10 Game-Changers: Writing Content for Multilingual Translation Services

Have you ever seen a smart campaign tagline become nonsense in another language? This happens because wordplay doesn’t always work well in other cultures.

Have you seen your SEO rankings drop because the ‘perfect’ keyword meant something different to your audience?
You might have found yourself looking at a badly translated contract. You may think, “This could work in court… if the judge finds it funny.”

Maybe an instruction manual caused your customers to put their furniture together the wrong way. Someone might have translated the word ‘tighten’ as ‘loosen.’

Let’s not forget that some product descriptions become flat and lifeless after translation. They almost make shoppers want to click away.

If any of this sounds familiar, welcome to the wild world of multilingual content gone wrong!
To avoid this we have assembled a guide on how to avoid making these mistakes.

1. Write in Simple and Clear Language
   Using simple, concise, and straightforward language ensures your content is easy to understand and translate.
   Avoid idioms, jargon, and culturally specific references that may not translate well. For example, in French, a technical term like “puissance nominale” (nominal power) must be straightforward to avoid confusion.
   Over complicated English phrases may lead to confusions when translated into languages like Hindi or Russian. Relying on a multilingual translation service can help streamline this process and ensure clarity across all languages.
2. Focus on Cultural Relevance
   Different cultures understand phrases and ideas in their own ways. So, it’s important to adjust your content to fit the norms of your audience. For example, humor is popular in the United States.
   However, people in Arabic-speaking countries may not see it the same way. Color symbolism can be different in various cultures. In Chinese culture, red means prosperity. In Western cultures, red can mean caution or danger.
3. Avoid Confusion
   Clear and precise writing minimizes the risk of mistranslation and ensures your content has a singular, clear meaning. For example, the English phrase “set up” can mean different things. In Portuguese, you must clearly translate it as “configuração” (setup) or “montar” (assemble), based on the context. Confusion in instructions or product manuals can lead to misunderstandings, especially in technical fields.
4. Use Neutral Tone and Style
   A professional and neutral tone helps ensure your content resonates with a broad audience and is universally understood. In Korean, using a neutral tone prevents sounding too formal or too casual, which could turn some readers away. For promotional content, ensure the language is professional yet approachable, avoiding overly emotional or overstated phrases that might not resonate in cultures like Vietnamese. Collaborating with a professional Vietnamese to English translation service can help maintain the right balance of tone while respecting cultural nuances.
5. Be Mindful of Text Expansion
   When translating English into languages like French or Spanish, the text can expand by up to 30%. Design content with flexibility in mind, especially in visual layouts. For example, a button labeled “Click Here” in English may expand to “Cliquez ici pour continuer” in French, which can break the layout. Allow extra space in user interfaces or marketing materials to accommodate these changes.

6. Keep Sentences Short
   Short sentences are easier to translate accurately and reduce the chances of errors. For instance, a long English sentence about a product’s features might become overly complicated in Tagalog.
   Breaking it down into shorter statements, like “This product is durable. It is water-resistant,” ensures clarity and avoids confusion for translators and readers alike. Employing a multilingual translation services provider can further ensure your content remains clear and concise.
7. Avoid Idioms and Colloquialisms
   Phrases like “break the ice” or “hit the nail on the head” often don’t have direct equivalents in other languages. For instance, in Mandarin, these phrases could lead to confusing literal translations. Instead, use direct expressions, such as “to start a conversation” or “to be accurate,” which maintain the intended meaning and are easier to translate. Professional English to Mandarin translation service providers can help navigate such challenges effectively.
8. Provide Context for Translators
   Translators need clear context to accurately convey meaning, especially for technical or industry-specific content. For instance, a word like “seal” might refer to an animal, a stamp, or a gasket, depending on the context. Including translator notes reduces errors and ensures consistency. This is particularly important for multilingual interpreting services, where immediate understanding is critical.
9. Use Globally Recognized Formatting
   Formatting for dates, times, currencies, and measurements varies significantly across regions. For example, in Russian, dates are typically written as day/month/year, whereas English uses month/day/year. Similarly, currency symbols like $ can be ambiguous unless specified (e.g., USD, CAD). Adhering to global standards or specifying formats helps avoid confusion, particularly in e-commerce or financial documentation. A reliable translation project management company ensures such mistakes never slip through the cracks.
10. Optimize for SEO Across Languages
    Directly translating English keywords may not yield effective results in other languages. For instance, an English keyword like “cheap hotels” may not align with search behavior in Spanish, where “hoteles baratos” or “alojamiento económico” might perform better. Collaborating with local experts or a multilingual SEO consultancy ensures keywords are culturally appropriate and relevant, boosting visibility and engagement in markets like Brazil, where search behavior in Brazilian Portuguese differs significantly from English-speaking markets. Using a multilingual translation service can simplify this process and guarantee clarity across all languages.

In Conclusion

Writing content for multilingual translation isn’t just about playing linguistic hopscotch; it’s about juggling words, cultures, and occasionally, an alarming amount of context notes.
You may find your idioms, like “it’s raining cats and dogs,” charming. But think about someone in Japan. They might picture real animals falling from the sky. Chaos!

By following these tips, you can avoid losing your content in translation. This will help you avoid embarrassment worldwide.

So, if you’re ready to go global without sounding like a poorly dubbed movie, let us help you. Whether it’s translation, interpretation, or multilingual SEO magic, we’ve got you covered across borders.