Tag: Language translation services

Linguistic Services in Business are Highly Important Today

As soon as a business has raised significant revenue from a new product sold to its home market, the next step to follow is to go global with the product. But for a marketing campaign to be successful, there are some challenges that need to be addressed so that any marketing material sent overseas attracts new buyers. One of these challenges is localizing the main content of the advertising material. This is related to the context that the marketing is to take place. It is the job of a translator who has a thorough knowledge of two languages and knows what cultural correct terminology and other local features can be used to attract new customers.

Who is a linguist?

Linguists are language experts who have an exceptional eye for even the smallest of details and flaws in language patterns. Linguists are so valuable when it comes to ensuring the effectiveness of localized content. They are also important in many other ways such as described below.

Linguists understand customers

Linguists’ total understanding of the targeted group of customers ensures that the marketing content once localization has taken place is engaging to its audience both linguistically and culturally. A linguist has the training to view the text through the eyes of the targeted customer so it can be adjusted if there appears to be a mismatch. They are the best choice for attracting a global audience.

Linguists keep content consistent

Linguists maintain the consistency and integrity of localized content. They use glossaries and style guides to help them maintain language consistency in a client’s translated marketing material.

Linguists are experts in local languages

When working for transcreation services, gaining cultural insight, and copywriting, linguists should really be located in their first language country. It is this language they use all the time. Language rarely stays the same but linguists who are exposed all the time to their native language stay up to date with language changes.

Linguistic services avoid mistakes

Linguists know all the pitfalls of translations and keep up to date with some serious errors that have been made in marketing translations so they don’t make the same mistakes themselves. These include the famous KFC tagline “Finger-Linckin’ Good.” KFC chose to have this slogan translated by a “local proofreader” who mistranslated and the slogan ended up saying “We’ll Eat Your Finger Off!” Pepsi made a similar mistake with this tagline of theirs “Come alive with Pepsi,” When translated for a Chinese audience the expression read ‘’Pepsi can bring ancestors back from the dead!”.

A third blooper was from the American Dairy Association whose slogan was “Got Milk?” but when translated for the Mexican audience ended up with the translation, “Are you lactating?”.

No business ever wishes to suffer due to poor translations, but a good linguist should never allow this to happen.

Good translation companies ensure they hire the best linguists and translators to ensure a company’s marketing campaign is localized so it is just right and can be successfully delivered across multiple markets.

5 Important Things You Should Know About Māori Translation

Lots of people have heard of Māori often in relation to the rugby team known as the All Blacks. In New Zealand, Māori has a vibrant culture and there is an eagerness to keep the Maori language alive. The haka is a well know welcoming ceremony used throughout New Zealand when events of various types take place. Māori culture has often been included in New Zealand movies like “Whale Rider” and “Boy”.

Apart from the more superficial aspects of Māori and despite strong western influences, the indigenous people of New Zealand still have a firm relationship with their land and are key landowners. In fact, they have words to describe their relationship with the land. They call themselves “tangata whenua”, which when translated by Māori translation services means people of the land.

The Māori language presence shows how the language is used to represent aspects of Māori culture including the words kaitiakitanga and manaakitanga. The former means guardianship and the latter hospitality. The essence of kaitiakitanga is acting as guardians of the land and its natural environment. Climbing Mt. Tarawera, which is sacred to Māori, gives visitors the chance to come close to Māori culture.

There are certain customs that still prevail today, including the hangi, which is an oven used in a hole in the earth on a base of rocks. The area is heated by a fire and the uncooked food which in the early days was wrapped in leaves and buried in the ground in the area where the fire was. Today other materials like wire baskets are used to put the food in.  The hole is filled in while letting the food cook in the residual heat left behind from the fire. Once cooked, the food is uncovered and shared amongst family and friends.

Māori is a National Language in New Zealand

There are 3 national languages in New Zealand, Māori or Te Reo (literally, “the tongue”, English, and sign language. As well as the Māori language thriving through place names it’s also taught in schools even though it is not compulsory to learn it. It can be heard spoken on Māori radio and in Māori immersion schools where the language is emphasized throughout the curriculum and Māori translation services are used to translate Māori into other languages including Māori document translation.  Kiaora the key greeting in Māori is heard in many different contexts and is not just used by Māori but is also translated in a Māori document translation.

Use a NAATI Accredited Translator for Dealings with the ATO

If you have come to live in Australia from overseas, you will soon be dealing with the Australian Tax Office (ATO). The ATO will issue you with a tax number which you will need in many aspects of life in this country. For instance, if you want to start up a business you may need an Australian Business Number or at least to register for the Goods and Services Tax (GST). If you are going to be employed, you will need an Australian Tax File number.

