Copywriters know that writing powerful, persuasive copy is tough enough when English is your first language. This is especially true when writing conversationally and that actually can add a second layer of difficulty. Common slang, figures of speech, and subtle shades of meaning are what we weave together to get our prospects and customers nodding, resonating and responding to our messages.

Which makes the whole process of translation so dang hard and fraught with peril. When we transport our advertising messages from their native language base to another language - with its own slang and common understandings - well … we can only guess at the magnitude for ourselves and our clients if mistakes are made.

And advertising history is littered with precisely these kinds of translation mistakes. Almost all are hilarious - unless, of course, you’re the one responsible for the mega blunder.

That’s why I was happy to take a look at JAPANtranslation, a Japanese translation agency to see what they offered. While these Japanese translators aren’t copywriters or marketers per se, they do have an impressive depth of translation experience in numerous fields and industries, including IT, legal, finance, manufacturing, medical, etc. Of course, all translations are done by native speakers of Japanese, but the nice part for those of us who aren’t the least bit savvy in Japanese, services - including contracts - are all handled in English.

What’s more, they have a very impressive client list and a rave section that notes enthusiastic feedback from several advertising agencies.

If you or your company is working in a multinational capacity, I definitely think you’ll want to take a closer look at JAPANtranslation and its capabilities. I’m not often asked about using or recommending this kind of service, but now my curiosity is piqued. I hope I get the chance real soon to give JAPANtranslation an actual try. I’d like to see how the “Maven” translates in venues outside of Yiddish and English!

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[tags] JAPANtranslation, translation agencies, advertising translation blunders [/tags]