Thursday, 6 September 2018

The Importance of Translators



There is no serious dispute that English is the global language of business, science and commerce.

Whatever might be the case in 100 or 200 years’ time, today it’s probably a relatively safe assumption that most senior overseas business visitors to Australia will have a good working command of the language.

However, that should not encourage complacency.

The fact is that there are exceptions to the above general rule.  Some VIPs may only have a “fair” knowledge of the language and that is something, as a host, it would be prudent to take out some insurance against.

That insurance is having an interpreter available when you have your luxury limousine hire vehicle meet your VIP at the airport.

The reasoning behind this is clear:
  •  If your visitor does not speak good English, having the interpreter on hand may be invaluable and someone that gets the “wheels rolling”;
  • Even if they do have very good English, your provision of an interpreter shows thought and courtesy. It also indicates that you value their language and culture – and are prepared to deal in that if necessary.

Of course, there is the slight possibility that your visitor might be slightly offended that you thought they’d need an interpreter.  However, the chances of that occurring are perhaps relatively small and the benefits as outlined above, may outweigh any such risk considerably.