It was their first league title in 44 long years, secured in the most dramatic, nerve-shredding fashion possible.

Yesterday, to mark the one-year anniversary of that great achievement, the club sacked Roberto Mancini.

Mancini was the man who led them to glory a year ago, and their most successful manager in decades. 

He was also hugely popular with Man City’s fans.

Now, Mancini’s sacking wasn’t unexpected.

Ruthless and unfair, quite possibly.

But rumours about his future had been flying around for weeks.

And his fate was pretty much sealed when his side failed to win the FA Cup at the weekend.

No. The most remarkable thing about his dismissal, in the end, was the language used to announce it.

Here’s the official statement the Man City board released on Monday evening.

It has caused quite a stir.

It’s a real lesson in how not to make an official statement – especially one aimed at normal, straight-talking football fans.

There’s too much wrong with it to cover in a 500-word post.

But there’s one line that really leaps out.

This [Man City’s alleged underachievement this season], combined with an identified need to develop a holistic approach to all aspects of football at the Club, has meant that the decision has been taken to find a new manager for the 2013/14 season and beyond.

Any idea what that means? Nope, me neither.

The phrase has, quite rightly, been picked up and mocked all over the internet.

At one point the hashtag #holistic was trending on Twitter.

Several users said it was the first time they’d had to use a dictionary to make sense of a football story.

There’s a troubling thing beyond all this, though.

Man City’s fans still don’t fully understand why their much-loved manager has been sacked.

And, judging from the official statement, neither does the Man City board.

Corporate blather like “holistic approach” hints at unclear thinking on their part, and suggests they don’t know how to explain their own actions.

Used in this way, it also makes them seem cowardly.

Instead of coming out and saying what they really mean, they’ve hidden behind a wall of platitudes. 

Man City’s fans, and Mancini himself, surely deserve better than that.

The Man City board actually mentions “respect” three times in its statement.

I can’t see much respect in its choice of language, though.

Respect, at times like this, means being brave and telling it like it is.

Addressing the fans directly, in clear, honest language that they all use and understand.

Saying sorry for the way the situation has been handled.

Offering a personal, heartfelt thank-you to Mancini for his admirable work.

And not simply filling out the standard Word template for managerial sackings, as they have done here.

A direct, waffle-free message would have made the whole situation much easier for everyone to stomach.

But as it is, all Man City’s statement has done is bring ridicule, confusion and a sour taste that will probably linger for quite some time.

The fans have lost a manager they liked and respected, without really knowing why he’s gone.

Mancini, meanwhile, is left to spend the rest of his career ruing what could have been.

If he’d only taken a more holistic approach.

Image: Roger Goraczniak

The All England Club confirmed this a few weeks back in their grandly named “Wimbledon Master Plan.”

Now, sliding roof fans, don’t get too excited.

You won’t see it at this year’s tournament. Or next year’s. Or even the one after that.

In fact, the new roof won’t be ready until 2019.

And it won’t be cheap to build, either.

The All England Club, being all English and all, never likes to disclose financial specifics.

It’s thought, however, that the roof will cost at least double the £100m paid to redevelop Centre Court in 2009.

Some tennis fans, as you might expect, have been asking questions.

“Does it really take that long, and cost that much, to plonk a roof on a tennis arena?”

“Surely it could be done in half the time, and for a fraction of the cost?”

Well, maybe it could.

But that’s not the way the All England Club works.

When they do things, they do them properly.

To them, this is not just a roof: it’s an investment to secure Wimbledon’s long-term success.

Anything they build must be built to last, and reflect the quality and detail that makes Wimbledon so special.

Fast and cheap, then, is simply not an option.

They need slow and expensive.

That is: paying good money to get the best people for the job, and giving them enough time to produce the best results.

It’s easy to see why they’re willing to spend so much time and money getting this roof just right.

When it’s finished, both of Wimbledon’s show courts will be completely immune to the weather.

That means uninterrupted tennis for 26,500 spectators, no matter what the British summer hurls down.

Broadcasters, in turn, will be able to have live action on at least two channels throughout the tournament.

