The old idiom “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” doesn’t just apply to Italy – it’s imperative when expanding your business in Sweden, too! Anytime your business wishes to serve another country, you’ll need to learn the way they do business and adapt your practices to meet their needs.

Just as you wouldn’t extend your hand to a Japanese CEO or use your left hand in Indonesia, you must also understand what’s acceptable and what’s forbidden when discussing and conducting business in Sweden.

One of the most critical elements when growing your footprint in Sweden is to master the way they speak. Using the correct terminology and adapting to the local vernacular will be party responsible for your success or failure.

Let’s look at some core business concepts in Sweden and how you can prepare your business for international success.

Core Business Concepts in Sweden

A country’s business is often based on the foundation of the country’s values. In Sweden, those values embody all aspects of modesty, equality, and respect for human rights. They’re an inclusive society that makes distinctions based on nationality rather than race or appearances. Socialist ideals are in abundance, along with an extensive welfare system.

In business, respect and consideration go a long way when arranging meetings, discussing topics, or making negotiations.

Most notable are the following:

• It’s customary to arrange meetings two weeks in advance.
• Business cards are shared at the beginning of meetings.
• Meetings are often informal enough to use a first-name basis.
• Small talk is virtually non-existent.
• Decisions aren’t often made during first meetings.
• Decisions usually require group consensus.
• Peak holiday periods are February through March and June through August.
• Refreshment breaks, called fika, are often used for informal meetings.

Understandably, it’s just as important to understand how to conduct business in Sweden as it is to talk about business in Sweden. American customs don’t directly translate into the Swedish business culture, and believing otherwise could be just as damaging as a linguistic mistranslation.

Swedish Translation Services Are Business Must-Haves

If you’re targeting the Swedish market, Investing in Swedish translation services is non-negotiable. Proper translations ensure you’re not only using the right vernacular, but also following proper business policy and practices for the Swedish business culture.

A professional translator helps you bridge this wide (and often scary) gap between American and Swedish business ideologies. Translators shift away from word-to-word translation in favor of localized linguistics that match the appropriate business cases.

To find out more about Swedish translation services and how translators can help you navigate the specifics of international business, contact Tess for a free consultation.

Check also:

• Swedish Culture 101: Holidays, Key Facts, Typical Traits & More
• 5 “Odd” Features of Swedish Business Culture that Actually Make Sense
• Don’t Let Cultural Ignorance Ruin Your Perfectly Good Translation (and Brand!)

Planning is Key to Localization

Benjamin Franklin once said, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” And he was absolutely right; anyone who’s ended up on the wrong side of a poorly-planned project knows that. Since you’re reading this blog, you know that there’s a lot more to localization than tossing some words into Google Translate. Translation is actually a complex, multifaceted process. While many clients find this out the hard way, and end up frustrated, you don’t need to be one of them. If you take time to prepare your translation project upfront, you’ll find going global to be a much smoother experience.

The Translation Checklist

Failing to properly prepare your translation project might land you a starring role in your translator’s nightmares. A lack of key information can result in missed deadlines, delays, and insomnia for everyone involved. So, to help ensure your translator gets a full night’s sleep, double-check that you:

