AAA Translation - We'll Take You Global

A new blog monthly articles series from AAA Translation’s Susanne Evens, My Neighbor Next Door is from… aims to expand multi-cultural knowledge and break down divides by letting readers get to know immigrants from various countries…one neighbor, friend and/or business colleague at a time.

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.

A monthly blog feature from AAA Translation’s Susanne Evens, My Neighbor Next Door is from… aims to expand multicultural knowledge and break down divides by letting readers get to know immigrants from various countries…one neighbor, friend and/or business colleague at a time.

This month’s featured country is Iraq. The country’s name has been in use since before the 6th century. An Arabic folk etymology for the name is "deeply rooted, well-watered; fertile.” The region of the country between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, often referred to as Mesopotamia, is the world's oldest civilization. It is here that mankind first began to read, write, create laws and live in cities under an organized government. The area has been home to continuous successive civilizations since the 6th millennium BC.

We recently interviewed a man who immigrated to the U.S. from Iraq with his family when he was a child. First, they moved to Syria in 1993; from there, they came to the U.S. in 1997. Currently, he lives in Texas.

Q. What are the cultural differences between Iraq and the U.S.?

A. The United States is a melting pot of cultural diversity. There are many types of races and religions in the U.S., and it is wonderful. In Iraq, everyone was predominantly Muslim and born in Iraq. 

Q. What brought you to the U.S.?

A. We came to the U.S. to seek a better life because Saddam Hussein was killing innocent people.  

Q. What is something most people don't know about your original country?

A. There are regular houses there. Nobody in Iraq lives in stone houses in the middle of the desert. The scenery is beautiful. There are big houses in the city and paved roads. People drive the latest cars and have the latest technology. There are also a lot of McDonald's everywhere, and a vast number of mountains. In many ways, it is just like the U.S. 

Q. What do you miss the most?

A. I miss going to my grandparents' house and seeing my whole family there. I also miss the delicious kabobs and shwarmas. I can’t seem to find kabobs and shwarmas in the U.S. that taste the same as they did back home. The meat was so tender and juicy and had the freshest vegetables.

Q. What is the biggest misconception you encounter when people learn where you are originally from?

A. They seem to think everyone from Iraq is out to get them. They couldn’t be more wrong. Some of the nicest people I’ve ever met in my life were from Iraq. 

Q. Any other comments to add?

A. Throughout my time in Iraq, I hadn’t seen any crimes committed due to religious beliefs. There are crazy people nowadays that think being a Muslim is about killing people of other religions. That is a horrible thing to do. These self-proclaimed “Muslims” could be white, black or brown. Those are the real terrorists and those are the people who everyone should avoid. 

With only 30% of the world speaking English and non-English speaking business opportunities on the rise every day, more and more websites simply MUST be multilingual.

When creating a website in multiple languages, avoid these 7 common mistakes:

1. Don’t ignore the language preferences of your target markets.

It should go without saying but we’ve seen it ignored too many times before to not mention it here. If you want to attract a market, make sure you are speaking their language. Don’t assume that your customers speak your language well enough to skip translating your website into their language(s).  In a European Commission study based on a Gallup survey of language preferences among Internet users in 23 countries in the E.U. (where people often speak more than one language), nine out of 10 said that, when given a choice of languages, they always visited a website in their own language, and 42% said they never purchase products and services in other languages. Translation: if you want them to buy, your website must speak their language.

2. Don’t use machine or automatic translation programs.

The results of using machine or automatic translation programs – rather than real humans who have translation experience and understand the nuances of both languages involved – is often disastrous, embarrassing and/or costly. There are so many examples to choose from. A recent one involves Taco Bell's new website in Japan. It was built using Google Translate, rather than a professional service. The result? Cheesy chips became "low quality chips" and Crunchwrap Supreme became "Supreme Court beef." It made some headlines before it was swiftly taken down.

3. Language translation isn’t enough – don’t skip other localization work.

Language translation is just one piece (albeit a large piece) of what is called localization. The goal of localization work is to give a product or service the look and feel of having been created for the target market AND the company, eliminating, or at least minimizing, local sensitivities. Regardless of the language used, the online experience must be culturally relevant and correct. Conduct research to understand the cultural considerations for your target audience. You may need to adapt graphics, modify content, adapt the layout (the translated text may be larger or smaller than the original language site), convert text/graphics to use different currency or measurement symbols and change formatting for dates, addresses and phone numbers, etc.

