Today, the financial sector is more international than ever. The economy is truly global. Success in financing means succeeding in international affairs. And to succeed with international problems, world-class language translation services are required. Deciding which language is best for the financial sector requires some study.
Your target market will be a deciding factor in the language of choice. If you do not have an audience in a particular language, you do not need to translate to that language. Once you have selected a language, you will also select the correct dialect for that language.
Most languages spoken
While your commercial and financial translation projects must first focus on your target markets, you need to develop those markets with an eye for who speaks in which language and in which countries. Here is a list of the top five languages:
- Mandarin Chinese – 845 million
- Spanish Spanish – 329 million
- English – 328 million
- Hindi Urdu – 328 million
- Arabic – 280 million
As you can see, Mandarin has the most native languages and there is no doubt that more and more business in the financial sector is taking place in China. To be a global business, you definitely need a language translation company london provider to help you enter the Chinese market. However, does this make it the best language for the financial sector? Probably not. Most of China’s economic affairs take place in Hong Kong, where English and Cantonese are the main languages.
Further research shows that when the 328 million English-speaking native languages are combined with those who speak English as a second language, English is estimated to be the most spoken language in the world. Most international topics are conducted in English. Does this make English the best language for the financial sector? Again, probably not.
So which language is best?
If you are English as English, or your business mainly operates in English, it does not guarantee success. The only way to do this is to direct your communication to specific markets. English will work well in many cases, but focusing on Central and South America requires Spanish. French is the best in large parts of Africa. Arabic is the best for the Middle East.
As you can see, it is important to look at the region for your target audience. Although another region can speak its current language, it will be more attractive to them in their native language. Not only will it attract them more, but they will understand the information much easier. The easier it is for your prospects to understand this, the more likely they are to want to do business with you.
Translation Services – International Business Logistics
Your business is expanding in international markets. Congratulations! This is a time to celebrate. You are preparing to take your business to the next level, but before you organize a corporate party, it is a lot of logistics to solve. Lots of legal issues need to be considered, and everything from contracts to ads must be translated into a language you don’t speak or know anything about.
There are several ways to ensure accurate translations.
1. Person to machine: Your business is too important to be transferred to a machine. Yes, technology is unique and we should use it to our advantage, but online translations simply cannot capture cultural undertones or even the natural flow of language. Take, for example, the simple phrase “I’m twenty years old” and run it twice through an online translator from English to Spanish and vice versa. This is what you end up with.
I am twenty years old.
You can still understand the essence of the sentence, but an English-speaking English stops thinking about the funny phrase. This distracts from the message you are trying to convey. Some thoughts do not translate, a person can adapt to such situations, a computer cannot.
2. Native language: a good translator speaks the language of the native language. You want someone with a full language and culture to look after you. This can help you avoid potentially costly mistakes.
3. Writing Skills: Hire someone who can write well in the source language and target languages. Grammar, sentence structure, and paragraph flow help improve communication.
4. Specialization: hire someone with direct knowledge of your business. Hire a translator who understands cars if you are in the automotive industry. Think of your business as a third language. Quality translators speak the source language, the target language and the commercial language.
5. Deadlines: Deadlines are important to you and should be important to your translator. Choose one that stays with your timeline.
6. Proofreading: the last step in all written documents is proofreading. The best translators have the opportunity to correct their work. The proofreader must be another translator who is also native to the target language.
A good language translation is a must in international business, so be sure to check your references and wallet before hiring someone. By hiring, you can hire a freelance translator through an agency or hire a translation service. Translation services provide translator, reviewer and are very strict in terms of. Both options can give you great results as long as you do your homework and hire the right person or company.
So going global is probably pretty scary, but relax, take it one step at a time and get ready to celebrate, all the hard work pays off and you could be the next big hit.
Amber Weston is a writer / journalist in Northern Utah who handles business issues including international affairs, commercial languages, translation services, interpreting services, and international business ethics.