Which, for those of us watching on TV, means no more grainy re-runs of 1970s matches when the rain inevitably sets in.

For the All England Club, that all adds up to a better Wimbledon and an even stronger reputation around the world.

I don’t think you can put a price on that.

And I certainly think it’s something worth waiting for.

There are still some people in the business world who approach translation and copywriting projects the same way.

People who are happy to pay premium rates to skilled specialists.

Who look at long-term value rather than short-term cost.

And will never settle for instant mediocrity.

These are people who see a good translation, or a well-written piece of copy, as a valuable sales and PR tool.

Not just words on a page.

Like the All England Club, they don’t want cheap rush jobs that leak at the first sign of rain.

They need work that stays watertight.

Day after day. Year after year. Whatever the skies throw at it.

Fast and cheap has its place.

But slow and expensive wins the race.

Image: Kuviz

His goals for Liverpool and Spain had made him one of the most feared strikers on the planet.

He had recently won the World Cup.

Everybody wanted a piece of him.

Then, in January 2011, he joined Chelsea for £50m and became the most expensive player in British history.

And suddenly everything changed.

There was no instant impact; no dream hat-trick on his debut.

In fact, he would wait 903 aching minutes for his first league goal.

As the drought went on, so the fans grew impatient and the media plunged and wiggled their knives.

Everyone wondered if Torres would ever score again.

His name soon became the punchline of every joke.

There was even talk of him being sold after less than a year.

The pressure, both internal and external, must have been awful.

But he didn’t let it beat him.

Instead, he did what all top professionals do.

He kept turning up.

He maintained an exemplary work-rate.

He trained hard and worked on his weaknesses.

And he believed that, sooner or later, things would turn around.

A top-class striker doesn’t become a Sunday-league amateur overnight, after all.

So then came his second season at Chelsea.

And it was an improvement on the first, yielding 11 goals in all competitions.

This season has been better still, with his overall tally at 20 goals as I write this.

Still miles short of his best, of course.

But you sense it won’t be long until the goals start flowing again.

I’m sure there are translators and copywriters who can sympathise with Torres.

If you’ve ever experienced freelance feast and famine, you’ll know what I mean.

One minute you’re invincible.

You’re invoicing for several thousand every month.

Ideas sprout from everywhere and words fly off your keyboard.

Every bit of work you do is solid gold.

Every incoming email is a fresh new project.

Like a pre-Chelsea Torres, you’re smoking-hot property.

And then… nothing.

For no obvious reason, it all stops.

First it’s for days. Then weeks. Then months.

So the stress mounts, and the doubts begin to strangle.

You wonder if you’ll ever get another paid job.

If you’ll afford the rent next month.

You won’t admit it, but you’ve even considered going back to full-time employment.

But then you snap out of it.

And you realise none of this is your fault.

Your clients love your work, you’ve never screwed up and your skills haven’t suddenly turned to muck.

So you banish the toxic thoughts and plough on.

You promote your business smartly and with no let-up, like you always have.

You read, listen, learn and improve – same as you did before.

You use your downtime to switch off, relax and stay motivated.

And then, from nowhere, a meaty new project thuds into your inbox.

Then another, and another, and another.

Until you start wishing there were 30 hours in a day.

Just like that, you’re invincible again.

“You are the kind of player you are all your life.”

Fernando Torres said that.

Remember it next time famine strikes.

If you’re a brilliant freelancer, you always will be.

You’ve just got to believe it and keep going.

Image: Дмитрий Неймырок

In it Palin meets André Henning, a well-known football pundit, and learns how to commentate like a Brazilian.

After learning the basics, Palin challenges Henning to what I guess you’d call a timed commentary-off.

The rules?

Watch a video of Neymar scoring, describe the action and then shout ‘gol’ for as long as possible.

Henning takes the mic first.

And, as you’d expect, his effort is masterful.

Goooooooooooool! Brasil! Brasil! Brasil! Neymar!

Goal, team and goalscorer – all the pertinent info is there.

Everything else – the quality of the goal, the excitement of it all – shines through in the tone and pitch of his voice.

