Dealing with language problems to achieve best possible communications


Apart from the differences of culture, history and politics, language is a significant barrier in business communications. It might be thought that the possibility of language problems would be high on the priority list of those entering the China market but evidence suggests that language difficulties are seldom given any serious thought.

Language problems in written communications

The work of organizing translations and the preparation of presentation materials are all too often delegated to a public relations department, which in turn passes the job on to someone whose experience they cannot judge. Worse still, foreign managers tend to take it for granted that the interpreter employed to do the job will carry it out. This may not be true. Frequently, mistakes in translations are made, even by large organizations which could easily afford to ensure that the bridge that they are trying to build into the China market gives them a good image as serious players, rather than making them a laughing stock. Smaller companies often use translation services in their home country or in Taiwan, Hong Kong and the mainland. Because of a lack of industry knowledge and reluctance to consult with industry people when translating, the poor quality of translation often results in non-professional language.

Despite the twenty-odd years which have elapsed since China opened its doors to foreign trade and investment, some companies are still having their brochures translated by translators from Taiwan or Hong Kong, whose style of language and technical terminology are different from that of the mainland. Take the name of President Bush, for example: in each of these three locations the Chinese translation is different, although the name is transliterated in all cases. Differences in translating President Bush's name do not really cost anything, but variations in translations of technical terms and marketing concepts will be more likely to cause misunderstandings or costly clarification efforts. In addition, Hong Kong and other non-mainland printers are still to be found using archaic, complex characters, instead of the simplified characters that the younger generation on the mainland now learns in school; indeed, many have difficulty recognizing complex Chinese characters.

In business correspondence, poor translation may well lead to misunderstanding or disregarded communications between the two sides of a business relationship. In such cases, the translator often takes the easy option of using familiar words rather than going deeper to convey the meaning and feeling vested in the wording.

Language problems in oral communications

The problems in written communications are easily identified since the evidence is on paper for all to see. But examples of interpretation problems in the spoken language are more difficult to document. It may be assumed however that the same people who are so ignorant and careless of written language are no less cavalier in their treatment of other aspects of the language problem. One of the authors of this chapter recently received a long-distance call from the manager of a joint venture which he helped to establish several years ago. They were having a board meeting to discuss the next steps in their marketing plan, but had problems understanding the foreign partner's proposition. He talked to the foreign manager for a while and found that it was in fact the interpreter who could not get the message across.

It is unfortunately true, broadly speaking, that the language barrier is seldom paid much attention by the business world and even if interpretation has been identified as a potential problem, sufficient resources may not be made available to find effective solutions.

The easygoing attitude that everything will be 'all right on the night' and the Chinese side will provide an interpreter is not safe. If the interpreter, particularly one who has won the job on the basis of a language qualification from a university, finds him/herself out of his/her depth and there is no one to help, there is a serious danger that he/she will be too embarrassed to admit to the difficulty and ask for clarification. Worse still, to cover up his/her ignorance and embarrassment, the interpreter may be tempted to make something up. Such cover-ups may lead to the loss of some vital point, or to major misunderstandings.

It is certainly unwise to rely on the Chinese side to find someone from within their own organization who will perform effectively as an interpreter on behalf of both sides. In a non-negotiation environment, particularly in daily management communications in a joint venture, one of the problems, unconnected to language, is that potential bias of the interpreter, conscious or otherwise , can easily lead to an interpretation which shades the meaning or to choosing 'doctored' language in order to please the audience.

It is also unrealistic to assume that any well- educated Chinese, who can speak understandable English, will be able to provide effective interpretation in complex negotiations. The foreigner's ignorance of the Chinese language will make it difficult to judge the quality of the interpretation; remembering that there is a huge difference between the ability to conduct a reasonable dialogue in a private situation and the ability to interpret in public, particularly when faced with new subject matter which may be highly technical, and will certainly have a strange vocabulary, idiom, accents, and personal idiosyncrasies. Even a practised, professional interpreter may have some difficulty with new specialist terms outside his/her general knowledge, or in understanding the idiosyncratic accents and idioms of strangers.

All these considerations apply whether the interpreter is from the Chinese or foreign side. The fundamental weakness is the same. It is perhaps surprising, in view of the number of occasions when this amateurish arrangement has been used, that so much business has eventually been negotiated. But the speed of negotiating could certainly have been much faster and many misunderstandings could have been avoided if proper arrangements for interpreting had been the rule, rather than the exception. We shall never know how many negotiations have failed and deals been aborted, because of failure to pay serious attention to overcoming the language barrier.

Advice for dealing with such language problems is:

  1. A glossary of technical terms should be prepared before the negotiation takes place. This will enable the interpreter to understand the technical side of the business and facilitate a smooth conduct of the technical discussions.

  2. Your own interpreter should be present. Whether or not he/she is going to play the role of interpreter, he/ she should be assigned the additional role of picking up the points that have not been conveyed correctly in the process.

  3. Before you engage an outside interpreter, you should make sure that the interpreter is able to perform the job. Do not risk using an interpreter who speaks only 'understandable' English. He should be given sufficient briefing about the background of the business.

  4. The principal negotiator should be prepared to speak slowly with frequent pauses. In many cases, the principal negotiator will forget that he is talking to people who do not understand his/her language and keeps talking until he thinks he has finished his argument. But the interpreter may not be able to memorise your long speech. The longer you talk, the more likely you are to confuse your interpreter and the less you can put across effectively to your listeners.

  5. Debrief the interpreter after each session to ensure he/she is able to keep up with your style of speech.




Doing Business with China
Doing Business with China
ISBN: 1905050089
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 648
Authors: Lord Brittan

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