Category: Translation

First Africa International Translation Conference

About 100 expert interpreters, translators, language administrations suppliers, consultants, and understudies from 19 nations all assembled at the Azure Hotel, in Nairobi on February 18th and 19th for the first Africa International Translation Conference. We assembled from essentially every edge of the globe – from the United States to Brazil, from the Ivory Coast to Tanzania, and from the Netherlands to Poland, Slovenia, Romania, the Czech Republic and some more. We gathered, shook hands, associated, and shared assets and skills. It was an encounter of a lifetime.

3 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETATION IN AFRICA

Concurrent understanding: a developing calling in Africa

The sprouting understanding business sector of the late sixties has bloomed into expert language administrations for some UN, universal, legislative and non-administrative associations, just as private area firms on African soil. These substances need and utilize synchronous translation regularly. African gathering mediators were at first prepared for the most part in English and French, yet today, an ever increasing number of translators are being prepared in Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and even Chinese. In addition, the normal African talks in any event two principle neighborhood dialects smoothly, giving a profoundly adaptable scope of elucidation administrations. This business will be understanding in Africa.

Africa: the ‘new outskirts’ for significant worldwide gatherings

Colossal assembly halls have jumped up in the course of recent years, making Africa one of the ‘go-to’ landmasses for universal gatherings. It’s not amazing Morocco has been decided for the following United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP 22) in the not so distant future. Capital urban communities, for example Dakar (Senegal), Cape Town (South Africa), Kigali (Rwanda), Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) and Malabo (Equatorial Guinea) are quickly rising as appealing gathering goals which hold fast to global translation guidelines. Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), wearing both the ongoing Chinese-manufactured African Union Conference Center and the UNECA Conference Center, additionally routinely plays host to enormous worldwide gatherings.

Reacting to emergency with versatility

Following the Ebola flare-up in 2014, stringent measures were acquainted with limit air and land travel to and from West African nations specifically. The rush of frailty brought about by aggressor Islamist bunch Boko Haram in Nigeria and its encompassing nations additionally implied that various universal gatherings must be dropped or deferred.

AIIC staff mediators meet in Africa

Without precedent for its history, the AIIC Staff Interpreters’ Committee held its yearly gathering on the African landmass. In the month of September, 2011, heavenly has at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda respected a huge gathering of staff and independent translators, including delegates from more than ten associations, to two days of gainful gatherings in Arusha, Tanzania. The topic of the current year’s session was preparing.. An aggregate of 72 translators have worked at the court with 29 still dynamic at the hour of the gathering. By and large, 18 of the council’s translators are AIIC individuals. Consultants are enlisted just once in a while. Mediators work principally into their A language, in spite of the fact that the Kinyarwanda translators likewise give retour into French. Perceiving the job and significance of preparing when building the deciphering administration, the ICTR enlisted principally Africa-based mediators who had gone to the best translation schools. Work openings were additionally offered to African language speakers, who got nine months of preparing from their partners. Presently in the last period of its work, the council is unwinding its business and, as the quantity of cases decreases, our associates in Arusha are as of now getting ready for the following parts of their professions.

How to say “hello” in Sundry African languages per country

A greeting is time and again the initial point of call for human communication, and should be the first phrase you learn from any foreign language. Opening a conversation with a greeting is polite and shows willingness to communicate. Communicating can be difficult in Africa, a continent with over 1500 and 2000 African languages. However, don’t be nervous about saying “hello” as the effort will usually be appreciated even if you don’t get it quite right! A few words or phrases go a long way, and the best place to start is at the beginning with “hello.” In this article, we look at some of the greetings used across the African continent, organized by country to make the list easy to navigate. Most African nations employ countless different greetings, with each one representing a different race, people or tribe.

Learning how to greet others in many languages is both rewarding and fun, so here’s a handy list of how to say “hello” in sundry African languages per country; some of which may be repeated from one country to the next. However, where multiple languages are spoken, only the official or most prominent language is included:

Check-out how to say “Hello” In…

Algeria

Arabic: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)

Berber/Tamazight: Azul (Hello), sbah Lkhir (Good morning), ms lkhir (Good afternoon), ms lkhir (Good evening)

French: Bonjour (Hello)

Angola

Portuguese: Olá (Hello), Bom dia (Good morning), Boa tarde (Good afternoon), Boa noite (Good evening)

Umbundu: Wakolapo (Hello to an individual) Wakolipo (Hello to more than one person, Utanya uwa (Good morning), Ekumbi liwa (Good afternoon), Uteke uwa (Good evening), Uteke uwa (Good night)

Kikongo: Mbote na yo (sg) Mbote na bino (pl) Sango nini (Hello), Boyei bolamu (welcome), Mbote (Good morning, Afternoon and Evening)

Benin

French: Bonjour (Hello)

Yoruba: Ẹ n lẹ (Hello), Ẹ ku aarọ (Good morning), Ẹ ku ọsan (Good Afternoon), Ẹ ku alẹ (Good evening)

Fon/Gbe: Bawo Ni (Hello (informal))

Botswana

Setswana: Dumela mma (Hello to a woman), Dumela rra (Hello to a man)

English: Hello

Burkina Faso

French: Bonjour (Hello)

Mossi: Ne y yibeogo! (Good morning)

Dyula: I ni sogoma (Good morning)

Burundi

French: Bonjour (Hello)

Kirundi: Amahoro – peace, widely used as greetins (reply: n’amahoro)

Swahili: Jambo (Hello), Habari (How’s it going?)