He also holds ‘gol’ for 19 seconds, with plenty left in the tank.

So then Palin takes his turn.

And he does OK, holding his goal-blurt for a good 10 seconds.

But here’s what lets him down:

Oh, Neymar! The ball’s gone to Neymar! Neymar’s got the ball! He’s gone and lofted it over the goalkeeper! Goooooooooal!

Where Henning’s description is short, punchy and engaging, Palin’s is long, flabby and rambling.

Henning says more in five words than Palin does with 20.

In other words: Henning shows; Palin tells.

But we can let him off, because it’s not his job and it was all just a bit of fun.

The problem, though, is that many full-time British commentators get paid handsomely to make an even bigger hash of it.

To the bad commentator, a goal is not simply a goal.

In fact, it’s rarely about the goal at all.

A goal is a chance for them to parade their wit, eloquence and sophistication.

A grandiose, rehearsed reaction here; a contrived political comment or philosophical musing there.

Satirical asides, laboured puns and forced poignancy here, here, here and here.

Lost somewhere in all the waffle is one of the most common sights in sport.

A ball crossing a goal-line.

Something so simple, and so evocative, that it shouldn’t need explaining.

And yet commentators can’t resist the urge to dress it up.

A similar thing occurs in the field of sports marketing, where I do a lot of my work.

When you strip everything away, sports marketing agencies really have a simple purpose.

They exist to build long-term, profitable relationships between their clients and the end customers of those clients.

Ask them to describe what they do, however, and you’ll get something like this:

We deliver comprehensive solutions to encourage longevity through intelligent and innovative strategies, leveraging all aspects of the marketing mix to drive results for clients across multiple channels and platforms.

An impersonal blast of empty jargon which, let’s face it, even the most seasoned sports marketer would struggle to decode.

It’s the written equivalent of bad football commentary: taking a simple thing and making it complicated.

And, like bad football commentary, all this does is annoy, frustrate and turn people off.

I think sports marketers would do much better to take the Brazilian approach.

By that I mean getting straight to the point, cutting the fluff and telling it like it is.

Calling a goal a goal, if you will.

It’s easier, for a start, and gets a much more positive reaction.

Try it yourself next time you sit down to write a piece of sports marketing copy.

Write for one reader, as if you were talking face-to-face.

Use clear language that speaks straight to that reader.

Let your product do the talking, and use tone of voice to convey your brand’s personality.

If it’s simple, keep it simple.

If it’s not, make it simple.

And if you’re ever in doubt, just ask:

What would André Henning say?

Image: Antonio Cruz/ABr

In it I share my experience as a sports translator, and give a few tips for getting started in the industry.

I hope you find it useful.

Did you choose sport as your specialism or did it choose you?

It was all my choice. Sport, in all its forms, has been my obsession since I was a kid, and it’s the only field in which I would dare call myself a specialist. Other subjects interest me too, of course. But, as you know, it takes more than a passing interest to be able to produce a great translation. You really need to know your subject inside-out.

Choosing sport as my specialism was easy. I did lots of freelance work for a football language agency in my final year of university, which formed a great platform when I eventually decided to go full-time. It confirmed, crucially, that there was a sports translation market, and gave me enough experience to be able to get work with other sports clients.

You could say it was a gamble to focus on such a narrow niche. And there were times early on when I had to accept any work I could get, just to pay the bills. But I was determined to make sport the centre of my business, and I knew there would be enough sport-related work to sustain me if I kept looking in the right places.

Are you into sport yourself? What, if any, are your chosen sports?

Sport is second only to food as my favourite thing in life. These days I watch more than I do, but I have played several sports to a decent level. I once had trials for Sussex County Cricket Club, and played football, tennis and golf throughout my teenage years. I was never outstanding at any of them, but I wasn’t completely useless either.

I still play club tennis, golf and 5-a-side football whenever I can. And I go running several times a week. It helps me to keep fit, stay positive and release stress, which is important when you’re self-employed.

So what exactly is sports translation? And what does a typical job involve?

A lot of people ask me this – even my close friends and relatives. For a while they thought I sat at home, with a pair of headphones on, doing French commentary for matches on TV. Others thought I spent my days typing subtitles for live events. I think that’s how some of them still perceive my job.