• Finalized Your Texts: Before sending anything out for translation, figure out exactly what you need done: finish your edits, update your logos, gather the documents, and cut out anything that might be unnecessary. While it’s tempting to translate everything word for word, that’s rarely a wise decision. Even the least chatty companies have websites cluttered with out-of-date press releases and irrelevant information. Don’t waste your translator’s time on those things you won’t need!
• Cut the Jargon: While you might be tempted to translate terms like ‘tenure,’ ‘putative’, or ‘injunction’, technical language should be removed from translation-ready documents. Using industry-specific words, especially when simpler alternatives exist, often leads to confusion. So, unless your translator specializes in that specific area, it’s best to remove region or occupation-specific terms. And, of course, make sure to cut out those clichés.
• Were Clear About the Languages Involved: Make sure that all parties are clear about the project’s source and target language(s). If you need documents translated into a specific dialect, for example, that’s something you need to specify up front. Not doing so might lead to repeated translations, increased costs, and hair pulling.
  Determined Your Target Audience: It’s important to know who you’re trying to reach. Different regions often need different dialects. Someone in urban Tokyo might respond to a certain phrase differently from someone in rural Osaka, for example. By figuring out your audience beforehand, you improve your chances of getting your point across.
• Cleaned Up Your Source Materials: If your paperwork is smudged, torn, or covered in chicken scratch, you need to rewrite it. If it’s not legible, how can you expect your translator to use it? Unless your handwriting is neater than typed font, it might be better to convert all your documents to a digital format before requesting translation. This will also make it easier to keep track of, and allow both you and your translator to easily keep copies of the material.
• Pinned Down Your Deadline: Be clear about when you need a translation project completed. Don’t tell your translator that a project is ‘no rush’ if you need it tomorrow. Also, be sure to avoid using subjective terms like ‘soon’ or ‘sometime in the next month or two.’ Interpretations of those statements vary wildly from person to person, let alone culture to culture.
• Sorted Your Documents: Classify your documents according to type, subject, or importance and be sure to label any legal documents. This allows your translator to properly assign tasks and seek any needed outside expertise.
• Gave Ample Support: Whether it’s due to unclear requirements, or company-specific terms, your translator is likely to need your help. To minimize interruptions, provide your vendors with a copy of your handbook, commonly used terms, and access to important materials. Make certain that you’re easy-to-contact and available for any impromptu consultations.
• Decided on a Final Deliverable: What do you need when the project’s completed? A PDF? An Excel sheet? Tell your vendor where and how you plan on using the translated text. This might help save you money on staging and finishing costs. If you can, provide the translator with an example of completed work.
• Outlined Any Extra Requirements: While most companies are glad to format and publish your materials, you should request any auxiliary services at the start. If you don’t, you might end up stuck with an unfinished project, or worse, a set of unbudgeted charges.

Conclusion

Translation is all about communication. Communication between you and your client and communication between you and your translation vendor. To minimize problems, you need to take time beforehand and carefully plan your project. Always make sure you know what languages, materials, and services you need from any given translator. If you jump right into the deep end and send out a half-baked scope of work, you might end up with a project that’s unfinished and poor quality.

Check also:

HERE’S WHY CREATING A SWEDISH VERSION OF YOUR WEBSITE IS A NO BRAINER

A Sensible Starting Point

Sweden is a Scandinavian country boasting a population of just under 10 million and a landmass of 172,756 miles. It’s also the world’s fifth happiest country, according to findings from the Happiness Report. For companies looking to break into international markets, Sweden is a great place to start. The Guardian’s Jon Card once said, “Scandinavia is, for many entrepreneurs, a sensible first destination when they are looking to expand their businesses through exporting.” While Morningside Translations recommends starting with Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, Portuguese, German, Arabic, French, Russian, or Korean, we recommend adding Swedish to that list.

The Demographics of Sweden

In recent years, the demographics of Sweden have undergone a radical transformation. A recent article in Business Insider summed it up pretty well in an article titled “Sweden Will Have To Become A Lot Less Blond.” As Swedes are typically more open-minded about immigration than other EU members, they’ve become a figurative temple for those fleeing persecution and warfare. In 2016, for example, the country granted asylum to more than 60,000 people. Combining that with a slowly declining birth rate and rising emigration, Sweden is quickly gaining a much more diverse population.

Benefits of Doing Business in Sweden

While Sweden is nowhere near the top of the population charts, its citizens are open-minded and forward-thinking. They also tend to be prosperous. The average Swedish man, for example, makes about $4,000 per month; the typical woman, on the other hand, takes home about $3000. In terms of GDP per capita, the company ranks in the top ten. If you’re looking for examples of business success, look no further than Skype, Ikea, and AstraZeneca; all three companies found their start in Sweden. In addition to its prosperity, Sweden is able to offer globalized companies:

• World Class Research and Development Opportunities: By sinking about three percent of its GDP into innovation, Sweden offers great opportunities for start-ups and future-oriented companies. Items invented in Sweden include automatic identification systems, adjustable wrenches, pacemakers, ultrasounds, and zippers.
• An Enterprise Friendly Environment: According to the 2016 World Bank Report, Sweden is the ninth easiest country in which to do business. This is particularly true for modern or technical businesses. The country also boasts three things important to modern business success: great infrastructure, prolific internet service, and robust public transportation.
• Open Minds and Wallets: As a people, the Swedes are open-minded about new processes and technologies. They tend to be early adopters of new gadgets and stand at the forefront of social movements. The Geert-Hofstede scale ranks Sweden at a 29 on Uncertainty Avoidance. This shows that the country is flexible and unthreatened by innovation. Meanwhile, on the indulgence spectrum, Sweden scores a jaw-dropping 78. This means that, on average, the Swedish are far more concerned with enjoying life than restraining themselves. This also leads them to value their leisure time and worry less about things like money and savings.
• Strong Technology Infrastructure: People don’t call Sweden the Silicon Valhalla without reason. As of 2016, 93.1 percent of Swedes regularly connected to the internet. This makes them the 10th most connected country in the world. For any company offering digital sales, Sweden represents a safe haven.
• An Excellent Location: Due to its centralized location on the Scandinavian Peninsula, Sweden is a geographic hub in the Nordic region. Its proximity to the Baltic Sea, Atlantic Sea, and Central Europe, makes it a perfect spot for businesses with a personal stake in logistics and transportation. Better yet, as a member of the EU, Sweden makes it easy to transfer products across nearby borders.

