The world is connected more now than ever before, but are you truly reaching those you want to communicate with? Connecting with other people and cultures around the world has never been easier thanks to global translation services. If you are looking to expand your reach globally, you have come to the right place. Let’s talk about what global translation services are, when you might need them, why you might use translators, and how to get started!

Global Translation Services

Global translation services provide translations for documents, marketing and advertising, training materials and other forms of media that are read or written from one language to another. Translators who are fluent in multiple languages can provide professional translation and interpreting services that help your customers understand your products and services, while allowing you to focus on running your business.

Website Translation

People across the globe use the internet every day to do their jobs, research services, and buy products. If your website isn’t easily translated into the languages your customers use, you may be missing out on their business. Utilizing website translation is a critical marketing strategy that will help you tap into new global markets, engage with your customers, and increase your sales. Your company will have an advantage by clearly communicating with people around the world and making it easier for them to do business with you, building trust you’re your customers and setting you apart from your competition.

Localization Services

Localization services, also called “transcreation,” focuses on communicating to a specific linguistic and cultural audience based on their geographic location, culture, and language. If you are doing business internationally, professional localization services can ensure you reach your target audience accurately and in ways that resonate with them personally. Localization helps you consider the cultural nuances, communication preferences, and linguistic needs that those customers expect, and deliver messaging that aligns with their needs. Investing in localization will enhance your reputation as an inclusive, professional, and reputable organization that communicates effectively.

Marketing Collateral and Documents

Now is the time to consider your technical marketing strategy and what your marketing department is doing. Is your organization currently taking into consideration multiple languages, cultures, and audiences in your communication strategy? Global marketing tactics are critically important factors to enable connecting with others worldwide.

Some marketing tactics include:
• Voiceover, Transcription, and Subtitling
• Accessibility and Interpretation
• International SEO and Digital Marketing
• Multilingual Transcription

Marketing is not the only function you need to consider. You also need to include document translation. Just think about how many documents your company creates for employees, clients, and consumers. Have you run into issues where these documents would have been better understood if they were offered in other languages? Examples of these documents include product specifications, employee manuals, regulatory information, user guides, contracts, receipts, and more. Even if you use consultation or enrollment forms on your website, you can still increase your engagement by making these items more accessible to people who use a different language. That being said, document translation services are critical to any organization’s success.

Technical Translations Matter, too!

If you are translating documents such as manuals or guides, then you will want to ensure all technical aspects of the writing are specifically translated for accuracy. Consider your client’s or customer’s perspective as they try to resolve an issue with your product. Will they be able to solve the problem if they don’t understand the language used in your materials? In business to business technical specifications, the same rule applies. An engineer at one company must be able to clearly understand the details to be able to complete a project. Again, accessibility and interpretation is key, and language translation services are the way to do just that.

How Global Translation Services Improves Relationships with Customers

Consumers are more likely to remain loyal to you and continue to put their trust in your business when they can clearly understand your brand. They want to know they are being heard and taken care of. When you go the extra mile to have their unique cultural and linguistic needs incorporated in your services and products, consumers can feel confident in their experience with your business.

Why Should I Hire a Professional Translation Service?

The need for professional translation and interpreting services is more important than ever as we use technology to connect across the globe. A professional translation services give you a way to engage with customers from different cultures, while freeing you up to focus on your business priorities. Their expertise and the review provided by these professionals will ensure that your project is is accurate and has taken into account all necessary cultural nuances related to the specific industry, material, and subject matter. When looking for a professional translation service, be careful with automated translations. Ask questions and make sure you are getting a human translation to ensure you receive quality results and for that extra personalized touch.

You may even want to check out American Translators Association to review the resources, they offer to help with your search. A good starting point is their list of corporate members that are recognized professional translators and interpreters. The American Translators Association has established quality standards of competence and ethics that members are required to comply with.

INGCO International Can Help

INGCO International is here for all your global interpreting and translation needs. Why struggle with navigating these technical processes on your own when you can have an expert do it for you, accurately and quickly? We are a leading provider of translation services and will provide you with access to our Wordologists, professional translators who can work in any preferred language you might need. INGCO International helps you expand your global presence and impact while delivering all of your translation needs. Contact us to get started today!

Writing content to be successfully translated involves more than just positioning your message to effectively target your audience’s different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. A good content style guide is essential and preparing your content for translation will help the process.

For planning and creating content that improves translation quality, shortens delivery timelines and lowers costs, we’ve prepared a copy-editing checklist.

