Legal document translation covers translation that’s done for legal purposes. If you’re looking to translate your legal documents, then this is the service you should go for. That’s because legal document translation is a specialist area of translation, and there are unique aspects that make it different from other types of translation.

Read on to find out more on legal document translation, including what documents are classified as legal, the different legal systems in place around the world and some top tips on how to navigate the legal document translation process, so you get the best result at a fair price. 

Types of legal documents that may require translation

There are many different types of legal documents, formats and translation requirements, such as certification, depending on the purpose of the translation, but the main ones are:

• Wills and testaments
• Witness statements
• Contracts
• Confidentiality agreements
• Court transcripts
• Laws
• Birth certificates
• Notarized documents
• Bank statements
• Patents
• Licenses 
• Legal disclaimers
• Arbitration documents
• Adoption papers

Importance of legal translation 

Legal documents should be translated extremely accurately, as the consequences of poor legal document translation can be catastrophic. For instance, the reasons why legal documents are translated often revolve around life-changing developments, like adopting a child, buying a house, or executing a person’s will. The world’s legal systems have their own jargon and complex concepts. Therefore, it’s wise to pick a legal translation company with demonstrable experience translating the kind of documents you need.

Legal systems

Every country’s legal system is unique, resulting from a complex set of factors. Despite this variation, there are clear categories for the world’s various legal systems. They fall into common law; civil law; customary law; religious law, and mixed systems featuring legal pluralism.

The two commonest systems are common law and civil law, the latter predominant in countries that were British colonies, like Hong Kong and Singapore. Civil law is the commonest system. Rather than being based on the precedent of previous judgments, as with common law, civil law is based on laws written by the government. Hong Kong and mainland China operate different systems, for example.

If you’re translating a document for use in different jurisdictions, this is an important consideration to keep in mind. 

Certified translations

There is an idea circulating that legal translators need to be sworn in or certified to work on legal documents, but this isn’t the case in many common law jurisdictions. However, this concept of a sworn translator does exist in countries that operate a civil law system, like Spain, for example. 

However, legal translations often need to be certified, especially certified translations, notarized translations, or apostille-authenticated translations. With apostille translations, a stamp is put on the document as proof of its genuineness. Many countries require these translations for legal processes, such as proving marriage status when applying for a visa. 

The certification process is straightforward: 

1: Check what type of certification you need

2: Find an expert translation agency

3: Get a quote including details on the turnaround time

4: Accept/decline the quote

5: Submit the document for certified translation

Tips for translating legal documents

Seek advice from legal professionals such as solicitors, lawyers or barristers when needed

These experts will be able to advise you whether you need a certified translation or whether there are special formatting requirements for your type of document. This advice will prevent you from making an expensive mistake. 

Be clear about how and where the translation will be used

As there are various types of documents, not to mention legal systems, as well as myriad uses for translating documents, the best approach is to be clear with the translator as to why you want to have the document processed. A certified legal translator will know how to proceed. This advice includes what language pairs should be used, for example, Chinese to Japanese translation. 

Go with the professionals 

Your old classmate may be good at translating newspaper articles or the odd email but would not be capable of translating a legal document to the degree of accuracy necessary. Look for a professional agency that is used to dealing with these types of documents. 

Master the art of search

Getting to grips with search engine keywords is helpful when looking for a potential translation partner. Use different combinations of keywords relating to the topic you are searching for. For example, try “legal translation company” and “legal document translation services near me” or “legal translation services” or “legal document translation” to get a wider array of results and find the top translation vendors. 

Master Bates numbering

Make sure the translation agency understands how to maintain Bates numbering. Translation tends to expand or contract the length of the source document, so the agency needs to consider this and plan appropriately.

Pitfalls to avoid

Don’t use a cheap inexperienced translator

The legal world is one brimming with specializations, like contract law, litigation, family law, criminal law, and constitutional law, to name just a few. Using a cheaper, less experienced translation agency could work out, but the risk is much higher, and a mistake could be costly. Look for a translator that has experience in the field relating to your document, and take a look at what previous clients have said about the quality of both the legal translation services and customer services. If there’s a lot of poor feedback online, that’s a big red flag. 

Don’t use an online machine translator

While it’s true that machine translators have come on leaps and bounds in terms of accuracy over the past few years, they aren’t up to the job of translating legal documents accurately. These documents are far too important to put through a machine that doesn’t understand the nuances and complexities of the legal system. 

Avoid tight timeframes if possible

High-quality translation takes time. Even if the translator is highly experienced and efficient, the nature of these types of documents means they can take a bit longer. For instance, the review process is more stringent, and if you require a certified document, this process can take extra time compared to a straightforward translation of, say, an email.  

How to pick a translation agency for your legal document

Not all legal translation services are made equal. But how do you pick the best suited to your unique needs and circumstances? 

• Ask your legal professional for a recommendation
• Make sure to conduct due diligence on potential translation partners
• If you need a certified translation, check if the agency provides this service
• Look for indicators of good customer service

With the right translation partner at your side, translating your legal documents will be a straightforward process. 

To find out more about legal document translation services, get in touch with Into23’s team of highly experienced experts today. 

With legislation being implemented around the world to protect people’s privacy online and secure information, such as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679) in the European Union, which went into effect in 2018, and China’s Data Security Law (DSL) as well as its Personal Information Protection Law, which were implemented in 2021, the handling of data is governed by a complex patchwork of rules. 

Transporting data across borders is growing ever-more challenging. And with translation and interpreting often covering the transfer of information online, clients and vendors alike need to ensure they are compliant. The consequences of non-compliance can be onerous. For example, under the EU’s GDPR regime, penalties include a fine of up to 10 million euros, or 2% of a business’ entire global turnover for one fiscal year. 

Having a translation partner that’s data-secure makes good business sense and is the foundation of data compliance. 

When using a translation agency, it’s important to check that it’s data-secure. This means that the data is encrypted in transit and stored in a risk-appropriate manner. If you’re sending documents for translation, you want peace of mind that the best translation services company is handling the information securely. 

