As a part of the team running an educational institution, you might wonder why you should translate your website and other perspective materials into native languages if your students are supposed to know English.
The answer is that translating academic content is only one part of adapting your content to make you more accessible and appealing to international audiences.
However, even the translation process needs to be handled carefully to get optimum results.
When you want your content translated into another language, there are several things to assess before making the final decision.
Some questions to address the issue better include:
- Who would provide the best value academic translation services?
- What language do you need to translate your content to?
- How will your service provider translate the content?
- Should you translate the entire promotional and website content or parts of it?
- Should you opt for human translation or go for machine-based translation?
This article discusses some of these aspects in detail.
Why Should You Choose Human Translators for Your Content?
One dilemma you might face during the process is choosing between machine and human translation.
The best way to decide is by assessing your translating needs and comparing the benefits and drawbacks of both options.
However, human translators are preferred for their accuracy and ability to understand the context better.
It is hard to beat the expertise and strong grasp that a human translator has on their native language.
If you are concerned about building your institution's reputation among international students, want to be on their list of preferred institutions, and focus on providing excellent value-for-money services, you would undoubtedly need human translators.
Some reasons to do so include:
- Every single word cannot be translated without changing its context. And it is extremely difficult for a machine to detect the context of a sentence. Humans, however, have inherent expertise in this.
- Humans understand the cultural difference and how to translate the message to reflect that. In the case of academic translation services, this skill can come in handy while targeting international students.
- The decision-making ability of humans remains unmatched by any AI tool. They can judge a situation, content, and context and quickly translate the sentence. With machines, human-level precision is still hard to achieve.
Role of Translating Academic Content
Apart from all the benefits of translation services discussed above, it can also be a powerful tool for translating website content.
Website translation is a process of converting the language of your website content into another language while keeping the meaning and context of the source content and adapting it for global customers.
As an academic institution looking for international students, the role of website translation cannot be overlooked.
A website is the initial source of information that your potential student would need to understand your operations and rules.
Some of the most powerful reasons to translate a website are:
- The translation is customized to effectively and accurately convey the message to international students hailing from different countries. Instead of having a consistent message for everyone, adapting your content to individual countries or regions shows that you respect their culture and communicate appropriately. This, in turn, will help you build a positive brand image.
- Content showing your university's strengths in your international students’ native languages will allow their families to share and refer these details to their circle of friends and extended family, further building a pool of potential students for your organization.
- For transparency and reliability, factors such as payment options, exchange rate, and character sets can be translated to make it relevant to local students.
Contents to Translate for Effective Marketing
An important aspect of using academic translation services: you do not have to translate all your content immediately, just the ones that would convey the message.
When focusing on the academic translation, some important materials to translate are as follows:
- Microsite Content: Many educational institutions build small microsites within their main domain. These microsites are used to release all information related to a specific topic or group of students. It is a potent tool that lets you create in-country awareness for your target audience. Translating the microsite's content would help the international student resonate with you better and share with them with their close network.
- International Digital Network Platforms: Digital networks primarily include social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Translating social media content for international students can improve conversion rates because the local language content would get more shares, likes, and subscriptions from the target audience. Let your students share information and invitation to events in their language on various social media platforms. This will help your institute build a better brand.
- Print Materials: Translating printed materials (e.g., brochures, prospectus) meant for educational fairs and agent offices will allow your content to reach broader audiences. It will also help them understand the contents of your print materials better.
Why Choose GMR Transcription?
GMR Transcription Services, Inc. provides professional human translation services for all your critical academic translation needs.
GMR Transcription has built a reputation for consistently delivering projects with 99% accuracy. Irrespective of the size of your project and the deadline, you can be assured of getting the best results within a quick turnaround time.
