In an increasingly borderless world, communicating your global message to local markets is more important than ever. Localisation, and translating marketing collateral, are the biggest challenges facing any company wishing to expand sales outside its domestic market.
The quality of your translated content — whether on your website, or in corporate materials — speaks volumes for your own commitment to quality, and respect for local cultures. It is fundamental that your Brand responds to linguistic differences. The assumption that ‘everyone speaks English’ will, in all probability, end up losing you business.
Unlike more technical translations, when translating marketing collateral, accuracy is secondary to the flow and feeling of the text. We strive to reproduce the style and tone of your message, adapted to the market it is intended for.
Accuracy vs. style
An all-too-common translation pitfall is to slip into what we call ‘translationese’. With some kinds of documentation, generally of a more technical nature, accuracy to the original is essential. However, with marketing collateral, it’s more important to produce a text which reads well, and sounds natural to a native speaker. ‘Translationese’ is when you sacrifice style in order to reproduce the exact, literal meaning of the original text. This approach usually leads to a text which is grammatically correct, but phrased in a way that a native speaker would never use.
For this and other reasons, at Quicksilver we only use translators who are native speakers of the target language. In addition, during the final stage of our review process, we evaluate translations on their own merits; that is, without comparing them to the source text. That is to say, after thoroughly checking for accuracy; we then review, and edit translations to ensure they are phrased appropriately.
In conclusion
Our team of qualified, experienced and specialised translators, combined with our stringent review process, guarantee the highest possible quality of translation, in terms of both accuracy, and appropriateness to a given market.