Read on for some top tips to keep your information safe and stay on the right side of the law.  

What is data security?

It covers the process of preventing digital information from being accessed by unauthorised persons, including by thieves, and encompasses security measures like ensuring hardware is physically secure, restricting administrative controls, and managing access.

The threat

Data security measures go a long way to preventing data breaches. They are necessary because such hacks are a growing problem around the world. The Identity Theft Research Center reported a 17% increase in data breaches in 2021, year on year. 

These attacks are partly attributable to intellectual property (IP) theft. IP covers inventions, creative expressions and ideas, and includes copyrighted work, music, software, movies and designs, to name just a few. Imagine engaging an agency to complete technical translation services on a new scientific discovery which has yet to be announced, and the information is hacked ahead of the launch and released to the media. 

Due diligence is the leading way to make sure your choice of translation services is a sound one. Whether you’re looking for a legal translation company, technical translation services, general business translation solutions, the process of assessing a potential partner is the same.

Conduct due diligence 

If you want to source expert translation services that are a good fit and are data-secure, you’ll need to conduct some thorough research. The aim is to gather information to make an informed decision. As well as looking at the vendor’s pricing and experience, data security is one criteria to add to the decision-making process. If a company falls down on data security, that’s a potential indicator it doesn’t pass muster in other regards too, like customer service, or accuracy.

What to look for?

Reputable language translation technology will have in place appropriate processes and protections to keep the information they handle secure from prying eyes and to stay compliant with data privacy policies. But how do you tell whether a translation agency in Hong Kong or a marketing translation agency in Singapore is data-secure? Here are the top things to look for. 

Check the platforms used

A Nimdzi report in 2021 identified more than 750 tech solutions in the translation industry, including translation management systems, legal document translation services, transcription services, audio transcription services tools and deep voice narration, among others. Using software localization services and multimedia localization services reduces the risk of a data breach. 

Ask what protocols are in place to comply with the law

If you’re transmitting and receiving data across borders and are concerned about staying compliant, it’s a good idea to flag any concerns or ask what measures are in place. This may involve just an assurance that the translation partner complies with the relevant regulations. 

Inquire about a track record of compliance

If presented with a choice between a company that had been fined for non-compliance several times and a company that had never been handed such penalties, the best course of action would be to go with the latter. Information that is indicative of a company taking compliance seriously is whether it conducts regular security and data audits. 

Ask about freelancers

Most translation agencies make use of contract freelancers. Therefore, it’s prudent to inquire whether your prospective partner ensures it has non-disclosure agreements in place and uses secure work platforms when working with freelancers.

Sign a non-disclosure agreement

This is a good first step for safeguarding information. An NDA, in its essence, is a legally enforceable agreement that binds the signatories to a set of clauses restricting the sharing of confidential information. If you’re a company translating a series of patent applications, or you’re translating the documents for an initial public offering, for instance, an NDA would help ensure that sensitive information is not released or divulged. NDAs can be tailored to fit specific circumstances, with the parameters including definitions as to what constitutes confidential information and the obligations that each party is subject to, as well as the timeframe the agreement covers. 

Keeping data-secure and complying with relevant regulations are increasingly important, and by following the tips above, you’ll be able to make an informed choice, and pick a reputable translation partner. 

Get in touch today for a no-obligation chat with our translation experts, who are on hand to answer questions about your translation needs.

The process of translation may seem like a mere exchange of words and phrases from one language to another but as any quality freelance translator will tell you, there is a lot more to it than that. A good translator will use a variety of translation techniques and methods depending on the language it’s being translated into and the target market it’s aiming to reach.

Translation’s beginnings

In history, the translation of writing goes back as far as the Mesopotamian era and is believed to have started with the epic Sumerian poem, The Gilgamesh, which was translated into a variety of Asian languages around the second millennium BC. The need for translation began to increase with the development of religious texts and theories. The word translation is derived from a Latin term that means “to bring or carry across”. The word metaphrasis in Ancient Greek, which means “to speak across” created the word metaphrase which was the first term for a “word-to-word” translation. As translation and translation studies became more common, defined techniques and methods took form. 

Translation methods and techniques

J.P. Vinay and J.Darbelnet were pioneers of translation studies as they created and published formalised translation procedures in 1958 with their book titled, Comparative Stylistics of French and English: A Methodology for Translation. It was one of the first times translation methods had been categorised and since it has become the basis of technique for modern multilingual translation services. 

Vinay and Darbelnet’s methods and techniques

While a translation method can be applied to an entire translated text, translation techniques and types of translation vary based on what elements will be translated. Vinay and Darbelnet detailed seven different techniques within two methods of translation.

Direct or literal translation method

This method is used when similar concepts and structures of the source language can be used in the translated language. Languages need to be similar in a variety of ways for these techniques to work as these types of translation techniques are not able to capture a lot of nuances found in language.

Borrowing technique – is a technique that involves borrowing a word from one language and using it in another. So the translator will make the conscious choice to retain a word while translating the rest of the sentence. You’ll often see this with English as the English language tends to borrow many words from other languages. While not explicitly a translation technique it is common with globally familiar words. 

Borrowing examples: sombrero, café, kimono, hamburger, kimchi

Calque technique – Many words don’t translate well into other languages, the calque technique is used by translators in this instance. A translator will coin and come up with a new word or term in the translated language. 

Calque examples: gratte-ciel in French is a calque of ‘skyscraper’.  An ‘Adam’s apple’ is calque of the French phase pomme d’Adam. Beer garden is a calque of the German biergarten. 

Literal translation technique – This technique is the most straightforward in that each word is translated directly. This is generally ineffective for languages that are not closely related and is generally only used with select legal or corporate translation.

Indirect or Oblique translation method

This method is most often used when languages and cultures are substantially different, such as English to Chinese translation. This method will usually change the structural or conceptual elements of the text to preserve its meaning.

Transposition – This technique involves a shift from one grammatical structure to another, usually with languages that have different grammar structures. 