Cabo verde

Cape verde creole/ Portuguese: Olá (Hello), Bom dia (good morning), Boa tarde (good afternoon), Boa noite (good evening)

Cameroon

French: Bonjour (Hello)

English: Hello

Central African Republic

French: Bonjour (Hello)

Sangho/ Sango: Balao madame (Hello ma’m), Balao monsieur (Hello sir)

Chad

French: Bonjour (Hello)

Arabic: Salaam wa alekoum. (Peace be with you)

Comoros

Comorian/ Shikomori: Gege (Hello / how are you?)

French: Bonjour (Hello)

Arabic: Salaam wa alekoum. (Peace be with you)

Cote d’Ivoire

French: Bonjour (Hello)

Dioula: I (a) ni sɔgɔmo (Good Morning), I (a) ni woula (Good Afternoon), I (a) ni suu (Good evening)

Democratic Republic of Congo

Lingala: Mbote (Hello)

French: Bonjour (Hello)

Tshiluba: Betu’abu (Hello)

Djibouti

Afar: Assalaamu qaleykum or Nagayna sin amol tanay (Hello)

Arabic: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)

French: Bonjour (Hello)

Somali: Iska warran (Hello)

Egypt

Arabic: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)

Equatorial Guinea

Spanish: Hola. (Hello. /Hi. )

French: Bonjour (Hello)

Fang: M’bole (Hello to one person), M’bolani (Hello to several people)

Portuguese: Olá (Hello), Bom dia (Good morning), Boa tarde (Good afternoon), Boa noite (Good evening)

Eritrea

Tigrigna/Tigrinya: Selam (Hello.)

English: Hello

Ethiopia

Amharic: Teanastëllën (Hello, formal), Tadiyass (Hello, informal)

Gabon

French: Bonjour (Hello)

Fang: M’bole (Hello to one person), M’bolani (Hello to several people)

Gambia

Mandingo/Mandinka: Esama (Good morning), Etinyang (Good afternoon), Ewulara (Good Evening)

Pulaar: No ngoolu daa. (Hello)

English: Hello

Wolof: Na nga def (Hello (sg)), Na ngeen def (Hello (pl))

Ghana

English: Hello

Twi: Maakyé (Good morning), Maaha (Good afternoon), Maadwo (Good evening)

Guinea-bissau

Portuguese: Olá (Hello), Bom dia (Good morning), Boa tarde (Good afternoon), Boa noite (Good evening)

French: Bonjour (Hello)

Guinea

Pulaar: No ngoolu daa. (Hello)

Maninka: I ni sooma (Good morning), I ni wura (Good evening), I ni tele (Good afternoon)

French: Bonjour (Hello)

Kenya

Swahili: Jambo (Hello), Habari (How’s it going?)

English: Hello

Kikuyu: Wĩmwega (Hello), Ngeithi cia rũcinĩ (Good morning), ngeithi cia mũthenya (Good afternoon), ngeithi cia hwainĩ (Good evening)

Luhya: Bushire (Good morning), Keshitare (Good afternoon), Bwakhera (Good evening)

Luo: Misawa/Ber (Hello), Oyawore (Good morning), Oimore (Good evening)

Lesotho

Sesotho: Lumela (Hello to one person), Lumelang (Hello to several people)

English: Hello

Zulu: Sawubona (Hello to an individual), Sanibonani (Hello to more than one person)

Xhosa: Molo (Hello to one person), Molweni (Hello to more than one person)

Liberia

English: Hello

Mende: Bisse (Hello)

Libya

Arabic: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)

Italian: Ciao (Hello), Buongiorno! (Hello; Good morning; Goodbye), Buona sera! (Hello; Good evening; Goodbye)

French: Bonjour (hello, good morning), Bonsoir (good evening)

English: Hello

Madagascar

Malagasy: Salama (Hello), M’bola tsara (Hello)

French: Bonjour (Hello)

Malawi

Chichewa: Moni (Hello)

English: Hello

Mali

French: Bonjour (Hello)

Bambara: I ni ce (Hello)

Mauritania

Arabic: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)

Hassaniya: Aw’walikum (Hello)

Mauritius

Mauritania creole: Bonzur (Hello)

English: Hello

French: Bonjour (Hello)

Hindi: Namasthae (Greetings)

Morocco

Arabic: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)

French: Bonjour (Hello)

Berber: Azul (Hello-informal), Tifawin (Good morning), Timensiwin (Good evening)

Mozambique

Portuguese: Ola (Hello), Bom dia (Good morning), Boa tarde (Good afternoon), Boa noite (Good evening)

Makhuwa: Salaama (Hello)

Namibia

English: Hello

Afrikaans: Hallo (Hello) or Goeie dag (Hello)

Oshiwambo: Mwa lele po (Hello)

German: Hallo (Hello), Guten Morgen (Good morning), Guten Abend (Good evening)

Niger

Fulfulde: Mihofnima (Hello!)

Hausa: Sannu (Hello)

Tamasheq: Wayi wan (Hello)

French: Bonjour (Hello)

Nigeria

English: Hello

Hausa: Sànnu (Hello)

Igbo: Ibaulachi (Hello)

Yoruba: Bawo (Hello)

Fula: Sannuko (Hello), Jam na? (How are you?), Useko (Thank you)

Rwanda

Kinyarwanda: Muraho (Hello)

French: Bonjour (Hello)

English: Hello

Sao Tome and principe

Portuguese: Ola (Hello), Bom dia (Good morning), Boa tarde (Good afternoon), Boa noite (Good evening)

Sãotomense: Seja lovadu! (Hello)

Senegal

French: Bonjour (Hello)

Wolof: Nanga def (How are you?)

