Translations are more than choosing alternative words, and that needs time…

In the globalised world today, translating brochures, signage, documents, user stories and other marketing texts is normal.

Corporate headquarters, other departments or in some case partners, all provide information that must be converted to convey a meaning to a new audience effectively.

The English language provides an effective method of communicating a meaning, but it also inherently provides a method of creating intentionally ambiguous implied meanings. This is seen in bullet points of brochures that are not full sentences and phrases that effectively say the same as another but use different descriptive “power words” to suggest an additional benefit.

When carrying messages to other languages the underlying sentiment is obvious and the target language can normally cope with tangible statements of fact. The problems start with marketing texts that deliberately dress up the message in a flowery ambiguity. Often this is done to avoid breaching advertising rules that need evidence for more exact claims or to compensate for a less than absolute perfection in the ability of the product or service. This is standard practice and a valuable tool in marketing when using English!

Firstly, the ambiguity.

The first problems arise when the target language is less tolerant of ambiguity, such as German. The German language is, in the most part, very exacting on how a meaning is portrayed.

A typical example would be the word “empower”, which is a really marketing way of saying “it can help make something happen, but you have to do it, the product won’t do it all”. Clearly consumers and customers in the English speaking world read “this product is great ‘cos it can do things”, and that is why it is used. So there is a fundamental “glass half full” in the English interpretation of words. In German the thinking is “it’s not complete or finished!”. Another example is “leverage”, where the implied meaning is “with this product you can get more out of something”. Translated to German these flowery power words make for awkward reading.

So in German a much more simplistic and honest interpretation would have to be spelt out to the customer. Which of course undermines the “word choice” on which a message may rely and has been directed from on high. Alternatively a convoluted and awkward formulation to carry the implied sentiment can be used. In which case a customer is on alert, because clarity was obviously avoided and this is not normal for their language.

Secondly, the approach.

The second problem with translations is: the sentiment can be directed to see the value in a way that is alien to the audience and carries no weight. Saying “what it can do”, saying “what it gives you” or saying “what it entails” are all different methods of describing the benefit of a product or service.

The English language, as well as the audience, is well-versed in measuring the value according to the result, whereas the formulation in the German language is more often formulated to reflect the thing that it does.

The long and the short of it is that other languages are more than simply a foreigner’s way of communicating facts. They affect the thinking, the way ideas are imparted and how they are shared. People have underlying comfort in their language because of its style and not just its vocabulary.

The time needed for good translations should therefore not be underestimated. It takes time to find eloquent and suitable formulations that are comfortable for the listener and compatible with the speaker’s message too. After all, it makes no sense working to gain the attention of a prospect and then confuse or make them suspicious with an awkward message.