During the process of translating material, our translators and proofreaders advise us on any text content which may not be suitable for the target audience. However, for some potentially sensitive content, it is often useful to test the content with a more representative sample of the community which the document is aimed at. Our cultural understanding service ensures that your material will get across the message you intended in the most effective way possible.

The cultural understanding process

Cultural understanding usually takes the form of a focus group towards the end of a project. We help you to identify the target audience the material will be aimed at, whether it is a particular ethnic community within the UK, or a new international market. We then organise for a representative sample of that community to check the finished media, to ensure that no part of it is offensive, difficult to understand, or otherwise unsuitable for its intended purpose. We discuss any issues which arise with the group thoroughly, and can then advise you on any changes which may be desirable before the material is launched. By working with the final document, we can ensure that any unsuitable context which may have been missed during translation can be caught – for instance, unsuitable images (or even colours) being used in the final layout.

Cultural understanding can be used to complement any of our other services, and can be provided during the normal workflow of a project. We will advise you if we feel a review of this kind would be of benefit to a particular piece of material. For government departments, this service can be provided as part of the translation services framework.