Intercultural Communication and Translation News

At Kwintessential we work with a lot of design houses;  both digital and print. One area we have to constantly coach our clients on is how language expands and contracts when undergoing a translation. So for example, 1,000 characters in English could end up as 850 when translated into one language and 1,400 in another. This poses headaches for designers as they usually build a website or graphics in English and then expect translated text to slot in nice and neatly.

By way of offering a simple ilustration, have a look at the menu bar below . Lets say Mr Designer starts with the English template and then wants his website to go into Italian, German, French and Spanish. You can see that if he bases his site around the dimensions of the English template, it is not going to work! This is because the translated text has inflated the area he needs for his menu.

The answer to this is not very difficult. Your translation agency or translator needs to know how text will be used and what for. Once the context is understood either they look for alternative translations to fit defined spaces or we work with the designer to create a more flexible layout.

If you need help with regards to web or graphic design please contact one of our team.

Preparing to go global with your website is a big commitment and will take a lot of time, resources, clear goals and detailed planning in order for the globalization to be a success and to minimise the risk of errors occurring.

Why so much commitment and planning? Website production has matured very quickly over the years, but the practice of web globalization is only just beginning. Very few corporations have more than one language on their website, in fact, less than 15 % of American corporations with a website offer more than one language.

As web globalization is only starting out information and examples on going global are quite scarce, which makes room for error that much bigger. Errors big or small can lead to unnecessary work and embarrassing mistakes, so if you are interested in or planning to go global with your website, here are a few tips to help you on your way.

1. Don’t take on too much work, make sure even before starting that you understand what is required for a project of this size and what could go wrong. Work on one language at a time and keep it simple, by doing this you will find it easier to perfect development by finding out what clearly works and what doesn’t at each stage.

2. Ensure all parts of the company that will be affected by the globalisation are included in a feedback system so refinement in relation to individual departments is easy and manageable.

3. Ensure all viewers can access their language quickly and easily, as they will quickly move on to a website that will if yours is not easily accessible, which could mean potential loss in customers. A language gateway is the easiest way to ensure viewers can gain access quickly and easily, but be careful what type of gateway you use:

• Avoid flags as they can represent more than one language.
• ‘Welcome’ mats are great for making a website come across as friendly and welcoming, however, if any more than 4 languages will be added, the mats can start to take up a lot of space on the site.
• If you are adding a lot of languages to your site then you could let users select their language through a pull down menu. Although pull down menus take up very little room, they only show one display word until activated and certain languages won’t display without the correct fonts installed, so thought needs to go into which gateway will work best dependant on how many  and what languages you have and how much room you have on your site.
• You also need to anticipate text expansion or contraction for different languages and how you will format the site to allow for these changes.

4. Remember that for  each target local(e) the following may need to be changed:

• Currencies
• Time and date formats
• Measurements
• Authoring style
• Colour/ image selection

5. Make it easy for other countries to find your site through advertising and search engine registration in markets, once your site is complete you can use in-country language testers to test and ensure that your site works in its target locale.

Neil Payne+

According to the world’s biggest provider of language and translation services (TransPerfect) there is a large disparity between the importance that consumers and companies place on the translation of retail websites.
It seems that customers who shop online attribute a lot of weight to the website that they are using having the correct translation, whereas the executives from the retail companies do not hold the importance of language translations in quite the same light.
This information has come to light following a survey that was carried out questioning customers who do most of their shopping online and also of the retailers themselves. This was an international survey that questioned people from both the US and Europe.
According to the survey around 19% of retail executives ranked translating online information in their websites as high priority. This is in direct comparison to around 63% of customers saying that they would be more likely to choose a website that had its translations spot on, as it would make them appear more trustworthy.
64% of retailers said that they were unaware of how a translation would affect their business or how it would alter visits to their websites being converted into sales.
68% of customers said that they had come across websites where the translations were incorrect and thought that this portrayed an unprofessional image.

At the last estimate it was thought that there are around five hundred and thirty seven million users who make use of the internet in the English language, on top of this around 445 million people use the web in the Chinese language. These are the two main languages that the public use in order to navigate the internet, but there are a huge number of people who use countless other languages to surf the net and these add up to around 995 million.
Many businesses miss out on a huge untapped global market by alienating customers who cannot speak the language in which the website has been written.
In a Eurobarometer survey, it was found that around 90% of all European web users will make the choice to use a website that has been written in their first language, as they feel it gives them a better feeling of security and confidence that the transaction will go well.
It is clear then that if a global business does not want to alienate a large consumer market then they must take the issue of language translation very seriously.
The new generation that is coming through which has been named the Millennial generation is bound to make a large impact on the global business world as many of these people use the internet every single day. The Millennial generation are also proving to be entrepreneurial and with many of them coming from emerging markets, it seems that they are making the most of the internet to start-up companies.
In order for them to reach as many people as possible with their websites (and as a result maximise revenue) they are using machine translation services. But using a machine translation service over a human does have its drawbacks, as whilst it might be cheap it is also sometimes in accurate. It is therefore up to companies to balance the importance of language translation with the cost of the service.