Pulaar: No ngoolu daa. (Hello)

Mandinka: I ni sooma (Good morning), I ni wura (Good evening), I ni tele (Good afternoon)

Seychelles

English: Hello

French: Bonjour (Hello)

Seselwa/Seychellois creole: Allo (Hello), Bonzour (Good morning)

Sierra Leone

English: Hello

Krio: Kushe (Hello)

Somalia

Somali: Iska warran (Hello)

Arabic: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)

Oromo: Naqaa? (Hello)

South Africa

Zulu: Sawubona (Hello)

Xhosa: Molo (Hello)

Afrikaans: Hallo (Hello)

English: Hello

Sudan

Arabic: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)

South Sudan

Dinka: Cë yïn bääk (Hello (Singular))

English: Hello

Neur: Malɛ (Hello (singular))

Bari: Madaŋ/Do a purwe/Do a parana (Hello (singular))

Zande: Sene foro (Hello (singular)), Sene fu roni (Hello (Plural))

Swaziland

Swati: Sawubona (Hello)

English: Hello

Tanzania

Swahili: Jambo (Hello), Habari (How’s it going?)

Akamba: Uvoo waku?(how are you? To one person), Uvoo Wenyu? (How are you? To a group of people)

English: Hello

Togo

French: Bonjour (Hello)

Ewe: Alekay (Hello)

Tunisia

French: Bonjour (Hello)

Arabic: As-Salaam-Alaikum (Peace be unto you)

Uganda

Luganda/Ganda: Oli Otya (Hello)

Swahili: Jambo (Hello), Habari (How’s it going?)

English: Hello

Acoli: Itye nining? (Hello)

Zambia

English: Hello

Bemba: Muli shani (How are you?)

Kaonde: Muji byépi? (How are you?)

Lozi: Lumela (Hello (sg)), Mlumeleng (Hello (pl))

Zimbabwe

English: Hello

Shona: Mhoro (Hello (sg)), Mhoroi (Hello (pl))

Ndebele/Sindebele: Sawubona (Hello)

All in all

That’s, how to say “Hello” in sundry African languages per country. Languages are very important for society in communication and expression of individuals. And the diversity of language is truly a fantastic accomplishment and it’s great to explore the vast differences and fascinating similarities in how we greet each other the universal way of starting conversation. It’s insightful to see from the above list how some languages include a selection of different greetings, and how others have concise greetings. All that credits to human creativity.

Why should you opt for video transcription to impact your campaigns the more?

The idea of needing video transcription sometimes baffles marketers and businesses until they realize; after multiple videos or campaigns, exactly how much they could benefit from having them transcribed. Transcriptions are particularly crucial for longer videos, though it’s important for you to consider leveraging them for all of your video content.

What’s the meaning of transcription and video transcription in particular?

Transcription in particular, according to Merriam Webster, is the act of making a written, printed, or typed copy of words that have been spoken while

Video transcription simply refers to the process of translating your video’s audio into text. Video transcription is done with automatic speech recognition technology, human transcriptionists, or a combination of the two.

The different types of transcription

There are three types of transcription known as verbatim, intelligent and edited transcription. Let’s see in details:

Verbatim:

Every single word or mumble that is recorded is transcribed. Such as mmmm…., hmmmm…, I mean…, I know…, and more. Also even the emotions like laughter, excitement, fear, nervousness in voice or body language are all noted when transcribing.

Intelligent:

This is also called “Smart Transcription” known as an accurate transcription for only the words said in the audio or video excluding the mmmm…, hmmmm…, I mean…, I know…, and more.

Edited:

This transcription type is more of a summary and the transcriber omits sentences without changing the sense/meaning of the audio or video.

The type you require, length, context, and specifications of the audio file can affect the time needed and cost to transcribe the audio or video file.

A brief history of transcription

Transcription is one of the oldest, most ancient forms of documentation; a useful, and often necessary, tool put in practice for centuries. Its origins are in the Latin verb for “to transcribe” (transcribere: trans (over)+ scribere (write)). Beyond being an efficient way to keep track of important information, dictation and transcription have helped to promote further understanding in complicated fields such as from medical and legal transcription to business and government transcription. Still widely used today, transcription has a past rooted deep in history. Transcription as a form of documentation began in ancient times. Scribes as early as 3400 BCE would train in hieroglyphics and scripts in order to become employed in ancient Roman and Egyptian times. 100 years later, children would transcribe their ancient languages onto stone tablets. The written language and ancient historical documentation are made possible by transcription and those committed to transcribing (and duplicating) as much information as possible.

16th & 17th century technology

It’s understood that the invention of the printing press in 1439 led to a decline in the need for scribes, and so led to a decline in transcription for a time. However, it was around this time (or soon after, at least) that the modern English language shorthand was developed by a British physician. Formalizing this shorthand set in stone again the transcriptionist’s (or scribes’) specialty field. Scribes in the 17th century were generally used for manuscripts and other types of literature.

Why video transcription is vital for your campaign

Video transcription improves accessibility

The World Health Organization reports that more than 466 million people in the world have disabling hearing loss. Shouldn’t they be able to access and understand your content, too? Video transcription is one of the best ways to involve every individual. When your video is transcribed, you can download the transcription as an .SRT file to add captions that further boost accessibility. Video transcription also makes it easier to translate your video content into other languages, increasing the potential viewers. Users who speak another language can read a transcript in their preferred language instead of watching the video or while following the transcript while the video plays.

