Language
The use of language is of paramount importance in adapting a Web site for global e-commerce expansion. In some instances, small business owners may speak only one language, such as English, and their Web sites generally reflect this by limiting the content of these sites to that one language, in this case, English. However, for English-speaking small business owners located in the U.S. who want to market goods or services to customers in Great Britain or Australia, adaptations may be necessary to the language portion of their Web site to reflect the subtle differences in dialect among these English-speaking populations.
Simple Language Usage Suggestions for the Global Audience
Keep sentences short: long sentences are more difficult and expensive to translate and risk inaccuracy. Non-native English speakers will have difficulty understanding long sentences. Using short sentences for translation is important for three reasons. First, avoiding clauses, metaphors and liberal use of adverbs and adjectives allows a sentence to be more easily understood. Second, fewer words result in more efficient use of machine translation software. Third, short sentences reduce cost because some translation services charge per word.
Avoid false subjects: the article From Plain English to Global English (http://www.webpagecontent.com/arc_archive/139/5/) recommends starting sentences with key words. For example, the sentence “It is extraordinary how warm the weather is for July” would be better understood by an international user whose first language is not English if it were written, “The weather is extremely warm for July.”
Avoid phrasal verbs: the phrases “put up with”, “get into”, and “keep up” are examples of phrasal verbs that might confuse some international customers.
Avoid the use of negative language: the use of negative language can be difficult to translate. It is easier to comprehend “Orders placed after midnight on Monday will arrive on Wednesday” than, “Orders placed after midnight on Monday will not arrive until Wednesday”.
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Avoid the use of colloquialism and idiomatic speech: common metaphorical phrases may confuse global customers. From Plain English to Global English suggests avoiding phrases such as, “the tip of the iceberg”, “just around the corner”. The use of regionally specific words such as “y'all” should also be avoided.
Avoid using long paragraphs: the use of long paragraphs may be intimidating to international customers. Suggestions are to 1) leave a line between paragraphs, 2) use frequent headings and 3) use bullet points.
Avoid conjunctions: students of English will have difficulty comprehending familiar forms of the language such as “it’s”, “can’t”, “won’t”, “I’m” and “you’re”.
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Keep humor to a minimum: humor is often culture-bound and difficult to translate for international audiences.
These are just a few of the language usage suggestions for making a Web site more user-friendly for the international customer. The best piece of advice is to simplify the words, phrases and style of the text used in a Web site and to be aware of the fact that, although many people throughout the world have some knowledge of English, comprehension levels will vary.