One of the most obviously challenging aspects of doing business with China is the language barrier. While many Chinese business people these days have a good command of English, their pronunciation is often strongly flavoured by Mandarin, and holding conversations in person or by phone can be challenging. In the 2nd of our blog posts about the Top 5 Challenges in Attracting Chinese Tourists to the UK I look at the language barriers of working with native Chinese speakers.
English education only really started in China after 1979, and English and Chinese are wildly different languages. While those Chinese businesspeople who speak English may do so in an understandable, structured way, pronunciation is often a major challenge. Other Chinese don’t speak English at all, so a translator – and ideally a specialist who knows the industry terminology – is required. And any translator needs not only to translate words, but also to interpret nuance and act as a ‘cultural translator’ in order to facilitate full and accurate communication between you and your counterpart.
Communicating with the Chinese in English can be especially challenging in phone calls when the inability to see non-verbal clues can make conversations difficult to follow. It’s easier to communicate verbally when you can see the other person, so our tip is to use Skype with video if reception allows. Seeing the other person will also help build a relationship more quickly.
Another option for video calling is WeChat, the most popular messaging app in China. WeChat has over 1 billion users so your Chinese counterparts are likely to be familiar with it. You can download WeChat onto your smartphone here. And remember to use it only when you have a Wifi connection – or you’ll go through your data allowance very quickly.
At the UK Inbound Annual Convention in February I met only one person who spoke Mandarin, so in nearly all cases when doing business with China, the travel and tourism sector is relying on translators, or on their Chinese counterparts to speak English. When working with a translator, I recommend trying to find one who has sector knowledge, so they can accurately render travel terminology into terms your Chinese counterpart will recognise and understand.
And a skilled Mandarin translator is essential for another reason: they will interpret your counterpart’s words and help you to understand when agreement is genuine and when it’s just a polite response. It’s considered rude to say ‘no’ in China so a skilled translator will help you recognise this and generate the right questions to identify what is or isn’t possible.
So here are our top tips for overcoming the English-Chinese language barrier:
1. Use Skype with video so you can see the person speaking and interpret their gestures
2. Download WeChat but remember to use it over Wifi
3. Find a translator with travel & tourism sector experience so they can accurately render your ideas into Chinese
4. Use your translator to identify cultural communication differences such as when ‘yes’ means a polite ‘no’
To gain a further insight into Chinese culture, read this blog by International Culture Expert Csaba Toth of ICQ Consulting.
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