Improves user experience and understanding

Although it’s found-out that most consumers would rather watch a video about a product than read about that product, there are still people who would prefer to read. Video transcripts help you capture both types of audiences.

It lets users skim the content before committing to watching the video.

For those who may be in a sound-sensitive environment (and forgot to bring their earbuds), transcription allows them to consume the video’s content without the use of audio. Transcription also lets users skim the content before committing to watching the video. It can also help website visitors find the right video by searching your website or playlist for a keyword used within the video.

Viewers can use a transcript to follow along with a video, potentially increasing retention of your content. (Most transcriptions include some type of timestamp, which helps reader keep up with the video.) Users also may share the transcript along with, or instead of, your video.

Make consuming your video a great experience, and users are more likely to look to you for similar content.

Helps in Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Including a transcript with your video gives search engines another source of data for indexing your content. Using the transcript, search engines like Google can crawl the full text of your audio or video content, potentially increasing your organic search results. Videos also may be ranked higher in YouTube results if they include a full transcription.

If you have longer transcripts, you can also optimize them for specific keywords you want to rank for. Ideally, you can incorporate keywords into the video script before you actually create and share the video, ensuring that the keywords will be in the finished transcript. A high-quality, searchable video transcript can only benefit your website’s SEO.

Better product value with transcription

If you offer a video as part of a paid product, such as a paid-access webinar, you can automatically increase the value of that product by transcribing the video. You might include the transcription as part of the main product or present it as an add-on option for an additional fee.

Either way, a video transcript can help increase revenue. It can also make the product more appealing to an undecided potential buyer.

Provides accurate and professional outsourcing

Professional video transcription services create an environment that meets your expectations with excellent customer service, timely and accurate transcription and a significant return on investment. However, high-quality transcription also depends on the quality of the audio you provide. To ensure a smooth experience, endeavor to submit audio files with good sound quality. When voices fade in and out, there is static, background noise, low speaking voices and audience members far from the microphone, transcription time is extended, which costs you money.

Transcriptions have multiple uses

Not many companies have time to write brand-new content every single day, which is why re-purposing is a vital technique in content marketing. A high-quality video transcript can be shared on other mediums or used to create other types of content. Depending on the subject of your video, the transcription can also be used to create:

A transcript may also help you create additional videos that elaborate or answer questions about the first video. Use the transcript of the first video to help pull out keywords and structure the script of a follow-up video.

In conclusion

Even if you had video scripts, you should still create video transcriptions. Sending your video files to a professional transcription agency like Translate 4 Africa Ltd is quick, easy, and affordable, and we’ll be able to give you the transcriptions that you need to create and other necessities like the .SRT files, closed captions, and subtitles to help take your content to the next level.

Xenophobic Attacks In South Africa – Solution With Professional Translation

There has been much disharmony in the recent days in the beautiful country South Africa. The most recent one being on  2nd  September, 2019 in Johannesburg. Do you know the reason why? Well, a section of the society says that the South Africans are causing disharmony in their own country because of xenophobia (hatred towards people of other community or country etc.). Considering this is the case, doesn’t a question arrive that the locals are causing harm to themselves as well in the process of looting the foreigners?

The locals there are also setting the foreigners shops on fire and taking away all that they can get their hands on. However, another section of the society says that these are just a few criminal minded people who are hiding under the curtain of xenophobia. They are targeting only the foreigners so that these attacks look like acts of xenophobia.

Who, Then, Is Correct?

These kinds of attacks were not uncommon in the country of South Africa. Statistics say that these attacks have occurred at a high rate in the year 2008 and then in 2015. Now, again, the bar is rising high. People in various parts of South Africa are getting looted everyday and there have been a few deaths in the process as well.

One of the reasons these loots are happening is because the unemployment rate in South Africa is about 28%. This statistic indicates a large number of people who are in a state of unrest because they do not have any jobs. In addition to that, they observe that the immigrants have jobs in their country. Though the immigrants are earning their living in an honest manner, this causes jealousy in the hearts of a few criminal-minded people and they are the ones who commit these crimes.

The policemen there are doing everything they can to help the people who are endangered. They have taken strict measures to control these loots. These measures include arresting, using tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets. One of the sad things we have to notice is that in this process, the innocent locals are also getting affected. The name of the country is going down continuously because of all these happenings.

It is very clear that xenophobia is only an excuse which the criminals are using to cause all this distress in the country.

How Can Professional Translation Services Be Part Of The Solution?

Amidst all the spite that exists between some of the locals and the non-locals, there also exist lots of people who want this thuggery to stop and live in peace. Violence, indeed, is violence, regardless of on what basis or in which place it happens and it needs to be stopped for the well-being of the whole country. The little solution to these loots and violence lies in professional translation services. By effective communication between the locals and the immigrants, there can be better understanding and empathy. Right now, the locals and the immigrants might not have complete understanding of the feelings of each other and translation services will help them understand each other better and then, we can finally hope that the locals and the immigrants will co-exist peacefully.

Localization

Localization is the process in which a product or a service is so changed that it adapts to the specific international market or an international language or international culture. It is the ability to change itself according to the look and feel which matches the local market.

A successful localized product is one which you cannot tell apart from the local product. It can also be a service. There are many successful localized products and services yet there are some products and services whose essence is completely lost in the process of localization. These products and services have failed at localization and they often end up in the market as jokes. People take these products and services lightly and they are made fun of in the global market.

