The Importance of Multilingualism to Get Global Success

The world of today is an ever-shifting kaleidoscope of innovation and new advances. With the need to expand into more markets to gain foothold and business excellence, communication is the main key—a communication that is understood in a language familiar to the parties. This is the reason multilingualism plays such a vital role in building connections across borders.

Although English is the official language of communication and business across the globe, it is not spoken everywhere. The Chinese language has more than 1.3 billion native speakers across the globe and is the most spoken language in the world. Likewise, other languages such as Spanish and Hindi also are spoken by a large portion of the world’s population.

The importance of multilingualism can be judged by the fact that almost 60% of the world’s top websites are multilingual and famous brands such as Microsoft, McDonald’s, American Express, Cisco, Audi and IBM have their websites translated in more than 33 languages. As a result of their multilingual sites, these companies were able to earn twice more than the companies which had translated their sites in less than 20 languages. Now it can easily be seen that almost all successful global brands exercise multilingualism as the main tool for entering into fresh markets.

In order for a company to gain a significant stronghold and make a name both in the domestic and foreign markets, it is vital to have translated content in multiple languages. Only an expert agency delivering professional translation services can make that success in the global market possible.

Let’s take a look at the role multilingualism plays in global growth.

1. Multilingualism is a Necessity

Hiring a faculty that can understand and knows a variety of languages is indeed a perfect strategy that can assist in attracting people towards new business. For example, if a businessman exports goods to China or France, workers who can negotiate in Cantonese, Mandarin, or French can make deals that may help the seller make that business transaction possible.

The intense competition in the market has led to many companies embracing the multilingual approach. Presenting content in more languages than one has become a necessity, not a choice. Firms cannot stay confined to their local markets only, they need to step out of their native markets in order to take advantage of the opportunities present in other ones. No matter which industry a company belongs to—be it healthcare, consumer goods, electronics, technology, or power generation—opting for a multilingual approach is the ultimate need of the hour.

2. Prevention from Mishaps

Multilingualism can help in avoiding illnesses, fatalities, and accidents at the place of work. As a significant portion of the workforce consists of foreign workers who speak other languages, giving safety instructions to them in the language they can understand is a vital part of the job. According to Teachers College Record, which is an education journal based on the construction industry, it is described that foreign-born laborers of Hispanic origin in the United States are 70% more affected by work-related incidents as compared to American-born employees because of their lack of English education. This signifies the importance of adopting a multilingual approach in training and development of employees along with providing them safety instructions for prevention from mishaps and accidents.

3. Multiculturalism and Multilingualism

Multiculturalism and Multilingualism move parallel to each other. Skills in speaking a foreign language help in confrontation and dealing with new challenges in the global market. Likewise, a knowledge of other languages takes professional communication to a whole new level and results in building better relationships with other parties. When a person or a group converses in more languages than one, it creates a bond of communication with neighboring people and communities, infusing cultural newness in the system. Additionally, when migrants speak in their native tongues, they bring a change in the fabric of the society that can be associated with cultural shifts.

4. Admiration, Goodwill, and Respect

In communication with consumers, companies often overlook the importance of going multilingual. This is the reason many of them do not hire the services agencies that can deliver them seamless translation for their content. A multilingual approach earns a company more than just customers—it enables them to gain admiration as well as goodwill in their target markets. When an organization permits its fellow workers to communicate with customers in their own language that is other than the English language it enhances goodwill, better understanding, sense of respect, and satisfaction among the people.

5. Multilingualism and Brand Recognition

No matter how absurd it might seem, multilingualism actually helps in strengthening family bonds and ties. In India or other multi-language and multi-religious states, the parents and grandparents often feel left out owing to their native languages. Strong family ties are restored when youngsters converse in the language their elders can understand. The older generation is often ignored by brands as they are considered a marginalized part of the community. However, Chinese brands realize the importance of this older generation, which is why they advertise their products on older peoples’ smartphones in languages they can understand, in order to reach them and convince them to buy their products. A multilingual approach by these brands can open up doorways to brand recognition among the older segment of the population.

6. Better Prospects for Career

Did you know China has a 10% annual consumer growth which equals 1 billion consumers? Interestingly, out of these 1 billion consumers, 800 million use smartphones. The ability to speak and understand multiple languages can lead to better prospects for individuals who are seeking a reliable and good profession. An individual having multilingual skills stand a better chance of getting selected than an individual who cannot converse in more than one language. Companies need individuals who can not only negotiate but also close deals in other languages, which is why an employee with a multilingual skill set will have more growth and career prospects than an employee who only knows his native language.

7. Development of Stronger Relations with the Other States

In order to build and maintain relations between states, communities, and groups, proper communication is essential. And one way to ensure that this communication brings fruition to the parties, a multilingual approach is a must. To establish talks amongst countries, there is a dire need for translated content.

When it comes to initiating talks between nations, one should not forget the role multilingual content plays. Every country has its own languages, some like India have over 720 dialects, dozens of distinct scripts, and more than 20 languages. More than 1 million people who don’t speak Hindi in India use 26 other regional languages to communicate with one another. To make communication possible and to reach out to the customers in a nation like India, it is imperative to have a strong hold on multilingual services. Only then a company will be able to reap the benefits of more customers and greater profits.

8. More Empathy, Patience, and Cultural Acceptance

A famous saying upholds the importance of learning more languages “the more languages you know, the more prominent is your presence”. Having a skill set with fluency in multiple languages is not only good for closing business deals, but it also produces empathy and patience among individuals. A person having a skill of speaking and understanding more number of languages will be able to hold a conversation with foreigners, get to learn about them, and maintain a mutual friendship with them. This communication with them builds trust, empathy, and mutual respect. Likewise, knowledge of multiple languages paves the way for cultural acceptance when people and views of other cultures are accepted and communicated.

The Last Word

Multilingualism plays a significant role in the growth of both the economy and business. Although there is still a reliance on machine translation to translate multiple languages, having a skill set with a knowledge of many languages is a must. This is why professional translation services adopt a multilingual approach to translating and providing content to companies, with a special emphasis on enabling communications between them for greater profits and better ties.