4. Don’t make it difficult to find your multicultural websites on your main site. 

Don’t make users hunt for your multilingual websites when they land on your main one. Access to multilingual websites should be made available in the global navigation at the top right on every page of your main site.

5. Don’t forget about SEO. 

Use a stand-alone, dedicated URL for marketing and search engine optimization purposes. You can redirect it to another one that’s more in line with your brand or URL convention. Also – think beyond Google. Google is not used in China, for example, so it’s important to have search engine optimization that is tailored to the search engines used in the countries you are targeting.

6. Don’t build it and then forget it.

Plan for regular updates and maintenance to ensure that your multilingual website remains comparable to your main language’s site.

7. Don’t build it if you can’t support customers beyond the website.

You have a multilingual website that avoids all the missteps above…but what if a customer has problems or questions? Think beyond the website and integrate your multilingual website initiatives with your internal and customer support initiatives, such as in-language phone and email support.

Need help localizing and translating your multilingual websites? AAA Translation, founded in 1994, works in more than 150 languages, and our experienced team can help make your multilingual websites a success. We provide translation/localization, interpreting, multilingual customer service support, over-the-phone interpreting and more. Contact us toll-free at 844.293.3519 or learn more at www.aaatranslation.com.

A new blog feature from AAA Translation’s Susanne Evens, My Neighbor Next Door is from… aims to expand multi-cultural knowledge and break down divides by letting readers get to know immigrants from various countries…one neighbor, friend and/or business colleague at a time.

This month’s featured country is Mexico. The country’s original name, Mēxihco, is the Nahuatl term for the heartland of the Aztec Empire, namely the Valley of Mexico, and its people, the Mexica, and surrounding territories which became the future State of Mexico as a division of New Spain prior to independence. After New Spain won independence from Spain, it was decided that the new country would be named after its capital, Mexico City, which was founded in 1524 on top of the ancient Mexica capital of Mexico-Tenochtitlan.

Mexico now has one of the world's largest economies and by 2050 is expected to become the world's seventh largest economy (according to PricewaterhouseCoopers) or possibly the fifth largest economy (according to Goldman Sachs).

We recently interviewed the multi-talented Zuilma Gonzalez who immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico in 2001. Zuilma is both a professional accountant AND photographer – www.zuilma.com.


Q. What are the cultural differences between Mexico and the USA?

A. The key differences I’ve found are in the areas of traffic laws, food and education (schools). 

Q. What brought you to the U.S.?

A. My husband was offered a job in Fort Worth, Texas.

Q. What is something most people don't know about your original country?

A. Mexico is not a big rural town. There are many cosmopolitan cities with industry, art, modern architecture and technology.

Q. What do you miss the most?

A. Family, friends and food.

Q. What is the biggest misconception you encounter when people learn where you are originally from?

A. I have been very fortunate to have met smart people who don’t see stereotypes. The only exception to this is a woman I met once at the gym (our kids played together at the kids’ club). She thought she could hire me to teach her daughter Spanish while babysitting for her and pay less than the minimum wage rate. I politely declined :)

Q. Where do you live now?

A. Aledo, Texas (a suburb of Fort Worth).

Q. Any other comments to add?

A. I am grateful to the United States for all the opportunities and benefits it offers to anybody who really wants to learn and grow.

As the St. Louis entrepreneurial community continues to gather national accolades, the St. Louis Mosaic Project announces its Immigrant Entrepreneurship Advisory Board with the visit of Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet. This occured at a roundtable discussion on May 1 at 10:00 am at the World Trade Center St. Louis. Betsy Cohen, Executive Director of the St. Louis Mosaic Project, emphasized the importance of Contreras-Sweet’s visit as “a fantastic opportunity for local immigrant entrepreneurs in our community to share their experiences and depict the breadth of our entrepreneurial community spanning from high tech start ups to neighborhood businesses.”