Language Translation as a Part of Localization

Language translation is a huge part of localization. The two terms—translation and localization are used in multiple contexts and hence, they often get mixed up. People use one term for another, but it is quite important to understand the correct meanings of these two terms.

If a website is undergoing translation, it means that the website’s words, phrases and all the other media are simply getting changed from one language to another. It is a simple process and it does not require much effort.

In localization, however, along with the words and phrases and other text being translated into another language, we try to change the essence of the website so that it looks and feels like a website developed and maintained by the locals and for the locals. Here, the time format, the date format, the measurements etc. are changed so that it matches with the local formats which are regularly used.

Pepsi’s Distress in China

Sometimes, when things get lost in translation, hilarious yet woeful things happen. Pepsi has always been having troubles with the Chinese market because of some translation problems. Their advertisements in the Chinese market have always ended up being funny because of the translation. In the 1950’s, Pepsi’s slogan was “Be Sociable”. In the Chinese market, interestingly, it got translated to “Be Intimate”.

After Pepsi realized this blunder, they changed their campaign to “Now it’s Pepsi for those who think young” but even this got translated as “New Pepsi is for those with the minds of children”. These two slogans have resulted in a rapid fall in the sales. Therefore, Pepsi came up with a new slogan. The slogan was “Come Alive With Pepsi”. This got translated as “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the dead”

The Pepsi Company had to change their slogan again because their sales were continuously falling down. The next advertising slogan they put up was “Come Alive! You’re In The Pepsi Generation”. This got translated as “Resurrect! Your Body Will Be Made Of Pepsi”

The Pepsi Company didn’t overcome the translation problem till date and even today, a local brand dominates the sales of the cola drinks in China.

Few Other Blunders Caused During Translation

  • MTN Uganda: MTN Uganda, which is the largest telecom company in Uganda, has also had problems with translation. They put up a huge billboard in Soroti town which said “Send Money And Win” with wrong spellings in Ateso. However, they apologized for the mistake and promptly got the billboard down.
  • Mc Donalds: When Big Mac was introduced in France as “Gros Mec”, it got translated as “Big Pimp”.
  • Frank Perdue’s: In the Spanish market, Frank Perdue’s “It takes a strong man to make a tender chicken” got translated to “It takes an aroused man to make a chicken affectionate”.
  • Schweppes: Another company called Schweppes had to incur a huge drop in their sales because their “tonic water” got translated as “toilet water”.
  • KFC: Even KFC had a blunder in translation. The “finger-lickin’ good” chicken got translated in Chinese as “Eat your fingers off”.
  • Parker Pens: To the Spanish people, instead of letting them know that parker pens wouldn’t cause pocket ink stains, they let them know that the pens wouldn’t impregnate them.
  • Coca Cola: In the 1920’s, when Coca Cola was introduced in China, their slogan was literally translated to “bite the wax tadpole!”

Hopefully, the companies of today will consider localization done by professional translation companies as well when getting their services or products translated so that they could avoid some silly blunders and have an increment in their sales!

How professional can marketing translation and localization be done?

Majority of companies exploit the chance to take their business across borders with excitement! Unaware of the fact that they’re about to join the infamous rank of international marketing fails. They think they’re taking along plenty of hard-earned know-how from home. But sometimes this all pales in comparison to a few little mix-ups when it comes to language. Borders might be disappearing, but cultural and language barriers still stand strong. Hence the need to learn how professional we can deal with our Marketing translation and localization process.

Translation traps

Translation traps are everywhere, be it a badly translated slogan, a company name or a cultural blunder. For instance, the most recent translation blunder was with MTN-Uganda where they displayed a promotion banner (MoMo Nyabo promotion) in Soroti town with miss-spelled content. When locals had a glance at it they couldn’t hold it back, so they had to inform MTN instantly. In no time the Company had to pull down their banner.  And to make matters worse even the apology had errors still! Oh my! This was really bad to both the Company brand and to the locals themselves. Checkout the image below;

Marketing translation and localization

Conquering a new market

Conquering new markets is all about the right marketing, and marketing means translating ideas, not words. So, let’s find out what translation and localization mean;

Translation

Translation means conveying your content from the source language into the target language, respecting grammar rules and syntax. It’s not a word to word translation, but a complex process that takes into account each language’s standards and guidelines. Translators are required to produce accurate work to make sure the message in the target language keeps the original meaning of the source text.

Localization

Localization means more than rewriting the text into a different language. It adapts your message to local audiences. Localization is widely used for websites, mobile apps, software, video games, multimedia content and voice-overs. Localization means you’ll need to provide content for that particular setting such as Ateso, Acoli, Ganda, among others even though these groups have English as their official language. Just as English varies from the US, to Australia, UK and Canada, most languages have local versions and dialects that you need to consider when building your marketing strategy.

In this context, translation is just a small step in the localization process. It’s essential to have a good team of translators to localize efficiently, but you’ll also have to work with local marketers and consultants, to make sure you respect cultural aspects and local laws for each market you’re localizing in. Regular translation probably isn’t enough for your business to be successful in local markets. You need to localize your content to gain the trust of local public. Because selling in a foreign country or locale means more than overcoming language barriers. It means coming up with a customized message, specially made for each local audience. You need to go beyond translation, as cultural barriers can make understanding the original message difficult. KitKat, for example, didn’t just translate their famous slogan into Japanese when they launched their product in Japan. The Company changed ‘Have a beak, have a KitKat’ with ‘Kitto Katsu’, which means ‘surely win’. They also launched a series of exotic chocolate bars to meet the local taste. This strategy made the KitKat Japanese campaign a localization success, clearly demonstrating how to use the same words that clients do to express themselves.

