If you are an English writer, it pays to think about other languages. Learning another language can help you become a better writer. But it goes beyond that. Much of my work is translated. For example, a site I wrote for HP (HP Business Answers) is currently being localised into ten different languages. I had to do a lot of editing to remove English idiom and cultural references to make it more universal. Also, several clients ask me to do plastic surgery on case studies that have been poorly translated. With the French and Dutch ones, I find it very helpful to have the original texts. English isn’t the only language and writers can help their clients more if they keep this simple fact in mind.
So, with all this in mind, I’m very pleased to introduce a series of guest posts from Christian Arno, founder and managing director of Lingo24, a global translation services provider. I asked him to write about the challenges of translating and the joy of language. In this initial article he talks about the importance of translation and the value it has for companies that operate internationally. Now, over to Christian…
In Europe, there are over two hundred indigenous languages, twenty three of which are native to the twenty seven European Union (EU) states.
|
Language |
Native Speakers |
Total Speakers |
|
English |
13% |
51% |
|
German |
18% |
32% |
|
French |
12% |
26% |
|
Italian |
13% |
16% |
|
Spanish |
9% |
15% |
English is spoken to some level by over fifty percent of the EU population. But from a native-speaking standpoint, German has plurality with almost a fifth of the EU speaking it as a mother tongue, followed by English, Italian and French.
Respecting cultural/linguistic diversity is one of the EU’s core principles, which is reflected in its annual translation and interpreting spend at over a billion Euros. Additionally, there are a number of government-sponsored cultural agencies across Europe that subsidise or, in some cases, fully cover the cost of translating literature.
Why? Well, ultimately, such schemes are designed to help promote the cultural and linguistic nuances of the countless European vernaculars. And by providing publishers with the incentive to translate a best-seller from, say, Norwegian into English, then this will ultimately create a buzz and help Norway’s top writers gain greater exposure on the world stage.
From a business perspective, English may have emerged as the lingua franca of global commerce and, subsequently, the internet, but any company that is looking to make serious inroads into foreign markets should consider the following facts:
Asia accounts for over forty percent of the world’s internet users; China has thirty percent more internet users than the US; three quarters of the world’s population speaks no English at all; internet users are four times more likely to buy from a website in their native language.
Regardless of how many languages a person can speak, people simply prefer to communicate in their own language. For this reason, translation is something that is always going to be in demand.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
The most valuable languages for me are Latin and Greek. I failed Latin at school but it’s the subject I find most useful every day. If we could connect with our classical roots I think we could really sharpen up our English.
It’s nice to see that some writers do care about non-english speakers. Sometimes when I’m reading other blogs it’s for me like a jibberish which is nearly impossible to understand. My english is far from perfect, however a lot also depends on the writer. Blog like yours are easy to understand even for me
Regards