When a company expands into the global marketplace, they need corporate communication translations to properly to communicate with their foreign language speakers. So having bilingual employees is a huge plus. They can help your organization communicate in your client’s native language, which can help build better rapport from the beginning. But should you use your bilingual employees to translate your internal documents, newsletters, marketing and memoranda? The short answer is no. Let’s explore the reasons why.
Being Bilingual Doesn’t Necessarily Qualify You as a Translator
Your employee may be able to speak two languages proficiently and fluently, and may even be able to communicate with native speakers with ease. This does not mean, however, that they have the skills to translate. Speaking and writing can be vastly different, and oral fluency does not guarantee polished, stylish writing. In addition, your fluent, bilingual employee may not know the technical terms they might be required to translate. Let’s say your field is medical equipment. The document you need to have translated is the user’s manual for a new piece of equipment. Is it likely that your bilingual employee will be able to translate all of the technical terminology correctly? No. That’s one reason why you need a professional translation service that has translators who are not only fluent in the oral and written language you need, but are also trained in most technical fields.
Bilinguals May Overestimate Their Abilities
Bilinguals speak two languages fluently, but are not necessarily adept at transferring information between two parties, especially in writing. Many bilinguals overestimate their communication skills and overreach themselves. The American Translators Association gives this as an example of poor translation by a bilingual employee: a pricey French sandwich shop called Lina’s, advertised for franchisees with text translated by a self-proclaimed bilingual employee. The translated slogan read “Tomorrow, we will expect on your dynamism”. There was zero response to her search for franchisees due to this devastating mistranslation. Professional translators, on the other hand, are usually fluent in their languages as well. However, they are also fluent in the written word. They are writers that produce text that is well read and received in the target language.
A Mistake Made by a Non-Professional Can Be Very Costly
Many businesses have used their bilingual employees for translation, sometimes to their chagrin. Consider this mistake made at an international hotel. There is a buffet laid out for the clients, each dish labeled in Arabic and English. You come to the meatballs. The sign has the Arabic lettering at the top and the English translation below. Unfortunately, the English translation isn’t “meatballs”. It’s “Paul is dead”. This is a literal translation of the text. However, English speakers aren’t likely to eat it. This mistake could have been avoided if a professional translation service had been used.
Professional translators are the bridge that spans the gap between languages and cultures. They can take an original document, render it into the foreign language, maintain the original message and continue the appropriate style and terminology, all while weaving the proper culture and politics into the text. TrueLanguage is the standard for translation and interpretation in the business world today. Call the business translation service experts today by Requesting a FREE quote or call us now at 1-888-926-9245