Simple steps to follow for a successful marketing translation and localization strategy

Define your audience:- Determine your language combination. When appropriate, be sure to target a particular region or country to ensure appropriate use of language based on the target region and culture. For example, choose English(UK) to Spanish (SP), rather than simply English to Spanish. Are your readers young or old? Industry experts or the general public? Local or International? With a clear target audience in mind, the translation team will be equipped with that knowledge when localizing the content for that target audience. Consider the subject matter and target audience. Legal, medical and technical translations usually require a serious, formal tone and in some cases, use of the passive voice. In contrast, marketing content allows more freedom in language and tone, including the use of an active voice to feel natural.

Set publishing requirements:- How will your translated project be distributed? For example, a website translation project will require clear communication with the ‘language service provider’ on project scope; that is to say; Meta data, SEO, graphics localization and content distribution. Some companies may have duplicated versions of their website that are hosted in their new target countries. Others may opt for a language navigation menu within one content management system. Dynamic language can work directly within your content management system and upload translated content or be provided source code that is translated and returned in the same format. It is important to set these publishing requirements before beginning the project to avoid overruns on project deadlines, budge and scope.

Quality translation:- Consider using both native and professional translators for your project. This can help you capture both translation and localization at the same time.

Proofread:- Check for linguistic and cultural errors, as well as punctuation, and capitalization. Then, check for layout consistency of bold or italicized words, date/time and number formatting.

Create a terminology glossary and style guide:- A terminology glossary and style guide will boost translation speed and ensure preferred terminology, and consistent tone/voice throughout this and all future translation projects.

Communicate any hard deadlines:- The turn-around for your translation project will depend on factors such as translator and editor availability, language combination, and word count. Other possible factors to consider are difficult terminology and the requirements of a niche industry or highly-targeted audience. However, if you have a particular deadline, that information should be relayed to ensure adequate resources are available. Review content for any idioms, expressions and cultural references that may require localization or even trans-creation. Taking the time to prepare a quality translation project will improve the quality of translation and speed of delivery.

Advantages of proper Marketing translation and localization

Marketers are often plagued with a dilemma when reaching out to a new market: to standardize or localize? To standardize is obviously the easiest from an operation standpoint, meaning that you use the same marketing style and theme for all your products and services regardless of where you’re marketing them. However, there are disadvantages and advantages on both sides, but when reaching out to a new market, it’s actually more advantageous for marketers to choose localization.

With marketing localization, you are able to create linguistic and physical adjustments to your existing products or services so that it fits in with your new target market’s specific needs. It takes a lot of work to customize and make adaptations of existing products and services, especially if there are multiple products to launch, but it allows companies to resonate with their customers, and resolve the deepest needs and desires of their new market from the market’s own perspective. Checkout some of the advantages of Marketing translation and localization below:

Reduces the barrier to entry:- When introducing your company or idea to a new market, there are several barriers to entry that may be observed. It could be government monopoly; limited or scarce channels of delivery of goods; tight competition; or lack of product or brand awareness. Market adaptation is mandatory in many countries and so it makes perfect sense to localize marketing. This could be the translation of product packaging, removing/altering product ingredients or packaging, changing brand names and so on.

One classic example for this would be Coca Cola in China. Coca Cola is currently known as Kekoukele in China. This is because its original brand name, when translated into Chinese, means “bite the wax tadpole” or “female horse fastened with wax,” which are unusual and inappropriate. It would have been incredibly unappetizing to buy a drink thus named, so Coca Cola had to do a change to their brand name to adapt to the Chinese market. They chose the brand name Kekouleke because it means “tasty fun” and it is close to the original brand name. This dramatically changed Coca Cola’s image in China, and it helped them connect to locals in a more language-appropriate and personalized way.

Customizes customer experience:- In many first-world countries, products are often sold in larger-container quantities, which is done based on both consumption and convenience. On the other hand, the same products sold in third-world countries may not be affordable for the majority of consumers and that would greatly affect the sales. Due to these pricing constraints, companies may create products in different and smaller packaging, such as sachets or pouches, for the greater market to be able to afford it.

Breeds cultural respect and appropriation:- It’s no secret that cultural patterns, religions and norms affect people’s habits, outlook in life, the media they choose and even the products they buy. Advertising or identifying your brand with a Christmas or Christmas-related promotions, for example, in a largely non-catholic country may not be accepted by the target market. On the other hand, advertising your brand with a Christmas theme in Christian and catholic countries will be largely appreciated and remembered. Outsourcing experts from Translate4africa.com have seen how hiring local marketing executives in Africa, where every border is a new country and culture, played a big role in providing contextually correct translations and preventing conflicts with the target market’s culture.

It results to better brand identification:- Marketing translation and localization “personifies” a brand, which helps it connect to its target market on a deeper level. Some brands become an extension or expression of culture in some countries by integrating culture into their brand message and active storytelling.

Hastens local business development:- Marketing translation and localization accelerates business development. Creating a demand for your products or services is not your ticket to success. Knowing your target market deeply and seeing their needs from their perspective is the key to providing products or services that are in demand. You won’t be able to achieve this if you use the same standards for all your target markets all over the globe. This can only be done with marketing localization based on in-depth market research.

