What marketers need to know about translation

by Francesca Gatenby

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Marketers and translators – we’re not that different

Want to know what marketing and translating have in common? When done well, the results appear effortless – or even invisible. Few outside the sector understand the complexity behind the art of creating clear, fluent, compelling communications.

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So, what do translators do?

Just like marketing, commercial translation involves a deep understanding of people – and, like marketers, translators know exactly how to engage their audience. You might think we turn concepts from language A into language B as easily as flipping a switch, but it’s not that simple.

The concept might be a specific cultural reference. It might involve wordplay, humour, alliteration, rhyme, rhetoric, unassignable famous quotes, an untranslatable expression... you get the idea.

The translator needs the ability to focus on both sides of the coin – the client’s brief and campaign goals on the one hand, and the target audience’s needs and expectations on the other. After all, if you’re a premium car brand, you don’t want your materials translated in the same tone of voice as a toy retailer.

Translators are your multilingual specialists – an extension of your team who can help you break into new, international markets. Put that way, the ROI is pretty impressive.

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Translation myths… busted!

While I’m on the subject, I should probably explain what we DON’T do. No, we don’t speak every language under the sun and no, we’re not walking dictionaries.

We specialise by language and area, whether that’s marketing, medical, legal, technical, financial, literary, fashion, sports, cheese or pretty much anything you can imagine. We use specialist resources and often have a background in our chosen specialism. We hold high-level qualifications and qualified membership of industry bodies. And we certainly don’t drink too much coffee. Well, almost certainly.

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But can’t AI do translation?

Let’s break this down. Firstly, there’s generative AI – this means algorithms like ChatGPT that regurgitate blocks of content in response to a set of prompts.

Content is scraped from all across the web (including a significant proportion of content that is itself AI output) and reassembled to produce a chunk of text that has been statistically pattern-matched as potentially relevant.

Side note: AI is not ‘intelligent’. It does not analyse or understand the output; it simply matches patterns in text types to pull content from a database. Essentially, it’s a very fast calculator.

Secondly, we have non-generative AI. This is used to classify and analyse existing, defined datasets – it does not include output outside the specified range.

Google Translate is based on neural machine translation, i.e., on very large linguistic datasets. These datasets have been shown to have strong inherent sexist and racist biases. For example, if you type ‘the doctor writes’ into Google Translate and click ‘translate’ to German, it will give you ‘der Arzt [schreibt]’ – the masculine form of ‘doctor’.

This issue occurs whenever you switch between gendered and non-gendered languages and can lead to significant discrepancies in meaning.

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Use cases for machine translation

So, as we’ve seen, relying on machine-generated output is fraught with potential problems – does that mean it’s useless? Not necessarily. As long as you’re aware of the limitations, there’s a place for robo-translation output.

We’ve all used machine translation tools on holiday to get the gist of a website in another language or check the ingredients list on a menu. And this can work well – no more hunting through phrasebooks or gesticulating wildly at the waiter.

Machine translation output is also an effective solution where you have high-quality pre-existing content, such as a vehicle parts list, to allow you to cross-check two documents knowing the key terms have already been approved by human experts.

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When does my translation need the human touch?

It depends on what you want to translate and why. Need to quickly check product specs on your competitor’s website? You’re probably OK with machine translation. Planning to issue a press release announcing a merger? Safer to choose a human translator.

In short, for general research purposes or to get the gist, machines can help. But if your brand reputation is on the line, you need creativity or accuracy, or there’s any potential financial or legal liability, getting a professional on board is the way forward. Diane from Legal will thank you for it.

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The value of human translation

If you’re unsure whether it's worth commissioning a translator, here are some key benefits to consider:

Confidentiality

Don't want to risk your confidential materials being leaked? We’re used to signing NDAs and we take the greatest possible care to keep your documents strictly confidential, whether that means using an encrypted file transfer system, password-protecting files, or deleting all materials once the job is delivered.

Intelligence

We understand the meaning behind your words; a machine doesn’t. Translation is a complex task requiring specialist knowledge and the ability to stay on brief and appeal to a defined audience segment.

Judgement

You've written the original text, you're a specialist in your field, but time is short and you're under pressure. Sometimes a mistake slips in. It happens. Working with a translator means having someone by your side to pick up on errors in the original text. We will flag anything that sounds strange or wrong and use our judgement to ensure the end result is flawless.

Peace of mind

You need a translation, but you need to know it will do what you want it to. Work with a professional and you can rest assured your translation will be accurate, complete, coherent and fluent – making your life easier.

Cost

As with any professional service, there is a cost to using a translator – but have you considered the (significantly higher) cost of not doing so? This could be serious damage to your brand or reputation, legal and regulatory penalties, and loss of clients.

Ultimately, bad translations cost much more than good ones.

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How can I find a reliable translator?

The sector is unregulated, so finding a good translator and business partner can be a challenge. That said, there are signs to look out for:

Realistic claims

Some things really are too good to be true. If someone claims they can translate into and out of dozens of languages or deliver a 25,000-word translation in two days, it's wise to be sceptical (just so you know, we generally deliver around 2,500 words per standard working day). A true pro will talk you through the process and help you understand what results you can expect.

Professional membership

Fully qualified members of a professional association such as the Institute of Translation and Interpreting have successfully completed a rigorous written examination. The UK Government's Regulated Professions Register accords member translators the protected title status of 'Accredited Professionals' in recognition of our qualifications and experience.

A few of us are also qualified to ISO 17100:2015, which means we adhere to specific quality assurance parameters.

Specialist knowledge

Does your translator speak your language – do they understand your industry and what you do? Commissioning a translator is the most cost-effective way to add specialist expertise to your team, so choose someone who knows your market.

Social proof / word-of-mouth referrals

What do the translator's own clients say about them – do they have testimonials on their LinkedIn page or website? Have they been recommended by someone you trust? Social proof is telling. Literally.

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Final thought: 76% of consumers prefer to buy in their own language

A CSA Research survey of 8,709 consumers based in 29 countries in Europe, Asia, North America and South America found that 76% of online shoppers prefer to buy products marketed in their native language^.

Professional translators – multilingual marketers – can help you engage with consumers in their own language, leading to improved conversion rates and greater brand loyalty.

If you’re curious about the world of translation, feel free to get in touch with any questions at [email protected] and find out how translation can help your business.

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^ CSA Research survey: https://csa-research.com/Blogs-Events/CSA-in-the-Media/Press-Releases/Consumers-Prefer-their-Own-Language

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I am a commercial translator specialising in marketing translation for luxury, retail and corporate clients. I also work with museums, hotels and art galleries. I have a background in advertising and marketing and translate from German and French into English.

I am lucky enough to live on the doorstep of the Yorkshire moors and spend my free time running enthusiastically up and down muddy hills.