What are the requirements for successful translations? Accuracy and quality assurance? Sure! Subject matter expertise? Definitely! What else?! One integral part of any translation or localization process is cultural sensitivity.
Translation services go beyond mere linguistic accuracy and the conveyance of words from one language to another. It is crucial to take into account the target audiences’ cultural norms and understand how they will interact with the translated materials.
Whether it is legal documents, marketing materials, or technical manuals, cultural sensitivity in business translation helps transmit the original message in a more natural-sounding way. What is acceptable in one language is not acceptable in another, and the “one size fits all” concept will cause your business dire consequences if followed.
To approach global audiences, you need to adapt your content to be culturally sensitive, meaning to be acceptable and appreciated in target regions.
In this blog post, we will put a spotlight on cultural sensitivity meaning, its importance, and provide you with key tips to make sure that your translations resonate with intended audiences.
Let’s jump right into it!
What Is Cultural Sensitivity?
The interculturally sensitive approach involves understanding the target audience’s culture, context, habits, and interactions. By translating with cultural sensitivity in mind, you can ensure that your message resonates with your target audiences’ cultures and expectations.
This does not stop at adapting written text only but also all the other elements from colors, images, and videos, to currencies, dates, and layouts.
Using word-for-word translation will do nothing but cause many possible repercussions such as damaging your business reputation, financial losses, and losing your credibility and customers’ trust. Localization and transcreation services are always highly needed to make content accessible and have a local touch while keeping the original brand message intact.
Over the years, we have seen many cultural insensitivity examples. Numerous international brands got lost in translation because they neglected the cultural understanding of target markets.
One example is Pepsi’s slogan “Pepsi Brings you Back to Life” which was translated into Chinese as “Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back from the Grave.” Pepsi soon realized the mistake which was about to make them lose their reputation and credibility in the Chinese markets.
What Are the Benefits of Cultural Appropriateness?
Although there is a significant number of people worldwide who speak and understand English, a study by CSA Research has found that 72.4% of consumers prefer to buy products with information in their native languages.
Thus, to expand globally and reach out to new customers, you need to adapt your content to be appealing to the cultural preferences of your target audience.
Here are some of the numerous benefits of Culturally appropriate translations:
Enlarging Your Customer Base
Your target customers need to feel appreciated and respected. By translating your content to be culturally sensitive, you will be able to win their trust and loyalty. Adopting the culturally sensitive approach enables you to convey your original brand message in a way that aligns with the target audience’s cultural nuances, context, and preferences.
This will help you break into new global markets successfully, extending your customer base and taking your business to an international stage.
Building Credibility and Trust
When KFC first opened its stores in China, they translated the slogan “finger-lickin’ good” into “eat your fingers off”. This inadvertently confused Chinese customers. However, soon the company corrected the mistake when they noticed poor sales results.
Therefore, before proceeding with translating your business message, make sure that cultural adaptation is seriously applied to avoid any undesired consequences. When you not only convey your brand meaning precisely but also make it appealing to the lifestyles and cultural norms of your new audiences, you can build your brand credibility and earn the trust of your customers.
Winning a Competitive Edge
Today’s interconnected and globalized world has inspired businesses worldwide to penetrate new market horizons. To survive and stay ahead of the curve, you should go the extra mile to win the hearts of your target customers. This cannot be achieved without translating your content to be culturally acceptable.
For instance, Coca-Cola’s website is available in multiple languages including the most spoken languages in the world. The company adjusts not only texts but all the visual elements such as images to fit the customs of each region.
Complying with Legal and Regulatory Rules
Mistranslations may lead to many unwanted results, especially in the legal and medical fields. A misinterpreted medical context may threaten people’s lives and errors in legal documents such as contracts can cause people to lose their rights.
Cultural awareness and sensitivity include more than adjusting content to resonate with cultures, it also adapts content to meet the legal and regulatory requirements of target regions.
Best Strategies for Adopting a Culturally Sensitive Approach in Translation
A study by Harvard Business Review has revealed that 56.2% of consumers said that reading product information in their own languages is more important than price. Hence, adjusting your business content to be culturally appropriate is no longer an optional extra, it is a necessity to engage successfully with global customers.
If you aspire to make your content ready for new markets, do not miss the following key tips in translation:
Study Your Target Audience
People differ in their habits, beliefs, and expectations. What sounds acceptable for your local audience will not be the same in your target regions. So, study your audiences well to be able to know the cultural aspects that need to be addressed while translating your content. Your research and localization efforts will pay off once you see the high quality and impact of your customers’ interactions.
Collaborate With Professional Translators
Hiring a professional language service provider or experienced translators is a prerequisite to getting successful localization and translation services. When translators are well-versed in the nuances of both the target and source languages and have an in-depth knowledge of the target audience, they can transfer your message authentically.
Use Localization and Transcreation
Venturing into new marketplaces requires some flexibility in adapting and translating your content. This is called localization or transcreation. While localization adapts your content to be interculturally sensitive and locally relevant, transcreation aims to create an emotional connection and engage the target audience by adapting creative content, such as slogans, taglines, or marketing campaigns.
Consult Local Experts
To make your content more relatable for target audiences, you have to involve local experts such as market analysts and cultural consultants. Their insights will help you shape an idea about target markets’ trends, cultural nuances, humour, and idioms and avoid any translation pitfalls that may ruin your presence in target markets.
The Main Takeaway
Cultural awareness or understanding is not just a nice-to-have, but a crucial aspect of effective communication and successful interactions in our increasingly globalized world. It allows us to respect different perspectives and enables businesses to thrive in foreign markets.
Choose Afrolingo for top-notch document translation services that go beyond words. Our team of expert linguists and cultural consultants are dedicated to bridging the gap between languages and cultures, ensuring that your message resonates with your global audience most authentically and respectfully.
FAQs
What Are the Main Challenges of Cultural Appropriateness?
The main challenges of cultural appropriateness include:
- Understanding and respecting different cultural values
- Avoiding stereotypes and generalizations
- Recognizing power dynamics
- Appropriating sacred or significant symbols
- Engaging in cultural exchange rather than appropriation
- Promoting diversity and inclusivity
What Are the Consequences of Ignoring or Disregarding Cultural Nuances?
Ignoring or disregarding cultural nuances can have several negative consequences:
- Offending individuals or communities
- Reinforcing stereotypes and prejudices
- Misinterpreting messages or intentions
- Ineffective communication
- Losing business opportunities
What Is the Difference Between Localization and Transcreation?
In localization, we adapt content for a specific market, taking into account cultural and linguistic aspects. Transcreation is a subset of localization that focuses on recreating content while maintaining its intent and style.
Localization adapts various elements, while transcreation focuses on evoking the same impact. Moreover, localization aims for accessibility, and transcreation aims to maintain creativity.
