Businesses are no longer region or country-based. In the era of digitalization and the global revolution, businesses are focusing on the worldwide platform.
Expansion to other countries and regions offers businesses a chance to improve sales, customer base, and market share. The race to business globalization and growth does not come easy; certain challenges accompany the expansion efforts. The greatest challenge is the translation and communication to all cultures and customers while relaying a similar message across the board.
Business translation is not like any other translation; the translator must abide by certain elements to ensure the information is legit, non-discriminatory, and does not violate social and cultural issues of a community. The translation should also focus on boosting business credibility and relaying the right information. Translators must have native fluency they want to translate, and they must abide by these elements for success in translation.
Terminologies
Certain terminologies must remain constant to ensure the information communicated is valid. The business language has its terminologies that are similar in all cultures and locations, and it is the role of the translator to ensure they retain these terminologies. Changing these terminologies can lead to investors pulling off, declining sales, loss of credibility, and business reputation.
Therefore, translators must understand these terminologies in the native language and communicate them as they are. For example, profit is an English word, replacing it with a Japanese translation for revenue is considered misleading and miscommunication. These terms mean different things; the translator must not assume they mean the same thing and can be used interchangeably during translation. The best translation service for businesses should also focus on patents. Making a translation mistake when filing for a patent could lead to consequences such as copyright violation, and the business may face the consequences due to the translator’s incompetence.
Focus on the business metaphors
Most people confuse metaphors with slang and may raise concerns during translation. Metaphors are unique according to cultures and may mean something different in different cultures. A metaphor prohibited in one culture may be accepted in another culture. If you are unaware of when and how to translate the metaphors, you are sometimes advised to ignore them or seek clarification to avoid errors and mistakes.
When translating these metaphors, the biggest consideration is to ensure the context does not change. Retaining the context helps you maintain the original intention, and you will translate easily to the desired language. You also need to be aware of the emotional appeal and the humor arising. In some translations, the humor may be prohibited but accepted in others.
Understand the interpreting culture
Culture is a critical issue when it comes to translation and documentation. You must consider cultural aspects such as behaviors before you begin translating a document. You also need to understand the role of culture in business and translation to avoid any mistakes.
Considering culture before you begin translation will save you the embarrassment of poor and wrongly translated documents. Suppose you ignore culture during translation, your presentation may lose audience attention, and you may not communicate the right information for the audience. As you focus on culture, consider the audience; translation for younger, public, investors and private audiences can never be the same. Some are brief; some require humor, others require formality, and so forth.
Time aspects are key for business translation
Time aspects include communicating the project duration, the business existence in the nation, and other aspects such as product expiry and validity. For financial companies, time means lending periods, return duration, and savings periods. Communicate the right durations to ensure the audience has the right knowledge.
The time aspect also involves your commitment to deadlines as a translator. Suppose a company needs you to translate a document for an event; you need to clear it before the deadline. Completing the translation before deadlines helps businesses maintain their scheduled activities and timelines, such as product launches and advertisement campaigns.
Confidentiality matters
As a translator, whatever you see or translate should remain secret and confidential knowledge. Sharing the knowledge with the public or a competitor violates confidentiality agreements and business ethics and can lead to a legal suit against the company. The key to translating company documents and maintaining the relationship is building trust based on confidentiality and reliability.
Sometimes translators see information before they are released to the public, leaking such information affects the trust relationship. A good translator keeps documents such as copyright and patents secret and shares the information with nobody. Do not share business plans, upcoming products, and strategies.
Conclusion
Succeeding in business translation requires that you abide by these considerations, and you should never violate any of them. Ensure you have an in-depth knowledge of the language and the culture you are supposed to translate the document. Beware of the legal system, the legal requirements, and commercial laws related to businesses so that you avoid landing your client in a lawsuit.
Read more:
Top 5 Essentials in Business Translation
