How to make sure your business doesn’t get lost in translation with Helen Provart | Peak Translations #015

Those of us born in English speaking countries have that great advantage that we can make ourselves understood just about anywhere. The problem is that it also makes us lazy about learning other languages.

In business, we can’t just rely on English. Obviously legal documents have to be in the language of the country we’re working in. So do all our operational materials and of course marketing and sales. We’ve all seen “howler” translations – most obviously on menus in restaurants. At least then all we do is laugh or wonder. Like a lot of business people, the menu writers have probably relied on online translation software – that’s getting better all the time, but it’s a long way from perfect.

Just imagine how one’s business can be damaged by bad translations. And even in conversation, it’s easy to assume that someone with great English understands everything we’re saying – yet most of us have suddenly found that we’ve been misunderstood, or, worse still, unintentionally said something we shouldn’t.

So there’s a very important role for professional translators. In this podcast, Oliver Dowson talks to Helen Provart, the Managing Director of Peak Translations, about the need for getting it right.