In fact, sports translation has a lot in common with sports journalism and marketing. Most of my work is for sports businesses, marketing agencies and PR companies. They send me written texts in French or Spanish – usually news articles, press releases, brochures and adverts – and I translate them into English. If they need a different language combination, I handle the work through my agency.

There’s no place for clunky, literal translations: everything has to be stylish, fluent and ‘untranslated.’ For that, you need a deep understanding of sport and the target audience you’re trying to reach. A good grounding in marketing and a bit of copywriting experience can also help. I wanted to be a sports journalist when I was growing up, so that’s probably why I’m so drawn to this niche.

Does your work cover all sports or a particular type (team, individual, indoor, outdoor)?

My work, in theory, covers all sports. But the reality is that some sports have a much greater need (and budget) for translation than others. Most of my projects are rooted in football, tennis, golf and motorsport, as those sports tend to get the most exposure and can afford to localise their content for foreign markets.

That said, I also handle work for so-called minority sports such as volleyball, triathlon, sailing and cycling. These sports are growing in popularity all the time, and I’m sure I’ll work with them much more as they continue to attract fans around the world.

Do you keep a close eye on developments in the world of sport?

Yes – both for pleasure and as a professional obligation. You won’t get very far as a sports translator, or in any other specialist field, if you don’t stay up to speed with the latest news and trends in your sector.

First, the language of sport is evolving all the time. As a sports translator you need to know, for instance, which terms and expressions are in current use, which are obsolete and which are tired clichés. Second, staying in-tune with the sports world can be a huge time-saver. Sometimes it can even help you save your clients from embarrassment.

To give you an example: I recently translated a round-up of football transfers completed in the winter transfer window. For a translator with limited knowledge of football, or someone who hadn’t been following the sports news, the text would have needed a great deal of research and taken a long time to translate.

But because I’d already heard about all the transfers when they happened, I was able to get the job done much quicker. I also managed to spot several factual errors in the original text which I probably wouldn’t have questioned otherwise.

Are there any particular requirements or skills needed for your specialism?

The very least you need is a love of sport and an interest in the industry that surrounds it. You also need to be an excellent writer, cool under pressure and able to produce polished, ready-to-publish work to very tight deadlines.

For one of my end clients, the PR agency of an international motorsport series, I get just one hour to translate 600-word race reports and press releases for the official website. The translations are read by thousands of fans around the world, so I have to get them right first time.

Being a good translator, while clearly important, isn’t enough on its own. You also need to understand the language and culture of individual sports and the fans that follow them. You might craft a translation that’s factually and grammatically correct, but if your words don’t resonate with fans of that particular sport, you haven’t done your job.

Do you ever get to meet any famous sportsmen and women?

I work from my home office most of the time, so I rarely get to meet anyone face-to-face – let alone famous sportspeople. That said, I do get to work on site at sporting events from time to time. And I’ve met one or two of my sporting heroes through those assignments.

In 2010 I freelanced for Arsenal at the Emirates Cup. There, I was lucky enough to sit next to Arsène Wenger for three days and interpret for several of his first-team players. Celtic, AC Milan and Lyon were the other clubs involved. I’m a big OL fan, having lived in Lyon for nearly two years. So interpreting for their former captain, Cris, was a real highlight.

I also met Kim Clijsters, one of my favourite women’s tennis players, while working at the WTA Open GDF Suez in 2011. Amélie Mauresmo, the tournament director, had an office just down the corridor from ours. But, even after a week at the event, I was too star-struck to knock on her door and say hello.

Those on-site jobs are always fun, but they don’t come along very often. Most of the time, my work is far from glamorous.

Did you do any work for London 2012?

No, I wasn’t directly involved with London 2012. Most of the translation work was done by volunteers, and through a large external translation agency. The agency in question gets a lot of bad publicity in the UK and is deeply unpopular among professional linguists. So I decided at an early stage not to pitch for work.

