Speak to Your Customers in Their own Language.

Don’t get your wires crossed. Translate your content.

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you are struggling to attract new clients beyond your own borders, why not think about translating some of your marketing information or parts of your website into different languages? If you assume that your customers speak your language well enough to easily understand your company and product information, you’re wrong. In fact, there is a strong link between native language content and a consumer’s likelihood of making a purchase. The following statistics speak for themselves:

72.1% of consumers spend most or all of their time on websites that have content in their own language.

And…

72.4% of consumers said they would be more likely to buy a product that has information offered to them in their own language.

If your main business markets are European, you might be forgiven for thinking that as many Europeans are multilingual, translating content really is not necessary. However, the EU Commission’s survey examining the habits of Internet users in 23 Member states came up with the following findings:

19% of Europeans said they never browse in a language other than their own.  

42% said they never purchase products and services offered in other languages.

At The Page Refinery we work with businesses and organisations who are looking to export as well as those that operate in different countries already. Our team of experienced, qualified translators will translate, proofread and culturally adapt your website, helping you achieve success in your target markets. The Page Refinery offers a personalised service at competitive prices. 

For more information simply visit us at http://www.pagerefinery.com or write to us at: info@pagerefinery.com.

Why is correct grammar important?

The Page Refinery has written enough on the importance of good grammar and has emphasised the importance of proofreading all of your content. We have frequently underlined the fact that accurate spelling and good grammar will increase consumer confidence in you and your brand, and that if your content is word perfect, it will push up your website in Google search results.

However, pictures can be worth a thousand words. And in this instance we found two pictures that made the point so well and that made us laugh so much that we had to share them with you. Enjoy!

The Page Refinery offers a proofreading service to make sure this never happens to you!

Commas can make all the difference. Ask us to help you with your proofreading!

Our team of experienced, qualified translators at The Page Refinery will proofread, translate and culturally adapt your online and offline content, helping you achieve success in your target markets.

For more information please visit http://www.pagerefinery.com or write to us at: info@pagerefinery.com

5 compelling reasons why you should translate your website…

By translating your website…

1…more customers will read your website

2…you are showing that your company is customer-orientated and international

3…your potential clients are more likely to trust your website as they are reading the information in their native language

4…your site will get higher visibility in Internet searches in your target markets

5…you will attract more agents and distributors

The Page Refinery will help your business reach out to international markets.

At The Page Refinery we work with businesses and organisations who are looking to export as well as those that operate in different countries already. Our team of experienced, qualified translators will translate, proofread and culturally adapt your website, helping you achieve success in your target markets.

For more information please visit http://www.pagerefinery.com or write to us at: info@pagerefinery.com

Why do businesses translate their brand or product names for different countries?

It’s a good question. You would think that the advantages of using the same brand and product name consistently throughout the world has many advantages, most importantly lower costs and universal brand recognition.

If only one size fitted all!

Different countries have different cultures and different values. They use different languages, have different senses of humour and use slang in a different way. A name that sounds punchy and modern in one language could easily sound plain silly in another.

Nordic Mist was never launched in Germany. Th word Mist in Germany literally means manure!

A perfect example is the name for Coca Cola’s tonic water, Nordic Mist, launched to compete against the ubiquitous Schweppes tonic water. It took certain countries by storm such as Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Luxemburg, but was never launched in neighbouring Germany, as the word mist in German literally means manure!

And the answer to this problem does not necessarily lie in translation. Presumably Coca Cola felt that the translation of the English word mist into German (Nebel or Dunst) simply did not have the right ring to it.

Lays did not translate their brand name, but instead used different ones for different countries.

And that is where cultural adaptation or localisation come in. To avoid a Nordic Mist problem, companies have the option to change their brand or product names from country to country in order to cater to their different audiences. A successful example of this is Walkers, the crisp and snack manufacturer. In the UK and Ireland the brand is known as Walkers, in the US and Spain as Lays, in Australia as Smith’s, in Mexico as Sabritas and in Brazil as Elma Chips. These are clearly not direct translations of the original name, but instead the company decided to use other brand names to suit the market in question.

