Translation – Copywriting Services in Singapore

Being Bilingual: Bilingualism and Biculturalism

Many people who speak more than one language are monocultural in their background.

Identity Politics
It’s natural for everyone to have some idea of ‘who they are’. This self-identity draws on many aspects of our lives: Our interests, talents, friends and relationships, and our family background. We often fool ourselves into thinking that we are in control of our own self-image, but the fact is that image is shaped by many factors beyond our control.

For bicultural people, it is often difficult to maintain a dual identity if they are immersed as a native in one culture – they often feel like they don’t truly belong to either. It’s almost as if cultural background was like a sports team, and you can’t root for two teams in the same game!

The most common way to deal with this is to simply choose a side. Bicultural bilinguals often choose a ‘dominant’ culture to identify with, and often spend many years of their lives denying there is a any conflict at all. You see many examples of the children of immigrants rejecting their parents’ cultural background in favor of their adopted country’s. It is a simplifying process, and also a defensive process when you are already perceived as an ‘Other’ in your new home.

With Age, Wisdom
But even for bilinguals without such concerns it is quite common to deny biculturalism. We humans appear to be hardwired to choose a side in all things, and often accepting biculturalism is a product of age and maturity – which makes sense, as youth is often a time of turmoil and personality formation. Over time, bicultural people usually come to realize the potential power of their dual background, and to embrace it.

It helps, of course, that as you grow older you usually establish your own place in the world and rely less and less on the trappings of exterior traits such as nationality or even dominant language. In other words, as your community comes to appreciate you as a person, it is easier for you to admit your own background and skills.

As has been noted many times elsewhere, bicultural bilinguals are a valuable resource, as they are natives in both cultures and form an amazing bridge between them. As they struggle with their identity, we should encourage and protect them, as we would any natural resource.

Is translation optional? Not if you’re determined to succeed.

If you want your business to grow, you need to speak the client’s language. Hmm… sounds pretty obvious isn’t it? Most of us are aware that translation is critical for any company that does business across borders or within its own domestic multicultural community.

But apparently this alone doesn’t seem to constitute a sufficient motive for companies to truly invest in professional translation services. Why is that so? According to our experience, the following could be some of the underlying reasons.

First, budget reduction. Companies tend to assign the translation work to a staff member, who is already being paid anyway, so that they can save costs by not engaging external service providers. Second, confidentiality. By translating the content in-house, it is assumed that there will be no risk of information leakage.

Are these reasons as valid as they sound?

One recent study sheds light on this topic. Researcher Jukka-Pekka Peltonen concluded that a large bulk of translation work was done by in-house employees, and translation was not part of their job scope. Thus, the employees felt upset and taken for granted when they were tasked to carry out extra work. Also, since the employees did not receive any professional training, the quality of the translation may not be up to standard, and additional workload in the form of repeated revisions may even impede their performance in other tasks assigned to them.

What’s more, when the employees were unsure of the translation for certain terms and terminologies, they resorted to various means to find out the appropriate expressions from their colleagues or friends who were familiar with the area in question, leading to a breach of the confidentiality that was supposed to be protected.

So, it is really up to the companies to devise their best strategies after weighing the relevant costs and benefits.

As a side note, if you are still having doubts about how a professional translation agency can bring benefits to your business, just bear this in mind: professional translation done by translation companies allows you to protect and enhance your global reputation. Only when you are able to convey your messages clearly and effectively to different groups of target customers, then can your business prosper in the global market.

After all, accuracy makes all the difference, as translation with quality is definitely not something everyone can do on the spur of the moment. What about machines? Will they replace human translation someday? No, not even close. Even with today’s technology, machine translation is still miles away from producing an acceptable quality of translation, as the intricacies of language are still beyond the ability of talented programmers to imitate.

Translation Device iLi

Upcoming translation device ili is taking the world by storm as its advertising video has made its rounds on the internet and going viral! Boasting the capability for instant translation, ili promises intuitive user interface that allows you to use the device as if you’re directly communicating with the other person! Impressive ain’t it?

Targeting mostly travelers, ili is loaded with a library of phrases that are commonly used by travellers, minimising translation errors. The library also includes words associated with places and latest trends for a seamless communication experience. The best part is that, no internet connection is needed to use this device, making it all a whole lot easier when travelling.
There have been many debates regarding ili on whether it will work as well as it claims or if it is just another overhyped device or if it turns out to be a pleasant surprise for us all! What do you think? Share with us your thoughts on it!

Transcreation: More than just marketing translation

If you’re a marketing professional, you understand the importance of translating your company’s global message.

As you globalise, words may take on new meaning, images may have different implications and colors may suggest other emotions. During translation, you’re faced with the possibility of losing your marketing message by having it translated into a completely new language. Accuracy and clarity are probably just a couple of concerns that come to mind.