Contreras-Sweet, a successful entrepreneur and business executive, was appointed to lead the SBA in April 2014. In her role as Administrator, she continues to build upon her career in both the public and private sector, championing causes in diversity, accessibility to capital, and equal opportunities for all. Prior to her appointment, Contreras-Sweet founded the first Latino-formed commercial bank in California in more than 35 years and served as Vice President and Equity Partner for Westinghouse’s 7-Up / RC Bottling Company.

According to Cohen, “this visit is another piece to the St. Louis Mosaic Project’s commitment to supporting local immigrant entrepreneurs. Our Immigrant Entrepreneurship Program takes a holistic approach to helping entrepreneurs turn their ideas into a reality. By connecting immigrants to the range of support and programming found in the St. Louis Ecosystem, entrepreneurs are equipped with the resources to grow or start their own businesses. “

The Mosaic Project’s Immigrant Entrepreneurship Advisory Board is:

Diego Abente – International Institute
Salim Awad – McQueen Awad LLC
Ola Ayeni – Claim Academy, eateria
Ed Bryant – St. Louis Minority Business Council
Eddie Davis – Center for Acceleration of African American Business
Susanne Evens – AAA Translation
Carmen Jacob – NextGen Information Services
Suchin and Shayn Prapaisilp – Global Foods, United Provisions
Raul Sanchez – Appcropolis
Geoffrey Soyiantet – Vitendo4Africa
Mark Sutherland – Elasticity
Sorin Vaduva – Serial Entrepreneur
Dr. Ibrahim Vajzovic – Real Estate, Professor
Francis Yueh – St. Louis Chinese American News
Michael Zambrana – Pangea Group


About the St. Louis Mosaic Project
The St. Louis Mosaic Project was launched in 2012 in response to an economic impact report, outlining St. Louis to be lagging in immigrant growth as well as highlighting the economic benefits of increasing its foreign-born population. The Mosaic Project’s goal is to transform St. Louis into the fastest growing metropolitan area for immigration by 2020 and promote regional prosperity through immigration and innovation. This regional initiative is professionally managed by the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, World Trade Center St. Louis and a 22- Member Committee.

For more information about The St. Louis Mosaic Project, please visit www.StlMosaicProject.org

St. Patrick’s Day, made an official Christian feast day in the early seventeenth century, is celebrated on March 17th each year. It commemorates Saint Patrick and celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish. The largest celebrations are held in Dublin, Ireland, but there are plenty of other St. Patty’s Day parties around the world…because, whether we have Irish heritage in our bloodline or not, everyone is a little bit Irish on St. Patty’s Day!

Ireland
Ireland’s national saint – St. Patrick – is celebrated throughout the country from March 14 to March 17. Dublin is home to the biggest celebrations (4 days of city-wide events), but parades, street carnivals and parties are also held in Cork, Kilkenny, Limerick and beyond.

New York City, USA
With more than 150,000 participants, this is the world’s largest St. Patrick’s Day parade each year. Started in 1762, it’s held along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on the Sunday before March 17. You can even watch it live on their website at nycstpatricksparade.org. It features floats, dancers, bagpipes, large crowds and plenty of green beer at the city’s Irish bars

Boston, USA
Considered to be the most Irish city in the U.S., Boston has a proud Irish heritage and holds the second-largest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the U.S.. It’s held in the predominantly Irish-American neighborhood of South Boston, better known as ‘Southie.’ Each year, this parade attracts around a million spectators and is also broadcast live on TV to overseas troops.
Additionally, festivals and exhibitions are held throughout March, including the Boston Flower and Garden show.

Chicago, USA
Chicago, literally, goes green for Saint Patrick’s Day. Most notably, the Chicago River is dyed green each year. Other festivities include the ‘greening’ of the home of the Chicago Bears football team, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower, Trump International Hotel & Tower, the Wrigley Building, Chicago Board of Trade, Millennium Park and other buildings.

Buenos Aires, Argentina
South America’s largest St. Patrick’s Day celebration takes place in Buenos Aires each year, with more than 50,000 people participating. Ten blocks of the city are closed to traffic, allowing green-clad party-goers to take to the streets. The parade on March 17 ends up in Plaza San Martin, while other celebrations also take place in Plaza Irlanda.

