Strategies to Overcome Language Barriers for Immigrants – Professionally and Otherwise

“The limits of our language means the limits of our world.”

-Wittgenstein, 1922
Increased globalization is forcing a growing number of organizations to interact across linguistic boundaries. Since, language affects almost all aspects of everyday life, it is important to focus more on communication barriers. In a multi-cultural organization, simply expecting all employees to communicate in one common language decreases the potential of international talent and leaves monolingual employees ill equipped.

Over the last few decades, a lot of countries worldwide experienced increase in the population of immigrants, which makes language barrier a common challenge in international business settings. Use of strategies below will help you overcome the language barrier and ensure that you are not putting-up your own roadblocks while communicating.

How to Avoid Language Barrier
Avoid Idioms
Business language is usually contextual, and hence, culture specific. As a general rule, if the phrase you are using needs knowledge of other information – be it a metaphor or a game such as baseball- remember that this may make your communication a little more difficult.

Be Careful of Jargon
If you are using abbreviations or other organizational words that may have different meanings, it is important to provide a description, so that others may learn to use the same words that you do. You may also avoid use of such words completely.

Be Patient
Cross-cultural communication may require patience. It may improve with time but you cannot expect your communication to occur with the same speed as when you are communicating with someone in your own country.

Regardless of whether you are communicating with someone professionally or otherwise, it is important to demonstrate sensitivity.

Have you ever experienced language barrier, or have tips for overcoming such barriers? Share your views and experiences with us in the comment section.

Why Procure Professional Transcript Translation Services?

The world at large is becoming smaller by the day. Increased accessibility and easy communication have opened new avenues that allow people to travel, work and live in foreign lands to shape their lives as per their dreams. However, those who leave their nest to find success and solace in another country often face the need to translate and transform their expressions into locally familiar phrases, and in such scenarios, there is always the risk of the essence of the information getting “lost in translation”, or even worse, getting a completely different meaning.

To better understand, sample this:

An elevator in China had the following sign hung outside, written in Mandarin

“Work in progress”

Sparing a thought for the foreign guests, the next line was written in English, a strict translation at that

“Execution in progress”

Fortunately for the workers, the doors were open and the guests could see them mopping the orange juice stains from the floor rather than blood!

However, when dealing with official or academic documents, accurate and empathetic transcripts translation services assume a much greater role. The content needs to be clearly structured and must focus on the logic as well as the context in which it was written. Professional translation service providers employ expert personnel who have a thorough grasp of different languages and the regions of their origin, both of which they leverage to carry out translation work.

This is one the main reasons to hire a professional to do the job rather than using a software solution that may have the aptitude to provide a word-to-word translation, but has no vision to see the context, thus rendering the document meaningless, and establishing the need for accurate and understanding translation services.

The great philosopher and logician Ludwig Wittgenstein once said, “The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.” The world has become limitless, and through correct translation services, even inhibitions of communication will be fully eliminated.

How to Shortlist the Translators for Legal Document Translation Services

Finding a good translator for the translation of legal documents can be challenging, particularly because it becomes difficult to judge their acumen of the second language. Here are a few ways that can help you identify and select the best translator for legal document translation services –

Shortlisting

While selecting a translator for legal services, it is important to ensure that they have some legal knowledge. Your selection should depend upon the kind of work for which you need translation. If you need translation of legal documents, then it is best to hire a native speaker. A reputed translation company can also help you find a reputed translator.

Certification

If you want the best services, then you must look for Language service provider experience (LSP) and ISO certification.   This shows that the company meets all the requirements and is licensed to provide translation services.

Experience

Experience is a great way to ensure that the team at the company knows their job. How much experience and what kind of experience does the company have makes a lot of difference in the kind of quality you will get.

Regardless of whether you need translation of your legal documents or driver’s license translation, consult Languageoasis.com for all sorts of translation needs.