If you are exporting your product or service and are struggling with questions about translations or localisation, do not hesitate to contact The Page Refinery. We offer translation and proofreading services as well as a web localisation service, where we help you culturally adapt your website in any language, reviewing the wording and style of your content to ensure that every word is appropriate for your target market. It is a cost-effective way of polishing your online presence, increasing your reach in Google searches and avoiding the potential embarrassment of cultural differences.

The importance of an accurate translation

Language enthusiasts enjoy the story of the Treaty of Wichale to underline the importance of translation. The treaty of Wichale was signed in Ethiopia on 2^nd May 1889 by the Italians and King Menilek II of Ethiopia granting the northern Ethiopian territories of Bogos, Hamasen, and Akale-Guzai (modern Eritrea and northern Tigray) in exchange for a sum of money and the provision of 30,000 muskets and 28 cannons.

An accurate #translation can be crucial

However, the problem was that the Amharic text differed to the Italian text. The former guaranteed Ethiopia’s king a good measure of autonomy in conducting foreign affairs, stating that Ethiopia “could” have recourse to the good offices of the Italian government in his dealings with other foreign powers. The Italian version on the other hand established Ethiopia as an Italian protectorate with no flexibility at all, using the word “must” instead of “could”. Six years later this seemingly small mistake led to war.

Even though this incident took place well over 100 years ago, the message is still relevant today: a translation (especially a legal translation) must be 100% accurate.

The types of texts we translate at The Page Refinery differ widely. We translate website content, marketing texts, legal texts, emails, newsletters, social media feeds, annual reports, theses and exhibition guides. Some of our clients specifically ask us to be as free with our translations as possible to ensure that they flow well and sound as compelling as possible. Other clients need us to translate their texts as accurately as possible, as even the smallest error or misunderstanding can lead to all kinds of trouble.

If you want to learn more about The Page Refinery’s translation services, our language combinations or our client portfolio, please get in touch by writing to: info@pagerefinery.com or calling: +44 7779 66 88 53.

The semantics of second-hand clothes

I volunteer in my local charity shop on Saturdays and we always receive many generous donations, especially clothes. I found that donating unwanted items to charity is a good alternative to throwing them away, as many of them can find a new home!

Not all the donations we receive are sold and this is for a number of reasons: some clothes are too old, worn out, stained, or simply not wanted. As charities need to make as much profit as possible from every donation, they sell these unwanted second-hand items to textile merchants, who sort them out and sell them on.

Second-hand garments from the UK mainly are shipped to Eastern European and African countries, where they are sold to local sellers at fair prices. In this way nothing goes to waste and developing countries benefit from good-quality, cheap garments.

What I find particularly interesting is the name different languages give to this phenomenon. The phrase second-hand clothes has the following meanings*:

• In Nigeria ‘kafa ulaya’, literally means ‘clothes of dead white people’
• In Zimbabwe ‘mupedzanhamo’ literally means ‘where all financial problems end’
• In Zambia ‘salaula’ literally means selecting from a bale by rummaging
• In Kenya and Tanzania ‘mitumba’ literally means bundles

As you can see, behind every word there is always a semantic meaning that is not always explicit or easy to understand if you are not aware of the social and cultural implications they contain. This is why, when it comes to translating these (and many other) words, it is always very important to be aware of the history and culture in which these words have developed.

At The Page Refinery, we help you culturally adapt your texts to your target audience, in all the languages you need. We proofread and translate into and from English, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, Swedish, Chinese, Japanese, Dutch, Spanish and Polish.

If you want to find out more about us or our services, visit our website www.pagerefinery.com, follow us on Twitter (@ThePageRefinery), or write to us at info@pagerefinery.com.

*Source: Andrew Brooks, Clothing Poverty

The evolution of language in the digital age is speedier than ever before!

Languages evolve very quickly in today’s digital age, and as new things happen in the world, new words are created. But how does a word officially become part of the dictionary?

This is how the Oxford Dictionary answers the question: ‘In today’s digital age […] new terms can achieve enormous currency with a wide audience in a much shorter space of time […]New words become part of everyday vocabulary – especially the ones related to the internet, social media and technology in general.’ 