I did, however, work with some of London 2012’s partners and suppliers. One of my regular clients has a large contract with a football governing body, so I also did quite a bit of work for the Men’s and Women’s Olympic Football Tournaments.

The Games were very special and left a huge void when they finished. I still miss the multicultural buzz they created around the city.

How do you prepare for your sports translation assignments? Do they involve any particular research or specialist resources?

The preparation is more or less the same as for any other translation assignment. I read and cross-reference past translations, look for similar documents, research terminology – just as I would in any other field.

The only difference, I suppose, is that my research can involve watching hours of YouTube videos. Translating a description of a spectacular goal, a brilliant tennis shot or a multiple car pile-up can be hard when all you have are inanimate words on a page with no context. But when I can see the incidents in front of me, my job is much easier and I can produce a much more vivid translation.

Are there many other translators working in this field?

Many translators list sport among their working fields, but very few are genuine sport specialists. I could probably count on two hands the number of translators and agencies that make their living from sports translation alone. This is quite surprising when you consider how vast the sports industry is.

That lack of expert sports translators and agencies is what drew me to the niche. There’s a great need for linguists who really know sport, and it’s only going to grow in the years ahead.

Sports clubs and organisations are constantly looking for ways to attract new fans, break into new markets and improve sales. And they’re starting to realise how powerful translation can be in that respect. I’m sure that, if the industry keeps growing at this pace, more and more translators will focus on sport.

What are the pros and cons of your job?

Life as a freelance sports translator can be lonely. I think most freelancers feel cut-off and isolated from time to time, whatever their specialist field. The key is to stay busy, even when you haven’t got any paid jobs to work on. When you’re self-employed there should always be something to do, whether it’s writing a blog post, updating your website or promoting your business.

Another downside of the job is the lack of recognition. I have no ego to feed and don’t need to be slapped on the back for everything I do. But everyone needs a ‘Great job!’ every now and then. That’s especially true for freelance translators, who have no physical colleagues to provide motivation and support, and who are rarely credited for their work.

But enough of the bad stuff. For someone like me, who lives and breathes sport and language, sports translation is the perfect job. The work is varied, challenging and never dull, and I get to use my natural talents every day. It’s also satisfying to know that my work is helping to raise the profile of certain sports, and helping ambitious businesses to promote their goods and services to a global audience.

It feels good, too, to be able to change people’s perception of the translation industry in a small way. When I tell people I’m a translator, they tend to say Riiiiight and nod in that slow, exaggerated way that suggests they’re bracing for a tedious conversation. But when I mention the sport side of it, their expression changes and they start to take a genuine interest.

They often have no idea what translation involves, and are surprised to learn how much the sports industry relies on it. Those conversations always seem insignificant at the time. But if they help improve the image of the translation industry even slightly, then that can only be a good thing.

What advice would you give to translators wishing to work in this sector?

First of all, get as much sport-related experience as you can. It doesn’t have to be in translation – it could be in sports media, marketing, PR or event management. Anything that shows you have some knowledge of the industry, and that gives you a bit of credibility when you pitch for your first sports translation job.

Immerse yourself daily in sport and the language of sport. Read, watch and listen to as much sports coverage as you can, both in your source languages and your mother tongue. Make it part of your daily routine. And be sure not to neglect your writing skills in your native language: all translators need to be good writers, but sports translators need to be a cut above.

Learn as much as you can about sports journalism and editing. This will make you a better writer and translator, and will give you a greater understanding of your clients’ needs. Also take an interest in sports marketing and PR, as that’s where a large chunk of your translation work is likely to come from.

Above all, don’t be tempted to become a ‘jack-of-all-trades’ translator when things are quiet. It may be tempting when the money starts to dry up, but diluting your expertise won’t help you in the long run. Stick to your guns, promote yourself properly and never give up. You’ll attract much better clients – and rates – as a true specialist than someone with 100 general working fields.

Some days, no matter how hard you wring your brain, the words just won’t trickle out.

If you’re reading this, it’s probably because you’re going through a word-drought of your own.

You’ve tried all your usual methods to clear the jam, but nothing’s shifting it.

What, then, if I told you there was an easy way to set the words flowing again?

