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News Release from: SanTranslate | Subject: Chinese business services
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 25 July 2001
Promoting your business to China
There are many differences between western and Chinese business cultures. It makes sense to get the message right for PRC, Hong Kong and Taiwan - where Chinese usage differs widely in each.
There are many differences between western and Chinese business cultures and much has been written about them, however, there is less information available about the problems that can arise in the day-to-day activity of written communication Without an understanding of these issues, there are many pitfalls that a marketer might face
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 17 Nov 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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An obvious source of potential problems is that posed by communicating in a completely different style of writing to a western alphabet.
Traditionally, all Chinese characters were written in a complicated format, named 'Traditional Chinese' however, since its establishment in 1949, the People's Republic of China has simplified these characters.
As a result China now uses 'Simplified Chinese,' whereas Hong Kong and Taiwan still use 'Traditional Chinese'.
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When targeting a Chinese-speaking market, it is important to use the appropriate form as - although there are similarities between the character sets - there is no guarantee that someone from mainland China could understand Traditional Chinese as readily as they would the simplified version, and vice versa.
Accurate and professional translation is essential to ensure that any cultural nuances are reflected in the translation.
A great deal of implied meaning can be lost if translation is not carried out sensitively by people who understand both cultures and can use language to bridge the gap.
Marketers will be aware of the many cultural gaffes that even well-know multinationals have made in translating their brand names over the years - legend has it that when Pepsi started marketing its products in China a few years back, they translated their slogan, "Come Alive!" as "Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back from the Grave." Coca-Cola, on the other hand, made a better job of their translation.
The draft translation for "Coca-Cola" in China was "Kekoukela," which can mean either "bite the wax tadpole" or "female horse stuffed with wax", depending on the dialect - neither of which could be said to really express the Coca-Cola experience! However, there are 200 characters which are pronounced with sounds that could be used in forming the name and the company had the good sense to research Chinese characters thoroughly to find a phonetic equivalent - "kokou kole," which translates as " to allow the mouth to be able to rejoice" - a much better solution.
The Internet: the number of non-English-speaking users of the internet is growing daily and it is estimated that by 2007 Chinese will have overtaken English as the dominant web language, reflecting the growth in internet usage by China, Hong Kong and Taiwan and Chinese-speakers abroad.
Communicating with these markets on the web will become a priority for many international businesses.
Creating an effective Chinese website certainly involves translation of the editorial content into Chinese - bear in mind that most Chinese search engines will only list Chinese-language sites.
But it also involves much more.
A culturally-sensitive translation will take account of your market's customs, geography and political structures but you'll also need to know about local graphic and web design preferences, if your site is to be truly effective.
In summary, the main points to consider when planning a marketing campaign in written Chinese are: - Consider carefully where your target market lies - is it China, or other Chinese-speaking countries? - Decide which character set you should translate into.
- Consider carefully any cultural issues that could arise.
- As with any other market, think about your target customer - could you make a bigger impact through the judicious use of typography? - Source a translator carefully - you need to look for linguistic competence AND familiarity with any technical terminology you might use.
- Have the translated work independently proof-read or reverse-translated to double-check for errors.
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