Challenges in translating for International Market Research campaigns
by Lingo24, 3rd July, 2006
This article is meant as a guide to some of the specific challenges in the area of International Market Research campaigns, and present ways in which professional translation companies can help overcome them.
Are you an Online Panel Manager, Research manager, Service Delivery Director or perhaps an Account Manager within a Market Research company? Do you work with groups spread across multiple markets in Europe, The Middle East and Asia? This article is for you! As marketers attempt to better understand and serve the needs of the global consumer, they face a culturally diverse population. When conducting research with different cultural groups, it is necessary to utilize culturally and linguistically appropriate instruments to measure various concepts. Obtain translations from professional translators with native fluency and experience living in the target country or region. Any serious translation company should be able to cover your translation needs for 50+ languages, having translators on the ground in your target markets. Make sure that your translators understand your message and any jargon that is included. By briefly explaining your message/research campaign to the translation company thoroughly, they will be able to be as accurate as possible. International projects can often bring up issues that do not apply to domestic research. A translation company can offer advice at the stage of questionnaire design and emphasize any potential problems that may not have been previously considered. The translation company can also check whether different terms/product names are not appropriate for your target audience. A translation company will usually offer a “negative check” service to make sure that product names/other words used in the research are agreeable and mean what they are supposed to mean. Thus - expanding upon the translation services – a TSP (Translation services provider) can be your trusted international business partner and cultural adviser. The company can and should have meaningful feedback concerning the effectiveness of the message. Are the questions you asked in the initial English copy of the Research paper right for the target market? (Certain questions can be offensive for different cultures – especially in the Middle East and South-East Asia, when asked from a European perspective). If there is an existing questionnaire, then there are two major approaches that can be followed. The first approach is to adopt the instrument to the target language and the second is to adapt the instrument to the target language. 1) Adoption calls for the direct translation of the data collection instrument from the source language to the target language without regard to linguistic and cultural subtleties that impact the intended meaning of the question. This is obviously not the right move to do while working with diverse cultural groups! 2) Adaptation uses the existing questionnaire as the basis, but allows for components of the survey question to be modified or altered (independent of changes made as a result of the translation) in order to make the survey question suitable for fielding in the target language. Adaptation acknowledges and accounts for semantic, conceptual and other differences that exist across languages. Do NOT think that just because different people in your company can speak a few languages they can also appropriately and correctly communicate in the target language. Try to avoid mechanized translations such as those that instantly translate Internet sites and/or phrases on-line. They are a free service and free things usually come at a huge cost! This time the cost is the quality of the translation and thus of the survey you were commissioned to do! Machine translations are literal translations and they do not flow naturally in the target language. As many people have learnt, unfortunately: translations can be costly, but mistakes and inconveniences caused from mistranslations can be far more expensive. If this article opened your appetite for more information and insight into languages and doing market research at a Global level, feel free to contact Lingo24 or any similar high-quality organization. Bibliography: http://www.census.gov/srd/papers/pdf/rsm2005-06.pdfWhy should you use a translation company?
Single point of contact
Cultural awareness and international expertise
What you should avoid when doing International Market Research
Conclusion
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