As China continues to play a more integral role in the global economy, the ability to do business in, with, and from China is of the utmost importance. At the “Ali-blah-blah-blah: Speaking the Language of China” panel at LocWorld27 Shanghai last week, our President and CEO, Shunee Yee, addressed some of the challenges companies face when communicating their values abroad.
The LocWorld27 event began with a 15-minute one-on-one dialogue between Shunee Yee and Huang Youyi, Vice President of the Translators Association of China. Huang is one of the key translators of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China, the recently released book by the president of the People’s Republic of China. He explained some of the challenges he faced in translating the ideas and values of 1.3 billion people to the other 5.7 billion in the world.
“The future for the Chinese economy is further integration into the world economy,” said Huang. “That offers great opportunity for people in the localization industry to help them do just that.“
Ron Myers of AMD and Bill Chen of Huawei also joined the panel for a 30-minute question and answer time. The three panelists tackled questions concerning localizing in the digital age, working with companies on a tight budget, and communicating corporate values to an international audience.
“Companies that translate after sales report are 80% – that is 8 times – more likely to retain those customers. That fact had a significant impact on the way I looked at localization,” said Myers. “We began translating our blogs, which contained a lot of that information, based on that research.”
Myers also shared the challenges localization experts face as the world becomes more digital. “In the digital age, it’s no longer enough to translate into one medium. You also have to consider the new language that digital has brought. Ten years ago, if someone said ‘LOL,’ you wouldn’t know what it meant, but for most of us now, that means ‘laugh out loud.’”
Bill Chen added that, for Huawei, the challenges of localization go beyond getting the language right. “These days it’s not enough to export your products and localize your product documentation,” shared Chen. “You’ve got to export your culture, and you have to package it in a way that appeals to your target audiences around the world.”
All in all, the LocWorld27 panel became a platform where fresh insights were shared and minds were inspired. The panel concluded with Ron Myer’s rendition of the classic John Lennon’s song, Imagine, and the audience dispersed, hopefully with a better understanding of the China market and of doing business internationally.
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