Found in Translation

Translation Error Le ads to Panic on the Trading Floor
Guan Xiangdong, a reporter for the China News Service, wrote a story in 2009 about the impact of a
possible appreciation of Chinese currency. A bad translation of her report ended up causing chaos in
the world’s foreign exchange market, leading the U.S. dollar to take a major tumble as traders and
fund managers began dropping dollars in favor of Asian currencies. The erroneous text was
corrected, but the damage had already been done.
Money Talks—in Many Languages
Most translation is not done on a volunteer basis. It’s performed by
professionals who are paid to do this work. In fact, it may just be the biggest
industry that most people have never heard of. As of 2012, the market for
language services was worth more than $33 billion. Just fifty of the top-
earning firms account for nearly $4 billion in revenue. More than twenty-six
thousand companies throughout the world sell translation and interpreting
services.
9
Even during the global economic downturn, while performance in most
sectors slumped, language service providers (LSPs) kept on growing. In fact,
the language services market grew each year during the recession. The
majority of these firms are small and medium-size family-owned businesses,
often founded by translators. Many of them are also minority owned and
women owned. But don’t be fooled—just because they are small does not mean

---

they are not attractive to investors. It is common for these companies to grow
each year at rates that exceed 20 percent, even during times of recession. And
profit margins frequently exceed 30 percent.
Why are these businesses so successful, even during a downturn? The
answer is simple—translation makes it possible for companies to increase
their revenue. There isn’t a business operating in more than one country that
doesn’t rely on translation, at least at some level, to increase its sales.
Companies in nearly every industry spend money on translation, but those
businesses part with their precious dollars, yen, and euros only because they
believe it can help them generate more of them. And they are absolutely right.
One study from industry research firm Common Sense Advisory found,
based on a survey of 2,430 consumers in eight countries, that 72.4 percent of
consumers were more likely to buy a product if provided with information in
their own language. In fact, more than half of the respondents (56.2 percent)
said that the ability to obtain information in their own language was even more
important to them than price.
10
Yes, you read that right. If you’re trying to stop
prices from eroding in your industry, language can be a differentiator.
Research from the European Commission reveals similar findings. A 2011
study was based on a Gallup survey of language preferences among Internet
users in twenty-three European countries. The study found that, when given a
choice of languages, nine out of ten Internet users always visited websites in
their native languages. One in five Europeans said they never browse in other
languages, and 42 percent claimed that they never purchase products and
services in other languages.
11
And keep in mind, that’s in Europe, where
multilingualism is fairly common. What this means is that even when people
are proficient in other languages, they still prefer to buy in their native
languages.
The bottom line is this: Translation has and always will be important for any
company that wants to do business in multiple markets. If customers are going
to buy the products and services a company sells, they expect to receive
information in their native languages. It’s not about being politically or
linguistically correct. In an age of global competition and increased access to
information, translating content into other languages is about being business
savvy.