Languages
While Vietnamese is spoken by nearly 70 million people globally, the language poses the same problems of context and tone that many Asiatic languages produce. As a result, organizations must take extra care when localizing English or other language content for audiences in this region, and when translating documents for business or technical purposes.
At Hansem Global, we routinely assist organizations of varying sizes in several industries with their high-quality Vietnamese translation and localization efforts. We know how important it is for organizations to achieve consistent messaging across platforms, regions, and languages. Our professional Vietnamese translation and localization experts are well-experienced in the local language and stand ready to assist in any way you require.
It is commonly said in Vietnam that “the hardships of struggling with a violent storm do not compare to the hardships of mastering Vietnamese grammar.” This is usually borne out by the difficulties that translators face when trying to localize text for domestic consumption or translate complex content into the local language while preserving contextual meaning. There are various reasons why this is the case, including the following:
While Vietnam used to have a writing system that is very similar to today’s Chinese characters (called Chữ Nôm), this has been replaced by an alphabet of 28 letters (called Quốc Ngữ). Although this may have simplified the language in certain respects, it has the unlooked-for effect of making Vietnamese extremely fluid. As a result, there are various ways in which sentences may be couched, and when what you require is standardized, professional translation, this might become a problem. In addition, Vietnamese is completely non-inflective – words do not change in relation to the context. They remain almost exactly the same. The effect of this is organizations that require high-quality translation services have to rely more on the skill and expertise of the translator that any cast-iron rules of grammar that dictate what amounts to a bad translation effort.
Vietnamese uses a complex system of six different tones to communicate meaning and context. These tones are critical to communicating precise messages, and as a result, getting the correct tones mixed up may be perceived as an insult. These tones are usually reflected in written content using diacritics – a system of marks and symbols added to the top or sides of written characters. Professional translation and localization will be necessary to preserve the context of translated material and to ensure that the localized content meets the exact goal it was intended to accomplish.
Different dialects and accents may apply within various communities and regions of the country. For instance, Vietnamese has the Nha Trang, Danang, Saigon, Nam Dinh, and Lao dialects, all of which are fundamentally Vietnamese, but almost unintelligible when compared to one another. It takes incredible expertise and knowledge of local dialects and accents to accurately translate material to and from these dialects or attempt any localization efforts for audiences in those regions.
Certain organizations may be tempted to rely only on computer-led translation and localization of their content for Vietnamese audiences, but this will often be a mistake. The various tonal contexts of the language and the fluidity of its use mean that mistakes can occur very easily, even for the simplest of projects, and even highly experienced local language experts may struggle with communicating the absolute right context. Therefore, it makes the most business and commercial sense to leverage the services of expert Vietnamese translation professionals for your content localization and translation purposes. This is why organizations choose to partner with Hansem Global, a leader in Vietnamese translation and localization for various technical and business industries.
At Hansem Global, we are proud of our incredible track record and extensive experience helping global companies of various sizes meet their localization needs. We are adept at multi-lingual localization services, including the creation (and curation) of source content, as well as translation into over 50 languages. Our professional Vietnamese translation and localization experts are talented at supporting organizations with their varied Vietnamese translation needs, including technical and marketing content for mobile and web, applications, and video tutorials.
We provide these services to a broad range of client industry groups, including marketing, industry, energy and utilities, communications and IT, life science, consumer products, and financial services. Through our 3-step TEP (translation + editing + proofreading) process, we support organizations to provide customized translation services that fit their corporate goals.
If you would like to hear more about what we can do for you, or if you want to speak with our consultants about your corporate needs, please contact us today at Hansem Global.