Strategy

It’s early 2020 and by now it’s not exactly news when you hear someone declaring China as a land of opportunity. Most macro- and micro-economic indicators put the country at the top (or close to the top) of any list of the most dynamic economies of the world.

Who thought having a beefed-up localization program with dozens of supported languages guarantees your company’s growth? If you have been wondering the same, contemplating which languages and markets to go for next, the (perhaps surprising) answer is, no, it doesn’t … not necessarily.

Let's clarify. Translation mistakes ARE fixable. Most of the time, anyway. Usually, the solution is to throw more money at it, to correct the problem and, if the language services provider (LSP) is the one at fault, it’s up to him to foot the bill.

McDonald’s Portugal recently made headlines after a Halloween campaign backfired. In an attempt to celebrate the spooky season, the fast-food giant’s Portuguese branch released a special Halloween edition of its ice cream Sundae.

Over the course of Nimdzi Insights’ various research projects, we have consistently found that the one thing (editor’s note: among many, admittedly) that can make or break localization operations, whether on the buyers’ side or on the language services providers’ (LSP) side is the following:

In this episode of Globally Speaking, we invite Bobb Drake, Director of Geocultural Research at Nimdzi Insights, to discuss how computers spot (or miss) offensive language, why humans will always need to be involved and how our world view changes the way we process communication. Also, did you know that only 7% of communication is verbal?

The contentious nine-dash line map, which is unrecognized outside the People’s Republic of China (PRC), has been in the news recently with its appearance on an ESPN broadcast and in DreamWorks animated feature film Abominable.

It’s not easy being a culture vulture, a self-serving individual or corporation looking to steal and profit from the cultures of disenfranchised ethnicities and indigenous peoples. But everyone has to make a living, right? And preferably a good one. A very good one.

The status quo for global corporations and media doing business in the PRC has been to bow to Chinese influences and censorship pressures to avoid consequences such as getting their products or company banned in the market. With an increased public awareness of this practice comes an increased risk of public backlash, with consequences ranging from public relations issues to mockery to potential boycotting and financial losses.

A few weeks ago, ESPN’s use of a map of China featuring the Nine Dash Line may have gone unnoticed or passed off as a careless gaffe. The map, rarely seen outside of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), was featured on an October 9 broadcast about the fallout between the NBA and China over a (subsequently deleted) tweet by Houston Rocket’s general manager in support of the Hong Kong citizens who are resisting Beijing’s increased influence in the governance of Hong Kong en masse.