Munich, Germany
Like millions of Irish all over the world, the Munich Irish and their friends celebrate this national holiday. Since 1996, Munich has held an annual St. Patrick’s Day parade. This year, the parade will be held Sunday, March 15 at noon, followed by an after party.

Birmingham, England
One of the biggest in England, the Birmingham St. Patrick’s Day parade started in 1996 and has grown significantly since then. Traditionally, the week’s festivities start with a gala event at a local venue, with entertainment that includes Irish dancers and traditional Irish music. The week before the parade, other events are held celebrating Irish heritage and culture.

Montserrat, Caribbean
Monsterrat has an interesting link to Ireland. In the 17th Century, Irish Catholic indentured servants were welcomed to the tiny volcanic island at a time when they were shunned in most other English-controlled islands of the Caribbean. The Irish mixed freely with the African slaves brought to work the English sugar plantations, and a unique Afro-Irish culture developed. St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated each year with a week-long festival culminating in St Patrick's Day. It’s also a commemoration of the slave uprising on the same day in 1768.

Sydney, Australia
Australia has marked St Patrick's Day since 1810, when the Governor of New South Wales Lachlan Macquarie declared the date an official day of celebration. Typically, the day is celebrated with entertainment, music and dancing before the main parade begins. The parade is said to be the second largest St. Patty’s Day parade, after New York City’s. Following the parade, there is a Family Day, where the Australian and Irish National Anthems are sung, followed by local Irish bands and musicians.

Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo proudly bills itself as the first St Patrick’s Day in the Northern Hemisphere and holds the largest celebration in Asia, with colorful costumes, marching bands and colorful floats. The parade, sponsored by the Embassy of Ireland, includes more than 1,500 participants and 50,000 visitors.

Valentine’s Day isn't just a U.S. holiday. Couples all over the world celebrate this love holiday by collectively spending millions of dollars, yen, euros and other currencies on February 14.

From Saudia Arabia (where the holiday is banned) to Japan (where only women give chocolate gifts) to the U.K. (where cards are sent anonymously), the traditions can vary significantly. Here are a few examples:

Japan
Japan’s tradition actually stems from a mistranslation in the 1950s, when chocolate companies began encouraging people to celebrate Valentine’s Day there. An incorrect translation from one company gave Japanese consumers the idea that it was customary for women to give chocolate to men on the holiday. And that has become the tradition! Now the chocolate companies in Japan sell more than half of their annual sales during the week before Valentine’s Day. Men are supposed to return gifts to women on a day called “White Day” (March 14), a Japanese creation.

Italy
In Italy, Valentine’s Day was originally celebrated as the Spring Festival, where people (usually young people) gathered outside in gardens and tree arbors to enjoy poetry readings and music before taking a stroll with their beloved. Today, Italians prefer having romantic dinners and exchanging gifts. Chocolate is a favorite gift, and the bigger the chocolate, as the belief goes, the stronger the love you will have.

Saudi Arabia
Valentine’s Day is actually BANNED in Saudi Arabia. In 2008, Saudi officials told florists and gift shops to remove all red items until after Valentine’s Day, calling the celebration a sin as it “encourages immoral relations between unmarried men and women.”

France
It’s often claimed that the first Valentine’s Day card originated in France when Charles, Duke of Orleans, sent love letters to his wife while imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1415. Today, card giving is not as popular as it used to be. Instead, the French celebrate with delicious cuisine, making restaurants popular and busy. February 14 in France is also considered the best time for a marriage proposal.

United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, it’s tradition to send Valentine’s Days cards anonymously, a custom dating back to Victorian times. Different parts of the country have their own unique traditions as well: in Norfolk, a mysterious Jack Valentine knocks on people’s doors and vanishes, leaving sweets for children. In Wales, Valentine’s Day comes just a few weeks after St Dwynwen’s (January 25), named after the Welsh patron saint of lovers.

Estonia
Valentine’s Day celebrations in Estonia have their own twist: February 14 is called “Friend’s Day,” so single people don’t feel left out. Gifts are typically given between friends and family members. Single people also get the chance to take a ride on a special “love bus” where they can meet others looking for love. This doesn’t mean there’s no romance for couples -- shops, restaurants and even streets are decorated with hearts and other symbols of love.

