3 Ways to Sabotage Business Expansion Plans with Language

For many US companies and organizations a logical way to expand their reach is to enter new markets. In some cases new target markets speak and communicate in a language that’s something other than English.

Doing business in non-English speaking markets and geographic regions implies a host of considerations. Language is high in importance on the list. Too often language implications are not given sufficient consideration and business expansion plans fail, or are less successful than they might have otherwise been.

Three ways organizations sabotage their expansion plans with language include:

1) Smugly Persist in the View that English is the “International Language.”

English is actually the third most common native spoken language in the world, after Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. Together all three represent only about 25% of the world’s native spoken languages. There’s no such thing as a universal international language.

2) Take a “We’ll See How Things Go” Attitude Before Considering Language.

Hellooo! In case you haven’t noticed, it’s a competitive environment out there. A successful market entrance is risky even under the most favorable scenario. Half-hearted expansion plans lead to half-hearted results … or likely more often … disaster.

3) Hire Your Second Cousin’s Ex-Husband (God knows he needs the work) to Do Translation For You.

Whether it’s your second cousin’s ex-husband, or the guy at work two offices down from you who spent his high school summers in Albania and is an “expert” in the language, be aware that translation of written material is a specific skill. Verbal fluency in a language pair does not necessarily a linguist make. For professional translation results hire experienced professional translators.