Businesses all around the world and in all sectors use translation services, both professional (by qualified human translators) and machine (such as Google translate). There are advantages to both – translation agencies give you an accurate translation which you can rely on, while machine translation is usually free, if less accurate. While the latter may be tempting, particularly in today’s tough economic times, it can prove costly in other terms.
Communication is at the heart of most businesses, whatever the industry. There is a primary need to communicate effectively with both staff and customers, as well as suppliers and professional bodies, among others. A poor translation can lead to misunderstandings and a lack of confidence in the company from all sides, which can be harmful to business. Would you feel comfortable doing business with someone when you didn’t fully understand what they were trying to say?
Although machine translations have greatly improved in the last few years, they will never stand up to a human translation. Want proof? Go on any Chinese website and try and translate Chinese to English using an online translator – does it sound like natural English to you? We’re guessing not. The way languages work means that there are often several different translations for one word. Chinese translations are particularly difficult for many reasons, namely because of the huge cultural differences and completely different structure of the language, which doesn’t use plurals, articles, or relative clauses.
With so many products made in China, you may have seen some dubious translations when the companies have tried to translate Chinese to English using an online translator. What impression did that leave you of the product or the company? If the same product was next to it on the shelf, at the same price, but with a perfect Chinese translation, which would you choose? Thanks to the Internet, customers these days have a lot more options when it comes to buying something they want, and so are a lot more easily and quickly put off by something that doesn’t suit them. If your company doesn’t offer the professionalism they require, they can usually find someone else who will.
Hopefully, we’ve demonstrated to you the importance of using a professional translation company, but why should you use Wolfestone Group instead of others? As well as winning or being a finalist in over 20 business awards in the last three years alone, we specialize in providing quality and accurate translations in every sector thanks to our database of over 6,000 freelance translators. This allows us to provide you with a translator who is not only an expert in the required language but also knows the culture and customs involved – a major consideration when supplying an accurate translation.
