When we try to communicate with people who speak a different language we recognise the need for help – and often it is interpretation we need, not just translation. For instance if, when putting a proposition to someone, their response was translated as ‘maybe’, that might seem to be encouraging. However if an interpreter were to say that, while the word in question may mean ‘maybe’, in that culture it is actually as negative an answer as it is thought to be polite to give, that conveys a different message, writes Professor Simon Bridge
In business it is generally recognised that, when trying to sell to someone who speaks a different language, it is helpful to communicate in the language of the customer, rather than expecting the customer to speak your language. Therefore, if you don’t speak the customer’s language yourself, you should use an interpreter – someone who not only speaks the same language but also understands the culture of the buyer (the one with the money) and therefore how best to appeal to them.
Interpreters are important because it is not just what words are supposed to mean that matters, but also how they are understood in a particular culture – and that can even be the case when both sides of a conversation apparently speak the same language. That is in part why it is often advisable to use the services of a lawyer to present a case in court. The lawyer may not know the case as well as those involved but should know how to present it in a way that the judge/jury might best understand and find persuasive.
In the vocabulary of business there are many words which can mean different things to different people – and can therefore be misunderstood. An example is the word enterprise which is sometimes used to refer to a venture in any area of activity and sometimes to refer to a business – and consequently being enterprising can mean being innovative and venturesome in any activity and sometimes specifically to refer to starting a business. Entrepreneur and entrepreneurship are also words which can also have a variety of meanings with one review claiming to have identified twenty different descriptions of an entrepreneur. In common use entrepreneurship sometime refers to the act of starting any business, even a one-person one, whereas others restrict it only to innovators starting significant businesses in new fields. And then the word business itself covers both small and large businesses but small businesses behave very differently from large ones so to label them with the same term can be very misleading.
As well as such words which clearly can have different (and sometimes mutually incompatible) meanings there are lots of other words which can be used in ways which may not be understood by people with different outlooks. For instance a different attitude to risk between a government agency and a grant applicant can lead to someone working in a government agency wanting fully to document the grounds for a decision about a grant in case it is queried later – whereas a grant applicant may think that, after a relationship is established, the best way to proceed is to trust that each side will do their best. Consequently requests by the agency for more information, in order to tick all the boxes officially stipulated, can be seen as a lack of trust and consequently resented by the applicant who consequently may not quickly be forthcoming with the requested detail – and then indications of that reluctance can lead to a suspicion by the agency that something is being hidden which leads in turn to requests for even more information. As a result, because neither side realises that the other side thinks differently, and therefore fails to understand their actions, mutual suspicion grows.
And the reality is that there are cultural differences between small business and big business, between government departments and researchers, between support organisations and grant applicants and between academia and research subjects – which lead them to use words in somewhat different ways. Also, even when words are correctly understood, different attitudes can lead to a failure to communicate fully. This is acknowledged by at least some market researchers who know that their questionnaires can sometimes fail give a real picture if those answering the questions give answers which they hope will please the researchers and/or conform to what they think is expected of them. Therefore, and possibly subconsciously, they might present what they see as logical and/or respectable responses even if, in reality, they would act differently.
So, when interacting with someone from a different background or culture, what can be done when hiring an interpreter, even if one is available, might not be a valid option? I suggest that, first, it would help to be aware that misunderstanding can be an issue and to be alert to the possibility of different interpretations of the same words or actions. Then, second, try to put yourself in the potion of the other side and think, not what something they said means to me, but what might they mean by it, or understand it to mean?