Potential Obstacles of Swedish Localization

While Sweden offers ample opportunity for your business, it’s certainly not risk-free. While doing business there is similar to doing business in the US or the UK, it’s certainly not identical. Like all independent nations, it has its own set of tax rules, labor laws, and buying behaviors. Outsiders to Sweden often struggle with its:

• Complex Labor Laws: Sweden is a big believer in equality. It also stands firmly on the sides of unions and worker’s rights. For people from a less worker-oriented society, its ample vacation time, maternity leave, and workers’ rights might prove difficult to navigate.
• Flatter Organizational Structures: For people used to rigid management structures, operating in Sweden can be a bit of a wake-up call. Employees are not afraid to make complaints, approach the CEO, or offer suggestions. If your company prefers a more rigid style of operations, it might be hard to adapt.
• All-Consuming Humbleness: Bragging and showing off do you little good in Sweden. If your marketing team uses superlatives to advertise, you might need to change your script. This same aversion to bragging and grandstanding is also common in the interview, recruiting, and management process.

Conclusion

If you are an American or UK company looking to go global, you should think about starting in Sweden. It’s a country of wealth, open minds, innovative technology, and high levels of English skills. It also has a set of laws and beliefs that are conducive to rapid business growth. Though many of its citizens speak English, a Eurobarometer report concluded that 44 percent of Swedes refused to visit websites without a Swedish translation. So, if you’re eager to capitalize on all this country offers, it’s time to find a qualified translator.

Just make sure that your [project’s ready] first!

Check also:

• 4 Keys Steps For Translating Your Website From English to Swedish
• 6 Fundamental Tips for Website Localization to Reach Global Markets
• Swedish Localization and Website Translation: 4 Ways Your Business Can Benefit
• Things to Avoid When Translating a Website
• Things to Think of When Developing Localization Ready Websites

Do you know what your business slogans are saying to the world?

With advances within social media and technology, word of mouth truly has become ‘world of mouth.’ Most businesses centralize their global Twitter and Facebook efforts. It has huge benefits, yet it also is vital that you have involvement at a local level; from those who really understand the marketplace language and nuances. We reside within a global economy and therefore it is critical that we have an understanding of our world.

Here are 11 examples of translations of marketing material that went wrong:

1. The successful ‘Got Milk’ campaign that came from The Dairy Association as utilized in Mexico brought lots of attention, as it translated into ‘Are You Lactating?’
2. The company Coors Brewing’s campaign slogan ‘Turn it loose’ as converted to Spanish actually means ‘Suffer from diarrhea’.
3. Clairol introduced a curling iron named ‘Mist Stick’ within Germany. Mist in German will be slang for manure. It turned out that manure sticks are not popular in Germany.
4. Panasonic and Matsushita were to introduce a computer that had an Internet browser within Japan. They were supposed to run a massive marketing campaign utilizing Woody Woodpecker, the cartoon character. Their campaign was placed on hold as an American worker figured out that the translation actually was ‘Touch Woody – Internet Pecker.’ It’s bad in American slang.
5. In China, Pepsi translated their campaign slogan, ‘Pepsi will Bring You Back to Life.’ In Chinese, this slogan means, ‘Pepsi will Bring Your Ancestors Back from the Grave.’
6. In France, Colgate introduced toothpaste underneath the name Cue. That is, unfortunately, the exact same name as one ill-famed porno magazine.
7. In Mexico, Parker Pen wanted its ads to parlay ‘It will not leak in your pocket and embarrass you.’ The company instead believed that the term ‘embarazar’ (to impregnate) was supposed to mean to embarrass, therefore the advertisement stated: ‘It will not leak inside your pocket and make you pregnant.’
8. Frank Perdue’s statement, ‘It will take a rough man to make a tender chicken,’ is somewhat different within the Spanish language – ‘It will take a sexually stimulated male in order to make a chicken affectionate.’
9. Braniff Airways had a desire to spotlight ‘Fly in Leather’ yet in Spanish it actually said ‘Fly Naked.’
10. A Scandinavian vacuum cleaner, Electrolux, utilized the following within the United States: ‘Nothing will suck like an Electrolux.’
11. In Southeast Asia, Pepsi lost its market share as it changed its vending machines from a deep blue to a light blue. Unfortunately, in Southeast Asia, light blue includes a symbol of mourning and death.

