Business Card Translation

Best Practices for translating business cards

Our clients sometimes wonder why certain strings of text are left “un-translated.” Their instinct often tells them this shouldn’t be, that we’ve forgotten to translate something. So, we’ve put together this little best practices guide to demonstrate the proper way to translate a business card and why.

When translating business cards, or any document for that matter, it is best that certain strings of text are left in their original source language for reference purposes.

Take the case of the below business card.

According to best practices, in the example card the following should be translated:

Your title
Phone
Email

The following should not be translated:

Your Company (Unless your company is internationally recognized and has a translation that is ALREADY universally recognized in the target language.)
Your Name
0000 Anyway Road (Your Address)
www.yourwebsite.com
you@yourwebsite.com

The remaining text strings may be translated depending upon client preferences, with a possible exception of the case of cities. If the city is small and does not have a universally accepted translation, it should not be translated. We generally recommend leaving them in the source language for consistency.

Yourcity
State

The purpose of a business card is to provide a handy reminder of who a person is and how they can be contacted. A translated business card also lets the recipient know that you respect his or her language and culture, which is why translating one's business card is such a nice touch.

Looking at the above strings, most people wouldn’t dream of translating their website URL into a different language because, of course, it would lead people to the wrong website. But, translating one’s name and address is tantamount to the same thing.

Let's imagine a person whose name is Paul Jones and whose business address is 123 Rainbow Street. Paul wants his business card translated into Spanish. A literal translation of his name in Spanish is "Pablo Jones" and his street address is "123 Calle Arco Iris".

If every item is translated, Paul’s business card would read: Pablo Jones, 123 Calle Arco Iris. Obviously, someone inquiring for Pablo Jones, mailing a correspondence to, or riding around with a taxi driver looking for, 123 Calle Arco Iris isn’t going to have much luck.

That's why it’s important to leave certain strings of text in their source language, to facilitate the purpose for which translation is really intended – better communication.

Business Card Translation Services

Do you want to have your business card translated into another language? Green Crescent can translate business cards into over 100 languages.

Click here for a free quote.