In many parts of the world, your business card represents you.
How it looks and what is says is taken seriously – that’s why it’s important to take the time and effort in getting any translations done properly.
Getting your card ‘translated’ is not as straight forward as you may think. There are many linguistic and cultural considerations one must take into account.
Here’s ten things to look out for:
1 – Your cousin or your neighbour who speaks Arabic is not necessarily the best person to give the translation to. Yes they might know the language but they may not know the nuances of the language well enough in order to properly give the right impression. Use a translator or translation company.
2 – Most people have a business card translated with one side in English and the other in another language. It is also a good idea to have a bilingual card that has both languages on the same side, although this is not always possible if there is a considerable amount of text for example.
3 – Keep your business card design simple and minimise the amount of information. All someone wants to know is who you are, your title, your company and how to contact you.
4 – Get the translator to pay special attention to your title, especially if it unusual or one not known in the foreign country. It must convey accurate information about your knowledge and status.
5 – Do not translate addresses or transcribe them. This is a strange habit conducted by some translation companies that serves not purpose other than to allow the person to say the address in their language.
6 – Sometimes it can be useful, as is common in the UAE, to transliterate company names to help people pronounce the name more accurately.
7 – Local numbering is not always necessary. Although in many languages they have their own numbering systems, most use Western numbers now, especially in commerce, which means you do not need things like phone numbers translated.
8 – Pay attention to language differences. For example if you are getting a card translated into Chinese, would that be Simplified or Traditional? A few languages have subtle differences, including English, in terms of where they are spoken.
9 – If you want to make an impact do some research and see if there is anything you can do to add some spice to your card! For example in China using gold and red bring good luck.
10 – Lastly, once you get your translated business card look up some etiquette pointers on how to present and receive cards in the foreign country.