The lesson to be learned here is that mistranslations are sloppy marketing. Therefore, when translating your marketing material or anything business related, it is best to contact a professional translator. A professional translator will ensure that everything that is presented to the public is appropriate and suitable for the intended audience.

If you are marketing to Sweden, contact Swedish Translation Services to make sure that your slogans and marketing materials come across as intended.

Check also:

• Is It Worth Hiring a Professional Swedish Translator for Your Marketing Materials?
• The Role of Translation in International Marketing
• Understanding My Professional English to Swedish Translator Certifications

While I am travelling across Europe with my family. I will feature a guest post that I really like. This one is authored and provided by Affordable Language Services, a Cincinnati-based business translation and interpreting company.

In today’s global economy, business translation is a must for companies wanting to extend their reach. To help keep costs down, however, some choose to use automated translation software instead of hiring the expertise of a professional business translator. While this choice is initially less expensive, the consequences of such a shortcut can be costly. Keep reading to learn why you should not use software for your business translation needs.

 1. Translation software is never error-proof.

 In 2010, a Reuters article told the world about the underlying dangers of relying on automated software for business translations. The news story highlighted a pharmacy that used such software to translate prescription labels that were written in English into Spanish. After reviewing the results in the medical journal Pediatrics, Julia Tse and Dr. Iman Sharif pointed out several deadly errors. For example, in English, the instructions told patients to take a pill “once a day.” The translating software failed to translate the word “once” into Spanish correctly and instructed patients to take the medication 11 times per day, as the word “once” in Spanish means “eleven.” A professional business translator would never make such a mistake.

 In a separate incident, when a medical group used translating software for prostate medication labels, four prostate cancer patients in Epinal, France died because of the erroneous dosage instructions. Regardless of advances in technology, business translation software can never take the place or match the accuracy of an expert human business translator.

 2. Translation software is not sensitive to idioms.

 Language creates meaning as much as it conveys meaning. A culture in one part of the world thinks differently than the culture on the opposite end of the globe because of the ideas that differ between words and phrases. For example, the English phrase, “on the other hand,” does not mean “alternatively” in most other parts of the world.

 When brewing company Coors once tried to sell its beer in Spain, it directly translated its marketing slogan, “Turn it loose,” into Spanish. While English speakers in the U.S. understand the phrase as an encouragement to have a good time, the literal translation in Spanish relates more to the “loose” action one may encounter with diarrhea.

 3. Some words simply don’t exist in other languages.

 When a word doesn’t exist in the destination language, translation software cannot help. A business translation professional has an understanding of the culture that speaks the desired language, so he or she can accurately express the vocabulary and ideas. While an equivalent word may not exist from one language to the next, a business translator bridges the lexical gap with an appropriate phrase.

 An example of such a word is gobbledygook, which exists only in the English language. Every language has its own unique words that automated translation software cannot translate. Such a translation blunder can hinder a company’s bottom line or encourage foreign prospects to not close a deal. Professional business translation services understand these circumstances as well as the culture of the language at hand, and can provide clients with high-quality translations that aid business communications. 

 4. Automated translation software is not dialect-specific.

 In the U.S., the storage space in the back of a car is called a trunk. In the U.K, the same part of the car is called a boot. Language dialects differ around the world – and even by region. For example, some of the words used in Mexico have a different meaning in Spain. Among the 30 languages in India, there exist more than 2,000 dialects. These differences make business translation more challenging and create greater room for error when using translation software. Because business translations require specificity, a translator must know the differences among dialects to properly convey the intended meaning. Specificity and cultural knowledge are things that automated translation software lacks. 