In conclusion

Marketing translation and localization is a complex, yet often an underestimated field. While it consists of translating from one language to another, it also involves writing appealing and persuasive content that has impact to the local audience. Unlike general translation, marketing translators need to be good writers first and foremost. Marketing translation can also involve trans-creation, where a translator and writer work together to create truly and powerful content. Choice wisely! Always be conscious of your marketing content, as it’s your key to either success or marketing failure.

Addressing Child Marriage through Professional Translations

Child marriage may be referred to as a marriage of a boy or a girl before the age of 18. According to some organization like UNICEF, the child marriage prevalence percentage of women aged between 20-24 years who were married before the age of 18. 10% of children married before the age of 15 and 40% were married off by the age of 18 by the year 2017, globally a tenth highest absolute number of child brides is 787000 which is blamed mainly on gender inequality and belief that boys are more superior to girls. Related to that, this practice can be blamed on poverty, peer pressure, displacement, family honor, ignorance of ones rights and level of education.

The Irony Keeps On Trending

One may think that child marriage was an ancient practice done by primitive people, statistics prove that it still does exist with highest rankings as a percentage  increasing in Niger with 68%, Central Africa and 67% in Chad.

Research also expresses it that over 12 Millon girls are married off each year and 21% of young women were married of before early 18th Birthday. This is sad more so for the girl child who is affected psychologically as they are bound to suffer instance of domestic violence and worse still face death due to complications during pregnancy and birth.

Child Marriage(s) a Joke

The recent instance of exchange of marriage vows between 17 year old Nyaliong and a businessman Kok Alat in South Sudan that trended over twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms really proved it right that child marriage is taken as a joke in our community. Well, most of the South Sudan marriages are seen as fairs where families trade their daughters for cows. The practice is a gross human rights violation and violates the rights of a girl. It does not only deprive the girl child from education and limit her future opportunities in her life, but also increases the risk of violence, jeopardizes her health, reduces the girl child to a property, and deprives her from the right to choose. The world at large still has a big battle to fight in order to overcome this joke. However different humanitarian groups are coming up with solutions to aid this issue. Organizations like reach a hand Uganda, girls not brides and Egyptian foundation for advancement are working hard to resolve this problem. These have gone ahead to educate girls about their rights and different people have come up with hash tags like Arewa Me Too with the incentive of fighting such sickening actions. Different people are given chance to share their experiences and as well give advice on how to go about this problem on such hash tags.

Possible Solution through Professional Translations   

Over 25 million children have been liberated from child marriage over the past years globally and more hope is being installed amongst the children that 150 children will be saved by the year 2030. Different governments have come up with this issue as a target under the Sustainable Development Goals. Governments are putting forward ways on how to reduce on this evil manner say through educating girls about their rights and as well keeping them in school. However all this will be making a lot more sense if governments and other organizations work hand in hand with professional translation companies to provide language translations   like Dinka, Arabic, Somali among many others.

These can help educate the affected and those that are likely to fall victim through languages that they understand better hence making a change in the world at large.

How to win the African market

Are you a manager or business person and you want to sell your services or products in Africa? Or are you planning on settling on the continent and creating a company? Thanks to the user-friendly online platforms like WordPress and social media, where small businesses and startups can tap the same powerful sales channels and marketing tactics used by big-budget players. In fact, brilliant entrepreneurs regularly outperform major brands by creating attention-grabbing content that attracts vast audiences worldwide.

The key to your success will be: selling well. The majority says, “It’s like everywhere!”, but the reality differs from that. In other markets, it’s just about recruiting the right people and doing some market analysis. Africa has other particularities you must consider as to win its market namely:-

Know your product and your target

Knowing who is most likely to buy your product is step one in winning the African market. The whole point of learning how to market a product effectively is to connect you with your audience and convert them into paying customers. To achieve this, you first need to identify and define who is looking for and most likely to buy your product. Having your ideal buyer in mind helps you develop an engaging product story that will make them want to buy and target your tactics to the channels they’re most likely to use.

Assuming you know your product well or you are already very familiar with the service you are going to offer. It is essential to identify your target accurately:

  • Region (Central Africa, West Africa, East Africa, etc.)
  • Country
  • Language
  • Cities (ports, capitals, etc)
  • Socio-professional categories

Checkout detailed information about these:-

  • Region

Identify which section of Africa you are more interested in for your particular product or services. Could it be in the West, East, the north, south or central of Africa?

       About Africa
Africa is the world’s second largest and most-populous continent, being behind Asia in both categories. At about 30.3 million square km (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth’s total surface area and 20% of its land area. With 1.2 billion people as of 2016, it accounts for about 16% of the world’s human population. Africa’s average population is the youngest among all the continents, the median age in 2012 was 19.7, when the worldwide median age was 30.4. The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Isthmus of Suez and Red Sea to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos with Algeria as its largest country by area, and Nigeria as its largest by population. Africa contains 54 fully recognized sovereign majority of the continent and its countries are in the Northern Hemisphere, with a substantial portion and number of countries in the Southern Hemisphere. It is the only continent to stretch from the northern temperate to southern temperate zones. More about Africa. So, with this in mind, choose a region(s) that will best suit your product or service.

  • Country

After identifying the region, it’s also vital to be specific with the particular country/countries you’re targeting within that region. For-instance, in East Africa, it could be Uganda, Kenya or Tanzania, Rwanda or Burundi! Choose one or those that are most compatible with your products or services.

  • Language

I believe that it’s hard to find even a single country in the universe using a single language, right! Usually countries use various languages lets say French, Ganda, Swahili, just a few listed. If Tanzania (northern) is your focus country, it would be brilliant for you to localize your product content to Chaga language, and other dialects such as Kivunjo, Kimarangu, among others. Localizing your product content into your target country’s languages can work like magic.