Yet you also need to remain consistent to your company’s message. Take, for example, the vocabulary you use to describe your services or the colors of your company brand. When you imagine two of the world’s largest global brands, Facebook and Coca-Cola, you probably think of the words “share,” “like” and “post” or envision a red and white cursive logo. This is the kind of brand awareness that all companies strive for because, much like familiar faces, we as humans gravitate towards recognisable images. The more consistent you are, the more likely your message is going to stick with your audience.

Language expertise does not necessarily mean marketing expertise

To complement these marketing translation needs, it is essential that a skilled copywriter or an experienced marketing linguist who is familiar with the creativity of marketing, advertising and media copy is assigned to translate your project. This will help ensure your linguistic style of brand positioning is still apparent in your message when translated into a new language.

Just like you wouldn’t have your financial group or engineering team create your marketing briefs or corporate content, you wouldn’t want an inexperienced linguist working on your marketing translations. Having a linguist who understands marketing factors, such as tone of voice and corporate branding, will make your marketing translations more impactful in your target language.

Taking marketing creativity one step further

But what if you are looking to foster a completely new creative concept within a different language? While marketing translations can help you express your marketing content in a different language, they might not hold the same creative style needed to “wow” your audience in another country. As you can imagine, this requires something more than just translation – it’s known as transcreation.

During transcreation, experienced copywriters or marketing linguists are assigned to your project and work very closely with you to develop your localised marketing campaign. It is their job to further understand how your message works within the source language and redefine this message with similar appeal in your target language. Similar to translation, they render these new ideas while considering the effects of in-country sensitivities, such as customs, regulations and cultural differences.

Since transcreation is a more in-depth procedure, it does expand translation timelines and may initially cost more than a basic translate-edit-proof service, yet companies may choose to adopt this process if they want to transform their creative message for a new target audience. Transcreation is also beneficial for companies that wish to test out their marketing within a new country without having to hire an entire marketing team to develop their marketing strategy.

Google Translate Bugs

Hearing how much of a help machine translations are, is no longer a foreign thing to many of us now. Living in a world where we are often seeking things to be done quickly and easily, it is not a surprise that many of us are relying on the likes of Google, Bing and Yahoo translators. Online and machine translations do have their own benefits and they work at times but of course, there will be times where you cannot trust the translations produced by these applications online.

As an example, I have typed “I fell from the tree and it hurts” onto Google translate and the Malay translated texts produced were “I jatuh dari pokok itu dan ia menyakitkan”. In this simple and short sentence, not only were there grammatical errors but the system has failed to translate the word ‘I’ into Malay! In instances like these, the end user has to be alert of such errors and make the sound decision to not put his full trust and faith onto online translation applications.

This is the reason why many professional translators push for human translation instead of machine. With the presence of human beings working on the copies, these professional and trained translators are able to fully understand the content better than a machine would. In addition, they are also able to sift out other aspects such as nuances and emotions portrayed and would translate accordingly, something a machine translator is unable to perform.

Personally, we wouldn’t recommend machine translations but in cases you need to use them, be sure to double, if not triple check before using the translated texts for submission!

Ignorance

When it comes to copywriting, it boils down to more than just writing. Sure, copywriters often let their creativity flow and take in other aspects of the copy such as the design and pictures that accompany the copy. However, it is extremely crucial to let ignorance slide away. If the copywriter is unaware of the potential flaws that may emerge once translated, a brilliant copy can potentially be the worst copy ever. It is always useful to double check such details with the copywriter. Check out what happened when you don’t!

Continue reading “Ignorance”

Free online translation sites. Good or bad?

With various free translation sites such as Google Translate, Yahoo translate, Bing and many others, many are turning to these services online when it comes to translation. While we can all agree that it is readily available and not to mention, free, however, we strongly believe that one should not be too dependent on such sites.

Continue reading “Free online translation sites. Good or bad?”

Why the need for translations?

Wouldn’t it be amazing for one to understand what is being said no matter what his or her language proficiency is?

This is the very reason why translations are very much needed today especially in the growing industry. With globalization becoming more prominent, the need to understand one another from all over the world is crucial and this is when translations come in.

With such great demand, the rise in translation companies can also be seen; providing us with numerous choices to bridge the communication gap amongst one another.

Though we are exposed with various choices, it is important to note that we select only the best and reliable translations company. This is to ensure that in our eagerness to bridge the communication gap with one another, we do it the right way to get the maximum results.

Here at copywritingservices, we are able to fulfill that promise in offering only the best to our clients. Like we mentioned, we really do turn ideas into reality and transform words into something more and beyond!

Differences between Translation, Copywriting and Transcreation?

Scratching your head to understand the differences between translation, copywriting and transcreation? Here’s a general breakdown of what you need to know:

1) Translation – The process of rendering something into another language

2) Transcreation – The process of rendering something into another language with much focus on intent, style, tone and context. Commonly used in marketing and advertising

3) Copywriting – Style of writing for the purpose of advertising or marketing. Heavily focused on persuasion appeal

It is important to understand the differences as this will help you maximize the services provided by translation companies. Not only that, you want to make sure that you are getting the right kind of help that you need.

Don’t hesitate to drop us an email at sales@copywritingservices.com.sg should you require any help!