Translation for International Trade
It is estimated that there are 615 million internet users in 2004 (and rising daily), where around 38% (projected to fall to around 30%) are English language users.
If your website is currently only in English, consider translating your website to take advantage of the huge online market in other important world languages. The German, French, Spanish and Japanese language online markets are particularly lucrative, and studies show that visitors to a website:
are 300% more likely to buy from a site if it is in their own language
are 500% more likely to read to the bottom of the page if it is in their mother tongue
World ecommerce statistics show that non-English surfers are spending more and more. We now live in a global marketplace and those companies that open the door to international trade will prosper.
We can offer translation services to help you reach global markets, or any other business or personal translation requirements.
Translation Services
Languages
General translation
Multiple-language Site Management
Confidential Services
Sworn Translation (for selected languages)
Technical and Specialist Translation
Multilingual Desktop Publishing
Literary translation
Document Translation
Levels of Translation for Documents
Documents formats we can translate
Document formatting for printing
Computer Translations v Human Translations
Translation Software
Human Translators
Research before you choose a Language (or target country)
Web Page Content Statistics
World ecommerce Growth Projections
8 Tips to Help you Decide
Translation Services
Languages
Of an estimated 313 billion web pages (according to statistics) 68.4% of the content is written in English, 5.9% in Japanese, 5.8% in German, Chinese 3.9%, French 3.0%, Spanish 2.4%, Russian 1.9%, Italian 1.6%, Portuguese 1.4%, Korean 1.3%, Other languages 4.6%.
We offer translation in over 120 languages. See list
General Translation
Whether you need translation of a brochure, business card, newsletter, sign or anything that is written in one language and needs to be in another – we can help. Simply contact us with your requirement.
Multiple-language Site Management
Multiple-language site management is easy, with our client WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) control panel, providing the business platform to enable organizations to take control of their website, intranet and ebusiness facilities.
Creating and adapting single and multiple-language content is a simple and intuitive task. Users can manage all site content; architecture, text, images, movies and other files, as and when required. Web content updates can be carried out at any time, in real time.
Our system is server-based, so no specialized software is required, and you can manage your websites from anywhere in the world where you can access the internet and Internet Explorer. Contact us with your requirements.
Confidential Services
When you want translations of business or personal material of a deeply confidential nature, you need to know that you can trust your translator not to show or discuss your private business with anybody.
All our work is undertaken by legally binding non-disclosure agreements (see a sample agreement). Our priority is your confidence and security. We take your privacy as seriously as we take the quality of your translations. Read our privacy policy
Sworn Translation (for selected languages)
A sworn translation is a legal document translated into a language so that it the same legal validity of the original. For example, an individual seeking residency in a new country will probably have to supply sworn translations of all their documents of identification; birth and marriage certificates, vaccination certificates, passport, etc. A sworn translation gives a translated document
Legal systems differ from one country to another. However, there are two basic standards for sworn translations:
- In "Common law" countries (principally the United Kingdom, most of the USA, Ireland, and some former British colonies), the translator must have a formal qualification in translation and be able to affirm and prove this in writing.
- In the case of "Civil law" countries (Continental Europe and much of the rest of the world), the translator must not only be qualified but also registered in the relevant country or court as a sworn translator.
We can provide sworn translations in many languages either for use in Common Law or Civil Law countries. Please contact us with your requirements.
Technical and Specialist Translation
Texts dealing with engineering, medicine or any specialist field need translators with knowledge of a specialised vocabulary to ensure that the reader will understand the translated text.
We understand the importance of the accuracy of technical or specialised texts. If you need a translator with a background in your field, contact us to discuss your project.
Multilingual Desktop Publishing
If you want a brochure, manual or other document translated for distribution, we can translate the text and design work for you to a final printable version on CD, ready for end publishing or printing.
We can work with your source files in most DTP formats and on both Mac and PC platforms.
Literary translation
Translating creative writing, whether prose or poetry, requires special skills. The translator must be able to translate the literal meaning of the words with accuracy and precision, and retain the validity of metaphors, recreate verse and parsing and capture the spirit of the original text.