The web is navigated in English by 537 million users who choose to use the English language as the primary way in which they conduct their business on the internet. 445 million users do the majority of their transactions over the internet in Chinese. However on top of these two main languages that are used, 985 million people use the internet and visit websites that are written in languages other than English and Chinese.
A common misconception is that the internet can be used by everyone all around the globe, but what many people fail to understand is that  you can only use a website of you understand it and can read what is written. Very few of the world’s websites are constructed with a global audience in mind and so therefore they are restricted in whom they appeal to.
It is only natural for users to gravitate towards languages that they can understand so internet shoppers and business users are far more likely to look at websites that are constructed in their native language, In fact only 18% of all purchases that are carried out over the internet are done by those who are not a native speaker of the website’s language.
However the millennial generation recognise the importance of the global reach of the internet and many of these young people are conducting their lives and positioning themselves firmly with the internet at the centre of their day to day living and as such heavily rely on the internet to help them to reach global shops, businesses and contacts.
As the global barriers are being broken down it is important that the companies who are making the websites that are being visited by the millennial generation understand the vital importance of making sure that proper translation services  are used so that as many potential customers are reached as possible. This will of course mean that proper translation will not only make a website and business globally available to all users but as a result this will also boost revenue.

Many multi-national companies are learning the hard way that when it comes down to competing for international business in foreign territory, then it is very important to make sure that the website translation is spot on.
Over the years there have been numerous embarrassing blunders made by both UK and foreign companies and when it came to making sure that the translation of their goods and services was perfect for their new foreign customer base they were seriously off the mark.
The way in which a company handles the website translation is key to foreign business success, as not only does an effective translation help to win over business but it also makes the company look at lot more professional and switched on. Some foreign countries will see it as a huge mark of disrespect if the translation is wrong and this can cost money, which is very bad for figures.
Many UK companies are realising that in order to have success outside of the UK the translation into foreign languages is vital. However the standard of the translation is also just as important as the act.
You may or may not have heard about the toe-curling mistake that was made by Pepsi during an ad campaign that they were running in China. The ad claimed that the drink would help to bring the dead back to life, when it actual fact what Pepsi wanted to say was “Come alive with the Pepsi generation”
Once the translation is 100% perfect then companies will be able to go out into the foreign business market knowing that they have properly equipped themselves for the job.

A futuristic looking search tool has been unveiled by online search engine Google. Google developers have designed the search tool to show how online searches are determined by the language that has been used by the user.
The results have been colour coded to show what is the most popular language used to search the internet by users all over the world. The results are really quite impressive; the 3D globe is very visually striking and is able to visually depict online search patterns by regions and language.
The search results are shown on a colourful 3D image that shows online language searches and so far it has proved that many search patterns come from Europe, America and other developed countries. The results are lit up on the globe in bright lights and 3D images which show very clearly which languages internet users use in order to make their online searches.
The interactive 3D globe was designed by Google in order to take advantage of new 3D tools and graphics on PCs and laptops and the unveiling of the tool shows just how far graphics have come.
Initial results that have explored the online search patterns and the language that internet users use, show that the those countries which have poor internet access and maybe not as much opportunity to use computers or even access to electricity are falling behind on internet usage.
Even though the 3D globe shows up some interesting and futuristic images it also highlights some concerns about international access to the internet.
In order to see the new tool that has been unveiled by Google you will need to have your internet browser enabled to receive fast 3D images and be using an online search engine such as Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome.

There is no doubt about the huge current business potential in China and up until recently Ebay have had to concede to the fact that they were just not getting their fair market share of the business that was out there is China.
Ebay have a bad history with business in China as back in 2003 Ebay made a successful bid for EachNet which at the time was the biggest e-commerce website in China. Ebay paid over $150 million for the site but failed to fully capitalise on its potential eventually losing out to local rival Taobao. Ebay then went on to fold EachNet as a direct result of it not having enough success with business in the China market. Taoboa continued to go from strength to strength as one of its major features was that it does not charge selling commissions.
However it seems now that Ebay may be betting back into China again. China is traditionally nervous about foreign influences on its internet and has recently banned Twitter and YouTube. But Ebay has found a way in by linking Chinese sellers with foreign buyers in the West and elsewhere in the world. It has now provided a way for buyers from the UK, the US and other countries to track items that they have purchased from China. By giving small individual exporters in China the chance to reach global consumers it has opened a new market that it had yet to tap into.  Sales over Ebay from China to other countries have surged and the government in China are unlikely to put up any obstacles in the way of Ebay as this fits in with their export goals.
Ebay is bulking up its business in China and with over 457 million people on line in China it looks like a great opportunity.

