AAA Translation - We'll Take You Global

As a business owner, department head or project leader, you want your HR documents, marketing collateral or other translated materials to be accurate and timely.

Because translations done WELL are paramount to your global success, we have several tips to help you directly influence the outcome, speed and cost-effectiveness of any translation project:

1)    Start with a well-written, simple piece. If the original marketing collateral or internal communications document is wordy, ambiguous or poorly written to begin with, the translated document will follow. Translators cannot rewrite. Their job is to accurately translate. To increase your success in the original language – and in the translated one(s) – make sure the piece is written really well.

2)    Be careful who translates for you. Someone may be bilingual, but that doesn’t mean they are an experienced translator, understand your industry or are up-to-date on the latest, localized language nuances in the market you’re trying to reach. It’s best to work with professionals who have teams of in-country, experienced translators.

3)    If you have preferred company lingo or branding guidelines, provide that to your translation company BEFORE the project begins.

4)    Be careful who proofreads your documents. You may have someone on your team who speaks Spanish, for example, but the nuances of Spanish in Mexico differ greatly from Spanish in Colombia. And even if someone is from the area, if they no longer live there, they are not as knowledgeable as an in-country translator and proofreader. AAA Translation’s founder and CEO Susanne Evens, for example, no longer translates German, despite growing up there. “I still speak German often and visit Germany, but I have lived in the U.S. too long to provide the kind of accuracy that I expect and get from someone who still lives there.”

Want to get more tips or learn how you can work with AAA Translation for your next translation, interpretation or global consulting project? Contact us at 636.530.1010 or visit www.aaatranslation.com to learn more.

St. Louis, MO -- February 23, 2015 -- Junior Chamber International, a nonprofit international organization celebrating the 100th anniversary of the JCI Movement, has selected AAA Translation as its official translation partner. Working with AAA Translation since 2010 in multiple languages, JCI has now named the translation and global consulting company as its exclusive translation provider.

“As an organization focused on young, engaged citizens around the world, it’s important that we partner with a trusted, global-minded translation company that has the in-country resources we need across multiple languages,” said Arrey Obenson, JCI deputy secretary general. “AAA Translation has always surpassed our expectations, and we look forward to a long relationship together as we gather active citizens and help them create an impact in their communities.”

“We are honored to be selected as JCI’s official translation company for all of its language translation and localization needs,” said Susanne Evens, founder and CEO of AAA Translation. “They make a real impact in the world, and their passion and courage to address critical challenges is encouraging and inspiring.”

About AAA Translation
Founded in 1994, AAA Translation provides professional translation, interpretation and global consulting services to help organizations succeed at both the local and international levels. The company’s core services include: accurate translation services into 150+ languages by experienced, certified translators; foreign language interpretation services using experienced, vetted interpreters and state-of-the-art equipment for worldwide conventions; and global consulting for international companies, with experts in fields that range from economics to law to human resources to religion. AAA Translation’s founder, Susanne Evens, is a sought-after expert on international communications and global business development. She is a regular contributor to the BusinessWeek Alliance/Market Advisory Board, and her advice and insights have been featured on: National Public Radio (NPR), BusinessWeek.com, BrandChannel.com Bloomberg Business News, Rankraiser.com, St. Louis Commerce Magazine, St. Louis Business Journal, CBX KMOX Radio, Pete the Planner Radio Show Indianapolis and International Enterprise Singapore. Learn more at www.aaatranslation.com.

About JCI
JCI is a worldwide membership-based nonprofit organization of young active citizens ages 18 to 40 who are dedicated to creating positive change in their communities. Through projects in more than 5,000 communities across more than 100 countries, members seek targeted solutions to local problems, creating a global impact. Every November, JCI members, partners and friends from across the globe come together for the peak of the JCI year at JCI World Congress. They unite to share experiences, expand their global network and find new ways to create positive impact in their communities through targeted action. The JCI World Congress celebrates active citizenship and magnifies the impact of the JCI Movement. Learn more about JCI at www.jci.cc.