China
In China, the Valentine's Day festival is quite different than elsewhere in the world. The Chinese Valentine's Day falls on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month in the Chinese Calendar, so the day is also called ‘Festival of the Double Sevens' or Qi Xi - ‘The Night of Sevens'. Other popular names are ‘Seven Sister's Festival' and ‘Daughter's Festival'. There are specific and colorful rituals for the day, in addition to the usual exchange of flowers, cards and chocolates as tokens of love between lovers. Following the tradition, lovers visit the Temple of Matchmaker on the Chinese Valentine's Day and pray for their love and happiness and their possible marriage. Singles also visit to ask for luck in love.

India
Valentine's Day is a recent custom in India but has caught on quickly. Though some see it as a western import and hesitate to celebrate, a growing number of people participate in the day. Especially to the Indian youth, February 14 signifies love - a day when people express their affection for others. Just as several other countries, people in India also celebrate the day by exchanging cards and gifts.

AAA Translation and Growing Global HR Partners, LLC announce a strategic partnership between the two St. Louis-based companies, in order to leverage the companies' respective strengths to make it easier for companies who want to successfully expand and hire employees all over the world.

"The world is getting smaller. Businesses who are operating in a global economy often need to hire employees in international markets, yet the pay practices, benefits and other HR-related policies can vary significantly from country to country," said Susanne Evens, founder/CEO of AAA Translation. "We're excited to partner with a trusted resource that can help our clients who need top-notch global HR expertise."

"With more than 20 years of global consulting, translation and interpretation services for clients that range from Anheuser Busch to Meyer & Meyer Sports to Del Monte Foods, we are happy to partner with a service provider with HR experience in a variety of industries."

For more information about Growing Global HR Partners, go to www.globalhrpartners.org.

For more information about AAA Translation, go to www.aaatranslation.com.

Traveling internationally in the New Year?

Tipping in other countries can be confusing. Only in the U.S., for the most part, is it customary to tip 20% in a restaurant. In most European countries, like in Germany for example, patrons typically round up to the nearest dollar. If the bill is Euro 23, for instance, most Germans would round it up to 24 or, if the service was really good, 25. European employees in restaurants don’t work for tips but have a salary, as they have to go through major training to even be able to serve and wait on people.

Before you travel to another country, research local customs and tipping practices. They can vary WIDELY. In Japan, a tip is an insult and considered an offensive display of wealth and pity. But in countries like Mexico, many service people rely on tips to provide for their families, and not tipping is a big faux pas.

To help, here are tips on restaurant tipping for several business travel locations:

• Australia – 10% (but only for upscale dining)
• Canada – typically, 15%
• China- 3% in major cities (otherwise, none)
• Egypt – 5-10% plus service charge
• England – 10% if no service charge
• France – round up
• Germany – round up
• India – 10% if no service charge
• Japan – tipping is perceived insulting
• Malaysia - none
• Mexico – 10 – 15%
• Morocco – loose change
• Russia – 10-15%
• Singapore – none
• South Africa – 10% if no service charge
• Thailand – loose change (5-10% in upscale restaurants if excellent service)

If in doubt, observe the locals and follow their lead (or ask a trusted source).

Happy travels!

The ultimate success (or failure) of a company’s global expansion rests on various factors, from economics to regulation to competition, but the ones that typically trip companies up the most are those related to cultural and language differences. Even large U.S. companies, like Best Buy and Groupon, have fumbled overseas due to a lack of understanding of their new markets.
Despite the challenges, the potential reward for expanding globally is significant. The International Trade Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce estimates that more than 70 percent of global purchasing power is outside the U.S.

Avoid these mistakes as you expand globally to help ensure your success:

1. Don’t underestimate differences, even in the same language.

Even when you’re expanding to another country that speaks the same language (such as the U.S. to the U.K. or vice versa), it pays to localize your messaging and marketing. Names for common products and services are often different. In the U.K., for example, free shipping is known as "free delivery.” And if you send an email to a U.K. customer telling them to buy some pants for their mom for Mother’s Day, don’t be surprised at your lack of sales (“moms” are mums and “pants” are undergarments in the U.K.). Going the other way across the pond, it’s important to Americanize words as well. The U.K. fashion retailer Karen Millen increased conversion rates in the U.S. by 25%, for example, simply by Americanizing their spelling and removing Anglophone terms such as “autumn.”

