mydzo blog

It is thought that more than 7000 languages are spoken worldwide; some countries with an extraordinary rich language and cultural heritage like India are in possession of a very wide array of languages and dialects, in some cases spoken and used by minority tribes or ethnic groups.

This huge worldwide “language salad pot” makes the different countries special and interesting. The different languages help people think differently. A different language background brings a unique approach to the same problem, because the language is a main thinking tool humans have.But as the globalization is taking place in every corner of the world, there is a big risk some of the languages may disappear. It could be said that when a language disappears a way of thinking disappears, a solution may disappear.While doing business or trading worldwide, professional translators are needed to “bridge” the different counterparts.

Suppose an export company in Japan wants to do business in Spain. It would be very advisable to have their sales people learn Spanish, but that is a long and tedious job when the languages are so different. That is hiring a good professional translator would be a wise decision. The translator will understand the cultural background of both languages and will be able to decode the small details (nuance) behind every word. The translator will facilitate the business relation and avoid misunderstandings.Of course the dealings could be carried out in English, but both sides will feel more comfortable when the communication happens on their own mother language.

To speak to someone in his/her mother language is a sign of quality and deference that will be highly appreciated by the listener in most cases. It is always pleasant to listen again the nice sweet language and words, we once heard from our mothers while being held on their arms. There are many examples of business failure due to lack of communication. Hiring of a professional translator is not a cost (or expenditure) but a good investment and a way to success.

Business people that fail to see this, have little future in the international arena, especially in those countries and regions where English is not widely used.We know from experience that most ethnic groups, (minority or not) like to speak their own language. Why not please them, if that is in everybody's benefit? Not doing that, would mean loosing a good chunk of the market pie, because good business people are aware of this fact and applying already this very persuasive technique of using the counterpart's language to “conquer their heart and soul”.

Asians (Chinese, Japanese, Indians, etc) have already started selling their products in small European countries and regions using this simple but efficient language localization tactic. “Think globally, but act locally” is the catch phrase that could be applied here.It is known that countries in the far East (Japan, China, South Korea, etc.) are penetrating their products and services successfully in European countries with very strong cultural and language identity like the Scandinavian countries, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, etc. First start by “feeling” the market and translating your product catalogue into the local language (target market), besides this same translation can be reused on websites to make it accessible from every corner of the world.

Those translations should always be proof-read by professional translators. Modern translation software is OK to cut down on costs but has proofed not to be very precise, especially when the languages are wide apart in their grammatical structure or cultural background.As someone said “When dawn breaks in Africa, it is not so important to be a small lizard or a strong lion, but to be already running to catch the food (share of the market) to survive in this tough world”.