In the globalized world of business, language accessibility not only becomes a virtue but a necessity. Depending on the size and needs of a business, it may choose to utilize in-house linguists for business translation, or they may opt to outsource to specialized translation services or a team of freelance translators.
An effective approach to business translation begins with realizing there are a few types of translation. People often underestimate how much needs to be translated, especially when a company wants to enter international markets.
We will explore the three primary types of business translation, identifying the challenges they pose, and discussing how professional translation services can make the process effortless.
What is Business Translation?
Business translation involves converting written content from one language to another to facilitate global business operations. The primary goal is to assist businesses in communicating effectively across linguistic boundaries, ensuring messages, documents, and content are accurately conveyed in different languages to support international activities.
By overcoming language barriers, companies can bridge communication gaps and ensure that their messages are being delivered clearly and effectively. This facilitates smooth communication across borders, something vital for companies operating on a global scale and engaging with international stakeholders.
Business translation is key for businesses aiming for global expansion, as it helps overcome linguistic obstacles, making it possible to reach and communicate with a wider global audience. We’re here to give you a breakdown of common business translation needs and what kinds of obstacles you could face if you tried to handle them in-house.
Marketing and Digital Content Translation
Marketing and digital content translation is pivotal in amplifying a brand’s reach to non-native language speakers, ensuring that the message transcends linguistic barriers and connects with a global audience effectively.
Challenges: Branding and Customization
Ensuring that the brand’s voice and message remain consistent throughout various languages and cultures can be a challenging aspect of content translation. While some things may not translate directly between languages, you need to make sure your audiences are getting consistent brand messaging. Inconsistencies can create dissonance and can hinder your success in a new market.
Additionally, catering to cultural nuances and localizing content to align with the expectations and values of the target audience is another hurdle in translating marketing content. While you want to maintain brand consistency, you also need to make sure local communities understand your marketing and connect with the regional aspects.
This is where localization services would help, but it can be a confusing and difficult process.
Solutions: TMs, NMTs, and Post-Editing
Leveraging smart technologies like translation memory (TM) and brand-adapted Neural Machine Translations (NMTs) can optimize the translation process while ensuring consistency. Storing past translations helps ensure that future ones are consistent in terms of brand messaging. Plus, it can save you money over time.
Incorporating post-editing by linguistic experts helps produce accurate and culturally relevant to the target demographic and is a viable solution to uphold brand integrity and foster positive connections with international audiences.
Internal Business Documentation Translation
You may not always think about just how many internal documents aid in the everyday operations of your company. But think all about all the departments in a given business, and think about how important thorough documentation is to them.
From HR documents to employee manuals, you need to ensure that anyone can access the information they need. This is especially true if your business employs people from multiple countries or if you are a multinational brand.
Challenges: Quantity and Security
Managing internal business documentation often involves dealing with extensive volumes of text, which necessitates simultaneous handling. Considering their distribution across various global stakeholders, this swiftly transforms into a complex, multifaceted project.
In scenarios where multiple team members are engaged, communication tends to decelerate due to the increasing difficulty of monitoring individual responsibilities and determining the delegation of various tasks. Maintaining version control can present its own set of challenges.
Additionally, your business has access to confidential personnel information, as well as information about your customers. Depending on your industry, you may be storing addresses, birthdays, social security numbers, payment information, and more. These factors make security a crucial factor in translation and should be at the forefront of your decision of who translates your content.
Solution: Centralization and Security Assessments
Using a Translation Management System (TMS) enables project managers to proficiently oversee and administer all translation projects, while also providing a shared space where team members can collaboratively work.
A TMS can significantly enhance efficiency by recalling existing translations for similar text strings, thereby expediting the translation process and ensuring consistency across projects. The system employs automation to improve efficiency and scalability, making it particularly beneficial for growing companies and helps them handle large workloads.
In terms of security, reputable language service providers complete annual security assessments conducted by independent PCI SSC Qualified Security Assessors. When relevant, a provider will complete independent assessments to ensure they comply with HIPAA Privacy and Security rules, too.
Legal and Technical Documentation Translation
Legal and technical documentation translation holds pivotal significance in business translation to navigate through the global market, ensuring that all communications, agreements, and documentation are clear, precise, and lawful across diverse linguistic landscapes.
This translation not only aids in preserving the accuracy and integrity of the original documents but also ensures that the business adheres to local laws and technical standards in international arenas.
Challenges: Accuracy and Compliance
Translating legal and technical documents requires a high degree of accuracy to prevent any misinterpretations and potential legal disputes. Ensuring that the translated documents comply with the laws and regulations of the target region is critical to avoid legal ramifications.
Solutions: Prioritize Quality
Employing specialized website translation services can ensure that translations are reliable and accurate. A professional website translation service will have the linguistic and cultural expertise to ensure compliance with any legal frameworks.
They would also be able to institute robust quality assurance procedures, such as utilizing translation memory and creating a comprehensive style guide, ensuring that the translations are not only accurate but also consistent across all documents.
Professional Business Translation Services
There are many factors that go into business translation. Your internal documents pave the way for employees to do their best and help your company succeed.
By using industry-leading technology like translation memories and brand-adapted NMTs, and ensuring legal compliance, MotionPoint easily hurdles the challenges of large offline translation projects. Our expert linguists are also crucial in the editing process and can ensure that all localized content resonates with your markets.
Want to learn more about business translation? Reach out to us today.
Last updated on October 23, 2023
