The importance of translation is something that we tend to overlook; This is nothing to be ashamed of; after all, English is everywhere these days; it’s the most widely spoken language globally. Approximately 1.348 billion people are using English as at least their second language. Looking at this fact, it’s easy to think that what needs to be said or written can be done in English, and people will understand or that this technological marvel that is Google Translate will solve the problem, but is it this simple?
Language does much more than allowing us to communicate; it’s an ever-growing record of a society’s culture and beliefs. Languages evolve and grow to capture the singularities of the people using them; this is why you can travel to a country that speaks your same language but find yourself unable to understand the local jargon, and even worse, locals recognizing you as a foreigner.
For obvious reasons, the problem gets increasingly complicated when we communicate with somebody who does not speak our language. Moreover, our language may not be able to express acts or emotions in the same way. A simple example of this is the Spanish word “Sobremesa” which refers to a joyful time spent chatting at the table after eating. A sophisticated term that effortlessly refers to a specific action, but a similar expression does not exist in English.
So, we already established that not everybody speaks English and not everybody speaks the same variety of English. We cannot overlook the 6.5 billion speakers that cannot communicate with us or that for almost three-quarters of speakers for whom English is their second language, probably they would prefer using the first one. How are we supposed to reach them?
Nobody expects you to learn every language, not even the different mutations of yours. That’s where translation and localization come into play. A translation is a bridge between cultures that allows speakers to communicate in the language they feel more comfortable using, the one they’ve been listening to since they were kids, their native one.
Professional translators work to close gaps between peoples and cultures or between organizations and their clients. Translators develop a deep understanding of both languages, paying particular attention to the impact of words, how society uses them, and the atmosphere they create.
Imagine that you are fortunate enough to own a growing business or want your business to grow. A growing company has many potential needs for a document translation service; one of the most obvious ones comes when you need to recruit talent that is not available locally. You can see yourself in need of translate passports, visas, driver’s license, or other identification documents necessary to request work permits, resident visas, or other essential official documents for your employee to work legally in the country. Your company would want to make sure that your potential employee has the training and experience for the position by translating education degrees, resumes, and accreditations, or maybe translate official documents like a police clearance.
If your business sells products that are not manufactured locally or produce products to export, you might need to translate manuals, product documentation, import/export documents, certifications, or translate legal documents.
Your company might be operating in a market with a growing migrant population; what better way than present your already excellent products in their native tongue by translating your marketing material.
Many of the translation needs also apply to you as a regular individual, in processes like requesting a visa to travel, applying for a job, hiring a lawyer, getting a medical procedure outside done, outside of your country.
As technology keeps shortening distances between people and services, translation services become more necessary to help us breach communication barriers, create more diverse societies, promote cultural exchange and commerce.
Today multiple players are trying to operate in this multicultural society, promoting themselves, their service, and their culture. Still, the most successful are the ones able to do so in a way that sounds familiar to the people they want to reach. We encourage you if you’re going to increase your message’s possibility of being well received and understood, send it in the native tongue of your receiver.