In the English-speaking world...major publishing houses are inexplicably resistant to any kind of translated material at all.

The statistics are shocking in this age of so-called globalization: In the United States and Britain, only 2 to 3 percent of books published each year are translations, compared with almost 35 percent in Latin America and Western Europe.

But this is no mere national embarrassment: The dearth of translated literature in the English-speaking world represents a new kind of iron curtain we have constructed around ourselves. We are choosing to block off access to the writing of a large and significant portion of the world, including movements and societies whose potentially dreadful political impact on us is made even more menacing by our general lack of familiarity with them. Our stubborn and willful ignorance could have -- and arguably, already has had -- dangerous consequences.

Read more of Edith Grossman's article, "A Great New Wall: Why The Crisis in Translation Matters", in the May/June issue of Foreign Policy.

March 2 is Read Across America Day, an event celebrated on Dr. Seuss's birthday to honor his ability to inspire young readers. The National Endowment for the Arts promotes programs in schools, libraries and community centers to encourage children to read. Locally, Tennessee Governor Bredesen read "The Little Engine that Could" to a pre-k class at Bellshire Elementary School this morning (no information on why "Green Eggs and Ham" didn't make the cut was available at press time).

Over 11 million copies of "The Cat in the Hat" have been sold and the book has been translated into 12 languages.   Imagine trying to recreate Dr. Seuss's wonderful rhymes in Hebrew, Spanish, French or German!

Savvy marketers know that giving their customers the option to receive the information they need in the language they prefer always makes sense. Companies that want to grow market share and increase revenue can reach out to online Hispanics with Spanish translations of their websites. Here's how to get it right from the start.

1. Always provide contact information so that your customers can call, write or email you with their questions and feedback in Spanish. This information should be visible on every page in Spanish.

2. Make sure that the hyperlinks on the Spanish pages lead to other pages in Spanish. Taking your customers to the English part of your site may cause them to abandon the site before they make a purchase.

3. Work with a professional translation company. Bilingual employees may not have the necessary writing skills to re-create your content in Spanish. Language service providers include proofreading as part of their translation services.
4. Remember to have forms, terms of service, and FAQs translated for your Spanish-speaking customers.

5. Include testimonials from Latino clients and employees. Word of mouth carries a lot of weight among Hispanics.

6. If visitors to your site can sign up for periodic emails or a newsletter, offer your Latino customers something for them. 

7. A Spanish translation will usually take up 20% to 25% more space than the original English text. If this extra copy won't fit in your page layouts, edit the original copy or try using a slightly smaller font.

8. The translation should be in neutral Spanish. Your business will benefit by reaching all Spanish speakers without offending any of them. Neutral Spanish avoids regional language variations and slang, and is easily understood by all U.S. Hispanics.

In "Good Content is Critical for Reaching Hispanics Online", Lee Vann says the scarcity of quality content online for Hispanics provides a big opportunity for advertisers.  He reminds companies that online marketing is for engaging first and selling later, and shares these tips for success.  If you are adapting and translating some English content, share numbers 9 and 10 with your translator.

1.  Don't be afraid of the social internet; embrace it

2.  Develop clear goals and objectives upfront

3.  Establish a voice and develop guidelines to ensure it is always consistent

4.  Ensure that all content provides value to your target audience

5.  Don't be afraid to test out different things

6.  Make sure content is engaging, stimulating a conversation

7.  Create an agile process, including legal approvals

8.  Make sure your content is social media-optimized to maximize sharing

9.  Avoid using regional Spanish when engaging to national Hispanic audiences

10. Be consistent when using the formal "usted" and informal "tu" forms in Spanish

Image by Toni Castillo under Creative Commons license.

Cindy King, a cross-cultural marketer, has an interesting post on different interpretations of times and dates across cultures.  It reminded me of a friend from Botswana who had a very different idea of time than I do.  He defined "later"  as any time in the future: today, tomorrow, next week, next month.  Appointments did not translate into being somewhere at a specific time or even on a particular date.  While this attitude was the norm where he did business, it would never have worked in the US.

So, what should you do when working with overseas customers? Do as the Romans: learn how your customers use times and dates and follow their lead. 

Image by Travis Jon Allison under Creative Commons license.