Transposition example: Rendering a French noun with an English verb, Je l’ai vu avant la rentrée can be directly translated to English as  “I saw her before school started”, this changes the noun la rentrée into a verb.

Modulation – The modulation technique is extremely common in marketing when localizing into a new market. Modulation changes and adjusts the original text completely but it preserves the same meaning and patterns so that it is recognisable in target translated language. 

Modulation examples: Lebensgefahr in German means danger to life, whereas in English we would say “danger of death”. A literal translation of this phrase from English to German would sound odd and confusing to a German person. Another example is how French speakers refer to the top floor of a building as dernier étage which translates as “last stage” in English. A literal translation of this phrase from French to English would baffle many prospective English apartment buyers and renters.

Equivalence/reformulation  – Similar to modulation and also an essential technique for any localization strategy, this technique preserves the meaning of an expression or proverb by using something equivalent in the translated language. 

Equivalence/reformulation examples: The English phrase “It’s pouring,” which refers to a downpour of rain doesn’t translate into German but the meaning can be altered to give the same effect, es regnet in Strömen (It rains in streams).

Adaptive – This technique is a sort of cultural substitution or equivalent in that one cultural element is replaced with one that will be better suited and understood in the language and region it’s being translated to. 

Adaptive examples: Baseball or NFL football in the US 🡪Football in England

Choosing the best translation technique 

Out of these basic and common techniques, how do you know what translation tools, translation techniques or methods are the best for your business or localization strategy? Every business, strategy and approach is different so the best way to get a return on your investment is to use certified translation services. Quality translators will assess your documents, software, website, eLearning platform or eCommerce software to ensure that your business successfully reaches your target market and audience. 

Into23 offers high quality translation services in any language your business needs. Contact us today for a free quote so we can help your business enter new global markets and enterprises.

Important things to consider if you’re localizing your business in Chinese

Chinese is one of the most important business languages. It is second only to English in terms of being the most spoken, so here are a few important things to know while creating your localization strategy.

With a large population and a growing number of middle-class consumers, the Chinese market has been a new hotspot for businesses. The Chinese market can be a successful market for your business if it’s done right. It’s easier than ever to crack this market with the growth of technology, online shopping, eCommerce translation services, and eLearning platforms. However, there are some major points to consider if you want to localize for a Chinese area or region, as there are many pitfalls when localizing to Chinese.

History of the Chinese language and its different types

Chinese is an old and diverse language. In mainland China alone, around 70 million people belong to 55 different minority groups, each with their dialect and some that don’t even have a distinguishable written form. However, with the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, Mandarin was chosen as the official language of the country. Today, more than 70% of the Chinese population speaks Mandarin. 

Written Chinese

Written Traditional Chinese is around 6000 years old and is the oldest written language in the world. Cantonese speakers generally still use these characters, as do Mandarin speakers in Taiwan. Mandarin speakers in China use Simplified Chinese characters. Simplified characters have been around significantly less than their traditional counterpart as they were formalized at the beginning of the People’s Republic of China. The People’s Republic of China was formed in 1949, and at the time, the majority of Chinese could not read or write. To improve literacy, Mao Zedong initiated a new system of Simplified Chinese, simplifying around 2000 Chinese characters by reducing the number of strokes used for each character. Simplified Chinese was first used in 1956. 

While there are various spoken dialects of Chinese, these are the two major forms of writing. This is handy as even if the spoken dialect is different, Chinese can generally communicate through writing. 

Different dialects

Seven major dialects are used in China and its Special Administrative Regions (SARs). To reach the Chinese market with your business, you need to know where your target market is and what Chinese form is used there.

Dialect	Region Spoken
Mandarin (Putonghua)	Most of mainland China, Taiwan, Macau
Cantonese/Yue	Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou (Canton), and Wuzhou.
Min	Fujian province and parts of Guangdong, Zhejiang, Hainan, and Taiwan
Wu	Zhejiang province, Shanghai, southern Jiangsu province, parts of Anhui and Jiangxi provinces.
Xiang	Most of the Hunan province, the counties of Quanzhou, Guanyang, Ziyuan, and Xing’an, northeastern Guangxi province.
Gan	Jiangxi province
Hakka	Northeastern Guangdong, adjoining regions of Fujian, Jiangxi, Southern Hunan, and the older generations of Hong Kongers in the New Territories. In Taiwan, Hakka is spoken by some in the Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Miaoli parts of the country.

Related: What’s the Difference Between Mandarin and Cantonese?

Important considerations regarding the different dialect types

• Cantonese is the main dialect spoken in Hong Kong. Traditional Chinese characters are used for writing. While many Hong Kongers can speak Mandarin and use Simplified Chinese characters, if you are localizing for this region, you should consider using Cantonese and Traditional Chinese characters.
• In Taiwan, they speak Mandarin and write with Traditional Chinese characters. Both Taiwan and mainland China use Mandarin, but they have developed different terminology and writing styles.  

All of this variation within the Chinese language necessitates using the best Chinese translation services company to guarantee that sufficient research is done to develop a translation and localization plan that matches your strategy for entering this lucrative market.

Things to consider when creating a localization strategy for Chinese 

Know the culture, know your audience, and identify your primary dialect and region

Like any good localization strategy, you need to know your target audience, its culture, its language, and the things your target market values. You’ll need to consider how your brand voice and whether this will resonate with a Chinese audience. Can you directly translate your brand content, or will you need to consider a more creative translation, a transcreation, to convey your brand voice? As China is diverse, with differences across the regions, high-quality translation services can help you achieve your marketing strategy.  An experienced translation agency can help you avoid cultural mishaps and translation errors.

Learn from past successes and failures 

Learn from the companies who have attempted and accessed the market already. Localizing in China is challenging, and even some of the biggest names have failed after not performing thorough market research. Learning from what has worked with brands that are similar to yours can help narrow your research and expedite your localization strategy.

