Archive for category: News

Expanding your business into new markets is a great way to grow your customer base and increase your revenue. However, when you venture into a new market, you’ll encounter new challenges, including language barriers. Technical translations can help you overcome those barriers and succeed in new markets. In this blog post, we’ll explore how technical translation services can help you expand your business into new markets and reach a broader audience.

What Are Technical Translation Services?

Technical translation services refer to the process of translating technical documents, manuals, and other materials from one language to another. These materials may include technical specifications, user manuals, safety instructions, data sheets, and other technical documents that are specific to your industry. Technical translators are experts in the field, with extensive knowledge of the terminology, concepts, and jargon used in your industry.

Why Do You Need Technical Translation Services?

If you’re looking to expand your business into new markets, technical translation services are essential. Here’s why:

1. Reach a Wider Audience: When you translate your technical materials into the local language of your target market, you can reach a broader audience. By doing so, you can expand your customer base and increase your revenue.
2. Ensure Accuracy: Technical materials are often complex and require precise language. Technical translation services ensure that your materials are translated accurately, without any errors or mistranslations. This is crucial in industries where safety is paramount, such as healthcare, engineering, and manufacturing.
3. Comply with Local Regulations: In some industries, it’s mandatory to have technical materials translated into the local language. For example, medical device manufacturers must comply with local regulations in the markets they sell to. Technical translation services can help you comply with these regulations and avoid legal issues.
4. Enhance Your Brand Reputation: When you translate your technical materials accurately, you show your customers that you care about their needs. This can enhance your brand reputation and help you build trust with your customers.

How Can Technical Translation Services Help You Expand Your Business into New Markets?

Now that we’ve discussed the importance of technical translation services, let’s explore how they can help you expand your business into new markets:

1. Localise Your Materials: Technical translation services can help you localise your materials, which means adapting them to the cultural and linguistic nuances of your target market. Localisation ensures that your materials are relevant and meaningful to your target audience, increasing the chances of success in that market.
2. Improve Customer Satisfaction: When you translate your technical materials accurately and localise them, you improve customer satisfaction. Customers are more likely to purchase products that come with well-translated and relevant technical materials. This can lead to repeat business and positive word-of-mouth.
3. Expand Your Market Reach: With technical translation services, you can expand your market reach and tap into new markets. By translating your materials into the local language, you can reach customers who wouldn’t otherwise be able to understand your products or services. This can help you grow your customer base and increase your revenue.
4. Stay Ahead of the Competition: When you invest in technical translation services, you stay ahead of the competition. By offering your technical materials in the local language, you show your customers that you’re committed to their needs. This can give you a competitive edge in the market and help you stand out from the crowd.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, technical translation services are essential when it comes to expanding your business into new markets. They help you reach a wider audience, ensure accuracy, comply with local regulations, and enhance your brand reputation. With technical translation services, you can localise your materials, improve customer satisfaction, expand your market reach, and stay ahead of the competition. 

Christmas is the biggest holiday in the world, but it’s not celebrated everywhere. Some countries celebrate other holidays instead of or in addition to Christmas. Below we’ve compiled a list of traditions from around the globe that we have enjoyed learning about thanks to our freelance translators across the world!

In Romania, they believe that evil spirits lurk on Christmas Eve. They go through a process to ward off spirits, or “colinde.”

Romanians sing traditional songs to keep the spirits away and celebrate the birth of Jesus. The tradition goes back hundreds of years as people used music as a way to keep evil spirits away from their homes. The songs are full of symbols that represent protection: bells (a symbol of protection), crosses (protection against evil), garlic (which wards off evil spirits) and other symbols that ward off evil spirits.

In Denmark, children leave their shoes out on windowsills or patios so that St. Nicholas can fill them with candy and small gifts.

The tradition dates back to the 19th century when shoemakers would leave boots outside for St. Nicholas to fill with gifts for their customers’ children.

Today, Danish parents often use red-and-white striped stockings instead of shoes to hang on their windowsills and balconies. In many families, parents also dress up as Santa Claus on the 5th December and go from house to house collecting donations for charity organisations.

In the Netherlands, Sinterklaas and his helpers, Zwarte Pieten, arrive by steamboat from Spain on the 5th December.

In the Netherlands, Sinterklaas and his helpers, Zwarte Pieten (elves), arrive by steamboat from Spain on the 5th December. Their arrival is celebrated with songs, parades and “pepernoten” cookies.

According to folklore, Zwarte Pieten can fly because they eat so many carrots that their bodies become light enough to float through the air. They are often portrayed with red lips, curly hair and gold earrings; while some modern depictions show them wearing colourful fabrics and tall hats shaped like pots or cotton candy cones covered with sweets and ribbons!

In the Philippines, a Noche Buena feast takes place after midnight mass on the 24th December to celebrate Christmas Day. 

