What are the common mistakes in global communications for scaling startups? Localazy knows it!

More than half of the content on the Internet is exclusively in English, creating a significant language barrier for countless users. The Internet, as a global platform, should ideally unite people worldwide by providing equitable access to resources.

However, this vision often falls short, especially when users encounter a lack of content in their native languages or encounter poorly executed translations. These translations frequently overlook crucial elements such as context, slang, nuances, and cultural subtleties. Drawing from the insights of Localazy, a Czech startup specializing in automated localization and aiding numerous companies in expanding internationally, this article explores the four most prevalent mistakes startups make in global communications.

A survey conducted in ten countries by CSA Research found that 75% of consumers prefer to shop on websites available in their native language, and 60% have never or almost never shopped on sites available only in English. Such a definite trend toward native languages clearly shows that the Internet, in terms of language, is a less globalized medium than the numbers treating the 50% English-language part of the Internet might indicate.

The key to understanding this state of affairs is the fact that despite the prevailing belief that English has become the modern Latin – according to statista.com, only 1.46 billion people, or less than 20% of the population, can speak it worldwide. What’s more, among non-native speakers of the language, most, given a choice, will choose their native language anyway. Why is this so, and what lessons should startups who are keen to expand into foreign markets learn from this? To avoid making mistakes in global communications, the most important thing is to understand people’s motivations for seeking content in their native language.

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