Related: The Top 10 Translation Blunders in Advertising 

Use local social media and eCommerce platforms

Mainland China uses various social media and eCommerce platforms that are not used or are less popular in other countries. Baidu is the search engine used by most people, with platforms such as WeChat for social media and eCommerce payments. Other social media platforms include Qzone, Renren and P1. In Hong Kong, western social media platforms are popular, and a variety of eCommerce platforms, from the Octopus card to PayMe, are used to pay for products online. 

Use expert multilingual translation services

It should be apparent by now the importance of localization and translation services when expanding your business globally, especially into Chinese markets. Navigating any new market is challenging, so take the guesswork out of your localization strategy and get the assistance of translation and localization experts. 

Into23 is a translation agency in Hong Kong offering localization and translation services. We are experts in Asian languages. Reach out to Into23 today to discuss your business localization strategy to set yourself up for success in the Chinese markets.

The total number of companies dealing in the global market in 2020 was around 213.65 million. With the rise in demand for digital platforms and the internet, businesses can go beyond the countries within their marketing spend. 

Nowadays, even a small company in a quaint city can provide its services to customers worldwide in Australia. But this doesn’t mean that business expansion doesn’t have complications or challenge localization. 

Take a simple example of a big market, such as India. If you want to connect to the audience in India as an American company, then you translate your digital presence into the local language, as more than 90% of Indians prefer to consume information in their native language. 

But this is not the case with India only. In a survey, experts evaluated 29 countries based on their consumption of information in their native language. They discovered that 76% of online customers prefer to buy from a brand with products that present information in their native language. 

All this clarifies; that proper translation is a requisite to online success globally. Apart from online content, businesses use translation services even for legal, scientific, and financial purposes. 

Here is a look into the different types of business translation organizations currently use to negate the language barrier.  

What is business translation?

Business translation is the translation of information and official documentation that a company distributes. These documents can include emails, training materials, website content, memoranda, etc. All the translated documents can affect the brand identity; therefore, the translation must be 100% accurate. 

In most cases, businesses don’t have linguistic experts in their organization, and therefore, they usually go for business translation services. These third-party experts provide complete translation services. From voice-over translation to legal translation, a translation management company has many services.

A professional translator will be well-versed in both languages to avoid misinterpretations. In most cases, word-to-word translation rarely works since the terminology may differ in the native language. That is why it is necessary to work with a company that exclusively offers business translation services.  A business translation company may offer a wide array of localization services but still must have the ability to deal with financial, legal, and even medical documents. 

Types of business translation 

Although there are many kinds of business translations because a business can deal in a wide array of documents and content, we have discussed the four main types of business translations that firms of all sizes and types use.

Technical translation

There are two ways to define the term technical here;

• In a broader sense, technical translation deals with the translation of instructional leaflets, user manuals, medical records, financial reports, business memos, clerical notes, etc. All these documents have one thing in common; they all have a distinction of being for a particular target audience, and they all can have even a limited shelf-life. Not all business translation companies specialize in technical translation as it needs a higher level of expertise and experience. 
• In a narrow sense, technical translation deals with all the technical documents like mechanics, IT, electronics, and different types of industrial texts. For providing this type of technical translation, the translator must know about the specific technology as just being a linguistic expert is not enough. 

The expert dealing with technical translation must fathom the required formatting. In some cases, even the images in the documents need to be changed so that everything becomes. Be sure to choose a company that specializes in technical translation. 

Marketing and website localization

It is one of the most common types of translation services companies use. More than 71% of all small businesses have a website! Almost 49% of all businesses use some kind of digital marketing strategy. Therefore, we can understand the significance of websites and marketing.

The website localization deals with the translation of website copy, videos, and documents on the website. During website location, even the currencies, layouts, and address formats are changed to make it relevant to the local audience. 

In most cases, you need to consider the languages you wish your website to convert into and then translate only those web pages used by the native audience. But instead of relying on an automated translation system that will not be accurate, you should use the services provided by business translation companies. 

Similarly, marketing localization deals with translating all the content used for marketing purposes, from the voice used in the videos to the content used in the ad campaigns. In most marketing localizations, the company decides to hone into a specific area, and then they market the product after translation in that specific area with a specific language. 

Scientific and medical translation

This type of translation includes translating documents that have medical content linked to the patient, such as instructions, packaging, labels, product-related content, software, quality management certificates, and clinical trial paperwork. All these documents and content types need good translation services. 

It is one of those translation services where accuracy is prioritized over everything else! Since its a matter of health and safety of a patient, translators must have the requisite knowledge, and they must be in-country professionals as well. 

Translation of medical documents is tricky since the need for general translation varies from country to country. Therefore, a linguistic expert with experience in the medical field can be your best bet! 

The translator must follow a high level of quality control, and the company you are choosing for such a translation service must have the most updated tools and tried and tested processes in place. 

Legal translation services

It is one of the most complex translation services provided by an expert translation management firm. Legal translation services involve legal documents like agreements, birth certificates, marriage certificates, wills, memorandums, etc. 

These documents contain very intricate details. An experienced translator providing legal translation services needs to fathom the underlying contexts of the different documents and that of both countries for which the document is intended. Everything needs to be kept in mind during legal translation, from the politico-legal aspect to the socio-cultural aspect. 

Even after all this, the translator will have to translate the document so that local audiences can understand. That is why not all translation management companies provide legal translation services. Why? Because it requires a high level of linguistic expertise and experience in the legal field.

You should carefully choose a translation management company for legal translation services. Even a single mistake in the legal document can lead to challenging legal consequences! 

Why choose us for business translation?

Into23 is a one-stop-shop for all your translation needs since we provide translation services for every field, every type of document, and every type of language you can think of. It doesn’t matter how diverse or specific your translation needs are; we can help you. 

One of the best things about our translation services is that every translation service is fit-for-purpose. We don’t rely on a one-size-fits- approach. We always analyze the interests of the audience, the document, website, or content that needs to be translated. We evaluate our client’s target language and their specific needs. Only then will we move forward with our translation process. 

We have incorporated technology in its best form in our process as it aids in getting your content to the translator as fast as possible. We use a perfect mix of human expertise since we know translation is a human process. Since humans are prone to errors, we achieve 100% accuracy by using automated translation QA checks. 

