Wednesday 14 November 2012

Are overseas companies let down by their English?


Some of the world’s largest companies are headquartered in countries where English is the second or even third language. And it shows in their messaging. By using non-native speakers of English to write their websites, companies risk alienating Western buyers and customers. So why do they do it?

Total Quality Qontrol [sic]
Those aren’t my words. Honestly. It’s a chapter title from a book on an Indonesia airline.  Not great. But as the side panel shows, there’s worse out there.

So what’s going on here? Are foreign companies entering Western markets unaware of how important a well written website is? Because they need to be. The website is the new shop window, often forming our first impressions of a company. And in business, first impressions are vital.

A pernickety bunch
Out West, one misspelt word can be all it takes to deter a potential client. Sloppy communications are seen as a sign of unprofessionalism and lax quality control. And with only the website to go on, it leaves the potential client wondering: how deep do these issues go? The product? The service?