The family would gather for a meal of lechon (roasted pig), ham and turkey, grilled fish and chicken, rice cakes, fresh fruits and sweets like bibingka (rice cake with coconut milk) or kutsinta (rice flour balls made from sweet potato). 

The feast is served on a table covered with banana leaves, which symbolises abundance and good luck for the coming year.

In Russia, the New Year is a bigger holiday than Christmas. Santa Claus is called Grandfather Frost and he brings presents to children on New Year’s Eve.

In Russia, the New Year is a bigger holiday than Christmas. Santa Claus is called Grandfather Frost and he brings presents to children on New Year’s Eve. Grandfather Frost is not a real person, but a symbol of good luck and happiness.

In Russia and other countries that use the Cyrillic alphabet (such as Ukraine), the 31st December is called St Sylvester’s day or Kupala Night – it’s considered good luck if you eat pancakes on this night!

In Mexico, they celebrate Las Posadas from the 16th-24th December. Posadas means lodgings or accommodations in Spanish and symbolises Joseph’s search for lodging before Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem.

In Mexico, they celebrate Las Posadas from the 16th-24th December. Posadas means lodgings or accommodations in Spanish and symbolises Joseph’s search for lodging before Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem.

The celebration consists of singing and dancing through the streets of towns to represent Mary and Joseph’s journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Participants dress up as Mary, Joseph, angels and shepherds while singing traditional songs along the way.

Christmas is a time for family, friends and traditions. The holiday is celebrated in many ways, but one thing remains constant: it is a time to gather with loved ones and celebrate the joy of the season. From everyone at TW Languages, we hope you have a wonderful festive holiday.

In the business world, translating documents is essential in order to communicate with overseas clients and expand your company. However, it is not enough to simply translate the words on the page – it is also important to have a good understanding of the industry regulations that apply to the document in question.

Here are four reasons why this is the case:

1. Industry regulations can have a direct impact on the meaning of the document. 

If you are translating a document that deals with regulations, particularly from a regulation-heavy industry such as Chemicals or Pharmaceuticals, understanding those regulations is crucial in providing the correct information. By using the service that TW Languages offer,  you can be sure that you are accurately translating the document and that you will not incur any penalties in that country.

2. Industry regulations can affect the formatting of the document. 

In some cases, the way a document is formatted must comply with industry regulations too, as well as the wording itself. This means that if you are translating a document, you must be aware of specific customs and expectations of that country such as if there is an expected referencing system.

3. Industry regulations can impact the delivery of the translation. 

There are cases where the way a document is delivered is impacted by country regulations. For instance, certain financial documents must be delivered by registered mail. If you are translating such a document, you need to be aware of the delivery requirements so that you can make the necessary arrangements and factor the lead time into your deadlines and client expectations.

4. Confidentiality laws may apply to specific countries.  

Some documents contain confidential information that must be protected in accordance with industry regulations. If you are translating such a document, you need to be aware of the confidentiality requirements so that you can take the necessary steps to protect the information. This many include encrypting the documents, or adding specific disclaimers to protect your own company and your client.

These important elements on industry regulations will differ from country to country, and it would be incredibly time consuming for your internal employees to research all of this before translating the documents. TW Languages can do all of this for you, as we will always assign our industry specific translators who are native speakers of your required language. This ensures all our translations are turned around in excellent time with assurance that they are 100% regulation compliant. Contact us today on info@twlanguages.com.

With the global chemical industry expanding at a rapid rate, it has become increasingly important to ensure 100% accuracy in your technical documentations. But how do you guarantee this, if the documents aren’t in your own language?

Expanding a business to countries outside of the UK can elevate a company to the next level, but can also cause many issues if the expansion is handled incorrectly, especially regarding translated documents. It can be tempting to pay cheap prices for translation services, but at TW Languages, we have seen many businesses trying to redeem themselves following budget providers’ translation mistakes.

In the hope of reducing more companies from experiencing this, we are on a mission to outline the issues you could encounter if you don’t use an experienced technical translator.

1. Cause offence

The last thing you would want to do when you are trying to expand your business into a certain country, is cause offence. Some countries will have very similar social expectations to the UK, but there may be certain dialect that is customary in a foreign country, or phrases that would be misinterpreted as rude.

An example of this was when Coca-Cola launched a new advertisement campaign in New Zealand translated into the native language, Maori, in 2019, but failed to consult with a native speaker. This resulted in what they thought said ‘Hello mate” actually translating into “Hello death.”

The only way to be sure that no offence will be caused to potential customers, is by having a translator whose native language is the one you’re translating into, so that they are familiar with all the linguistic expectations.