So, the next time you need any translation service with 100% accuracy, timely delivery, and quality that surpasses your expectations, just get in touch with INTO23 and get the job done professionally. 

Both blockchain and cryptocurrencies remain among the hottest topics in the business world. In 2020, the global blockchain technology market was around $3.67 billion. According to an analysis, it will grow at a CAGR of 82.4% from 2021 to 2028. Similarly, the global cryptocurrency market was estimated at around $1.49 billion in 2020. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.8% from 2021 to 2030. People have accepted blockchain currency because it is more secure and decentralized.

All these statistics highlight that blockchain technology and cryptocurrency are here to stay. Today there is a massive demand for blockchain and cryptocurrency. This demand influences how companies provide services and are willing to revolutionize their work culture. However, the language barrier is a major concern for cryptocurrency and blockchain networks businesses. But translation services can help them.

A communication breakdown due to localized documents hinders disclosures between two entities. But there is a translation management company that provides blockchain and crypto document translation services. Let’s learn more about Into23. 

What is a Cryptocurrency translation service?

Cryptocurrency translation services provide the translation of content and documents related to the investment and transaction of cryptocurrency. For this type of service, the translator needs to be an expert in both the technological and crypto fields. 

Cryptocurrencies don’t have a single authority setting the value; they are decentralized. Miners, traders, and investors related to cryptocurrency come from different parts of the world. And just like any globalized industry, professional translation plays a very important role in the investment and transaction of the currency. 

The blockchain system is now beginning to appeal to many industries, from finance to insurance to tech startups, most importantly, all that high-value on the global level. But to break the language barrier and pave the way into the foreign markets, one needs the service of a translation management company that can deal with these types of specialized translation services. 

If your firm plans to build a new cryptocurrency or conduct an Initial Coin Offering, you must consider a cryptocurrency translation company, such as Into23.

Types of Blockchain and Crypto documents that one can translate

Initial Coin Offering: ICO

Initial Coin Offering is an unregulated means to easily raise funds for a cryptocurrency venture. But unlike Initial Public Offering, investing in the ICO doesn’t mean the investors will get an ownership stake in the company they are investing into. Nowadays, almost anyone can launch an ICO since the regulations related to the launch aren’t that strict. 

But if you want your funding to stay secure from all the potential international investors, you must make sure that ICO is easy to fathom, and this is where the crypto translate service comes into the picture. With translation services, you can allure investors through engaging content. 

Financial reports

Even though cryptocurrencies are not financial assets, businesses dealing with them have to evaluate financial reports. The financial reports are the first documents that the stakeholders and shareholders need to understand. 

You need to ensure that all the financial reports are properly translated, and for this, you will need an expert crypto translate service as such type of translation requires both linguistic and crypt experts. Everything needs to be translated properly and with 100% accuracy, from income tax reports to balance sheets.

Also, you need to find a linguistic and digital currency expert that leverages the right kind of software as the high volume of figures in the financial documents makes them prone to human error. In such a case, only technology can help in maintaining 100% accuracy. 

Websites

When we talk about blockchain and cryptocurrencies, we know that geographical boundaries don’t restrict them. That’s why they are considered global currencies. But if you are dealing in the global market with a global currency, you need the local audience to understand your business in a better way. 

The only way to reach a wider audience on the digital platform is to use translation services for your website. The crypto translate experts will translate everything from the documents on your websites to the website copy, and then you will make more sense to the local audience. 

When choosing a translator for the localization of a website, it is recommended to choose a company with experience in translating with search engine optimization, as harnessing the power of SEO is as important as 100% accurate translation. 

Apps and software

If you are dealing in the cryptocurrency or blockchain market, you must have a dedicated app or software. But do you think that the English language-based app or software will be more relevant in crypto-dominant countries like Mexico, Russia, Japan, and China?

If you are looking to translate cryptocurrency, you must consider app and software translation since the company’s approach to providing the app and software translation will be based on your specific business goals. They can make the audience comfortable with the software from the very first moment of interaction as everyone prefers the local language. 

White papers

A whitepaper is a document released by the developer that explains the technology and purpose of the project. It explains how the cryptocurrency was conceived for prospective investors, highlighting its purpose. 

So, suppose you are launching brand new digital coins. In that case, you need to translate white papers with 100% accuracy. Inaccurate translations can prevent investors from investing in your company. That is why crypto translations even provide services for white papers. 

Insurance documents

Another important document that needs to be translated for a crypto or blockchain company is the insurance document. Since insurance documents include many financial jargons, they are not easy to deal with. 

You should never plan to take the insurance document translation into your own hands. Let experts translate them according to the language and the local context of the local language.

Need an express Blockchain and Crypto documents translation service?

New technologies can always result in apprehensions. Therefore, you should never add confusion with difficult to fathom and inaccurate documents and content. To keep things simple and clear, you need to convey your status, motive, and goal. For that, you must use blockchain and crypto document translation services. 

Unlike other fields of translation like legal, medical, or literary translation, blockchain translation is still a new kid on the block. Professionals should always handle whitepaper translation, ICO localization, website, and app translation. 

But you should never choose just any translation management company as the one dealing with cryptocurrency and blockchain translation should be well-versed in the digital currency realm. The professionals dealing in these kinds of translation need to be both subject matter experts and linguistic experts. That is why one should always choose a translation management company specializing in blockchain and cryptocurrency translation services. 

How will we help you?

At Into23, we offer an end-to-end translation service for every type of blockchain and cryptocurrency content and document. Whether you plan to localize your ICO or software, we encompass all. We have a vast network of skilled and certified translators who are not only linguistic experts but are well-versed in both cryptocurrency and blockchain. 

Here are some of the highlights of our world-class cryptocurrency and blockchain translation service;

All languages and content covered. 

We cover all the languages of the major cryptocurrency markets; we even cover every type of content related to cryptocurrency and blockchain. So, after choosing us, you won’t have to scour the internet for any other kind of translation service provider. 

