We all think we basically know how translation works, but search, social media and crowdsourcing are turning this industry on it's side. If you think this doesn't impact us in the US, consider this: English language speakers online represent only about a third of the top ten internet languages and Google, Apple and Microsoft all have higher international revenues than in the US. If you're doing business online, you'll want to learn about the brave new world of language translation or you may risk getting caught with your proverbial pants down.
Nathalie launched her first startup in college, since then she's been growing businesses by helping them adapt to global markets. She's advised multinationals like Microsoft, Disney and Mattel, as well as startups and non-profits like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Cranium. She's a vocal advocate for the arts, diversity and alternative business models.
@globalmisfit
blog.lionbridge.com/global-misfit
5. “We tend to overvalue the things we can measure, and undervalue the things we cannot.” -John Hayes, CMO of American Express @globalmisfit #GlobalSEM
6. “We tend to overvalue the things we can measure, and undervalue the things we cannot.” -John Hayes, CMO of American Express @globalmisfit #GlobalSEM
7. “We tend to overvalue the things we can measure, and undervalue the things we cannot.” -John Hayes, CMO of American Express @globalmisfit #GlobalSEM
Brief historical view, it’s typically a low-value task unless a disaster happens.
Brief historical view, it’s typically a low-value task unless a disaster happens.
Brief historical view, it’s typically a low-value task unless a disaster happens.
Crowdsourcing projects make it look easy!
Crowdsourcing projects make it look easy!
But social media reminds us that you can get caught with your pants down pretty easily. What’s the risk?
But social media reminds us that you can get caught with your pants down pretty easily. What’s the risk?
Search is showing us that the old way of doing translation isn’t cutting it. It’s not enough to be accurate or even perfect. You have to be relevant, and sometimes that’s in conflict with what’s correct.
Search is showing us that the old way of doing translation isn’t cutting it. It’s not enough to be accurate or even perfect. You have to be relevant, and sometimes that’s in conflict with what’s correct.
American advertisers for debt solutions want to stay away from the literal translation for “debt” when targeting the Mexican market. In this case the direct translation has negative connotations, however, the direct translation for “Loan” will actually yield more relevant results (and is actually a cheaper keyword).What about slang or local brands? Searches for Scooter in Italy search at a higher volume for the brand turned into slang “Vespa” then the literal translation for Scooter.This is similar to the many Americans, and sometimes Europeans that refer to a facial paper napkin as “Kleenex” their copier as “Xerox” and more recently “Skype” someone, “Google” information and TiVo a TV show.
I want to share a few examples with you – American advertisers for debt solutions want to stay away from the literal translation for “debt” when targeting the Mexican market. In this case the direct translation has negative connotations, however, the direct translation for “Loan” will actually yield more relevant results (and is actually a cheaper keyword).What about slang or local brands? Searches for Scooter in Italy search at a higher volume for the brand turned into slang “Vespa” then the literal translation for Scooter.This is similar to the many Americans, and sometimes Europeans that refer to a facial paper napkin as “Kleenex” their copier as “Xerox” and more recently “Skype” someone, “Google” information and TiVo a TV show.
There is more than meets the eye, you need a business perspective from a local market to get it right, but also to prevent the “wrong” from happening.
There is more than meets the eye, you need a business perspective from a local market to get it right, but also to prevent the “wrong” from happening.
I want to share a few examples with you – American advertisers for debt solutions want to stay away from the literal translation for “debt” when targeting the Mexican market. In this case the direct translation has negative connotations, however, the direct translation for “Loan” will actually yield more relevant results (and is actually a cheaper keyword).What about slang or local brands? Searches for Scooter in Italy search at a higher volume for the brand turned into slang “Vespa” then the literal translation for Scooter.This is similar to the many Americans, and sometimes Europeans that refer to a facial paper napkin as “Kleenex” their copier as “Xerox” and more recently “Skype” someone, “Google” information and TiVo a TV show.
We went from thinking translation was becoming unnecessary to realizing that it’s more valuable than ever, and more importantly, mort costly than ever to get it wrong.
Translation in all its forms is not dead. In fact the moral of the story is, more than ever before, having experts on the ground, in country, is the difference between succeeding globally or getting caught with your proverbial pants down.