Translating your work so that your foreign language readers will understand the message, tone and subtleties (and not just the words) is very important.
Document Translation
We can translate your documents into and out of over 120 languages (see list).
We only use mother-tongue translators to maintain cultural references and ensure linguistic adaptation of a product or service to suit local usage and culture for your target market.
For documents which share common text or which have been partially amended, we can set up a translation memory database to help you achieve savings of up to 70%.
Levels of Translation for Documents
There may be times when a full translation is not required. You may have non-technical documents you want translated to give you an overall understanding (the gist) of the text, rather than an exact translation which you may want to use for publication or presentation.
When you have decided whether you want ‘the gist translation’ or ‘the exact translation’, simply contact us and tell us what you want.
Documents formats we can translate
We can work with most word processing and graphics formats, as well as sound and video files and on the source code of HTML, PHP, C++, Basic and more. We have both Macintosh and PC systems and a wide range of software. Contact us and see what we can do for you.
Document formatting for printing
If you require document formatting for printing, we can do it for you. Just tell us what you want when you contact us.
Computer Translations v Human Translations
Translation software may be useful for words or phrases, or a specialized translator, but it can never replace the human translator.
Translation Software
There are free translation services (programs) available on the internet, and many translation products for sale, but however clever or expensive translation programs may be, they have limitations, and often produce a meaningless jumble of unrelated words and phrases.
The meaning of the original passage is lost in the translation. Experience this for yourself here
Translation software packages cannot perform accurate contextual translation, nor deal with the constantly changing nature of a living language. Legal, scientific and specialized phrases and terms are a particularly problematic area for translation programs, but they also often have difficulty with simple homonyms and synonyms.
Human Translators
Professional, certified, live translators work with living languages on a contextual level, rather than a literal one. This means that the source text is preserved, and the true meaning is translated.
Research before you choose a Language (or target country)
Check out the statistics, trends and projections for the potential market for your products or services, before you decide which language users you want to target. Basic research will show you whether or not you are on the right track. You should look for the number of internet users for the language you want to choose, and what percentage of the world users that represents, and also look for:
- Projected online spending for the chosen language
- Requests for translations via English search engines
- World Ecommerce Growth Projections and Online Language Use Projections for 2004 – 2005
For your information, you can link to some of these statistics below, but your final choice will depend on many factors, including those listed in our Tips to help you decide (below).
Web Page Content Statistics
See a list of the top 30 native languages that represent nearly 615 million internet users, and what percentage each language holds.
World ecommerce Growth Projections
To see which countries are expanding, and how much they are expected to grow and spend, take a look at the Statistics on ecommerce growth projections and online language use projections
8 Tips to Help you Decide
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Don’t discard the smaller numbers of internet users in many countries, especially if you have people within your company that are fluent in a particular language. Even if those countries aren’t listed as the biggest spenders, they may be the easiest to target and provide you with a good return on investment.
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To handle customer service, you will need someone who is proficient in the target language, or hire an "on call" online translator or international marketing agency that provides a translation service.
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Take one step at a time, and translate a "test" product or service to see there is a valid market, to minimise your costs.
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Test your service in the target country to identify hidden bureaucracy or other obstacles that might bring your systems to a halt.
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If you are selling a physical product, investigate shipping costs, distribution facilities and timelines for your intended destination country. Such add-on costs may make your product too expensive for buyers, unless you can find in-country solutions to reduce costs.
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Never assume that other countries do business in the same way as you, and don't take anything for granted when working in a foreign market. Even symbols or graphics have different meanings in different countries.
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Find a legal expert from the target country, or your own legal counsel, to ensure you won't run into unknown legal problems
We can do it for you
We understand the importance of accurate and professional translations. Even if the language or target country you choose is not on our list of over 120 languages, we will try to source a qualified native speaking translator for you.
Simply contact us, or ask for a free quotation (no obligation)