Media Contact:
Kelly Kirkendoll
Thrive PR
817.236.6075 or 972.330.2882
kelly@thrivepublicrelations.com

Multilingual Content Marketing: Don't Be One of the 60% without a Strategy

60% of global marketers have no strategy for multilingual content marketing, according to a 2013 survey by Cloudworks. Rather than plan ahead, most delay thinking about translation and localization until after their content is produced. This approach, unfortunately, can create a painful, slow and expensive process that increases your chances of missing out on opportunities in emerging markets.

For those tasked with a company's content marketing, it's a challenge to produce and deliver all the content required in ONE language...let alone translating blogs, reports, collateral, websites and more into multiple languages. But those who do -- and approach multilingual content marketing with forward thinking and planning -- have a distinct advantage in the global marketplace, which is expected to grow significantly over the next ten years.

By 2025, the number of global consumers in emerging economies is expected to reach 4.2 billion, with consumption reaching $30 trillion (McKinsey & Company). And these consumers will want and need information in their own language that also reflects their culture.

Read Our 6 Tips for Success...

60% of global marketers have no strategy for multilingual content marketing, according to a 2013 survey by Cloudworks. Rather than plan ahead, most delay thinking about translation and localization until after their content is produced. This approach, unfortunately, can create a painful, slow and expensive process that increases your chances of missing out on opportunities in emerging markets.

For those tasked with a company’s content marketing, it’s a challenge to produce and deliver all the content required in ONE language…let alone translating blogs, reports, collateral, websites and more into multiple languages. But those who do -- and approach multilingual content marketing with forward thinking and planning -- have a distinct advantage in the global marketplace, which is expected to grow significantly over the next ten years. By 2025, the number of global consumers in emerging economies is expected to reach 4.2 billion, with consumption reaching $30 trillion (McKinsey & Company). And these consumers will want and need information in their own language that also reflects their culture.

Tips for Success

1) First, define clear objectives for your content marketing strategy – overall and for each multilingual market.
2) Consult with your translation provider at the beginning of the planning process to avoid localization pitfalls and save time and money.
3) Create style guides to ensure brand consistency across the multiple languages and cultures. Global brands must not only speak to the different target cultures, but also must ensure a consistent brand message across them.
4) Approach graphic design with localization in mind. Select fonts that are compatible with the translated language and ensure that the graphics are designed with enough space for language expansion across various languages. The same phrase or sentence in one language can be shorter or longer in another when translated; you don’t want to have to recreate every graphic element for each foreign market. For example, Spanish text can grow by 30% in size and Asian text will shrink when translated.
5) Establish a clear review, editing and approval process for translated, localized content.
6) Select appropriate channels. Consumers in different countries use different channels. Google, for example, is far from the dominant search engine in China, Russia or South Korea. Similarly, dominant social media channels are different from region to region.

Need help localizing and translating your multilingual marketing content? We can help you through the jungle!  AAA Translation, now celebrating its 20th year, works with clients around the world in more than 150 languages. Contact us at toll-free at 844.293.3519 or learn more at www.aaatranslation.com.

by Susanne Evens

Just like bad translation work can hurt your company and reputation, so can hiring a bad interpreter. A recent and very public example of this is the sign language interpreter at Nelson Mandela’s funeral who stunned the world and embarrassed event organizers in South Africa.

On the flip side, the movie Lost in Translation gives us a funny illustration of the role of a foreign language interpreter…and how much can get lost. This is one of my favorite scenes:



How do you select a good, legitimate, experienced interpreter for your event, presentation, meeting or other needs?

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Be skeptical. A certain amount of skepticism is healthy when it comes to hiring an interpreter. Be sure to ask plenty of questions and check references.

2. Plan for backups. It’s best to work with an experienced company that carefully vets their interpreters and has qualified backup options should there be an emergency that prevents your original interpreter to work the project.

3. Make sure that the interpreter is proficient in both languages involved. Proficiency in BOTH languages involved is a must.

4. Be sure the interpreter has a vocabulary for your topic or industry. Proficiency in both languages is critical; so is familiarity and experience with the vocabulary required for your subject matter (especially if it’s highly technical).

5. Make sure they are familiar with the different cultures involved. Do they understand cultural nuances, colors not to wear, customs and other key cultural factors that may be important?