One that will put you on a high for the rest of the day?

Believe it or not, such a method does exist.

Here’s all you have to do:

Put on your trainers. Step outside. And start running. 

It’s what I do whenever my mind goes blank during a sports translation or copywriting project.

I don’t waste time grappling with my muse – I just get up and go for a run.

And it works every time.

I don’t know if there’s any science behind it.

But for some reason the combination of sweat, endorphins and fresh air always seems to untangle the word-hose and fill my head with ideas.

Some of my best ideas, in fact, come to me during my runs – usually at the top of the hill at Alexandra Palace, overlooking the City of London.

As I stand there, bent double and wheezing like a deflating football, everything just clicks into place.

Running doesn’t just cure writer’s block, by the way.

It also helps if you’re stressed after a bad day, struggling with a tough decision or simply in need of a clear head.

Getting away from your desk and doing something different is always good.

But going out and working up a sweat is even better.

Try it yourself next time writer’s block strikes.

You’ll be amazed how quickly the inspiration comes pouring back.

Photo © Erwinova | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

Clue: they’re both in the introduction. And those two words are what made the opening paragraph so… well… rubbish.

Any ideas? No? Here they are, then, in reverse order:

1. Set

I’m not talking about sets of tennis. Or athletes setting world records. Nothing wrong with either of those.

Rather, I’m thinking of sportspeople, clubs and organisations being ‘set’ to take some kind of action. Here’s what I mean:

• Ashley Cole set to sign new Chelsea contract
• Andy Murray set to be given the Freedom of Sterling
• Jonny Wilkinson set to decide future
• Toto Wolff set to join Mercedes
• United States’ 2014 Ryder Cup captain set to be unveiled

Set, here, is used to mean ‘about to,’ ‘ready to’ or ‘expected to.’ And, in each case, it’s completely redundant.

How to avoid it

Simple: highlight the word on your screen and press delete.

In all five examples – and every other example you’ll ever see – the word ‘set’ does nothing but waste space. And when you remove it, no meaning is lost.

Not convinced? Let me show you:

• Ashley Cole to sign new Chelsea contract
• Andy Murray to be given the Freedom of Sterling
• Jonny Wilkinson to decide future
• Toto Wolff to join Mercedes
• United States’ 2014 Ryder Cup captain to be unveiled 
• (Better still: United States to name 2014 Ryder Cup captain)

Set has gone, but all five sentences still make perfect sense. You’ve also saved four precious characters, which can make a big difference when you’re writing for the web or a mobile sports app.

2. See (verb)

The verb ‘to see’ is a particular favourite with sports journalists.

They use it when they need to describe a causal connection between two events, but can’t be bothered to do so in a clear and natural way.

Here are some examples:

• United’s winner saw the side strike on the break
• That blistering form has seen him receive a deserved Six Nations call
• He is currently ranked 67th, although an exceptional finish this week will see him rise into the top 50

The verb ‘to see’ here makes the sentences weak and baggy. It also makes no sense (winning goals, no matter how good, do not have eyes).

How to avoid it

Remove all traces of ‘to see’ and replace it with a stronger, more relevant verb. You may have to rewrite the sentence completely, or come at it from a different angle.

Here’s how I’d deal with the three examples (by no means the only options):

• United struck the winner on the break
• That blistering form has earned him a deserved Six Nations call
• He is currently ranked 67th, although an exceptional finish this week will move him into the top 50

A few tweaks was all it took. And the sentences are now more succinct and much easier to digest.

So there you go. Avoid these two little words and your sports copy will improve instantly.

Got any words you’d like to add to the list? Feel free to share them below.

If you don’t know Spanish, here’s the gist: Guardiola speaks little German, so he’s going to need a ‘translator’.

And who better than José Mourinho – Pep’s former arch-rival and the man known as ‘el traductor’ (the translator) for his early-90s stint as Bobby Robson’s multilingual mouthpiece.

All very witty.

Except Guardiola doesn’t need a translator: he needs an interpreter.

Translator, interpreter – same thing, right?

Well, no. And here’s why:

Translators write. Interpreters speak.