Content creation guidelines: 8 key items for your copy-editing checklist

1. Personalize it.

Create content that is relevant to your audience / target personas as this is the number one factor driving content effectiveness. Know your audience and personalize your content to match your company’s brand voice.

Know your target market!

2. Don’t forget grammar and spelling!

Check, and double check, your content. Proofread your text to check for grammar and spelling mistakes as they will not only result in in poor-quality translation, but they will also affect translation memories for future use. It’s not uncommon for your translation team to find errors in the source text however limiting those errors will help you stay on budget and timeline.

3. Is the message clear?

Make sure your sentences are clear, concise and contain proper punctuation. Avoid choppy sentences that can distort the final message and make the meaning of the content difficult to understand.

4. What about readability…

Don’t be afraid to ask a colleague to review your content for readability and objectiveness. Readability in the source files is key to readability in the target file.

5. Let’s talk tech: source file format

Provide original, editable file formats as source documents instead of PDFs. The format of your documents and content is a huge part of project success and working with PDFs is not possible. Pre-processing PDF content into a format that is friendly for computer assisted translation (CAT) tools will increase your translation costs.

6. Don’t overlook the small print: page length and font size

Ensure text fills no more than two thirds of each page. This ensures the number of pages will remain the same for long-running languages. Additionally, don’t use small font sizes as they make some language characters illegible. Chinese characters, for example, are illegible at a six-point font.

Did you know? Most languages are at least 30% longer than English!

7. Images! And graphics

If you use pre-existing graphics and images, ask your translator to recommend solutions (such as a reference table) so readers can understand the meaning of those graphics and how they relate to your message.

8. Automatic formatting

Use the automatic formatting tools available in typing software (e.g., Microsoft Word), such as page breaks, indentation, numbered lists and syllable separation. These tools ensure text is correctly and consistently displayed in translation memory and computer assisted translation tools.

In conclusion…

Preparing content for translation requires a well-planned and structured writing style guide. Too often, translation projects go over budget or translation quality is compromised because the correct processes were not followed. Get in touch with INGCO International now to learn how to prepare your content for translation.

All foreign language documents and foreign language certificates must be accompanied by a professional, accurate and complete English language translation.* All written documents that are submitted together with an immigration application or petition to USCIS and immigration officials must include a complete translation into English. The translation must also include the translator’s certification and a certified translator must provide you with a Certificate of Accuracy or the translation will not be valid. It’s important to know the USCIS certified translation requirements or you risk jeopardizing your immigration case!

USCIS Certified Translations Services

Working with a professional translation provider ensures that the translation is accurate and it also ensures that your application or petition will not be sent back because you did not follow procedure. A professional translator should be certified to translate from one language to another and should be prepared to translate your immigration and USCIS documents. A certified translator will also provide you with a Notarized Certificate of Accuracy so that USCIS officials do not deny your request based on the translation regulations. Your translation provider will let you know the latest USCIS certified translation requirements.

USCIS Certified Translations Purposes

It is important to make sure you are always using an acceptable document for your immigration procedure; a summary of a document prepared by a translator is never acceptable and may cause your application or petition to be denied. A translator can only translate your document from one language to another and if she is a competent translator, she can prepare a Certified Certificate of Accuracy. A trusted translation provider will guide you on the USCIS certified translation requirements.

[box] – Birth Certificate – Marriage Certificate – Divorce Certificate – Death Certificate – Medical Records – Support Letters – and more![/box]

 INGCO International provides notarized Certificates of Accuracy for all documents translated for USCIS purposes. Click here for more information.

Contact us now for a free quote.

A notarized Certificate of Accuracy prepared by a certified translator is required for foreign language documents for USCIS proceedings.

* 76 FR 53764

 Note: This blog is for informational purposes only regarding USCIS certified translation requirements and is not meant to serve as legal guidance or counsel. Always consult with a licensed attorney for legal assistance.

The 20 Most Translated Texts in History

The content in this article is compiled from data and does not reflect INGCO International’s 
opinions or views.

Are you looking for a book written in your target language? We have found and listed 20 of the most translated texts throughout history. These pieces range from comics to religious texts; appealing to a wide variety of audiences. Of course we are happy to help you translate your book or document into 200+ languages — let us know how we can help.

Using the UNESCO Index Translation Database, which categories novels, plays, magazines and other literary forms by the quantity of languages they have been translated into, we present to you (from 20-1) the most translated texts in the world. 

