6 reasons why your business needs technical translations?

Despite the wide availability of automatic translation tools, language translation services are still highly popular, as they allow business owners to reach even the most niche customers easily (while most tools operate only on the widely used languages). The translation of technical documents and other written materials is therefore key for expanding your business internationally. Here are 6 main reasons why you should pick up technical translation services.

1.
Reaching Non-English speakers

Although English is one of the most globally spoken languages (over 330 million speakers worldwide), not everyone can understand it and use it on an everyday basis. Even for people who speak it as a second language, most technical and specific vocabulary won’t be quite well understood. In fact, technical jargon can be rather difficult even for native speakers.

Therefore, most people prefer to use their native language, especially when it comes to business and technical documents. Translating your documents is the easiest way to make sure your content is properly presented and fully comprehended – mutual understanding is the basis of successful business. Additionally, people will feel more appreciated and willing to buy your products if you reach them through their native language.

2. The need of a subject matter
expert

Simple word-to-word translations are no good for business purposes. Retaining of the original message while making sense to the reader is much harder than simply translating it with a technical dictionary opened on your lap. Wider context is key for conveying your message correctly, with consideration of dialects, social norms and language nuances.

This is made even harder with highly technical industries – the translator must not only have vast knowledge of the target language, but also be an expert in technical jargon used in that specific industry branch. The best example for this is the aerospace industry, as it’s naturally international and requires very effective global communications. There’s not much margin for error and everything must be as concise and clear as possible. So if you’re looking for technical translation services, your best bet would be experienced translation agencies employing specialised translators, e.g. TEXTOLOGY – Translation agency based in London.

3. It links to the global economy

Interpretation and translation remain important aspects of global businesses conduction and the demand for it, especially technical translation services, will keep expanding in the foreseeable future. Even though English is still a preferred language for conducting business globally, the need to reach the masses from all the different regions of the globe is still rather big. If an enterprise wishes to enter the global market, and keep increasing its profits and revenue, it needs to translate the instructions, packages and labels of its products to the native languages. This will enable locals to relate to the product with ease, which in turn will bring profit to the company.

4. Health and safety risk

Some technical subject matters may bring about health and safety risks, e.g. dealings with industrial equipment. This means that manufactures operating globally must be able to effectively communicate with customers and business around the world. Therefore, every operation manual, installation guide, product specification and hygiene and safety procedure needs to be highly accurately translated and easy to understand for everyone.

Finding a specialised
translator is crucial in any industry that involves health and safety risks.
Being an expert in his field, he will not only provide accurate translations,
but also know all legal requirements regarding product safety advice for the
target country and language. With a professional technical translation you
won’t have to worry about any breaches of product safety requirements and
corresponding to them legal actions while you’re expanding across the border.

5. Keeping consistent level of
complexity

High quality technical translation will help you keep all of your documents’ complexity intact. This is especially significant when you want to communicate a complex idea to a simple language. A professional translator with vast knowledge of the subject matter can convey your message without it sounding basic or demeaning, which wouldn’t be accepted in a business environment full of industry experts. He will also be able to make the translation less direct without sacrificing evenness in speech, tone and complexity — as a word-to-word translation would be hard to digest or might even sound simplistic.

6. Operating in a heavily
regulated industry

A relatively big share of industries is a subject to many strict regulations aimed at protecting customers and businesses. Those rules and laws regarding products and the way the businesses are run might change at any given time. They may also vary widely, depending on the country, supervisory authority or even local governments. For example, the food industry is regulated by the Food Standards Agency in the UK, while in the US it’s covered by the Food and Drug Administration which rules regarding e.g. sugar content may be quite different.

While choosing the
source of your technical translations, you should aim for translators who,
aside from being experts in the given industry, keep records of regulation
changes and are up to date with them. This will not only ensure high quality of
translation, but also guarantee that all your translated documents will follow
every guideline for your target country and your product is good for
circulation.

Still not sure if you need
technical translations?

Basing your business on just one, even
the mostly spoken, language can be a major setback, as most of the people
prefer to use their native language when it comes to business and its products.
Technical translation is a type of specialised translation which includes the
use of terminology and jargon used in a specific branch of industry or
business. You should make use of translation services when your business deals
with operator manuals, instruction guides, study papers or technical documents
– with the help of a professional translator you can make sure that all your
content is conveyed without errors and quality downgrades. This will help you
avoid problems of false translations when going global.