Contacts and channels
Writing to third parties in their language
What actually changes when the supplier does not speak your language.
A supplier who does not understand what you are asking for is not an uncooperative supplier: they are a supplier who has not understood. The difference matters, because one is solved by chasing and the other is not.
What to translate, in order
| What | Priority | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The document's name | Highest | It is the only thing they have to find in their files |
| The deadline and what it unblocks | High | It is their reason to act today |
| Context about who you are | Medium | English usually suffices |
| The document they sign | Mandatory where it has effects | Nobody should sign what they cannot read |
Important
If the document being signed has legal consequences, having it in a language the person understands is not courtesy: a signature on text the signer could not read is exactly what gets disputed later.
The trick that pays off most
Put the official document name in their language **and** in yours, in brackets. They find the paper; you still know what you are being sent when it arrives.
Watch out
Be careful translating official document names literally: the equivalent certificate in another country is called something else, and sometimes does not exist. Better to describe what it attests than to invent a name.
Worth knowing
The help centre is in six languages precisely for this: you can link them the article explaining what a case is in their own language instead of explaining it yourself.
›Can I keep templates per language?
Yes, saved as reply templates.
›What if I do not know their language?
The company's country language is nearly always right; English is the fallback.
›Does automatic reading work on documents in other languages?
Yes, including non-Latin scripts.
A real case
The situation
A company has had nothing from a Portuguese supplier for three weeks.
What you do
- Rewrites the request naming each document in Portuguese and in Spanish
- Links them the help article in Portuguese
What you get
They deliver in two days; it was never reluctance, they simply did not know what was being asked.
The situation
A foreign supplier is written to in your own language.
What you do
- Sends the notice in their language
What you get
Response rates rise.
The situation
The link leads to a screen in another language.
What you do
- Checks how the recipient sees it
What you get
The path is understood on the other side.
The situation
The message is translated but not the document names.
What you do
- Also translates what is being requested
What you get
The supplier knows what to send.
The situation
The language is assumed from the company's country.
What you do
- Records the contact's language
What you get
The notice goes out in the right language.
The situation
A contact replies in another language.
What you do
- Updates their language on the record
What you get
Later sends already go out right.
This article answers
- request documents from a foreign supplier
- what language to write to an overseas supplier
- translate notices to another language
- international supplier documentation