Choosing the right translator for your overseas campaign

Anyone targeting overseas markets knows how important correct translation of their marketing collateral and company profile is. However, using the services of a translator or interpreter can be tricky. There is nothing worse than using a translator for your overseas campaign and getting your message mixed up. We have all seen examples like these before:

• Sign at a French hotel: “Please leave your values at the front desk”
• Sign at a Bangkok dry cleaners: “Please drop your trousers here for best results”
• Sign at a Japanese hotel: “You are invited to take advantage of the chambermaid”

These may make you giggle, but there is nothing funny about lost credibility with your clients, thousands spent on a failed advertising campaign, or complete corporate humiliation. However, acquiring and using the services of a translator and/or interpreter can raise many questions. Before you plan or commit to using the services of a translator or an interpreter, take a few moments to read this guide. Informed choices yield the best results.

Interpreter or translator?
Interpreters speak, translators write. Checkers check the translated text against the English original, and proofreaders check the text without comparing with the original. If you need your company documentation in a foreign language, you will need a translator. If you need someone on site with you to facilitate communication with your potential or current trade partner, you will need an interpreter. If your trade partner is organising the interpreter in their country, you may want to organise your own interpreter to ensure objectivity during negotiation.

Language service is a service you pay for. Historically, exporters have been reluctant to demand the quality and accountability of any other such service due to feeling unqualified to judge. But there is no valid reason why you should not be fully involved in verifying the quality of the service you’ve received when working with a professional.

Translation and interpretation professionals are experts at communication. They should communicate any technical obstacles to translation, the reasons things do and do not work, and the rationale for everything they do in your paid employ. All you have to do is ask the questions.

Finding a translator
You need someone accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators & Interpreters of Australia (NAATI) because all translations are checked by second independent translators and proofed by editors. The editors are international journalists who make sure that the translation sounds natural and captures the hearts and minds of the target market. The international journalists translate all press releases.

Translation and interpretation practitioners are not mind readers. They need a lot of prior knowledge before they can do the job. It’s your task to provide this information. Beware the practitioner who doesn’t ask questions!

How much will it cost? Obtain quotes on written work wherever possible. In Australia, translation work is charged per 100 words. Shop around and measure the professionalism of the responses you receive. If some quotes come in at half the rate of others, you should question their experience and what is included in their service.

How long will it take? Let the translator or translation agency of written material tell you how long things should take. Make sure you let them know if something is urgent. If you want the job in 24 hours, this will entail an extra cost. However, if you want 10 pages of telecommunications tender documents completed overnight, you’ve probably left it too late. Talk to someone as soon as you know translation or interpreting will be required.

Train your translators. Don’t pay a series of people to reinvent the wheel. Every time you work with someone, you have invested in their knowledge of your problem. Sometimes you can maximise your return on investment by using the same people. Your translation agency will allocate a translation team to you and always use the same people to ensure consistency.

Check the dialect your target market speaks. South American Spanish or Madrid Spanish? North African or Gulf Arabic? Do you want English for non-English mother tongue readers? Be specific. Speak your reader’s language. Put yourself in their shoes, and focus on how your products and services can serve their needs and you will succeed.

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