India is one of the biggest markets in the world and also one of the most difficult markets to penetrate. And the reason for this difficulty is the fact that the region has the most diverse languages and cultural segmentation in the world. This alone makes it very difficult to find the perfect target market, meanwhile, ensuring that it is perfectly localized for that specific locale.
Diversity Of Languages
The diversity in the languages has made it difficult for businesses to effectively communicate their business offering to Indians. Hence, there is an untapped market potential residing in India, even in today’s day and age.
However, in order to tackle this challenge, a lot of companies are localizing their content in order to cater to India’s diversity. We see this via-a-via the endeavors made by companies like Samsung and Gionee. They have enabled their mobile keypads that can support over twenty-two popular regional languages of India.
Enabling Multilingual Options
This act shows that tech companies, especially smartphone agencies, are enabling multilingual application options for markets that consist of language diversity. Because ultimately this is the only way that can connect people from India to the rest of the world.
Currently, there are over twenty-three official languages in India. And over sixteen hundred other languages. This predicament has opened up a lot of opportunities for businesses. One is the option to introduce devices that can support various native tongues of the people.
Shift Towards Localization
With the advent of globalization, businesses were not able to distinguish market. But recently we have seen that the focus has shifted more towards localization. The Indian market is worth billions of dollars. But a lot of the market is untapped. In order to tap the market, catering to people in their native languages is the prerogative to go for.
The fact that the Indian market is in dire need of a positive customer experience makes it even more attractive for the international business community to work to get their attention.
Significance Of Language Localization In India
When websites are translating their content for a particular locale, the purpose is to go beyond simple word substitution. And to give consumers quality localization content that effectively communicates.
Quality Content
Quality is offered when the cultural intricacies, nuances, and language preferences are incorporated into the text. This aspect makes the consumers feel appreciated, valued, and secure. And if you are able to attain that, then your product offering or services is just another icing on the cake that the consumer would not feel any hesitation to purchase.
India is a nation where cultural diversity is rich and unique. Moreover, the variation in language makes it obligatory for companies to opt for localization. Because ultimately, Indians prefer to use their own language as compared to the English Language.
Most Popular Regional Languages
Though English is the official language of India, many people prefer to speak in their local language. 80% of the Indian population has not made English part of the lexicon. But communicate in the following regional languages;
- Gujrati
- Bengali
- Marathi
- Kannada
- Urdu
With the advent of mobile technology and accessibility, a lot of the local Indians have been able to access smartphones. This has given an opportunity for platforms to offer content in multiple languages. And that is exactly what they are doing.
According to a report by IAMAI, the local Indians constitute a larger population. Hence, their increasing use has shifted the preference from English to local languages. Businesses around the world have actually understood this aspect, and try their best to cater to the needs of the various locales.
Indian Local languages with the highest ROI potential Post Localization
There is no denying the fact that localization in India is one of the most difficult endeavors for any business. There are various factors that make localization a very tricky business. Let’s discuss some of them;
1. Finding The Right People For Localization
There is a huge gap when it comes to finding the right people for the process of translations and localization. In India, there is a lack of professional translators that can provide localization services for the general public. There is not enough local expertise of the specific dialect that can translate technical content for the people of their region. This makes the task at hand even more complicated.
2. Fluency In the English Language
On the other hand, it is not just about knowing the local language. One needs to be fluent and efficient in the English language as well. Moreover, the translation industry in India is not popular enough to persuade people and youngsters to opt for its domain as a permanent career choice. Hence, we see very few translators that can assist in the localization process.
Nonetheless, there are still some languages that have been given importance as far as translation is concerned.
3. Relative Payment
If we consider the point mentioned above, we can assume that it is a very low rate job. However, if compared with the rest of the languages jobs, it pays relatively better.
4. Lack Of Proper Understanding
Another factor that has made localization difficult in India is the notion of lack of proper understanding. Even with the widespread knowledge via the internet, many people are not aware of how proper localization actually works. This insignificant know-how of localization makes it difficult to prove quality-based content to the viewers. Hence, you see that there is a poor standard of captions or dubbing on streaming platforms.
The above-mentioned points gave us an idea about the unfortunate state of affairs when it comes to localization.
Languages That Can Give The Highest Rate Of Return
On the contrary, there are some positive points as well. These will identify the opportunities available for localization in India.
There is a huge segment of the professional world that proposes the opportunities and scope of localization in India. The fact that some of the biggest companies like Amazon and Alibaba are localizing their content for this market. Many even hand out the highest rates for them. This amounts to almost three to five Indian rupees per word to the professional translator.
Here are some of the best languages for localization in India. Plus they also have the potential to give the best possible rate of investment (ROI).
- Tamil
- Telugu
- Gujrati
- Malayalam
- Kannada
Many readers might be surprised to see how Tamil has made the above list. There are actually two valid reasons for that;
1. Tamil has one of the biggest markets as compared to the rest of the regional languages. Over 70 million people in India speak this language. Hence, if localization is done in these languages it can lead to greater ROI.
2. The fact that a wide range of Hindi speakers in India enforces a downward shift in pricing of localized content makes it harder to get a higher rate of return. If a majority of the people are offering Hindi language, it increases competition and lowers profits.
Even with this information, most international organizations opt for Hindi as the language to localize their content. This may have worked in the past, but the future is going to be different.
Conclusion
Jeff Bezos made a prediction a few months back stating, “I predict that the 21st century is going to be the Indian century”.
This may seem like a stretch, but if the richest man says that there might be some validity in this statement, then it may be true.
Nonetheless, there is one fact that cannot be denied. And this is the potential of the Indian market. However, in order to tackle the challenge of language diversity, professional translators need to explore the Indian market. And exploit the potential of the regional local languages that can provide a higher rate of return post localization.
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