Translation services continue to help companies reach their global marketing objectives. We need to learn two things about the financial unrest in modern times; 1. Economic centers are moving fast, and, 2. Emerging markets in the world are now multicultural and multilingual.
Brazil, Russia, China and India are seen to gain importance over the coming years, and these nations
for 40% of the world’s population. These emerging markets are also the ones where new fortunes can be made. However, if you are not yet using translation services to communicate effectively in Hindi, Mandarin, Russian or Portuguese, you would be overtaken by the companies that are already doing so. Just the same, those who constantly seek translation services should keep track of the demand for languages and not miss a popular language that could allow them to reach a broader customer base.
Top language pairs for translation
A study conducted by Common Sense Advisory reported the top 10 most in demand language pairs, these are:
- English-Spanish
- English-Chinese
- English-French
- English-German
- English-Russian
- English-Portuguese
- English-Japanese
- English-Arabic
- English-Italian
- Spanish-Portuguese
Mandarin as a business language
Many businesses today have already gone international. Thus, the demand for significant business languages has also increased. English remains to be on the top spot, yet using other important languages can open new opportunities.
Mandarin is a top language for international business and it is not surprising why. It is the most widely spoken language in the world, and China has a large economy. You do not necessarily have to learn the language in order to create relations with the Chinese or open business opportunities in Shanghai or Beijing, and all you need is an OTP (Over The Phone) interpreter.
Portuguese and French
Portuguese is included in the list and its figures support this ranking. Brazil is the 7th biggest economy in the world and its business capability is climbing. With the coming 2016 Olympics, opportunities are expected to come.
French is also a valuable international business language for there are French speakers across countries of Canada, Belgium and Algeria. France has a strong business presence due in part to its steady tourist market and diverse economy.
Asian languages you can’t ignore
It is also not surprising to see Japanese on the list of the top 10 languages that rule online. Japan ranks 3rd in the world’s largest economies. It is a leader in the auto industry and high technology market. It has business links across the world and nationalistic people who love their language.
Like Japanese, Arabic is also an indispensable language for business. It has almost 300 million native speakers and is the official language of no less than 23 nations that lead the world’s oil industries.
Lastly, the data provided by the study is a key to utilizing translation and localization services effectively. Focusing on the top 10 or considering some of them is a great help, considering that there are roughly 7,000 languages spoken on the planet.