Industry-leading technologies 

With our industry-leading technology, we can automate your translation project management, distribute the content to our translator and achieve 100% accuracy. 

So, the next time you wish to reach a wider audience in the crypto-dominating market, choose Into23 and localize every aspect of your presence to make processes seamless, profitable, and alluring. 

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So what’s the Difference between Notarized and Certified Translations?

Notarized and certified translation services are some of the most requested services among translation companies. 

These two different types of translation are often confused with one another and are, at times, requested when they’re not needed. While they share some similarities, there are differences between these two types of translation and in the way in which they are used. 

If you are a business that has begun to expand globally and are putting together a marketing strategy, it’s not always easy to know which of these services you’ll need. So what are the differences between a notarized and certified translation and in what instances are they required?

What is certified translation?

Certified translation refers to translations that are done and signed by a sworn translator. The purpose of certified translation is to prove that the document has been translated correctly and is of the highest quality. Certified translations focus on the quality of the translation and are meant to ensure that it meets the highest-quality translation standards. Further, the translator is held liable for the translation and information presented in the document.

What is notarized translation?

A notary has authorisation from the government to authenticate and oversee specific legal documentation. Notarization proves that a document meets a set of standards and that it abides by a law or regulation. 

A notarized translated document focuses less on high-quality translation accuracy and more on meeting the legal standards and requirements of an institution or legal system.

What is the difference between notarized and certified translation?

Where things tend to get confusing between the two is that both certified and notarized documents have legal connotations to them in that the translator or the notary is liable to documents they are working with. The biggest difference between the two is that a notarized document doesn’t have the same demand on translation quality.

A certified legal translator needs to have a professional degree that majors in translation and they usually complete tests that prove their capacities as a translator and allow them to be part of formalized unions and groups to ensure consistent high- quality translation. 

This step is not required in notarization. When a document becomes notarized, it has often gone through a certified translation already and the notarization process is the additional step in ensuring that the document meets certain requirements. 

When the document is handed over to be notarized, a public notary isn’t looking for its translation accuracy but rather that it meets a set of legal requirements and that the person that did the translation is accountable for the information that is contained in it. 

Notarizing certifies the document or certificate itself, rather than the translation. Certified legal translators often sign an affidavit that is sworn in the presence of the notary which will contain the notary’s seal and signature. So, think of notarization as an additional legal authentication process.

When to use certified translation services?

Legal documents are the most common types of documents requiring certified translation services. Here are a few common examples,

• Immigration paperwork
• Court documents
• Birth certificates
• Marriage or divorce certificates
• Backgrounds checks
• Service agreements
• Business contracts
• Patent translation
• Adoption paperwork
• Medical bills
• Business licenses
• Legal deeds
• DNA exams
• Academic qualifications and/or transcripts

They usually complete tests that demonstrate their capability as a translator and enable them to join formalized unions and groups to ensure consistent high-quality translations.The translator will then sign and stamp the documents, provide an official statement verifying its accuracy and provide credentials attesting to their skill and quality.

When to use notarized translation services?

When it comes to a notarized document, which performed, the translation is not important, what is important is that it meets a set of legal requirements which is all a notary will check for. The most commonly notarized items are usually on education-based documents and related administrative documents. 

For example, if you have qualifications that were acquired in another country and are in one language and you need to provide these documents to another education facility in a different language. Notarizing these documents proves that the education credentials from one country translate to meet the same standards in another.

Examples of items that don’t require certified translation or notarization

While having certified translation is essential for sensitive information and legal documents, these services also come at a different cost. While it’s important to employ a good translation agency for your translation and localization strategy, not everything needs to be officially certified. Examples of items a translation company can localize and translate that don’t necessarily need to be certified,

• General workplace procedures or training guides
• Marketing items such as signs, social media posts, websites, etc.
• Email notices
• Essays or homework
• Most eLearning platforms and courses

While it is important that all of these items be translated properly, especially if you’re localizing, they are not legally imperative materials that require certification.

The importance of language translation services

When it comes to business documentation and translation, it’s best left to language service providers and professionals. A quality translation company can help you discern what you need to have certified or notarized and more. 

Certified translation services can offer the assurance needed for sensitive legal documents that require high quality translation and will meet the standards for any regulatory body and be ready for notarization if required.

At Into23, we have a team of certified legal translators here to help your business thrive and meet the highest standards of translation. With all languages covered, let us become your language service provider and help your business succeed globally.

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Here are the best ways to reach new audiences in other languages with your press releases.

Got big news to share? As a business, if you want to get the word out one of the most consistent and reliable ways of making such an announcement is with a press release or a press statement. However, things can feel a bit more complicated if you need to translate your press release into one or more languages. Here’s how to garner the most attention and reach a wider audience with your translated press releases. 

What is a press release?

It is usually a short announcement, often only a few paragraphs, that is aimed at the media or target audience that is meant to inform and release essential information. Often Press Releases market new products or services or even celebrate a businesses success or new venture.

These are meant to be shared widely, encourage conversation, as well as entice and create excitement about whatever it is you’re announcing which calls for an engaging and concise writing style. This same feel and writing approach needs to carry across when you translate your press release too.

Why press releases are important for business?

Press releases are one of the most effective ways to spread the word about your business in a manner that fits with your company. Holding the voice of your business with the information you deem important, Press Releases in the right hands can create a lot of buzz, especially with the use of social media and digital marketing.

Keeping a Check

This includes items such as a grand opening press release, event press release, a product launch press release, a new promoted CEO, or a company amalgamation or merger.  Sending press releases to the right media streams can drum up a lot of positive attention which in turn will equal sales and revenue. However, a badly done or poorly translated press release can spell bad news for any product launch or formal business announcement.

Why you should translate your press releases?

If you’re an international company, you know the importance of localization and translation services. Localization is when you cater your businesses’ content to the native language in the area.

Localization goes beyond a literal translation as it takes into consideration the region where the language is spoken, cultural nuances, the beliefs and values of the target market, as well ensuring that your businesses content carries the same meaning and importance in translation.

