Export Effective Global Communications

Effective Global Communication, ExportTech, Dec 3rd, 2009
EffectiveGlobalCommunications:
PlanningforLanguage&CultureDifferences
Presentedby
MyriamSiftar,MTMLinguaSoft
December3,2009
Enabling Business Growth in Any Language

MTM LinguaSoft, © 2009 www.mtmlinguasoft.com
Agenda
1. Facts
2. 4BasicRules
3. Writingfortranslation
4. Designingformultilingualcontent
5. Getsupportfromprofessionals

Top10spokenlanguages
Approximate number
Language of speakers
1. Chinese (Mandarin) 845 million
2. Spanish 329 million
3. English 328 million
4. Arabic 221 million
5. Hindi 182 million
6. Bengali 181 million
7. Portuguese 178 million
8. Russian 144 million
9. Japanese 122 million
10. German 90.3 million
Source: Ethnologue, 16th Ed, 2009, www.ethnologue.com

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language, www.mtmlinguasoft.com,

MTM LinguaSoft, © 2009
Top10languagesontheWeb
Source: http://www.internetworldstats.com (as of 6/30/2009)

GrowthinWebUsage
Source: http://www.internetworldstats.com

Speakyourcustomers’ language
“50.4%ofwebusersspeakanativelanguageotherthanEnglish.”
—GlobalReach
“92%oftheworld’spopulationspeakalanguageotherthanEnglish.”
—ForresterResearch
“SitestickinessisdoubledwhenawebsiteistranslatedͲ visitorsstayfortwiceas
long.”
—ForresterResearch
“Mostpeopleprefertobuyintheirownlanguage,andthemajorityof
peopleinsomecountrieswillpaymoreforaproductwithinformation
intheirownlanguage.”
—CommonSenseAdvisory


InternationalBusinessBlunders
Communicationerrorscomefrom
•CulturalInsensitivity
Appliesto:
•Carelessness
•Website
•Ambiguity
•Branding/Advertising
•Idioms
•Brochures
•Technicaldocumentation
•Emailand
• Verbalcommunication

From: Israeli Journalists
To: Dutch Foreign Ministry
Subject: Visit of Foreign Minister

Helloh bud, enclosed five of the
questions in honor of the foreign
minister: The mother your visit in
Israel is a sleep to the favor or to the
bed your mind on the conflict are
Israeli Palestinian.



4BasicRules
1. Communicateinthelanguageofyour
market(ortryto)
• Learnalittleofthelanguage
• Hirelanguageservicesprovider
2. Doyourhomework:beawareoftheculture
andhistory
• Doingbusinessandcultureareintertwined
• Readinternationalnews

4BasicRules(cont.)
3. Listenandobserve
• “Whenyou’retalking,you’reselling,whenthey’retalking,
they’rebuying”
4. Donotoffend
• Don’timposeyourstyleandvalues
• Earntherespectofthelocals

Changeyour“culturallenses”


CulturalAwareness
Awarenessofyourownculture
• AvoidAmericanstereotypesandidioms
• AvoidsportsͲrelatedmetaphors
• Becarefulwithmetaphors,jokes,jargons

CulturalAwareness
• Whatmatters
• Interactionstyle
• Timemanagement
• Negotiationstyle
• Socialexpectations/privacy
• Decisionmakingstyle
• Businessmeetingconduct
• Traditions/holidays
• Family/workbalance

CulturalAwareness
Highcontextvs.lowcontext
Hofstede culturaldimensions:
• Powerdistanceindex
• Individualism/collective
• Masculinity/Feminine
• Uncertaintyavoidance
• LongͲtermorientation


CulturalAwareness
LatinAmerica
• HighContext
• Moreemphasisoncommunity
• Traditionalmasculine/feminineroles
• Uncertaintyavoidance
• Importanceofhistoryandtradition