With this many differences, even in the same language, imagine how many missteps you can make in a foreign language. Nuances are important, and it’s critical to work with professionals who understand the culture and language of your new market.

2. Steer clear of cheap, automated solutions.

You only get one chance to make a first impression…so make sure that yours is a good one in any new global market. Be prepared to invest in hiring qualified professionals to help with localizing your company's website and marketing materials. It’s better to wait or not expand at all than to do it wrong -- the risk of offending potential new customers with poor, embarrassing and/or insulting translations from cheap, automated solutions is too great.

3) Don’t be insensitive to cultural traditions.

In the U.S., much can be overlooked if you have the right product or service at the right price. This isn’t the case in many other countries, where you can kill deals (depending on the area) by a culture faux pas such as bringing up business too quickly, handling a business card too casually, politely refusing a second drink, using chopsticks incorrectly, crossing your legs the wrong way or shaking someone's hand. Do your research on cultural differences ahead of time.

4. Don't assume that customers are going to be the same.

Beyond language and cultural differences, you must look even deeper at your new market’s consumer psyche. Do not assume that your customers are going to be the same or that your products or services will have the same value proposition. In the U.K., for example, they tend to place smaller orders more frequently, rather than stocking up. In India, consumers spend a larger portion of their income for basic necessities, including food, than Americans do, leaving them with less disposable income to spend on other items. Go into any new overseas market with your eyes wide open to the fact that you'll need to figure out these types of differences and adjust your strategies and tactics accordingly.

Need help as you expand globally? Contact us at toll-free at 844.293.3519 or learn more at www.aaatranslation.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.

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

by Susanne Evens

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 she 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...

“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 have caused her to fail.

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, unfortunately, something I often see when a company does not invest the time and money into quality translators with native language ability, educational credentials, etc. The “machine translator,” as it’s 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 would be, “I love it!” This looks the same; 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.

Successful, globalized companies spend a lot of time and resources 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, German or Spanish. An example from history is 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).

Correct translations go a long way when trying to take your company global. Consumers worldwide are becoming more sophisticated, and they want everything in their own language. Employees do as well. From product packaging to websites to human resource documents, everything must be translated. And it must be done right. A computer program simply can’t do that for you.

About Susanne Evens
Susanne Evens is the founder and CEO of the St. Louis-based AAA Translation company (celebrating its 20th anniversary this year), the president of the St. Louis-Stuttgart Sister Cities, an executive board member for the World Trade Center St. Louis and a member of the Business Week Alliance/Market Advisory Board. Her advice regarding global business development and communications has been featured by national and international media outlets that include BusinessWeek, National Public Radio (NPR), International Enterprise Singapore, BrandChannel.com and more. Under her leadership, AAA Translation has grown to serve business clients the world over, working in 150+ languages. Learn more at www.aaatranslation.com.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from Chinese Investors in U.S. companies has increased significantly over the past several years. However, cultural, regulatory and language barriers can make it difficult for U.S. entrepreneurs who want to tap into this potential funding source.

For those who want to attract Chinese investors, we offer several important tips:

1. Make sure you have a Chinese web presence. It’s important to not only have your website translated into Chinese, but it should also be a separate version of your site and hosted from Hong Kong. Many U.S. websites are blocked and inaccessible from China. It’s critical that your site is translated into Chinese by those who have a firm grasp on the Chinese language, culture and financial terminology. A translation program cannot adequately handle this kind of project.

2. Invest in building relationships. In China, investments are very relationship oriented. Potential investors will want to meet you and get to know your team and your company before investing. Be patient and invest in building solid relationships.

3. Go beyond google. Google is not used in China, so it is important to have search engine optimization that is tailored to Chinese search engines.

4.Translate company news and investor updates into Chinese. As you issue press releases, quarterly reports, newsletters or any other investor information, translate those updates into Chinese.

Expanding to foreign markets or trying to attract foreign investors can seem overwhelming. If you need additional advice, global expansion consulting, translation or interpretation services, please contact us at AAA Translation. We have 20 years of experience and work in more than 150 languages across all industries. Learn more at www.aaatranslation.com.

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.