20) Pippi Longstocking

Pippi Longstocking tells the story of a young orphaned girl with crazy red pigtails. With no parents to tell her what to do, superhuman strength, a horse that lives on her porch, and a pet monkey named Mr. Nilsson, Pippi seems to always find an outrageous adventure to go on.

Written by the Swedish author Astrid Lindgren, first published in 1945, this book series has been translated into 64 languages. 

19) The Harry Potter Series

This series of seven fantasy novels chronicles the adventures of a young wizard, Harry Potter, along with his close friends Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley. These stories follow the young wizard’s journey to overcome the dark lord, Voldemort, who aims to conquer the wizarding world, vanquish non-magical persons, and destroy those who stand in his way.

British Author J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter novel on June 30, 1997. Since the release of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (now titled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) this popular book series has sold millions of copies throughout the world and has been translated into 67 languages.

18) The Alchemist

The Alchemist follows the journey of an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago. Santiago has a recurring dream about finding a worldly treasure.  Believing this dream to be prophetic Santiago begins his journey from his home in Spain to Egypt. Along the way he meets a lone alchemist who teaches him the secrets of alchemy. The story teaches about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life’s path, and above all, following our dreams.

Originally written in Portuguese in 1988 by Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, this book has been translated into 67 languages. 

17) Book of Mormon

This religious text was first published in the United States in 1830 and is used by followers of the Latter Day Saint movement, better known as Mormons. This text is believed by Mormons to contain scripters written by prophets who lived in America before and after the birth of Jesus Christ.

Since being published this religious text has been translated into 82 languages.

16) Awake!

Awake! is a monthly magazine published by Jehovah’s Witnesses in the United States. Its articles discuss culture, health, family, biblical themes, and more. 

Since the first issue, published in 1919, it has a circulation of over 40 million copies and has currently been translated into 84 languages.

15) The Imitation of Christ

Originally written in Latin by German Thomas à Kempis, this spiritual handbook is commonly used by followers of the Christian religion. Kempis lived in a monastery and dedicated much of his time to the production of this manuscript, which was initially published in the early 15^th century.

The Imitation of Christ has been translated into 95 different languages. 

14) The Adventures of Tintin

The Adventures of Tintin is a series of comic albums revolving around Tintin, a young Belgian Reporter and his heroic adventures. This series spans a wide variety of genres with elements of fantasy, mystery, political thrillers, and science fiction. 

Since its first publication in 1929 by Belgian writer Georges Rem, who wrote under the pen name Hergé, The Adventures of Tintin has been translated into 96 languages. 

13) Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, commonly known as Alice in Wonderland, tells of a young girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole, literally, while chasing after a white rabbit in a waistcoat. Alice ends up in a fantasy world called ‘Wonderland’ which is populated by peculiar creatures such as the March Hare and the Mad Hatter. This tale plays with logic giving it popularity with both adults and children alike.

Written in 1862 by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll, this novel has been translated into 97 languages thus far.

12) New World Transcription of the Holy Scriptures

The New World Transcription of the Holy Scriptures is another text on this list written by Jehovah’s Witnesses. It contains translations of texts that were initially written in ancient Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic.

The first complete version of this text was published in English in 1961 and has since been translated into 112 languages.

11) The Quran

The main religious text of Islam, the Quran, is believed by Muslims to be the word of God as related to the Prophet Muhammad through the Archangel Gabriel.

It was written in ancient Arabic and has been translated into 112 languages.

10) The Adventures of Asterix

The Adventures of Asterix is a comic series that follows Asterix, along with his friend Obelix, on adventures to save their village of Gual from the Romans. To do this they utilize a magic potion, brewed by their druid Getafix using his magic golden sickle, giving the recipients superhuman strength, which leaves Asterix and Obelix the only ones able to save Gual (often times taking them on travels across the world).

The comic has traditionally analyzed French and European society in an ironic fashion and was first published in 1959. Created by writer Rene Goscinny and illustrator Albert Uderzo this comic series has been translated into 112 languages. 

9) Steps to Christ 

This evangelistic book written by Ellen G. White, the founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, contains advice and reflections on how to better know Jesus Christ.  It covers the topics of repentance, confession, faith, acceptance, growing into Christ, and prayer.

First published in 1892 this book has been translated into more than 140 languages.

