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How do I choose which languages I should translate into?
Research, and lots of it, that’s how!
If you would like to consult with us as a language service provider, on how and where you might want to expand, it would be our pleasure to talk with you. Yet this decision really comes down to you and your business; market research and budgeting will go far in helping you make your choice, as will the following:
Know your workforce: for industrial translations, the locations where your company chooses to expand will dictate your language needs. If you’re opening plants in South America outside of Brazil, you’ll obviously need Spanish. Still, don’t think of Spanish in such simple terms – what variant of Spanish is it? For factory workers in Venezuela, translations into Spanish as spoken in Argentina may be acceptable, but a Venezuelan translation would be optimal. Speak to your audience, and write for your audience, not just in their own language, but in their own idiom.
Know your clientele’s customs and habits: You wouldn’t try to sell a product in a market where no one wants to buy it. Market research tells you who wants what you’ve got. The same research can tell you how to talk to them, including their preferred language. Remember that in some foreign markets, there are two or three (or more) languages with significant influence. And remember, too, that different foreign markets prefer different types and amounts of text. Before you translate, make sure your source text is adapted for them.
Know your limits: we’ve said this before, and will happily say it again – better to translate into one language that will serve your business well, than into ten languages that may not bring in a respectable ROI. Do they love your product in Germany, and maybe like it in France, Italy and Belgium? Start with German, and build up later!