  • Cities

Within the country that you yarn to win market, it’s important to identify which cities you hope to put more emphasis. For example in Uganda one can base on cities like Kampala, Jinja, Mbarara, among others depending on what you’re willing to offer and the environment. Now, one may wonder why these among the other cities? Personally I’ve never seen or heard of any business person aiming at being average, have you? We all aim at excelling beyond. The above cities have got the largest population with both business people and final consumer, in such a way that people travel from wherever to reach these cities for their desired products or services. So be critical about that as well.

Research the competition

Studying your competition can tell you a lot about the customers who buy similar products, where they shop, and how much they’re willing to spend. Many business marketing classes teach participants how to perform a SWOT (strengths, weakness, opportunities and threads) analysis. You have to start by taking a serious look at your competitors. Make a list of the businesses that offer products or services similar to the one you plan to launch. Even if you think your new product or service is entirely unique and without existing competition, it’s important to put yourself in your prospective customer’s shoes and imagine what they might buy in place of what you plan to offer. Once you decide who your competitors will be, take time to review their marketing materials, including their websites, brochures and ads. Gauge how your new product or service will stand up against what’s already being offered, in what ways you’ll excel, and which companies or their offerings pose the greatest threats to your success.

Define your marketing tactics, tools and channels

Once you know who your customer is and what your competition is up-to, you’re ready to choose your sales and marketing channels to reach buyers. Will you market online, via catalog or through dealers, for example? Generally, multi-channel marketers achieve the greatest success because customers who can shop when and however they like tend to spend more and shop more often. Suppose your strategy is to market a product to people who can’t afford high-priced home equipment. You might choose traditional direct marketing plus online sales as your primary channels, and employ tactics including direct marketing plus online sales as your primary channels, and employ tactics including direct response TV spots and online ads and email solicitations that link to your website.

Craft up a compelling story

A product story that solves a problem or elicits an emotional response is what resonates with shoppers, converts them to buyers, and makes your brand memorable. At this stage, you should have a clear understanding of what you must offer in order to stand apart from your competition and who will want to take advantage of your offer. However, do you know why customers will want to buy from you vs. the vast field of competitors out there? What benefits and features will you provide that your prospective customers will value most? All in all, make sure that your product or service “bundle” is unique and meets the needs and desires of your best prospects.

Localize your website/ content

Localization simply refers to the process of making something local in character or restricting it to a particular place. Many companies have realized a boost in global sales, have won a global brand presence, and have generated product acceptance as a direct result of their localization efforts.

As you wish to grow and look to expand to Africa, localizing your website or content is crucial to ensure successful market entry. While the World’s Internet usage has increased since the year 2000, most of the world market, in terms of internet usage, still has not been tapped leaving immense room for growth. You must look at localization as not only a strategic advantage, but as a necessity to capitalize on your growth opportunities in Africa.

Here are some of the changes that you need to make to your websites: rewriting text and translating text, modifying graphics and creating new graphics, changing colors and layout, and modifying tables, forms, databases and database fields.

Plan for long-term success

Successful product marketing is a pursuit with intermittent spirits, so planning includes a mix of long- and short-term sales channels and outreach tactics.

Test your concept and marketing approach

With all the money it takes to bring a new product or service to market, it’s risky to rush into the launch phase foregoing testing. What should you test? It’s best to examine your product or service bundle plus your marketing message and your marketing materials. Depending on what you plan to market and your budget, you can use formal focus groups or simply host round-table discussions with members of the target audience, employ online research or marketplace confront studies, or distribute your product to a select group of users for testing. Only after testing is complete, should you proceed to the final creation of your marketing tools and materials.

Unveil your campaign

Public relations often play a vital role in the launch of a product or service. You can use media relations to place articles and win interviews, get coverage by allowing key press to review your product, hold a launch event, or use popular marketing to build buzz. But no matter what publicity route you choose, first make sure your product or service is completely ready and available for purchase in order to maximize returns from the coverage you receive. And your other marketing efforts should follow closely and the heels of your press unveil. Monitor the results from all media, and in the first weeks and months, be prepared to adjust your campaign to take advantage of what’s working best.

Know your product’s life-cycle

The campaign you use during the introduction and education phase of your product or service launch will need to be updated as your product or service matures. If you’re monitoring your marketing results carefully, you’ll begin to see diminishing returns that will indicate when it’s time to revise the product or service itself, alter your media message, or even phase out this particular offering and lay the groundwork for the launch of your next great idea.

In conclusion

We’ve talked about the many product marketing tools and tactics at your disposal. However, to maximize these efforts, you really must start at your product marketing journey in Africa with a good understanding of your target buyer and competition. You can certainly consider “a know how to win market in Africa for a new product”, right; but above all, you must start with good fundamentals. Good-luck as you bundle to stow the African market.

How Geographical Locations Dictate African Translation Services

Africa is 30.37 million km sq making it 14 times larger than Greenland with over 1.2 billion inhabitants who are rich in diversity when it comes to traditions, clothes, culture, food, color and definitely one we cannot overlook; languages especially when talking of African Translation services and no, Africa is not a country!

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How Geographical Locations Dictate African Translation Services

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Cement your Business in Africa through Professional Africa Translation Services

How cementing your business in Africa through Professional Africa Translation Services will help  your establishment get rooted in the long run.

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Cement your Business in Africa through Professional Africa Translation Services

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