8) Andersen’s Fairy Tales

Andersen’s Fairy Tales contains a complete collection of fairy tales written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. This collection contains many cherished tales such as “The Little Mermaid”, which tells the tale of a young mermaid who sacrifices everything for love and “The Princess and the Pea”, which tells the tale of a young woman whose royal identity is established by a test of her physical sensitivity. Other stories include famous tales such as “The Ugly Duckling”, “The Emperor’s New Clothes”, and “Snow Queen”.

This collection of Andersen’s works from 1835-1852 has been translated into 153 different languages. 

7) Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea tells the story of Captain Nemo and his submarine Nautilus, as seen from the perspective of Professor Pierre Aronnax. He (Professor Aronnax) along with his servant Conseil and a Canadian harpoonist Ned Land, embark on a journey to track down a giant sea monster but instead end up discovering the Nautilus, an extraordinary submarine built by the mysterious Captain Nemo. Together Nemo and Aronnax explore the marvels under the sea. 

This science fiction book written by author French Jules Verne was first published in 1870 and has since been translated into 174 languages.

6) The Little Prince

This poetic tale, accompanied by watercolor illustrations by the author, is a whimsical tale in which the narrator, a pilot, becomes stranded in the Sahara desert.  While worrying about his dilemma he is approached by a very serious little boy with blonde hair. “Please,” asks the boy, “draw me a sheep.” Throughout their time stranded in the desert the pilot and the Little Prince illustrate a clever and captivating tale of the importance of life.

This children’s book has sold more than 50 million copies worldwide and is one of the 50 best-selling books ever published. Written and illustrated by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, a French writer, this book has been translated into more than 180 languages since publication in 1943. 

5) The Watchtower

Another document written by Jehovah’s Witnesses that makes it’s way into our list is the magazine The Watchtower. This magazine, first published in 1879, attempts to connect contemporary themes with Biblical prophecies.

This magazine has a circulation of approximately 42 million copies a month and has been translated into 195 languages.

4) The Pilgrim’s Progress

The Pilgrim’s Progress contains 108,260 words and is divided into two parts, each an unbroken narrative with no chapter divisions. Do you think you can handle it? This work of Christian literature is one of the most famous classics to be printed. It is an allegorical novel depicting Christian’s journey through life to reach heaven. It is filled with vivid and complete human portraits of each of its characters.

Part I was written by John Bunyan in 1679 while he was imprisoned for conducting unsanctioned religious services. This section of The Pilgrim’s Progress predominately revolves around Christian, a devout Christian, and his pilgrimage to Celestial City.

6 years later, in 1684, Bunyan published a sequel (also titled The Pilgrim’s Progress) depicting instead of a male’s pilgrimage, a female’s.  Part II follows Christiana, Christian’s wife, and their children’s journey to Celestial City.  

The Pilgrim’s Progress has been translated into 200 languages. 

We’ve reached the top three translated books of all time!

3) What Does The Bible Really Teach?

This small book written from a Jehovah’s Witness group in 2005 is a Bible study tool designed to aid its audience in learning about biblical teachings. It addresses religious issues such as: Who is Jesus Christ? and What is the kingdom of God?

Since publication this book has been translated into 244 languages. 

2) The Adventures of Pinocchio

The story of Pinocchio takes place in a small Italian village where a woodcarver, by the name of Gepetto, carves a puppet out of wood and calls him by the name Pinocchio. Pinocchio dreams of one day loosing his strings and becoming a real boy. Disobedient, prone to telling lies and getting into mischief, Pinocchio finds it difficult to be good. With a nose that grows when he tells lies, this puppet cannot become human until he changes his ways.

Written by Italian Carlo Collodi in 1883, this children’s book has been translated into 260 languages. 

1) The Bible

The Bible is a collection of ancient religious texts and is considered to be the word of God in both Christianity and Judaism.

The Bible is the most read and sold book in the history of the world, with an estimated sale amount of 100 million copies annually it’s not surprising that this text received the number 1 spot on this list. It has been translated into 469 languages!

Information and data compiled from:
Oropeza, Eric. “Top 20 Most Translated Books in History.” http://www.ehow.co.uk. eHow UK, 2013. Web. 05 June 2014.

Database: Index Translationum
Index Translationum – World Bibliography of Translation.” Index Translationum – World Bibliography of Translation. N.p., 2013. Web. 05 June 2014.

Database: Amazon
Amazon Books. Amazon, n.d. Web. 05 June 2014. <www.amazon.com>.

Database: Spark Notes.
SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 05 June 2014. <www.sparknotes.com>.

Images obtained from Google Images
Google. Google, n.d. Web. 05 June 2014. <www.google.com/imghp>.