2. Non-compliance of regulations

Similar to dialect differentiations, each country may have different regulations that businesses in the chemical industry must comply with. The repercussions of getting this area of translation wrong can be very serious, with many regulations being legal requirements. This presents another reason why it is imperative to not only have a translator who is from the country, but also an individual who is a chemical industry expert. This ensures the translator is always up to date with any new rules and regulations, and that you won’t encounter any possible legal implications as a result of your mis-translated documents.

3. Inaccuracy

This is the most obvious repercussions of not using an experienced technical translator, but it is also one of the most important. Whether a translator makes several small grammatical errors, or a much larger miscommunication error, inaccuracies in a technical document will always result in a loss of trust for your clients.

The Virginia Department of Health came under huge repercussions when they used Google translate to convert Coronavirus FAQs into Spanish. The digital platform translated the phrase “the vaccine is not mandatory” into “the vaccine is not necessary,” leading to huge trouble for the US government.

If your products are being sold to pharmaceutical or medical companies to be incorporated with other ingredients, it is vital that all important information is 100% accurate to avoid any concerns around what makes up a vaccine, for example.

4. Damage to Reputation

All of the above listed repercussions would cause serious damage to your reputation, and potentially affect the possibility of expanding your business globally. In extreme circumstances, word of the issue may return to the UK and affect your whole business reputation which you have worked so hard to build.

HSBC launched an international campaign in 2009 with their slogan as “assume nothing” but when this was translated into other languages, it became “do nothing.” The bank had to spend $10 million dollars rectifying the damage, but not before losing the trust of many of its clients.

5. Missed opportunities

Not using an experienced translator could ultimately result in missed opportunities for your business, which could have been avoidable. In business sectors as technical as the chemical industry, it’s imperative to ensure accuracy and professionalism at all times, and the easiest way to guarantee this is by using experienced, technical translators.

Contact us on 0161 826 8777, or explore our translation services on our website.

“Imagine how underdeveloped science would be, were it not for translation…Each language community would have to discover the entire body of scientific and technical knowledge for itself. This would not simply be a case of reinventing the wheel, but reinventing the wheel dozens, if not hundreds, of times.”

– Jody Byrne, scientific and technical translator.

The Importance of Scientific Document Translation

Scientific translation encompasses a multitude of areas, from research proposals to patents, from academic papers to product labels. With such a wide reach, scientific companies are now facing the challenge of successfully distributing information in globalised industries that grow by the day.

The goals for spreading this information vary. Companies may wish to share knowledge between industry professionals, reach new customers, increase international profiles, be published in research journals, or fulfil legal language obligations.

Whatever the objective, without scientific translation, new products, research, and discoveries will remain out of reach to those who speak a different language, thus hindering progress and development.

Which Languages are The Most Helpful?
There are evidently benefits in having scientific documents translated into widely spoken languages in the scientific community, particularly English. The documents are accessible to more people and they become part of the expanding knowledge base in that area.

However, translating into lesser-spoken languages gives others the chance to fully understand the information in their own language and uninhibited by barriers.

Avoiding Scientific Translation Errors

In order to reach either of the above audiences, a translation needs to be high quality. An error-ridden document doesn’t only look unprofessional, it opens up the possibility for serious issues.

In 2017, a Chinese pharmaceutical company was issued with an official warning by the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) after it misnamed an active ingredient in its anti-itch product. The Chinese company claims that a translation error caused the potentially dangerous misunderstanding, something that could have been avoided (read more in our article).

The margin of error in a scientific translation can be minimised by choosing a professional translation agency, but they need to have specific skills at their disposal.

Not only do translators need to be fluent in the required languages, they also need to be skilled writers who have in-depth, scientific knowledge in not one, but two languages.

Challenges for Professional Scientific Translators
In addition to this need for technical knowledge, there are other challenges scientific translators must to overcome to produce a first-rate piece of work.

Culture

Firstly, a deep understanding of the culture associated with both languages is key for success. How a person interprets a document depends not only on what information is given, but also how it is given. Is a conversational tone appropriate in the culture? Do native speakers use short or long sentences?

As an article from The Times states, “the language in which we communicate affects our confidence and our ability to persuade…and our judgements of the value of new ideas and their authors”. Information presented in an inappropriate way could undermine the scientific facts that are presented.

New Concepts

Secondly, there may be concepts, ways of working, job roles, procedures, etc. that do not exist in one of the countries or languages. These need to be fully researched and understood by the translator before they can be explained in the new language.

The Difficulty of the Text

Thirdly, technical information can make a text challenging. However, it may be that the way in which a text is written causes it to be difficult to understand; it might use idioms, flowery language, or be purposefully vague. An academic research paper will use a very different factual style to a description of a new product.

Choosing a Scientific Translator

Business owners are advised to look for the best translation and localisation company to suit their needs.

