Let’s talk about English to Norwegian translation.
The world has entered a new era. The digital revolution now seeps into all aspects of life and business. Intractable distances become shorter every day. It’s a globalized revolution, bringing together the entire planet for the very first time.
In this global context, English is the definitive lingua franca of the internet. With well over two billion speakers, English is the default language for conducting business, worldwide. So, why would you need to translate English into Norwegian, a language with under 5 million speakers?
The Scandinavian Kingdom: An Untapped Frontier
Scandinavian countries boast the world’s highest rankings in terms of sheer happiness. “Nordic exceptionalism” is the envy of the world’s governments. Norway enjoys incredible political stability, a thriving economy, and some of the happiest citizens on Earth.
And that’s just the tip of the fjord. The nation is uniquely well-suited for international business and foreign investment. The following are powerful reasons why Norway is a fantastic place for your business to grow.
Robust Economy
The Norwegian economy is enjoying more than a decade’s worth of sustained GDP growth. Massive oil revenues give the nation a strong strategic value and fund the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund. It provides an unparalleled level of economic stability and low risk.
Moreover, Norwegian workers are among the best paid on the planet. Happy people with money in their pockets make for solid customers. The country also ranks among the top 10 most inviting nations for doing business in 2020.
That should be enough for you to begin to realize the potential of taking your business to the next level when you translate English into Norwegian. There’s more where that came from, though.
Open Culture
Cultural openness is a key factor in the likelihood of its population taking to foreign products or customs. The more open-minded the people are, the better new, exotic options will fare in the market. In that regard, Norway is a very promising territory.
Norwegians are some of the world’s most open-minded people, with an incredibly progressive, inclusive culture. Social norms are quite relaxed, making the country (and its people) very uninhibited. Most Norwegians speak three or four languages and are friendly toward foreign cultures.
If you visit Norway, you’ll hardly even need to translate English into Norwegian. Most people will happily speak to you in English.
Low Market Penetration
An exciting aspect of the Norwegian economy is the low market penetration of most brands. In most segments, market players are remarkably small, even compared to other Scandinavian nations. This creates unique opportunities for brands undergoing expansion.
Certain brands are already starting to capitalize on the situation, moving in on untapped markets flushed with cash. Global brands willing to translate English into Norwegian can make considerable gains in fertile soil.
You might ask yourself, why translate English into Norwegian at all? Considering that over 90% of citizens have an excellent command of the language, it’s a fair question. The answer lies in customer preferences.
The Sweetest Sound: The Importance of Translation & Localization
Time and again, studies have proven the almost innate nature of our predilection for our native tongue. People respond best to the language they grew up surrounded by, spoken by their families. You could call our native tongues the sweetest sound in the world, to each of us.
That’s why speaking to customers in their native tongue is strongly recommended. When you translate English into Norwegian, you increase your appeal to Norwegian customers. In addition, Nordic customers tend to favor branding that feels local.
Translation
The first tool in your arsenal as a business looking to expand into Norway is translation. The scale of your business and the volume of translating required will determine the best fit.
Your first option is to hire a freelance translator. This may be ideal for very small operations, requiring relatively low volumes of translated material. However, even micro-enterprises can sometimes output considerable volumes of material. For larger companies, it’s the norm.
In those cases, you may need to hire many contractors to meet your needs. Managing a small army of freelancers is a costly and time-consuming affair. It’s far more efficient to seek agencies offering to translate English into Norwegian.
Localization
Beyond basic translation, successfully penetrating a new market will often require localization. This process involves a careful adaptation of a company’s language, tone, voice, and branding, to fit local cultural norms. Localization thus helps minimize the friction with the local culture.
Through localization, you can foster an immediate relationship between your brand and a new market. It involves a complex range of requirements and needs unique insight into both the original and target cultures.
When you translate English into Norwegian while paying attention to the localization process, it improves the chances of your brand succeeding in Norway. It increases marketing effectiveness and helps achieve faster market penetration. It also prevents accidentally alienating potential customers.
Transcreation
Finally, you have the option of full-blown transcreation. This technique involves a much more heavily creative process. In essence, transcreators faithfully reproduce the feeling of a message, rather than the words.
It requires a deep understanding of the culture that originated the message, its target audience, and their characteristics. It also needs a native familiarity with the target culture. When the process is successful, transcreation preserves the emotional impact of the original message.
It’s the recommended practice when attempting to translate English into Norwegian marketing campaigns and promotional materials. Advertising in general needs to connect on an emotional level to be effective. Transcreation ensures that this is the case.
The Benefits For Your Business When You Translate English Into Norwegian
It’s clear that Norway is a market ripe for international competition. Companies looking to expand into the country need to prioritize expert services that can translate English into Norwegian for the adaptation of their entire content and product portfolios.
It’s incredibly cost-effective, too. Through effective use of translation, localization, and transcreation of assets, you can get more value out of them. It allows you to see new profits from previous, expensive advertising campaigns and valuable branding efforts.
Compared to the cost of producing entirely new marketing campaigns of equal caliber to your originals, it’s a bargain. It lets you cut down the costs of entering the market, resulting in more fiscal muscle to focus elsewhere.
Final Thoughts
We sincerely hope you’ve found this primer on English to Norwegian translation useful. By now, you should realize the potential of the Norwegian market for your company. The importance of translation, localization, and transcreation should be clear as well.
Keep in mind, it’s crucial you ensure that any translation for your business is professional and spotless. Nothing breaks the spell cast by localized, transcreated content as fast as a bad translation. Cutting corners when you translate English into Norwegian can be a costly mistake.
