Unless you’re a copywriter, editor, or international marketer, you may not be familiar with what “globalize your writing” means. Actually, globalization is a pretty simple concept. Stephen Woessner of the AVS Group, in an illuminating post on the difference between proofreading and copyediting, says that It means you write with translation in mind and in doing so, aim to eliminate “ambiguity of any form.”
Where things get interesting, according to Val Swisher, CEO of Content Rules, is when you work for a company that doesn’t translate its content because it “abides by the terribly flawed notion that ‘everyone’ speaks English.” Well, not only does everyone not speak English—and we’re talking globally here—about 25 percent of U.S. residents say they don’t speak English well or even at all. And nearly 60 million folks in the U.S. speak something other than English at home. (These are figures from our very own Census Bureau.)
Wowie. The implications are significant. And why is that? Well, it’s because people who are not proficient in English may be using free machine translation software such as Google Translation. And when it comes to translation, as with many other things, free only sounds great. Or perhaps they’re relying on someone whose English is only marginally better than theirs to translate for them.
What to do? Ms. Swisher’s sensible advice is to “always write your content as if it will be translated.” (Because, of course, it will.) Here are her five rules for creating globalized content:
Write shorter sentences
- Eliminate needless words (“Boil the fat out of it,” as my old boss Bruce Cartier used to say.)
- Say the same, the same way, every time you say it.
- Avoid idioms and jargon (Say goodbye to your favorite biz-speak.)
- Use correct grammar.
As Ms. Swisher says, not only will your work be easier to translate—even if Bing Translate is doing the work—but it will also sound better to native English speakers.
Graphic Credit: arcady31 — 123rf.com
Kay Paumier says
Good reminder, Susan, of the fact that we live in an increasingly global world.
Susan Monroe says
I try to keep that in mind and scrutinize everything I write for expressions that just won’t translate well.
Val Swisher says
Thanks for the post, Susan! Much appreciated. 🙂