+38 (073) 100 31 80
+38 (067) 664 54 51 
+38 (050) 3 049 049
16 June, 2017
Businesspersons entering international markets often require such translation service as text localization. In which cases this type of translation is necessary:
- when translating websites (since texts should be optimized for search engines);
- to those descriptions and manuals to goods that use idioms, additional means of expressiveness of the language (in this case the translator or the text editor must feel and convey the literary and artistic stylistics of the texts);
- names, slogans, texts of missions and other marketing elements of companies (since in different languages there are funny and ridiculous consonances);
- translation of literary works;
- translation of analytical, entertaining and humorous materials (these texts are often based on the use of idioms, proverbs and sayings, national history, actual local events)
In a self-respecting translation agency, there are necessarily employees who have lived in the country for a long time in the required language environment and who are familiar with its cultural characteristics. In the case of preparations for entering the foreign market, entrepreneurs are advised to approach the issue of localizing their marketing materials carefully, because the price of the error may be too high.
Such incidents are happening quite often and after some time it begin to be perceived as funny jokes. However, behind each story like this there are serious losses, and sometimes the complete loss of the local market. Here are some instructive examples:
- Automobile giant FORD came out with sales to Latin America market with the model Fierra and did not adapted the brand to the linguistic features of the region. Manufacturers did not take into account that the Spanish name of the model sounds like "old woman", which, of course, is not the best characteristic for the car. Hence, FORD Company did not received the planned income from the sale of cars.
- A similar failure happened to the auto giant in Mexico. For unclear reasons, the company's specialists renamed one of the models of the car from Comet into Caliente. Sales did not please marketers at all due to the fact that the name Caliente means “prostitute” on the Mexican slang.
- Similar errors of transnational companies are also happening on the Russian-language territories. Therefore, goods such as baby food “Bledina”, dishes “Pedrini”, toilet paper “Serla” do not show high levels of sales as it is deserved according to their characteristic in the expanses of the former USSR.