Australian-tax-office
To register for any of these numbers you will have to show some documents to prove who you are and what your status is here in Australia. The most important document you will need for the ATO is your identification. If you were born overseas or have identification documents that were issued in any other language than English you will need a NAATI accredited translator to make sure they are translated correctly before registering.

certified-translation
Any original documents need to be translated first by a document translation service, then certified by them that it is a true copy of the original document. The ATO is quite fussy about the way the certified translation is presented to them, as they won’t accept a translation from any person without the copy being stamped (if one is available) and the translator’s name or company name and telephone contact details as well as the date of the translation recorded on the copy.
Your language translation services should know what the ATO requirements are and provide several copies of the translation for you with each one certified by the translator or a representative of the translation service. This is important not just for the ATO, but other organizations for which your document translation is needed because the translation document may never be returned to you for use elsewhere. In fact, the ATO quite clearly states that any certified translation which is sent to them when registering will not be returned to you after they have examined it.

Legal Deadlines Need Efficient Document Translation Service

The legal market today is one where deadlines are tight and documents are invariably complex. An efficient and experienced document translation service is vital when it comes to translating legal documents.

document translation service
Legal documents whatever the language in which they are written are often highly technical. They may contain sensitive material which is necessary for litigation. Contractual documentation, financial documents, infringement cases, judicial transcripts and statutes, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) material – all of these legal transactions may need to be translated into English or from English into any number of different languages by a NAATI accredited translator who is fully versed in the technical language typical of legal documents, not just as it is used here in Australia but in the country in which that language is used as well.

Legal Deadlines Need Efficient Document Translation Service
Mistakes in translation or interpretation of technical information can have severe consequences down the line. At the minimum, a small mistake in translation can mean delays in the implementation of an agreement or in the progress of a court process, for instance. In more extreme cases, the translation error can lead to a total breakdown in the process for which the documentation is being reviewed.

Whatever the legal documents that you need to get translated, it is important to choose language translation services that are fully versed in the sort of terminology used in legal documents as well as one that is able to respond to time pressures and deadlines.

Large document collections may need to be reduced in quantity so that you only get the documents translated that are actually relevant to the business at hand. This document culling is a cost effective solution to dealing with surplus information. Translation services of the calibre required are not cheap, so choosing a NAATI translator that is skilled in dealing with legal document collections is important.

Choose Your Legal Translator Carefully

A quick search on the internet will reveal numerous language translation services which are able to provide a legal document translation service. However, there is more to the translation of legal documents than a simple translation of the language. It is important that the translators have a good working knowledge of the subject material of what they are translating. This means that they should have relevant experience in the legal language they are translating and in the often complex regulations and laws of the country in which language they are performing a translation service.

Legal documents are written in a specific legal language and terminology. Whoever translates these documents needs to be thoroughly familiar with the terminology and language used in that country as well as that used in Australia. The consequences of even small mistakes in meaning can be financially damaging or even catastrophic if the translation is not effective. The recent case of an interpreter’s “mistake” in a court hearing in Queensland is an example of a situation that was unnecessarily caused by a poor translation.

Become-a-legal translator
Documents that are required in court need to be available according to exacting deadlines and where those documents were originally issued in a language other than English. A document translation service will be used by the international lawyer in order to be able to use the documents in court. Any delay or mistake in translating may mean that the document is considered null and void.

Hiring the Right Language Translation Services Expert for Business

Expanding the business is the need of the hour and many entrepreneurs feel that they need to look out for bigger markets that can help them to expand their products and services to new countries around the world. The concept of globalization has actually helped many local businesses to go global. However, when you are expanding your business to new region you need to look out for the language problems that can cause you problems. Many companies prefer to look out for NAATI translation services that can allow them to boost their business in the right way despite language problems.

Corporate and business firms need to stay focus on the business plans that they have and therefore they need someone that can handle the language problems as well. Language translation services can offer the right support that you need to ensure that language is not a hurdle for your business and that you can continue expanding your business in the right direction as planned. However, before you get ahead with your business plans in region where people speak different language you need to search for translators that can offer NAATI translation service.

Many businesses that look out for expansion plans often have lot of document translation and therefore they need translators that can help them with translating business related papers and documents. If you need translators for documents you will need to look out for NAATI translation service that can provide you with the best certified translator that can work on your business documents to offer you better service. It is always recommended that you look out for NAATI certified translators that can handle your work in the right way as they have the expertise and experience to translate such documents.

