Which languages will be most frequently translated in 2021?

Languages

The translations industry has grown enormously over the last decade or so. With a continuous globalisation and constant developments in technology, businesses and organisations are today able approach foreign markets with ease. Trading with international consumers allows businesses to grow their revenue significantly and create new sale channels. Approaching foreign and international audiences however, isn’t as straightforward as it may seem at first. In order to successfully enter the overseas market of their choice, a company will need to undertake several steps. One of the most important ones on the list is translating documents and other relevant content to allow the potential foreign consumers to access information directly in their native language.

As a result, a rapidly growing number of UK based businesses decide to work closely with providers and agencies offering professional translation services and convert their documents and content into the market’s native language. In order to better understand whether the translation trends follow the general economy movements, we’ve decided to take a closer look at the specific languages, which experts predict to be most frequently translated in 2021, and see, whether a correlation between those languages and import/export figures of UK based organisations exists. We’ll also explain the different approaches you can take in order to accurately translate your documents – from working with translation agencies to using free online tools, such as Google Translate.

French

France has always been an important overseas destination for UK based business. Despite Brexit, this won’t change any time soon. As a result, French is predicted to be one of the most frequently translated languages in 2021. Translations in French are also expected be popular amongst private customers, who will wish to obtain visas or other legal documents required when entering France.

Additionally, as French is an important language in some of the fast-growing economies around the world, such as Cameroon, or Senegal, translations may also be frequently required by businesses intending to approach and expand onto such markets.

German

German without a shadow of a doubt will be one of the most translated languages this year, for both – business as well as personal reasons. Germany is one of the strongest, or perhaps even the strongest, European economy with a relatively high GDP, and so approaching the market can be very appealing prospect for UK based organisations and companies.

Spanish

Spain is, undeniably, one of the key destinations for UK tourists. Nonetheless, with Brexit, traveling and living in Spain became somewhat more complicated for a typical British citizen, and so in order to, for example, purchase a holiday home, UK residents are now required to translate a number of official documents – from bank statements, to criminal records and other such materials.

Although the tourism industry currently suffers, practically across all of its aspects, enormously due to the Covid-19 restrictions, once these restrains are fully lifted by the governments and people are yet again allowed to travel freely, translations providers are expecting a very high influx of documents, which will be required to be translated into Spanish.

Polish

Poland, for a number of consecutive years now, has been one of the fastest developing countries in Europe and has one of the most frequently translated European languages. Interestingly, a growing number of UK citizens decides to visit the country not only for tourist reasons, but also to work. With fast growing salaries and relatively low costs of living, Poland is certainly an attractive destination for expats. Additionally, a high number of UK businesses chooses Poland as a market they wish to explore and so the amount of corporate and business materials needed to be translated into Polish is expected to grow even further in 2021.

Mandarin

With around 1 billion speakers, Mandarin is one of the world’s most commonly spoken and important languages today, and it’s significance is expected to grow even further in the coming decade. UK companies, fortunately, recognise the meaning of this, and so the number of documents requiring translations into Mandarin grows significantly each year.

With such an immense consumer base, approaching the Mandarin speaking market is often a priority for many business owners.

Nonetheless, as the cultural aspects are so different between China and the UK, when converting content, translation agencies must consider not only the linguistic aspects, but also cultural and socio-demographic factors, which can directly affect the suitability of a translation within the Chinese market.

Arabic

Arabic is a native language to a number of Middle Eastern and African countries. These particular regions of the world are predicted to grow significantly in the coming years, and so UK business owners regularly decide to approach them as early as possible in order to establish their presence and build a positive, trustworthy brand. This attitude can certainly pay off in the long term.

Arabic however, similarly to Chinese Mandarin, can be a difficult and challenging language to translate accurately. There are several aspects, which can affect how your translation is be perceived by the audience within the chosen market. Making sure that your content is professionally translated by a native Arabic speak, who not only understands the linguistics, but also knows the culture and customs is essential for your company to prosper within an Arabic speaking marketplace.

Where to translate your documents

There are several different approaches you can take in order to accurately translate your content or documents – whether for business or personal use. One of the most popular strategies is to contact a translation agency directly. This method, although slightly more expensive, allows for fast turnaround times and highest possible accuracy. Translation agencies generally work only with native speakers of the target language, and this is certainly significant when translating for markets where cultural and social aspects are important.

Additionally, as professional translation agencies work with a large pool of linguists, it allows them to ensure that the person converting your documents has an in-depth understanding of your particular business sector. This guarantees that any sector specific jargon or lingo will also be accurately translated.

Alternative solutions include working with a freelance linguist or using free, online tools such as Google Translate. Each of these come with their very own benefits and drawbacks. 

Google translate, for example, is a free tool widely used to by people requiring translations for a personal use, such as contacting friends or family. The accuracy of the tool grows with each year and it is currently able to accurately translate even complex phrases.

Freelance translators, on the other hand, are more commonly used for corporate and business reasons, similarly to working with a translation agency. Although this solution is cheaper than working with an agency, it usually involves longer turnaround times and slightly lower accuracy. Businesses requiring translations into more than one language may also spend much longer looking for the appropriate language provider, as freelance linguists are usually only able to translate into one target language.