International Law

China As Though Language Matters

By Dan

Interesting post on the China Business Leadership blog, entitled, "China -- The Language Barrier," regarding how language can play out in China employment situations.

The post talks of a manager who insisted on speaking English to his Chinese staff even though many did not understand him. It then talks of the pros and cons of having "a global [company] culture centered around English":  

I know some companies want to have a global culture centered around English. I love the idea of having a global culture. Language will help, but do not forget the cost. I know one Research and Design Center in Shanghai where they employ a full time American English teacher. That is a good idea considering their requirement that top managers all speak English. However, it does mean that they are dramatically limiting their pool of workers. And high level R&D workers are not plentiful anyway. So they are more chronically short of workers. I personally would choose a global culture built around certain values as opposed to skills like English in most cases. But I think each company must carefully choose how many and which must haves they want to name.

The post then discusses the importance of using good translators, a point I have often made on this blog. For example, in the post, "How To Choose The Right Chinese Interpreter. Tell Me Who Do You Love," I note that others will view you as they view your interpreter, so you had better choose wisely. China Business Leadership too stresses the importance of those who are going to convey your message:

Your translators are critical. You need a translator or translators that can do more than a word for word translation of what you are saying or writing. You need someone who can translate the heart of what you are saying in a culturally contextualized way. That is a lot to ask of a translator. We would vet and background check them at least as deep as we do senior managers.

So true. Many years ago, I was interviewed as part of a study on how international law firms use interpreters and translators. I was asked how we chose our interpreters and translators and I said that in almost all cases, we used only our own lawyers and paralegals because we know and trust them. The interviewer then asked me if those requirements have stunted my firm's growth and I replied that it had, but that it was worth it because it guaranteed quality.

Do you require all of your China employees speak English? Does this reduce the overall quality of your work-force and/or increase the costs? Do you hire in-house translators/interpreters? How do you decide who to use to translate/interpret for you?

Full post as published by China Law Blog on March 12, 2011 (boomark / email).