Although, there are many language translation services available in the need to look out for firm that can provide you with services that you need for your business. It is better to do some research on the translation company that you want to hire because you want someone that has the experience and market reputation as well. Since you need language translation for your need to pick translation companies that offer of translation related services. This will help you to stick to one company in the future for all your translation needs.

Budget is the most important thing that you need to keep in mind when you are looking for language translation services. Hence, you can search for various NAATI translation service companies online and get quotes from them. This way you can be sure that you are hiring the right people that can offer you translation service at a price that fits your business budget. If you are hiring NAATI certified translator for your business you need to be clear on the translation fee that you need to pay. There are many translators that charge as per some charge as per documents that need to be translated so it is always advisable to clear the payment related queries before you actually hire someone to offer language translation services for your business.

Translation – Or How To Close A Sale With A Bit Of Effort

An anonymous German businessman is credited with the quote “When I’m selling, I’ll speak your language.  When I’m buying, you’ll speak mine.”.  Whether or not the source of the quote is true, the accuracy of it is hard to dispute.  One of the great ironies of the growth of international trade is that in a world where companies and individuals can often take their pick of goods and services, literally, from across the globe, they often prefer to do business with people they feel understand them.  In other words, they want to deal with people who “speak their language” in every sense of the phrase.

Quality language translation services will put at least as much effort into document translation as the creator(s) of the original document did when they put it together.  This is why using a certified translation service is more than about compliance with (potential) legal issues.  It’s about ensuring that the end document is a sales’ tool, regardless of whether or not that is its main purpose.  Rightly or wrongly, first impressions do count for a lot and just as companies would likely hesitate to hire a candidate who fails to present themselves appropriately, so an end customer is likely to have reservations about using a company which fails to present documentation properly.

Translating – When All Is Said And Done, That’s Exactly What It Is

There’s an old joke about an Englishman, a Frenchman and a German discussing languages. The Frenchman argued that French was the best language in the world as it was the language of romance. The German argued that German was the best language in the world, because it the language of discovery of thought and science. The Englishman, however, just smiled and, picking up a knife said, “You’re both wrong. You Frenchies call this un couteau and you Jerries call it ein Messer, but we English call it a knife, which, when all is said and done is exactly what it is.”.

To speakers of all languages, their interpretation of any particular concept makes perfect sense and in history the fact that people from another country may see matters somewhat differently may only become apparent if they tried to learn another language for any reason. In modern times, however, people now often have to learn to adapt to other people’s view of the world, even if they themselves never leave their home country. International travel has made tourism a huge industry while international trade means that businesses need to communicate with partners across continents and cultures.

It’s the latter point that tends to pose a challenge. Where there are common cultural links, people can often communicate very ably over great distances. Australia and the U.K. for example are literally at opposite sides of the globe, but generally people from both countries can understand each other very well, even if they each use expressions the other finds amusing. When dealing with more significant cultural differences however, the importance of using a certified translation service, can not be overstated. Effective language translation services ensure that document translation takes into account cultural differences as well as linguistic ones.

Translating The Untranslatable – The Art And Science Of Capturing Different Worlds

Everyone can spot a tourist.  Even if they know exactly where they’re going.  Even if they speak the language fluently.  Everyone can spot a tourist because they just don’t get the little details that the locals do.  They don’t understand the unwritten rules that the locals instinctively follow.  Pick up any piece of non-technical writing written for any given country and the chances are, it’s full of references that the locals will absorb without a second thought, but which will baffle foreigners.  A translator, therefore, in a sense takes on the role of tour guide, leading the reader through this new world.

Take Christmas for example.  Mention the word to anyone from the northern hemisphere and the chances are it will conjure up the sort of “White Christmas” images familiar to anyone who’s watched Hollywood films.  Mention it to someone from the southern hemisphere and it may well conjure up images of trips to the beach.  Mention it to someone from a country where Christmas is not celebrated and, depending on the person’s background, the expression may be meaningless, or it may trigger images from Hollywood culture.  It is exactly these cultural differences – and how to convey them to an audience unfamiliar with them – which challenge literary translators.

Although document translation may seem a more mundane form of translation, making effective use of language translation services can make the difference between a piece of writing being understandable and a piece of writing presenting a professional image.  The internet is full of the most blatant examples of poor translation, which for practical purposes generally means using a budget translator as opposed to a NAATI accredited translator, some of which have generated publicity the businesses in question would presumably have preferred to avoid.  While these are, by definition, exceptional blunders, even in technical writing, there are terms that need skill to translate, if embarrassment is to be avoided.