Localization is an important part of any marketing strategy as consumers are more likely to purchase something if it is advertised in their native language.

Related: The Top 10 Translation Blunders in Advertising

The best tips for translating a press release:

1.Focus on a target audience

Before you even get started writing a press release, you need to know your target audience. Start by asking what your public relations aims are, who exactly are you trying to reach, and what you expect to achieve.

If that goal is to reach an audience that uses a different language or region that is outside what your business normally practices in, not only will you need to localize your press release, but you’ll need to find appropriate press release distribution and or media outlet to spread the word.

2.Localize

Localization is needed if you want your international content to reach different local markets. That will mean that if you’re planning on releasing a press release in more than one language, you’re going to need each of those releases to be localized for that region and language for best results. 

Localization ensures that your message is well received by your target audience as it will be sensitive to the cultural uniqueness and values of that area while ensuring your company’s message still carries the same meaning and impact and that you meet the area’s local regulations and requirements.

What does this include?

• This might include changing your company name or slogan for the targeted region to ensure your brand is consistent and has the same meaning in the new language.
• It’s also important that the wording and message in your original release is as clear as possible to avoid confusion during translation.
• Don’t forget any media, images, or captions you’ve attached to the press release as they’ll need to be localized too.

3.Avoid acronyms

While acronyms help keep documents concise it’s best to avoid them when translating or localizing a press release as they may not translate well. An occasion where an acronym might work is if the company name has already been localised for that region, however, it’s always best to consult with a localization agency to make sure.

4.Time your distribution

To make the most of this newly translated press release, ensure that it is released in a timely fashion and within the local time of the region you’re looking to gain traction in. Be mindful of time zone differences and local holidays that might differ from your own.

5.Use expert industry translators

International translation companies are experts in different areas of business so find a translation partner that knows your business as well as your target audience. Localization and translation services that are more attuned to your industry will be able to offer quality translations that are quick and efficient while also ensuring a higher success and reach with your press release.

Into23 offer multilingual translation services and specialise in Asian languages to help companies break into the Asian market. Into23 offers a quick turnaround on marketing translation services such as press releases, website localization, ecommerce translation and more. Contact us today for a free quote and get in touch with one of our expert translators.

The Language of Farming and Food: Why Agribusiness companies need Translations

The global Agribusiness sector has been reshaped by the impact of the pandemic. Agriculture in developing and emerging economies has faced extensive setbacks due to supply chain disruptions and the disproportionate effect that COVID 19 has had on populations in the world’s major production regions. The industry has had to adapt with a combination of support programs for smallholder farmers and increasing investment in agritech, a major agribusiness trend in recent years. 

Set up your investment in agricultural machinery with multilingual translation services

Agritech involves improving the efficiency of industrial equipment like tractors and processing machines on the one hand, while developing completely new technologies, platforms and applications on the other. A report from the World Government Summit identifies new production techniques, supply chain innovations and cross-industry applications as three major agribusiness trends in 2021.

Innovation

Hydroponics, bioplastics and desert agriculture revolutionize the way agricultural products are grown, while vertical farming, genetic engineering and 3D printing enable expanded production in urban environments. Blockchains provide enhanced logistics solutions that streamline and digitise agribusiness finance, while data analytics provide actionable insights on both the production and distribution side. IoT integration brings agricultural machinery online and closely integrates every step of production, which is increasingly automated with digital agriculture applications of robotics, which enhance soil monitoring and provide a chemical free pest control solution.

Agribusiness enterprises have to adapt to the current landscape by adjusting their production strategy in order to maintain competitive advantage and ensure sustainable development. Adopting new platforms and adapting to digital agriculture brings an additional layer of challenge that may be overlooked: expert translation services for agriculture.

Translation Management as a Service for Agribusiness

The global agribusiness industry is complex, and digital agriculture makes it even more so. In addition to the inherent requirement to provide user interfaces and documentation in multiple languages, Agriculture involves different standards procedures and regulation in every country. Terminology is a key consideration that requires not only a solid understanding of the industry, but also an appreciation of the vital importance of consistency across international operations.

Agribusiness enterprises require expert technical document translation services in order to ensure that crucial context is accounted for, while the sheer scale of operations makes Translation Management as a Service (TMaaS) a necessity. The complexity of the challenge scales with level of data generated by digital agriculture technology. In agribusiness, the volume of information flowing in multiple directions in real time requires companies to plan ahead to adapt.

Technical Documentation

For example, digital agriculture initiatives in China have accelerated the rollout of 5G networks in rural areas. Automated systems can track crop and livestock health, monitor yields, and assess landscape fertility with satellite imagery. The level of information this generates requires a comprehensive solution to efficiently track and translate, while user interfaces have to be understood by field operators who require training and administrative staff who need to fully understand the information to file reports. Multinational agribusiness enterprises have to ensure that the entire information and communication loop runs seamlessly at all times.

Innovative platforms and connected equipment provide the level of the precision required to effectively manage an agribusiness value chain. Translating this information requires the same standard of accuracy, with a steady stream of information to continuously maintain. With Translation Management as a Service, agricultural enterprises can centralize and coordinate their terminology, translation memory and document versions with a cloud-based translation system.

Agribusiness enterprises also face the challenge of coordinating translations for their fertilizer products, which includes packaging, brochures, legal documents and training manuals. Into23’s translation management system identifies key phrases that provide a basis for subsequent translation requirements. With our language translation technology, higher the volume, the faster we can translate at reduced cost.

Translators who understand Agriculture

Our technical document translators are experienced with agricultural equipment and agri-input literature and understand how to handle the volume and attention to detail required in business translation services. The document translation team works from an enterprise model perspective and plans for scalability ahead of time. They are also adept with the language and vocabulary of agribusiness, and fully understand the difference between conventional usage and industry context.

From livestock nutrition to pest control, plant breeding, fertilizers and crop protection, we work with the level of accuracy required in any language-pair. Whether it’s Polish to Chinese, Portuguese to Chinese, Urdu to Chinese, Chinese to Hindi, or more conventional language pairs like German to French, we understand application, context and culture.