 5. Literal translations usually don’t make sense.

 There are a few occasions when you can successfully translate a phrase into another language word-for-word. For example, the Spanish phrase “sangre azul” means “blue blood,” and both phrases refer to wealthy individuals. Most of the time, however, literal translations make no sense and confuse the true meaning. Oftentimes, idiomatic phrases are to blame. For example, when you ask someone in Costa Rica how they are, they often say, “Pura vida,” which literally means, “Pure life.” “Pura vida” in this Latin American country is a statement that expresses one is well. Outside of the Costa Rican culture, saying one has a pure life can convey a handful of different meanings.

 6. Translation software neglects sophisticated writing techniques.

 Automated translation software does not pick up on wordplay, puns and metaphors the way a human business translator can. If you use software, you run the huge risk of having your ideas get literally lost in translation, which can ultimately make you look foolish, culturally insensitive or both.

Lynn Elfers is the CEO of Affordable Language Services, a Cincinnati-based business translation and interpreting company that specializes in business, legal and medical interpreting and translation services in over 150 languages and dialects. Lynn’s experience as a volunteer missionary for years in Central America ultimately led to starting her own translation service to help individuals bridge the language gap in crucial situations like the doctor’s office and court room. She has been providing language tutoring and translation services for over 16 years.

Yesterday I attended a seminar held by Utah Technology Council here in Salt Lake City. The presenter was Adam Wooten from Globalization Group, talking about how to develop localization ready websites.  His key point was to prepare in advance to ensure that the localization process will be easy and cost-effective. To correct an error for one language, before going global can be $1000, but $25,000 to fix after having launched the site in 25 languages.

In order to prepare well, we should think of both technical aspects and cultural aspects.

Examples of technical aspects are:

• Regional settings such as number and measurement formats
• Character sets
• Separate code and translatable text
• Text expansion
• Text in images (harder to localize)
• Concatenated strings (harder to localize)

Examples of cultural aspects are:

• Cultural aspects: eliminate local cultural examples, example, American Football
• Brand Names (will they work in the target country?)
• Symbols, Images and Colors (how are they perceived in the target country?)

As a translator, I especially liked his tips for content authors:

• Write with the translator in mind
• Avoid ambiguity
• Avoid references and allusions, such as references to sports
• Limit concatenations
• Take advantage of repetitions (easy to handle with CAT-tools)

Adam Wooten is the CEO of Globalization Group, a localization company in Utah, and a member of Utah Translators and Interpreters Association.

Readers, do you have any other tips to prepare websites to go global? Happy Global Earth Day everyone!

Check also:

• 4 Keys Steps For Translating Your Website From English to Swedish
• 6 Fundamental Tips for Website Localization to Reach Global Markets
• Swedish Localization and Website Translation: 4 Ways Your Business Can Benefit
• Why You Should Localize Your Website to Swedish?
• Things to Avoid When Translating a Website

This is my final post in the series on software localization. There is a lot to think about when translating and localizing software and making mistakes is easy. Here are 4 mistakes to try to avoid:

1. Neglecting the length of translated words, which would require redesigning the software to fit the foreign language version, losing time and money.

2. Disregarding localization for specific countries/regions and their particular elements (special characters, date format, number format, address strucutre, postal code length and structure, calendar format etc.)

3. Not using simple, concise text that is familiar to most people and users of the software

4. Not providing clear and accurate text in the target language, making the instructions and commands nonsensical or hard to understand.

Happy translation and localization year to everyone!

In software localization, good tools are important. Without specialized tools, localization of software is very difficult and time consuming, with many repetitive tasks. Fortunately, there is a variety of specialized tools available today.

The main source and target formats: resource files (RC) or binary files such as EXE or DLL usually do not contain long translatable text strings surrounded by non-translatable code. Localization tools have to extract these short strings properly, provide a convenient graphical user interface (GUI) for the translation of the strings and save the translations correctly back into the surrounding code. Examples of specialized software localization tools are Alchemy CATALYST and Passolo.

In contrary, software documentation files (HLP, HTML, CHM, HTML or PDF) contain much more translatable text in much longer test strings. These files are usually better handled by a translation memory software ™, which memorized already used phrases, typically segmented by full-stops, and enable their recycling. Examples of translation memory software are Trados Studio, DejaVu, Wordfast.

I use Passolo, Catalyst, LocStudio, Trados Studio and Wordfast, of which I like some better than the others. For example, from a translators point of view I like Passolo, Wordfast and Studio the best. Which tools do you use and like? Which ones do you not like and why?

Check also: