Why Businesses Can't Rely on Google Translate

When expanding your business, it is easy to feel intimidated by the prospect of selling products and services in another language. According to recent research by the British Council, around three-quarters of British people don’t speak another language well enough to have a basic conversation. Then add in the factor of selling a product or negotiating a deal and it can be daunting. However, it was well worth finding a way around this language barrier.

In 2015, it was reported by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills that the language skills deficit in the UK costs businesses £48bn a year. With billions being lost due to a lack of language skills, businesses should invest in translation services. However, they should avoid the temptation to utilise online translation services such as Google Translate. While it may be free, it raises a number of issues for businesses. Here at Absolute Translations – one of the UK’s leading providers of professional translation services, our expert translators have listed why businesses shouldn’t use Google Translate and other online translation services.

Here at Absolute Translations – one of the UK’s leading providers of professional translation services, our expert translators have listed why businesses shouldn’t use Google Translate and other online translation services

Google Translate doesn’t take into account cultural nuances and slang.

Machine translators come in handy when you want to translate a sentence or two. Yet they cannot understand cultural and lexical phrases specific to different languages. Therefore, you should utilise a team of specialist translators. Here at Absolute Translations, we have a team of professional translators who live and work in your target area. They are well-versed in your target language and skilled to understand the nuances of the specific culture.

Machine translators do not understand tone.

Whether it’s an important document to partners or a brochure for customers, the style and tone of voice is very important. After all, this will help the reader understand your message and build a connection with them. When companies use machines to translate text, this message is often lost during the translation process. As a result, your document will lack the intended impact, which could have a terrible effect on your business. This is why it is essential to work with a human translator. We have a team of translators who specialise in different subject matters. They are able to match the tone and style of your document accurately and effectively.

Online translation services cannot localise your content.

Modern languages are constantly developing. In fact, there are new phrases and words in different dialects being developed every day. Unfortunately, machine translators cannot keep track of changes as fast as human translators who live in the target country. As a result, machine translators are not able to localise content as reliable as human

translators. Our native translators are based in the location you are trying to target so they are experts in localisation and different dialects.

If you want to find out more information about our translation services, get in touch with us on 0333 577 0767.