6. Make sure they are experienced. Interpreting is a unique skill that goes beyond knowing languages, cultures and vocabularies – it requires experience. Make sure that your interpreter has plenty of it.

7. Ensure that all time required is included in your pricing quote. Most companies provide reference materials at least one week prior to the assignment so the interpreters have enough preparation and research time. All this time should be included in the rate quoted for interpreting.

Want more advice or to learn about AAA Translation’s interpreting services? Contact us at toll-free at 844.293.3519 or learn more at www.aaatranslation.com.

Translating and localizing product manuals, packaging labels, marketing materials and other documents and collateral is often a necessity for a manufacturer when they sell their products in a foreign market. Some manufacturers, especially those who are new to the localization process, lean on their local distributors to translate various documents. It seems like a logical solution – the distributor is already responsible for selling the products, they typically live in the foreign market and it will save the manufacturer time and money. However, what may seem like a simple solution is typically not the best option.

Before handing off your foreign language translation and localization services to a distributor, consider this:

Quality Standards: A distributor is responsible for selling multiple products from multiple manufacturers. Translation is not their business or their top priority. Can you count on quality results? Who is doing the translating? Are they a good writer with excellent grammar even in their own language? Who is proofing their work?

Legal Liability: If the distributor makes a mistake or incorrect translation, what will the manufacturer’s liability be?

Consistency and Branding Standards: Most manufacturers invest time, money and effort to create and maintain their brand identity and product positioning. Maintaining the integrity and consistency of a brand requires a central translation and localization effort. With multiple distributors and multiple markets, relying on distributors for translation efforts makes it virtually impossible to ensure and maintain a consistent brand identity in each market.

Reputation: First impressions count. If your first impression in a new market is clouded with mistakes or, worse yet, a big translation blooper, it will most certainly slow or halt your sales and growth opportunities there.

Rework and Reprinting Costs: If there is a problem, how much will it cost you to do the rework and reprint your materials?

Message Control: We have seen and heard of cases where distributors have edited materials as they translated them, changing the original message in a way that made the product easier for them to sell by exaggerating benefits, changing the wording on warranties, etc.

When you are expanding to foreign markets and need foreign language translation and localization help, we urge you to consider the long-term picture and work with professional translators who can help ensure quality, consistency and that the message delivered to your marketplace is exactly what you intended.

To learn more about how AAA Translation can help manufacturers in foreign markets, give us a call toll-free at 844.293.3519 or learn more at www.aaatranslation.com.

Think Twice Before Using Translation Programs My daughter began college exactly 10 years after we moved to America from Germany. When we first moved here, she still spoke fluent German and had a summer to learn English before school started in the fall. Ten years, apparently, was enough time to completely forget almost every bit of German she learned at such an early age. Not realizing just how much of her native tongue no longer knew, I tried to pressure her into taking another language in college so that she could gain valuable knowledge of other cultures and languages. She decided to take German instead of following my advice.  During the second semester of her freshman year, I received a frantic phone call. "Mom"! I need your help! My final paper is due tomorrow for German, and I don't think it's saying what I want it to say. Are you really busy? Can I e-mail it to you to take a look?" Of course I said yes. Five minutes later, her paper was in my inbox ready to be proofread. Little did I realize how much she had forgotten... I called my daughter back, and I asked her one simple question, "Have you forgotten everything of your German?" To my horror (not only as a mother but also as the CEO of a translation company), I hear my daughter say, "I used an online translator for the words I didn't know." I went silent. My own flesh and blood... Read the Full Article... .......................................................................................................... The American Dream: An Interview with Susanne Evens AAA Translation founder and CEO Susanne Evens was interviewed by The American Dream about her story and becoming a dual US-German citizen. Click Here to Read the Interview... New Soccer Book Translation We're excited to announce that we are translating our 5th soccer book for Meyer & Meyer Sport, for which we have translated 40+ books since 2002. Look for "Matchplan Fussball" coming soon. Welcome New Clients! We're excited to announce two of our recent new clients: Blue Line Marketing in Providence, Rhode Island Citizens for Modern Transit in St. Louis, Missouri

The translation/localization or interpretation company you work with can make a significant impact on your company’s global business success. Translation is not a straightforward, mechanical process. Context, culture, colors, grammatical structure, idioms and more must all be taken into consideration, and only experienced professionals should be trusted with your foreign language communication initiatives. But how do you know if a foreign language translation company is the right one for your needs? Ask questions!

