Understanding your audience is essential as there are cultural gaps from one country to the next. When it comes to translating materials that are related to cultural context, understanding your audience and the nuances of their language is especially important.
A native translator makes a difference
The fashion house Dolce and Gabbana committed a severe mistake when they shared ads on social media depicting a Chinese woman attempting to eat Italian food with chopsticks while a male voice gave her directions. Chinese consumers, one of the company’s largest markets, threatened to boycott the brand and even the Chinese government was involved. This illustrates how critical it is when translating and communicating branding messages abroad to create culturally appropriate images that will appeal to your customer base. If companies translated and localized content using a native translator, who understood the culture of the countries and the effect these advertisements would have, perhaps it would have avoid unnecessary damage to brands.
More than just words
In Western cultures, red symbolizes excitement, passion, love, or danger. In East Asia, red represents happiness, good fortune, and prosperity – still quite positive. But in South Africa, red is associated with mourning and the bloodshed during the country’s struggle for independence. Europe and the United States associate the color purple with magic and mystery, which is linked to wealth. In Italy, people often associates purple with funerals, wrapping a gift in purple paper is considered poor taste, and it is bad luck to wear purple to an Italian opera.
When deciding to expand into other countries, understanding the culture and customs are crucial to create the proper first impression. If your goal is to be accepted as a reputable business, your content must reflect as if written by a native author. Being attuned to cultural subtleties will prevent you from missteps and foster successful business in another country.