Cindy King's International Business Blog » culturally adapted content

A Different English For Your International Audience

Cindy King — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 23:00:21 +0000

There was an interesting article published last Friday on the BBC News: New lingua franca upsets French

It is the end of this article that I find most interesting.

International business professionals are finding themselves confronted with a new breed of English language.

Non-native English speakers have a distinct way of speaking English.
And the native English speakers are having a hard time understanding this new form of their own language.

Some people call this new form of English “Globish”. I have used “International English” to describe it here. I have also heard the term “Global English”.

This Globish or International English is picked up by non-native English business professionals who need to communicate effectively in English. They need to have results and they also need to limit cross-cultural communication blunders and barriers.

Here are some particularities of this new form of the English language:

Less Vocabulary

Vocabulary is drastically reduced. In this article, it states that Globish only has 1,500 words.

Non-native English business professionals use their words wisely. They get straight to the point. They use the minimum amount of words to make their point clearly.

Less Fun

Certain things are avoided:

Humor
Metaphors
All abbreviations

These are major pitfalls in cross-cultural communication.

Lack Of Personality

Native English speakers often feel that Globish leads to a lack of warmth or personality in the English language.

And in many ways this is true.

National metaphors add life to communication. So does humor. And abbreviations mean that you can get onto the more interesting part of your discussion faster.

But Globish speakers avoid them like the plague because they can easily create confusion, misunderstandings and this simply slows down communication. You often only pick up the confusion or misunderstanding much further down the road.

Reasons To Use Globish

But this stark way of communicating also has a distinct advantage:

You communicate more effectively to a broader audience

There is also another advantage:

Globish or International English is very clear.

This is why such a wide audience can quickly understand what is being said.

Clarity and consistency are key elements for good web content.

Globish speakers are also very good at identifying possible areas that can lead to cross-cultural confusion. They know when it is best to give more details or ask for confirmation of understanding.

People with good Global English or International English skills are good communicators.

Yes, some of the non-native English speakers may still make grammar mistakes. But do not underestimate their power of communication.

If you need to communicate across a wide international audience, which includes non-native English speakers, contact me to find out more about the International English copywriting services I offer.

Customize Your Content For Different Cultures

Cindy King — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 23:00:10 +0000

Internationalize Your English

International web marketing and online based international business development rely heavily on culture customized content to create effective lead generation funnels and get sales.

Very simply, if you want to communicate effectively with different cultures in different countries you need to adapt your communication and your content. This is how you can begin to build cross-cultural relationships through your online business.

Reaching Clients With Content

There are a few different names used to describe the same basic type of marketing:

Content Marketing
Educational Marketing
Information Marketing

How To Get The Content For Your Marketing

There is a trend in businesses outsourcing content creation. As Junta42 said recently, content outsourcing is getting the second largest marketing budget today.

This trend in outsourcing content creation is estimated to expand.

International Content Creation

The question is, how will businesses that outsource their content approach content for international audiences?

Will this international content be outsourced to:

Content creators, or
Translators, or
Culture-customizers?

Choice Of Communication

First lets, look at another question. The choice of customizing your content to foreign markets.

I am often surprised by marketing managers who take the easy road of using a translation service.

Most of the large American companies I have dealt with will have their communication go through their American corporate communication or public relations Vice President and then translated.

This translation might be forwarded to the marketing manager based in the foreign country for input as a courtesy measure. Unfortunately I have yet to hear of any recommended changes being implemented.

This results in very little communication being culturally customized to the local culture.

Large companies have a very difficult issue with their corporate branding. This leaves their foreign marketing departments more work to catch up.

Loss For Some, Opportunity For Others

It is also a wonderful opportunity for the smaller, or more flexible businesses, to create more effective communication in foreign markets.

Culture-customized content will always resonate more than content created for your own domestic market.

Different cultures respond to different things. The communication you need to get the most out of one specific market will be different to the communication you need in another one.

Yes, it takes more effort to get the culture-customized content. It also takes more expertise and experience in your foreign markets.

But it will bring in more sales and will give your company a stronger presence in that culture.

How To Customize Your Content For Different Cultures

Now let’s go back to my question about how businesses will outsource the content they need for international markets.

There are two problems:

Marketing managers in one country find working with a translation company easy to do.
Most translation companies say they have translators with specific industry knowledge.

I have been one of those marketing executives.

Always get a mother-tongue speaker of the language you need. If your translator speaks the language you need as a second language and it is for communication with your clients… well you have just given your competitors a nice present.

I’ve hunted down the good translation agencies, bought the translations and had to work with the results.

Now, I have worked with a few large multinational companies with in-house staff capable of writing the documents needed in the foreign language. But time is a big factor when it comes to translations.

There is something I noticed. Translated documents were rarely as good as when they were done in-house with the right person.

Inside experience and expertise count enormously when creating culturally customized content.

Get Rid Of The Risk

After about 10 years in international business I decided on another tactic. My language skills will good enough for me to see the difference in marketing and cross-cultural communication needs and the best work any translation service could offer me.

My new tactic required prior planning in the beginning and some creative thinking. Afterwards I learned to keep my eyes open. I also began to know exactly what I wanted from a business and marketing point of view.

Whenever I need a document in another language, I look for the perfect person to do the job. I pre-select the person I want to work with.

We have to have the same business outlook.
The person has to have excellent writing skills.
The writing style in the foreign language has to be right for the job.
The person has to understand the objectives.
The person must be able to communicate these objectives into the other language.

I often now turn to a professional friend or colleague. I also have my favorites.

Just because you

Speak the language does not mean you will write what the market needs.
Work in the same industry does not mean you will know how to communicate what the market needs.
Have the right qualification does not mean you will get the communication right.

You might think I’m fussy with translations. No it’s not fussy.

It’s a question of eliminating risk. I do not like risks.

A marketer wants his campaigns to be successful. In my past experience, I have often eliminated at least 30-40% of the international marketing risk by having content written by the right person.

Eliminate a very large percentage of your risk.

Find the right person to create your culturally-customized content.

Need International English content? Drop me an email.