Today’s globalized and interconnected world has become much easier for businesses to extend operations beyond their native country and onto other regions worldwide.
Naturally, communicating with markets in other areas requires understanding and using their language. Still, before deciding which ones to translate, it is essential to know which are the most translated languages today.
Choosing the languages for translation will largely depend on the business opportunities you seek. Exploring some will grant access to many users, while others can let you engage with a smaller group but with a higher purchasing power.
The Internet World Stats features a ranking of the top 10 most popular languages today, with English being the first. Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic have around 1.5 billion internet users combined, followed by Japanese, French, Russian, Portuguese, German, and French with 1.3 billion users, placing them among the most translated languages. Many online businesses continually monitor these findings and work accordingly in such markets.
Thus, if you are interested in expanding your operations, consider engaging a translation service in Singapore to communicate with the following five most translated languages in today’s digital space.
With China’s population reaching over 1 billion and the country’s many business opportunities, it comes as no surprise that Chinese has a high translation demand. However, note that Chinese comes with many dialects, which can be confusing because the written content can be the same.
Thus, if you are targeting a specific market within China, specify which content needs translation. When it comes to translating written content, Simplified Chinese is generally used. Nonetheless, verify that your translation agency in Singapore has Mandarin specialists adept at handling both spoken and translated languages.
Spanish comes second in the list of spoken languages in the world. Having over 500 million speakers in countries like Latin America and Europe, Spanish is a good choice for those looking to expand in such regions and need a translation service.
However, just like Chinese, Spanish can have slight differences depending on the region, so consider which dialects you want to target.
It is undeniable that Japanese can be challenging to translate, and the necessity for Japanese translation services is even more apparent given that most Japanese people have poor English skills.
Moreover, with 109 million Japanese users online, marketers need to find a way to bridge the communication gap to gain a foothold in this affluent market.
It is important to note that Japanese uses three writing systems, and thus localisation can be more costly, especially if you are aiming for an accurate and natural-sounding translation.
Providing a French translation for your business website could let you reach out to as many as 36 million online users in France alone, without considering other people who speak the language in regions like parts of Canada and the Caribbean, Belgium, Switzerland, Monaco, and Luxembourg.
In addition, there are also French-speaking countries with growing economies in the African region, such as Côte d’Ivoire, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. With a huge part of these users being avid online shoppers, it is no wonder that French is a must-translate language today.
Arabic is one of the languages that many foreign companies translate into English. This language has seen a significant rise in usage on the internet, now boasting around 46 million online users.
Furthermore, since many searchers are starting to use the language, it prompted Google to develop domains explicitly tailored for 15 different Arabic countries. Therefore, neglecting to translate to Arabic, which has 280 million speakers and 23 countries that use the language, could cause you to miss out on sales.
Deciding which markets to expand to requires planning towards many factors, one of which is translating into their primary language. Given how communication is the first crucial requirement in any business relationship, it pays to engage a reputable translation company in Singapore, such as Eureka Translations, to overcome the communication barrier of your target market.
Translating more than words, Eureka Translations can also help in your marketing campaign by translating your ideas into a real campaign. Contact us today, or visit us at Raffles Place, if you are in need of translations, be it for words or otherwise.