WritingforTranslation
AuthoringinEnglish
• Writewell,butkeepthetoneinformalratherthanstiff
• Removeambiguity:considerstyle,grammar,punctuation
• Verifyculturalsensitivity:checkjokes,jargons,idioms
• LearnmoreaboutSimplifiedEnglish

Preparingyourcontentfortranslation
• Implementaglossaryandastyleguidethatwillpromote
consistencyandculturalneutrality
• Listallacronyms,abbreviations,technicalterms,product
names,corporatetermsandotherwordsnottobe
translated.
• Minimizetextcontainedingraphics


ThinkSimplifiedEnglish
Basicprincipleistoreduceambiguity:
• Eachwordhasonlyonemeaning
• Eachwordisonlyonepartofspeech
• Eachwordmustbefunctional
• Themeaningofawordshouldnolongerbederivedfromthe
context.
Resources:
InternationalTechnicalCommunicationbyNancyHoft,JohnWiley&Sons,1995
SocietyforTechnicalCommunication,www.stc.org
MTM’s whitepapers

SimplifiedEnglish– example
• Exampleofarandomsentence:
Withthecoverremoved,tightenthescrewusinganAllenkeywhileholdingthe
nutwithaspannerbeforereplacingthecover.
• Exampleofabettersyntax:
Whilethecoverisnotfitted,tightenthescrewusinganAllenkeywhileholding
thenutwithaspanner.Refitthecover.
• Exampleofabettersyntaxandclearerstyle:
– Removethecover
– UseaspannertoholdthenutandtightenthescrewusinganAllenkey
– Refitthecover.

DesigningforTranslation
ChoiceofFonts
• Notallfontscanhandleothercharactersets
• Culturalpreferencesmayexistastofontstylessuchasboldand
italics
Expansionrule
• English=>FR,DE,IT,SP:+20Ͳ30%morewords
Graphics
• Culturalsensitivityimpactsspacing,colors,layout
• Technicaladaptationrequired


LanguageServicesOptions
InͲhousetranslationandITteam
+ Accessibility,companyknowledge,reliability
Ͳ Fixedoverheadcosts,longͲtermcommitment
Freelancers
+ Lowerprices
Ͳ Increasedrisksduetolackofsupportandbackup
Languageservicesprovider
+ Variablecosts,limitedrisks,convenienceandsimplicity
Ͳ None

Getsupportfromprofessionals
Look for language and technology expertise
x “Transcreation”
9 mixoftranslationexcellenceandculturalawareness
9 websitedevelopmentexpertise
x Appropriateuseoftranslation/languageͲrelated
technology&tools
9 translationmemoryandterminologytools
9 multilingualdesktoppublishing
9 multilingualwebͲdevelopmentenvironment
x Projectmanagementexpertise
Effectiveglobalcommunication
Thankyou– MerciͲ Gracias– Danke – Grazie– Obrigado

–
΍ήϜη
␭㐔㡸 ᵄ㇠䚌㐡㐐㝘
޽ࠅ߇ߣ߁
Contact:MyriamSiftar,siftar@mtmlinguasoft.com
215Ͳ729Ͳ6765


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Effective Global Communication, ExportTech, Dec 3rd, 2009

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language

Source: Ethnologue, 16th Ed, 2009, www.ethnologue.com

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language, www.mtmlinguasoft.com,

Source: http://www.internetworldstats.com (as of 6/30/2009)

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language, www.mtmlinguasoft.com,

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language

From: Israeli Journalists

To: Dutch Foreign Ministry

Subject: Visit of Foreign Minister

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language, www.mtmlinguasoft.com,

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language, www.mtmlinguasoft.com,

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language, www.mtmlinguasoft.com,

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language, www.mtmlinguasoft.com,

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language, www.mtmlinguasoft.com,

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language

Thankyou– MerciͲ Gracias– Danke – Grazie– Obrigado

Enabling Business Growth in Any Language, www.mtmlinguasoft.com,

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Thankyou– MerciͲ Gracias– Danke – Grazie– Obrigado