For scientific documents, the company should be well-established, experts in the industry, have the correct certifications, and preferably have testimonials from satisfied clients. Translation companies can also use translation memories, which act like glossaries of technical terms, that they can draw on to help you save time and money.

At TW Languages, we are ISO 17100 certified and specialise in the scientific industry. Our translators are linguists with in-depth knowledge of the nuances of language and we pride ourselves on adhering to the highest quality professional standards.

Get in touch to find out about our fast turnaround times, or to discuss your project in more detail.

Want to find out more? Read about who we are.

 In 2018, about 2600 legal cases were abandoned or adjourned by UK courts due to a shortage of interpreters and translators. This speaks volumes about the vital importance of legal document translation services ─ not only for the legal profession, but for people from all walks of life.

Why Are Legal Translation Services Vital?

Why are experts saying that legal translation services are impacting “people from all walks of life”? The answer is that legal document translation services are by no means about what is happening in law courts only. But why is this?

Let’s look closely together at just one example. In most cases, refugees in any country normally speak languages other than the language of their host country. Yet, they still have to handle dozens of legal documents in order to, for example, change immigration status or deal with any legal actions against them ─ and therefore, they are in need of legal representation. Don’t they require legal document translation services?

Why Should Legal Document Translation Services Be Error-free?

Though vitally important and central to the lives of everybody, legal translation is one of the most problematic and challenging translation domains. The reason is that law is culture-dependent by nature, and therefore legal translation requires excellent knowledge of the source and target cultures alike.

What’s more, the legal translation domain is one with zero margin for error, as the mistranslation of a phrase or a passage in a contract or a treaty could have catastrophic consequences. In many countries, people have, regrettably, found themselves facing a prison sentence just because they did not understand what was going on after being arrested and had no legal interpreter to help them defend themselves.

Types of Documents That Need Legal Translation Services

Whether you are a lawyer, a law firm, an immigrant, or anyone in need of the translation of a legal document, it’s important for you to make a distinction between legal documents and other types of documents. The following are some of the main types of legal documents:

Immigration Documents

For potential immigrants who, for example, are not fluent in English and wish to immigrate to America or Australia, the accurate translation of immigration paperwork will ensure that they are kept in the loop throughout the immigration process.

Legal Contracts

If your client wants to sign a contract with a person or organisation from a foreign country, it’s necessary for you to translate this vital legal document, otherwise your customer might run the risk of, for instance, receiving financial penalties.

Corporate Documents

Likewise, it’s crucial to translate corporate documents if either your client or yourself work in an overseas country ─ which at the end of the day helps you to save time and prevent a lot of problems.

Financial Records

There is no margin for error when it comes to financial document translations, as mistranslations in this specific area could result in prison time!

Miscellaneous Legal Documents

Ranging from patents to trademark applications, copyright registrations, affidavits, trusts, wills, tenders and witness statements, these important documents require professional legal translation services.

How to Select the Best Translation Service Provider

Since legal translations constitute a highly specialised area of the translation industry and need to be handled with the utmost care, it is vital when sourcing legal translation services that the law firm or other business requiring this type of service should be looking for a number of aspects in a translation partner. They include, but are not limited to:

Certification

In an unregulated industry like translation, where many people and agencies can claim that their translations are great (what does “great” mean?!), it’s essential for a provider of legal document translation services to be certified by a higher authority, such as, for example, the Association of Translation Companies (ATC).

Technical Expertise

A reputable law firm or other business must, at the end of the day, select a translation services provider that has a team comprising not only translators specialised in the legal field, but also subject matter experts.

Advanced Technology

To decrease turnaround times and reduce costs while ensuring accuracy and consistency, a suitable translation supplier should be using the latest technology solutions in addition to having the capability to integrate automation and linguists into their translation services.

Confidentiality

There’s no doubt that one of the main features of a reliable translation service provider is their ability to handle your legal documents with the utmost care and confidentiality.

Why TW Languages?

If your business, whether in the legal industry or not, is in need of sourcing the right legal document translation services, the testimonials of hundreds of our previous clients will unquestionably lead you to TW Languages. 

At TW Languages, we far outshine other suppliers across the legal translation services industry thanks to many advantages that include:

•  ISO 17100 certified and a member of ATC (Association of Translation Companies).
• Top-notch clients: We’ve provided excellent legal document translation services to over 200 leading global businesses that range from SMEs to large corporations and include Cassons and Butcher & Barlow.
• Rigorous Process: Our process follows a proven methodology, which has so far resulted in delivering translations that exceed the expectations of our clients.  
• Expert Team: Our team is made up of professional, native translators, with legal-industry-specific expertise, who consistently deliver an error-free legal document translation service. They pride themselves on having translated about 40 million words in this field

If you would like to take advantage of the outstanding legal translation service from TW Languages, please get in touch.