Before you hire the services of ANY foreign language translation/localization or interpretation provider, we suggest that you ask them the following questions to ensure that your needs will be fully met:

1) How long have you been in business?
2) How experienced are your translators and interpreters and how long have they worked with you?
3) Are your translators in-country or in the USA?
4) What types of translation/localization and interpretation services do you provide?
5) What languages do you work in, and do you have experience in my industry?
6) How do you charge for your services?
7) Do your translation services include proofreading by a second professional translator?
8) Can you provide me with client references?
9) Do you work in any format? (i.e., PDF, Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, Word, Powerpoint?)
10) Do you have experience in culturally adapting our material?

Want additional advice or to learn more about AAA Translation’s services and experience? Contact us at +1 636.530.1010 or info@aaatranslation.com. Learn more at www.aaatranslation.com.

My daughter began college in 2002, exactly 10 years after we moved to America from Germany – when she still spoke fluent German and had a summer to learn English before school started in the fall. 10 years, apparently, is enough time to completely forget almost every bit of German she learned at such an early age. I, not realizing just how much of her native tongue she didn’t know anymore, tried to pressure her to take another language in college so that she could gain valuable knowledge of other cultures and languages. After the following events unfolded I was more than happy that she had decided to not grant my wishes, and to stick with German – the language she no longer knew best.

I believe it was her second semester of her freshman year; I get a frantic phone call… “Mom”! I need your help! My final paper is due tomorrow for German and I don’t think it’s saying what I want it to be saying. Are you really busy? Can I e-mail it to you and can you take a look?” Of course I said yes. 5 minutes later her paper was in my inbox ready to be proofread. Again, little did I realize how much she had forgotten… I called my daughter back and I asked her one simple question, “Have you forgotten everything of your German?” To which, as not only a mother - but also as the President of a translation company, I receive from my baby girl’s mouth the words I was fearing the most, “Well I used an online translator for the words I didn’t know.” I went silent – my own flesh and blood... “Mom? Are you still there?” Oh I was there. I was there trying not to scream at her about how ridiculous it was to use an online translation service to turn in a final paper that determined her final grade in the class, which could’ve caused her to fail that German class. But I digress. I got my wits about me and in my professional, calm voice explained to her why using an online translation service that has no clue about native slang, innuendo, homonyms, heteronyms, etc. is an absolutely terrible idea. After a few minutes of my speech she cut me off and simply asked me to help her.

The story of my daughter’s near misfortune with a failing paper is often times the actual story of an unfortunate company not investing the time and money into quality translators that are chosen for their native ability, educational credentials, etc. The ‘machine translator’ – as it is so dubbed in the translators’ inner circle, is just purely that: a machine. It doesn’t understand common native sayings such as, “I love this!” If that were to be translated into German the literal translation is, “I love it!” Which looks the same, yes; however, Germans don’t use the words Love and It in the same sentence, ever. The word Love in German is really only used when talking about an actual being. A native speaker would know this and would quickly be able to distinguish between the English meaning and translate it into the German version of saying that same statement. This goes a long way when trying to take your company global. Successful, globalized companies spend a lot of their time ensuring that their message is being clearly and correctly stated. Because, again, what means one thing in English doesn’t necessarily mean the same thing in Mandarin Chinese. After all, who can forget JFK’s faux pas of saying, “Ich bin ein Berliner!” Which literally means, “I’m a jelly donut!” not I’m a citizen of the city of Berlin (quotation from a June 26, 1963 speech by U.S. President John F. Kennedy in West Berlin, Germany).

Copyright © 2009 AAA Translation®. All rights reserved.

This was found on YouTube and I can't stop laughing.
This is a spoof of course, but sometimes people claim they are fluent in other languages and they are not.
This is a typical example why professional interpreters should be used for official business conferences.