Both require mother-tongue mastery and a thorough command of at least one foreign language.

But that’s pretty much where the similarities end.

Translators are mostly found hunched in front of computer screens, absolutely not in their pyjamas, surrounded by reference books and empty coffee mugs.

Their job is to convert written texts from one language into another, using thorough research, cultural nous and impeccable writing skills to keep all nuances and subtleties intact.

Interpreters, by contrast, perform mental gymnastics and verbal wizardry at everything from meetings, conferences and exhibitions, to film shoots, murder trials and Champions League finals.

Guardiola may use a sports translator to help with written texts at some point during his stay in Munich.

But for his everyday work on the training ground, in the dugout and face-to-face with the press, it’s a football-savvy interpreter he’ll need to express his thoughts and ideas.

That is, at least, until he masters German.

And, knowing the kind of person he is, you just know he will eventually.

Today, while researching new sports copywriting clients, I came across this*:

“We deliver mutually beneficial leverages and value-added synergies to drive our partners to sports marketing success.” 

It was written in large, bold letters at the top of a company’s homepage. 

And it took up half the screen. 

Hours later, I still haven’t worked out what this company actually does. 

Maybe they make see-saws? 

Or refurbish mid-nineties Citroën people carriers? 

I’m completely stumped. 

If you can make sense of it – or, even better, provide a plain-English translation – feel free to share your ideas below.

A mutually beneficial leverage

*I tweaked the wording slightly to keep the offending company anonymous

As a business executive, you wouldn’t think twice to pay a lawyer for legal advice. You’d always hire a qualified accountant for tax help. And you’d go straight to a trained mechanic if your company car broke down.

Why, then, would you choose to send translation work to anyone less than a professional translator? Whatever your excuse, I’ve probably heard it before. And I can tell you now that it’s not doing your business any good.

Here are five excuses I hear every day. If any of them sound familiar to you, perhaps it’s time for a rethink.

1. Dave in HR speaks some French. If we need translations, we’ll just ask him

Dave may well know a bit of French. But does that really qualify him to translate complex business documents? And wouldn’t his time be better spent on that urgent recruitment campaign?

An ability to speak a foreign language does not make you a translator – just like having a driving licence does not make you Sebastian Vettel, or being able to follow a recipe does not make you a Michelin-starred chef.

Translation is a skill that takes years to learn. So let Dave get on with what you pay him to do, and leave translation to experienced pros who really know their stuff.

2. We can’t afford professional translation 

It’s true: good translation isn’t cheap. But can you really afford not to use a professional service? Just one bad translation can turn your customers against you, damage your reputation and, in extreme cases, land you in legal trouble.

With translation, you really do get what you pay for. Cheap shortcuts always come at a price, and it will cost you more to fix a bad translation than it would to get the job done properly the first time.

3. Why pay a professional when we’ve got Google Translate? 

Free translation tools are useful if all you need is the general gist of a text. For business purposes, however, automatic translation is a very bad idea. The results can range from incoherent and misleading to bizarre and, in some cases, outright offensive.

Imagine you’re designing a new website for your company. Would you be happy to fill it with English copy that was nonsensical, full of mistakes and likely to offend your customers?

Of course you wouldn’t. So why should that kind of sub-standard content be good enough for your foreign clients?

4. Everyone understands English. Translation is a waste of money 

It’s actually thought that around 75% of the world’s population speaks no English at all. Many people know the basics, but it takes a lot more than that to navigate a commercial website or understand pages of complex terms and conditions.

Like all consumers, the least your foreign customers expect is to have access to clear, useful information, written in language they understand. Offering high-quality translated content not only makes them feel valued and respected, but also makes them more likely to buy from you.

And remember: if you can’t give prospective foreign clients the information they need, they’re only ever a click away from one of your competitors.

5. We just don’t need professional translation

It may be that you have a product or service that will only ever succeed in your domestic market. Still, in an industry as global and all-embracing as sport, even the most niche offering can benefit from professional translation.

Multilingual websites, press releases and brochures can all help you to attract new customers and make more sales, and extend your reach in a way your monolingual rivals could only dream of.