Thursday, April 26, 2012
A Q&A with George Rimalower
George Rimalower is founder and president of ISI Translation Services, a language services company founded in 1982 that specializes in financial services, health care and other industries. ISI is known worldwide for combining the latest technology with an expert human touch at every stage—from project management to translating, editing, desktop publishing, proofreading and review—to enable successful communication in more than 100 languages. Rimalower spoke with CW Bulletin Managing Editor Amanda Aiello Beck about how social media has affected an organization’s ability to communicate with a global audience and the critical need for accurate message translation.
Amanda Aiello Beck: What effect has social media had on how organizations communicate globally?
George Rimalower: Social media has increased the ability to communicate exponentially, in new and more immediate ways.
I realize that all social sites don’t have Twitter’s 140-character limit, but there’s no doubt the rule in social media is get to the point, immediately. This means we don’t have a lot of room to explain what we mean. The message has to stand on its own.
When space is limited, we’re tempted to use shorthand. That’s great for English speakers from our own culture. But to anyone else, the message can be obscured or even lost.
Even if you’re communicating with a global audience that does speak English, challenges arise. Consider these color-based English idioms: white collar, black sheep, red tape, pink slip. Now imagine you’re reading something and taking those words at their literal meaning. That’s exactly how someone from another culture will see them.
AAB: What are some of the things organizations should keep in mind when trying to communicate to a global audience via social media?
GR: Communicating globally requires more than just accurate translations into multiple languages. It’s about making sure your message is received by people who don’t share your customs and traditions, and that requires a certain level of cultural understanding beyond language proficiency.
In fact, the terms that have become common in the language services industry to describe what we do are “translation and localization”—underscoring the fact that translation is really only half of it.
A line that may be clever in English—”Dollars and Sense”—loses all meaning in another language where the words for “cents” and “sense” don’t sound the same.
If you know your content is destined for a global audience—whether translated or not—avoid colloquial expressions at all costs, as well as any potential dates that represent holidays to any members of your target audience. Steer clear of references to sports figures and local folk heroes. Rhymes, jargon, poems, puns and witty sayings mean absolutely nothing when translated into other languages.
AAB: What are some of the common mistakes organizations make when communicating to a global audience?
GR: Icons, cultural symbols and even colors all have different meanings for different language groups—and have just as much potential to cause miscommunication or worse, irreparable offense.
Here are a few things to keep in mind:
Numbers and dates
The number 1,107.61 in the United States would be written as 1.107,61 in Latin American Spanish. Likewise, the date written as 6/3/11 is June third in the U.S., but represents the sixth of March in many countries outside the United States.
Color
While red conveys a sense of danger or alarm to North American English speakers, the color represents a sense of happiness or good luck to some other cultural groups.
Symbols
To North American English-speaking audiences, an owl represents wisdom. In Mexico, the owl represents stupidity. Always put symbols through a cultural review process or test them with focus groups before using them in your materials.
AAB: Today, there are a number of free translation tools available over the Internet. What are the potential dangers of using these services? Can you provide any examples of organizations that have run into trouble?
GR: While there’s certainly a role for technology, true communication can’t happen without a professional, human touch. That’s especially true with content that is particularly idiomatic or that relies on context—whether witty, inspirational or simply aspirational in tone.
For just a few reasons not to trust free online translation tools in a situation where accuracy matters, here are some examples of translations I’ve come across online:
The technician will drink two to three large glasses of dye into the waiting area for 45 to 90 minutes.
Bring a responsible adult who can stay with you until you are ready to be downloaded by the physician.
The day of the procedure does not eat or drink anything after midnight.
AAB: Can you provide some tips that will help communicators ensure their messages are embraced by a global audience?
GR: If you’re writing something destined for translation, there are steps you can take when drafting original material to make the translation process more efficient and, therefore, successful.
The biggest challenge in successful translation is inaccurate, confusing or sub-par writing to begin with. Typos and incorrect punctuation can alter the meaning of a sentence. When writing is ambiguous, the translator has to decipher what the writer is trying to say.
Another common pitfall: a failure to realize that most other languages use more words than English. Translated material can be 25 to 35 percent longer, which can cause problems and delays when the text has to fit into an already-designed template.
Also, don’t forget to examine the entire chain of communication. If a Spanish-language brochure sends someone to your English-only website, you’ll lose your audience. For example, if your brochure translates the phrase “click on the PRINT button” to “haga clic en el botón IMPRIMIR”—but the website button actually is labeled “PRINT”—you will needlessly frustrate consumers and possibly lose them as potential customers in the process. This may seem obvious, but it’s all too common for people to forget how their translations will ultimately be used.
The bottom line is that as professional communicators we’re always working hard to make sure that we don’t get in the way of our own message. In fact, business communicators are the ones who invest the most time thinking about language and constructing messages with a deliberate purpose. Don’t let the more casual nature of social media fool you into thinking you can let your guard down.
ISI is based in Los Angeles, with hundreds of translators in the United States and worldwide. Reach George at grimalower@ISItrans.com.
