Even though the internet has been a great source of connecting people from around the world, enabling businesses to go international and have customers in different countries, there are some things it hasn’t overcome in the global market. And one of these things is language and how it still continues to be a barrier to reaching a larger audience. While English is considered to be a global language, locals may prefer to converse in their mother tongue. This is where translation services come in; they help overcome language barriers in the business world, enabling people of different cultures who speak different languages to communicate without any difficulties.
Importance of Translation
1. Only 20% of people in the world speak English, and in order to reach the majority that don’t speak English, translation is highly important.
2. Because of the increasing use of the internet, people conduct so much businesses online and this makes it important for web content to be accessible to everyone, regardless of their language.
3. Giant markets like China, Brazil and Mexico don’t usually communicate in English, and in order to be able to conduct business with such markets, translation is important.
4. Literature such as books and all types of written documents should be translated in a variety of languages so they can be accessed by people around the world.
Benefits of Translation
- Reaching a bigger audience: There is no point in staying local if you can access a bigger market with your products and services. There are countless opportunities in international markets that can be accessed with the help of translation services. Through translation, you can make your products available to a market you probably did not even have an idea about.
- Electronic commerce: It is not unusual to operate your business online. In fact, nowadays some businesses strictly only operate online and don’t have establishments for their companies. Even if your business is for a specific market in your country, you should still make the content available in different languages, because you never know who might come across your website. This will have great impact on your firm’s revenue and online traffic.
- Translation of technical terms: A lot of companies have technical literature and jargon that require translation, such as user manuals, brochures, flyers, etc. Through translation you can convert these documents into many other languages so that customers and users from different countries can understand the product better and not have difficulty using it.
- Multicultural identities: With the help of translation you can get deeper insight into different cultures and traditions from different countries. This is similar to watching a foreign movie with subtitles or reading a book in your own language. This will be beneficial for businesses in the sense that owners can understand their international audience better, and be more competent in satisfying their demands.
- Tourism: Translation probably has had the most significant impact in the expansion of tourism and travel. This is because it enables foreigners to genuinely appreciate a country’s culture, heritage and beauty during their stay. And it also helps locals to host their guests more hospitably because with the help of translation they will know exactly what they want.
Translation has made this huge world seem small, and it has knocked down barriers that would otherwise be impossible to overcome. This is how business keeps thriving internationally, because if there was no such thing as translating, conducting day-to-day business activities would be so much more difficult and perhaps even impossible.
