time your company reviewed your style guide? Are all departments and divisions implementing the updated version?

Style guides assist with:

• Measurement standards
• Acronyms
• Preferred language tense
• Style and tone
• Currency
• Punctuation

Does your translation provider also create a style guide specific for your company? Ensure it is updated and reviewed on a consistent basis. Localized style guides will have differences from your source style guide. For example, rules regarding letter case vary by language. Days of the week and months are capitalized in English, but they are not in Spanish.

Your company’s preferences should also be consistent in the localized style guides. This is particularly true with measurement. Some companies what both units listed – for example pounds and ounces with litres and grams. Others only want the preferred unit used in the localized material.

All translation partners should have a consistent style guide to follow regarding your preferred style and brand standards.

Remove Ambiguity

Clear and concise language is always the goal. Ensure content is reviewed for clarity. Customers always trust a brand that is easily understood – in any language. The global marketplace requires consumer comprehension. Idioms, jargon, and slang are cultural pitfalls that could mean a miscommunicated message, insult, or injury. If there are signs, symbols, or acronyms in your content, ensure they are properly explained. This is important not only in the source documentation but especially when localizing or translating information for another market.

Implementing corporate language protocols will result in quality content and a trusted brand identity. Consistent corporate language is established with style guides, approved terminology, localization standards, and ensuring oversight of your company’s written assets.

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Terralingua is an ISO 9001 and 17100 certified translation agency that partners with global businesses. Please visit our website to contact a client specialist, who can answer your translation questions and provide a budgetary proposal.

The busyness of daily business has slowed for many companies. Everyone is facing new challenges; however, every challenge paves a path to a new opportunity. This downtime allows for prospect and opportunity discovery within our global community.

One expanding budget item is the investment in e-commerce. Website updates and online product accessibility, which may require content in other languages, have become a necessary priority. When expanding into other markets there are many matters to address, and now is the time to investigate.

“Measure Twice, Cut Once” Research

There are many considerations before expanding your global reach, especially when starting relationships in other countries. There are many metrics and measurements to help gauge your cost. Below are additional planning checkpoints to consider before making final decisions.

Many companies consider the legalities and customs involved with international business, but what about the country’s infrastructure? Will your shipments easily get to their destination? How reliable are carriers and do they rely on road or rail facilities? Consider the target market’s economy including your potential customers’ spending power. A fair price in one market may be not feasible in another with the shipping cost.

If your product is new to that demographic, will additional education and training be required for the sale? Do you have the support channels available in that market? Research the marketplace environment, as well as the partners or distributors that could providing the support required for a successful expansion.

The Language of Business

Effective communication is key when it comes to productive global business. Many rely on localized websites and social media to obtain customer attention. However, how you gain attention and build rapport is important, especially with an international audience. Customer support, navigation ease and international payment information are critical factors.

Studies have long shown that consumers prefer browsing websites in their native tongue. They want to be 100% certain of the product or service before the purchase. Inaccurate translations will not allow fluent reading and content comprehension. It could invalidate the information and cause confusion and as well as distrust. The free translation you obtain from a website could cost a very high price when it comes to your reputation.

Consumers require a degree of trust before making a purchase. Professional translation and localization are an investment in your relationships and reputation. It is also an investment in the integrity and security of your content as anything that is posted online or shared without protocols in place could be used by another for other purposes.

In conclusion now is the time to research and appeal to new markets and opportunities. If your company is expanding their global reach, then professional translation and localization will create a solid foundation for clear communication and trust.

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Terralingua is a leading ISO 9001 and 17100 translation and localization agency. They assist global companies every day with their international communication, technical publications, websites, training, and marketing materials. Please visit our website for more information.

According to ‘Doing Business’ on the World Bank’s website, one of the top places to grow globally is Denmark. If you’re looking for a European business opportunity, then Denmark is worth exploring.

Denmark is a Scandinavian country close to Sweden and Norway. Its main imports are computers, communication equipment, cars, wine and clothes. Denmark’s most important trading partners are the United States, Sweden, Germany, Norway and the United Kingdom. Denmark’s trading figures can be found on the OEC website.

Denmark is in the top ten of countries to do business because of its ease in:

• Finding a location
• Dealing with permits
• Registering property
• Obtaining electricity
• Obtaining credit
• Paying taxes
• Trading across borders

Transport links to and from Denmark are excellent. Copenhagen Malmo Port is the main transport hub for new cars in the Baltic region serving Sweden, Norway, Finland and Estonia. As well as Latvia, Lithuania and Russia.

Road and rail links are enhanced by the Oresund Bridge which links Denmark to Sweden and the proposed Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link which will eventually link Copenhagen to Germany.

Telecoms and internet connections are at the forefront of the government’s focus. They want to make Denmark a leader in digital technology by 2025 and they have already begun the launch of a number of initiatives with that in mind.

Danish is the official language, although many Danes also speak German and English. The work environment is more causal with managers working alongside their teams, and suits are not the norm.

However, in order to effectively target the Danish consumer, marketing materials and websites should be professionally translated. Danish has a contraction rate when translating from English and may require desktop publishing to ensure the text properly fits the layout.

If you want more information about doing business in Denmark then visit the US Embassy business pages for more information. There is also a useful guide from the UK called ‘Doing Business in Denmark’.

Denmark’s infrastructure and future investments make it a very stable and desirable prospect when going global.

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Terralingua is a leading ISO certified translation agency. We have worked with some of the world’s leading industries for over 20 years. We provide professional translation, localization and desktop publishing services. If you would like more information please visit our website.

The manufacturing industry has embraced the advantage of standardizing production efforts for a long time. However, standardization protocols should not just be implemented for product development, but for marketing and communication efforts as well.

Global standardization can be used to promote the goods and services of your company both at home and abroad. A standard process across the board means saving time and money when considering your global return on investment (ROI). Your strategy should be applied through all departments and managed with the assistance of a content management system (CMS). A CMS will also ensure that all brand documents are integrated within each relevant department for a seamless workflow across all marketing materials, including websites.

Standardization not only improves your translated documentation, but all your company’s content. Your strategy should result in clearly written text without the use of idioms or colloquialisms. Establishing standard terms for instructions will increase clarity and reduce translation costs.

The benefits of standardization include:

• Better understanding of systems and processes throughout departments and offices
• Improved quality as staff adheres to set standards
• Efficiency as staff applies processes within each department
• Savings in production costs leading to higher profits
• Staff satisfaction as standard procedures reduce content creation and review approval time

For example, consider branding standardization. Without branding standardization, your marketing campaign will not resonate with consumers in other markets and countries. Your brand needs to provide a relevant consumer experience – including consideration of colours and images. A core message for consumers needs to be created and then adapted to each target audience.

Coca-Cola is an excellent example of a company that has implemented standardization with localization. Brand colours, consumer images and relevant local information are considered for each target market section of their website.

The benefits of localization standardization include:

• An advantage over competitors that do not localize effectively
• Building trust with customers in other countries
• Quicker brand recognition
• Building a loyal customer base

Standardization and localization are solid building blocks for your company’s foundation. Together, they can help your business grow and earn its profit in the global marketplace.

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Terralingua is an ISO 9001 and 17100 certified language service provider for equipment manufacturers and leading global companies. We would be honoured to serve your translation and localization needs. Please visit our website for more information and a no-obligation quotation.