EU Enlargement: translating the challenges into opportunities

The scope and diversity of this new enlarged EU are without parallel as 25 different countries seek to function together with economies, geographies, cultures, languages, demographics and populations as different as Lithuania and Portugal, Poland and Malta.

The nine new official languages of the latest members are Czech, Estonian, Hungarian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Slovakian and Slovenian. These bring the number of official EU languages to 20 and the number of possible language combinations within the EU to 380 (source: EUbusiness). For further information about languages in Europe see the portal site of the European Union.

Respect for the diversity of its languages is one of the founding principles of the EU: "European languages are equal in value and dignity and form an integral part of European culture and civilisation". According to European Commission's Directorate-General for Translation, Karl-Johan Loennroth, over half of European Union members speak only their own language and everyone is entitled to information in their own tongue.

The wider diversity of the newly enlarged EU makes doing business more complex and communications more difficult. In particular, enlargement increases further the challenge of complying with EU industry-specific directives, many of which require documentation to be provided in end users’ languages. Any product that comes under a European Directive (which includes most industrial and domestic products) and is to be sold in the EU, must bear Conformité Européenne (CE) marking. The CE Mark, seen as a trade passport, validates that the product meets the essential requirements of all relevant directives.

Properly translating end-user documentation is a critical step toward attaining a CE mark. This documentation can include instruction manuals, safety manuals, operations manuals, product labels, spare part lists, tests results, certificates of conformity, technical files and others.

On the plus side, the CE mark virtually eliminates the costly regulations imposed by individual member states. Manufacturers who comply with the directive can apply the CE mark to their products and market them freely within all member states of the EU. Even where it is not yet a legal requirement, attaining a CE mark can be used for competitive advantage. Conversely, however, products can be withdrawn if they do not comply with regulations. Also, the translation process can be time-consuming and costly. Therefore translation and Localization must be an integral part of your marketing strategy.

Take the example of medical devices where the EU represents about 30% of the global market. EU directives require translation of documentation, labeling, user interface components and packaging into the official language of each European country in which the product will be sold. Many medical device manufacturers have paid a high price for underestimating the negative impact of poorly translated labels and inserts. As a result, their CE mark applications have been rejected, resulting in delayed product ship dates, loss of market share, and reduced revenue (source: Medical Devicelink website www.devicelink.com).

Lloyd International is one of Europe’s leading specialist technical translation companies. We can offer all the language solutions needed to translate documents and localise software or websites into every European language quickly and cost-effectively. We provide:

• Mother tongue professional translators in all EU countries with specialist knowledge in the subject area being translated

• The latest technologies and translation tools, including translation memory software to reduce cost and increase speed, accuracy and consistency

• Liaison with local subsidiaries or distributors for validation purposes if required

• Terminology glossaries which we can develop and maintain for you;

• In-house language support

• ISO 9001:200 quality assurance systems

• A secure gateway to our project management system, enabling you to track progress, anywhere and anytime.

We have experience of translating a wide range of technical and commercial material to meet EU directives. Recent examples include translating user guides for a British air filtration company into all EU languages; localising prompts and user guides for a mobile phone manufacturer, and providing all documentation in key EU languages for a leading European satellite communications company to support a new product launch.

If the enlarged EU is your target market, call us for more information call us on +44 (0)1829 730050 or email us. Contact: Jill Fifoot, Sales & Marketing Director

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