One example of an internet-related word that has become part of everyday use is selfie, which was named Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year in 2013. For those of us who are unsure of the exact definition, it means a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website. The word was first introduced by an Australian boy who, after falling over, posted a picture of his broken bottom lip on an online forum and wrote ‘And sorry about the focus, it was a selfie.’ This happened in 2002 and since then social media users have been using this word until its popularity soared in 2012.

New words are also coined to indicate inventions and products, especially in particular industry sectors. Take vape as an example, the commercial name for the electronic cigarette and from which new word classes were created, such as the verb to vape, which means ‘to smoke an electronic cigarette’.

As we cannot predict if a word will become part of everyday vocabulary, we always need to keep up with the advances of technology and new trends. When it comes to translating your website, you need to rely on language professionals who are aware of the changes in language use. At The Page Refinery, we only count on professional translators who are experts in specific sectors, ensuring that every word is up-to-date and captures the attention of your online audience.

For more information on how The Page Refinery (@ThePageRefinery) can help you, write to us at info@pagerefinery.com or call us on +44 7779 66 88 53. We translate into and from a wide range of languages including French, Italian, German, Portuguese, Swedish, Chinese, Japanese, Dutch, Spanish and Polish.

Keith Chen asks the question “Is there a connection between language and how we think and behave? “

Take a look at this insightful TED video and learn more about the economist Keith Chen’s findings on how our language effects our economic decision making. It’s absolutely fascinating!

 

Online Christmas Shopping

Christmas is soon approaching and consumers have already started their Christmas shopping. Some have taken advantage of last week’s Black Friday, whereas others have chosen to shop online, avoiding crowds and long queues at the tills.

The propensity to buy from websites is increasing every year due to the progress in technology and distribution. Last year 61% of people in the UK completed more than half or all of their Christmas shopping online*,  and this trend is likely to increase this year.

What are the reasons why more and more people are turning to shopping online? Many of us work full-time and cannot take time off to do “proper” shopping; others want to avoid queues in shops or want to make the most of the best deals and discounts; and some of us are after something unique, not found here on the high street, even from another country.

At this busy time of the year, online shops should take advantage of this trend and open up to as many international markets as possible. And to do so is simple: if a shop’s e-commerce site is available in more languages it makes it quick to find in search engine results in different languages, and easy to navigate for a wider audience. Just one word of warning (and we’re not just saying this because The Page Refinery specialises in
translating and culturally adapting digital content) – it’s essential that content is colloquial and word-perfect. As this article published by the BBC shows, spelling mistakes cost millions in lost online sales putting off consumers who have concerns about a website’s credibility.

So if you want to put your website into the hands of experts, do not hesitate to contact The Page Refinery. We proofread and culturally adapt your website in any language, reviewing the wording and style of your content and ensuring that every word earns its place. It is a cost-effective way of expanding your client base, not only for this Christmas but also for the whole year.

*Econsultancy Christmas 2013 Online Shopping Survey Report

The world’s second most common first languages

The website MoveHub.com is a hugely useful resource aimed at people who are planning to move abroad.

Recently, Move Hub published these interesting infographics showing the second most common first language spoken in each region of the world. Spanish in the southern parts of North America or English in Norway and Sweden may not be that surprising, but there are other results that are certainly unexpected.

Did you know that Polish is the second most common first language spoken in the UK? Or Mandarin in Australia?

This evolution of languages is interesting in itself but also a valuable insight from a commercial perspective. If you are entering new markets this information may well help gain a deeper understanding of the country and also give you a clear indication of what languages you may want to do business in, to publish your marketing material in, and to translate your website into.

The Page Refinery translates, proofreads and culturally adapts your web pages at competitive prices. For more information on how The Page Refinery can help you, write to us at info@pagerefinery.com or call us on +44 7779 66 88 53.

Take a look at the graphics below…

Most popular 2nd languages

World view

Africa overview

Europe overview

Asia & Middle East overview

Central America overview

North America overview

Parent languages