Creating Cross-Cultural Documents

1. CreatingCross-CulturalDocuments Content Editing and Revising

2. Global Communication

3. In Today’s Global Business Environment we are increasingly communicating with individuals who speak different languages and/or see things from a different cultural standpoint.

4. These differences can make cross-cultural Communication particularly challenging. Although several softwares and websites give us the ability to translate documents, they are only 80 percent accurate at best.

5. When creating cross-cultural documents, revising and editing become evermore important . Several well-known companies have experienced unintended or embarrassing results when communicating across cultural boundaries.

6. In addition to translation software, you should also consider the following techniques when preparing documents that will be read and interpreted by your world neighbors.

7. Use Short, Direct Sentences • Follow subject, verb, object order. Second language readers and translation software will be more successful if they can easily locate the subjects and verbs of sentences. • Longer sentences should be cut into smaller sentences.

8. Focus on the Positive • Negative sentences sometimes translate more harshly than originally intended. A negative sentence that offers a simple caution to the reader can translate into one that makes dire predictions of harm or death.

9. Use Limited Sets of Words • Most international companies, such as Caterpillar and IBM, have developed standard language guides of English words to be used in international documents. Documents that use these words are easier for people and translation software to translate.

10. Avoid Humor • Jokes are highly cultural-specific and situational, so they rarely translate well into other cultures and languages. Usually, they are just confusing, but sometimes they can be embarrassing for the writer or insulting to the reader.

11. Minimize Jargon • Jargon and slang are also culturally dependent and difficult to translate. These terms should be translated into their common meanings even though they might lose some of their original flare.

12. Sayings, Clichés, and Idioms • These turns of phrase often do not translate well. For example, in North America people “cross their fingers” for luck, but in Germany, people “hold their thumbs.” Machines “run” in English, but they “walk” in Spanish.

13. Avoid Obvious Metaphors • Metaphors cannot be completely avoided, but obvious ones should be removed. In German, calling a company a “shooting star” suggests that it will be successful long into the future. In North America, “shooting star” means the company will rise quickly and fail spectacularly. “Hit a home run”, “keep an eye on it”, “he’s a workhorse”, etc. can have disturbing meanings when translated.

14. Check Slogans • Slogans usually rely on a cultural twist of words, so they are particularly risky when translated. In Taiwan, Pepsi’s slogan “come alive with the Pepsi generation” translated into, “Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead.”

15. Check Product Names • Names of products can also translate into embarrassing ways. Products like Pinto, Puffs, Waterpik, and latte, among others, have sexually suggestive meanings in other languages. The Chevy Nova didn’t sell well in Mexico and Latin America because “no va” means “It doesn’t go” in Spanish.

16. Remember • Use Short, Direct sentences • Focus on the Positive • Use Limited Sets of words • Avoid Humor • Minimize Jargon

17. And • Avoid Sayings, Clichés, and Idioms • Avoid Obvious Metaphors • Check Slogans • Check Product Names