How can a poor translation ruin a business?

translation errors

Before discussing how poor translations can ruin a business, let’s first look at some examples:



You probably couldn’t help but chuckle when you saw these pictures: poor translations often produce humorous results! However, think about what it would be like if it affected you: your brand, business and product. It wouldn’t be quite so funny then, would it?

As we can see from the pictures, these translations cannot be corrected simply by erasing them or hitting the delete button. In these examples, there was a clear investment in materials: printing, creating posters, installing banners, etc. In these cases, the poor translations have proved to be an entirely useless waste of effort and money.

When you were looking at the pictures, you must also have been thinking to yourself, “how did that happen?” or even “what idiots!” The person or brand responsible for the message will inevitably be associated with it, so a poor or flawed translation can often harm a brand or product’s reputation and prestige. And if it is a certified translation, the damage is even greater! In such a case, one mistake is enough to invalidate the translation, rendering it unacceptable to the competent authority.

What can cause a poor translation?
There can be several reasons for poor translations. It could be down to inexperience on the translator’s part or a sign that a professional translator was not used. Sometimes a mistake or typo will get through because of a simple lack of attention. That being said, one major problem is that of amateurism, which results in a lot of content being translated literally or through Google Translator, without the final result being checked by a professional.

For all these reasons, to avoid this problem, it is important that you get the support of qualified and experienced language service providers for all your translations.