For us at Kwintessential the Chancellor’s budget yesterday had some very positive news. As well as measures to get SME businesses growing and creating jobs, the headline grabber was that the government is pinning the future of the country’s growth on manufacturing and in particular green technologies.
Coincidently, the announcement came on the same day that Frost & Sullivan distributed a report stating that the global market for green technologies is set to grow to approximately $800 billion by 2012.  In 2009, global investments in renewable energy power generation (US$140.00 billion) far exceeded that of fossil-fuelled power generation (US$110.00 billion) demonstrating a mood within business and government that such technology is crucial.

“The number of green energy and climate-friendly projects is increasing rapidly in both the public and private sectors in the Asia Pacific,” says Frost & Sullivan Consultant Chukiat Wongtaveerat. “Moreover, high-initiative countries have allocated substantial funds for green investment themes, which include boosting green infrastructure, using low-carbon and renewable power, ensuring energy efficiency, as well as controlling water usage and waste generation.”

As well as the UK, many countries in the Asia Pacific have stepped up investment in green technology. Japan, South Korea and Australia are at the forefront of this drive, while emerging economies such as China and India intend to sustain their current pace of public and private investment in all areas of the environment sector including renewable energy, waste management and green technologies.
In the UK, George Osborne announced changes to environmental legislation that will see more money being put into green funds. He revealed that there will be an increase in capital for the Green Investment Bank, which will see the value rise to £3 billion. This will help boost investment in green technology, he stated, as well as the production of electricity through low-carbon infrastructure.
In 2009 Kwintessential spotted the potential growth in the green technology market. This led to R&D within our translation offering ensuring that we have the right translators with the right industry specific knowledge. As a result we now offer translation services specifically aimed at the sector mainly around assisting British companies export their products, services and technologies.
Yesterday’s news gives us confidence that the future is bright…….bright green.

By very good fortune a translation scam using Kwintessential’s name and brand has been exposed by an eagle-eyed translator.

The email was sent to the translator, who shall be called Mr X, requesting information for a large project.

Dear Mr. X

As translation office on the west coast of the US, we are looking for freelance translators in languages: German, French and Spanish.
Our research for translators in the German language has brought up your name again and again. You have been highly recommended by some of our valued customers and colleagues.

We need to request information on your current rates, your fields of expertise (law, merchandising and advertisement needed), words per day translated also a time schedule of your availability for the months of March, April and May 2011.

The project we will be working on, enfolds a value of 80.000 words, was commissioned by a notable US American company.

We will need your documentation not later than March 01.2011.

Best regards,

Isis Drinsdale
Kwintenssial
Cross Cultural Solutions
PO Box 1164, Monteray California, CA 93942
Telephone: 831.655.9588   from outside of US +001.831.655.9588

Emails went back and forth between Ms Drinsdale and Mr X with the former potentially placing a large amount of work. It was by good fortune that Mr X was suspicious of the email due to 1) the email being a non-company address (isndrins@aim.com) and 2) the misspelling of Kwintessential. Out of prudency Mr X decided to reply and CCd in our USA office whose address was used in the signature. Our Manager in the USA immediately drew our attention to the matter.

It appears the scam works in the following manner; a translation agency wins a contract to carry out a translation job. In order to increase their profit margins they send emails to freelance translators requesting they take on the assignment. The poor translator naturally feels they are in good hands but will eventually come to realize they will never be paid. The scamming agency therefore makes a 100% mark-up. All the translator can do is come to the real Kwintessential who will obviously have no idea of what has happened.
It is extremely unfortunate that people feel they have to carry out their business without principles and ethics. It is these scammers that give us reputable agencies a bad name. On top of this they are taking advantage of the good will of translators who work extremely hard, are true professionals and do not deserve such treatment.

Thankfully Mr X was clever enough to work out the bad intentions of Ms Drinsdale. We have written to Ms Drinsdale but surprise surprise no reply.

Message of the story for translators is always check the credentials of the agency and ensure 100% they are the real deal.