Agribusiness enterprises frequently need to coordinate operations in Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and China. Equipment is often manufactured in the PRC, while seed and soil solutions are developed in Europe and deployed in Africa. The EU is a major market for processed agri-commodities while Hong Kong and Singapore serve as important business hubs for the sector. 

Why Into23?

Into23 is an expert enterprise translation service provider based in Hong Kong, and we provide a comprehensive solution for agribusiness operations. We can coordinate and plan projects that require multiple language pair translations at scale for different aspects of the operations cycle, including sourcing, production, marketing, sales, logistics and compliance. 

It is important to work with an agency that not only appreciates the importance of accuracy but also understands how to coordinate documentation translations at scale for a multinational enterprise. Working with multiple translation agencies often results in disjointed datasets and an unacceptable level of variability in critical communications. Labeling and leaflet vocabulary should seamlessly link across operations, regions and locations.

The advent of digital agriculture accelerates the pace at which agribusiness information and communications will flow. In 2022, we are only in the initial the beginning of the fourth industrial revolution, but the momentum is unmistakable.

At Into23, we are passionate about business, languages and cultures. Our linguists are keen to assist any enterprise that wants to proactively face the challenge of adaptation. From experience, we understand how to coordinate enterprise projects at scale and ensure smooth transitions, which gives us a decisive advantage with supporting agribusiness with multilingual translation services over the upcoming decade.

Feel free to get in touch or share your thoughts on global agriculture and cross-cultural collaboration. We value the stories our clients want to share, because as translators, we understand that people bring vibrancy and vitality to businesses.

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How accurate is Google Translate?

Even machine translation software like Google still has languages that defy translation.

In April 2006 Google launched a service that quickly became every internet user’s go-to for quick language translations. Google now boasts that it can translate 108 languages covering 99% of the internet population.

Yet in a world with over 7000 languages why aren’t more being included?

Many languages defy machine translation software, even though they are spoken by millions of people such as Bhojpuri (52 million), Fula or Fulani (65 million), Quechua (8 million), or African languages such as Luganda, Twi, and Ewe. So why is it that languages like Czech or Swedish, who have relatively smaller or similar numbers to these other languages, get translation support while the others are barely recognised?

Machine translation, like Google Translate, rely heavily on algorithms that are learned from human translations that require millions of words of translated text called parallel corpus. For translation machines to be effective they require a staggering number of parallel corpora for each language. An ideal parallel corpus will have content from a variety of contexts such as novels, news reports, and other pieces of writing that make up a language.

Digging Deeper

For languages like Czech or Swedish, as they are part of the European Union, a large part of their parallel corpus comes from official parliament documents. These countries are also important for big tech companies in terms of eCommerce marketing, language translation services and more, meaning that they have a larger parallel corpus to work with. With other languages, a large basis of their parallel corpus has come from the bible, which resulted in some entertaining doomsday prophecies from Google Translate prior to 2016.

In 2016, Google started using a new technique called neural machine translation which claims to have reduced translation errors by 60%. Neural machine translation is a type of artificial intelligence that can mimic some forms of human thinking. Sounds like something out of a science fiction novel, right? The neural machine translator can associate meaning to certain words and phrases. It can look at a sentence as a whole rather than translating each word. However, the database required to make this neural machine translation effective is still substantial.

Neural machine translation has been effective for select languages but what about the thousands of others?

What about the Others?

When West Africa was hit with Ebola or when Haiti was hit with an earthquake in 2010 difficulties occurred when those that were there to help could not communicate with the locals to get them the resources they needed. With little translation support for the languages spoken in these areas, it shed light on the need for diversifying machine language translations.

With COVID-19, health information has been needed in many languages which machine translation has been incapable of helping due to poor translation quality.

Further, for countries that have low literacy rates or no written language, locals may not even be literate in their mother tongue, using voice messages to communicate which increases the need for audio translation.

So, while expanding on neural machine translation is revolutionary in terms of very basic internet communication and translations it lags in terms of international need and diversity, especially in times of crisis. So what about for business?

Is Google Translate effective enough for business?

Google Translate is a convenient tool so it would be a stretch to say never to use it as it usually gets the basic understanding of a text, however, it is far from ideal in getting a quality translation that would be needed for business. Especially if you are aiming to enter the global market, need website localization, eLearning translation services, or are bolstering your eCommerce platform.

Here is why Google translate is not effective enough to be used in business.

• No Proofreading
  

  One of the appeals of Google Translate is the speed in which it produces translations, however, this comes at a cost as it doesn’t equate with a quality translation. When you use certified translation services you are guaranteed a properly formatted and grammatically correct quality translation. Further, Into23’s translation services offer 24/7 availability with a quick translation turnaround making them nearly as fast as Google.

• No Accountability
  

  Google does not have to be accountable for any inaccuracies in its translations as it is a free service. Any user can also manually input their translations and at times malicious and incorrect translations are allowed through. What’s more unnerving is that Google isn’t even accountable to your security or privacy as it collects data on whatever content you place into its text box to translate. When you work with translation professionals, your confidentiality and privacy are ensured.

• No Customisation
  

  The translations from Google Translate will not be catered to your specific business needs and you run the risk of having nonsensical or inaccurate translations. In today’s global market it is important to speak to clients and customers in their own language, such as with website localization, and if the first impression of your content is incorrect it sends the message to any prospective customers that you are not the right business for them.

• Legal Concerns
  

  Misinterpretations in formal and legal documents have the potential for serious safety or financial concerns which can lead to legal disputes. In a study performed on the terms and conditions of airlines, it detailed the risks of machine translations for legal documentation and its possible negative outcomes.

Businesses Need Certified Translation Services

No matter what type of business you run if you need to translate in any language, using multilingual translation services is crucial for business success. From transcreation for marketing to eLearning or eCommerce translation services, Into23 offers high-quality translation services in any language. Into23 works on your time and your schedule with 24/7 accessibility and fast turnaround. Get a free translation services quote today by filling in the form below or uploading your files to our quick quote portal.

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