Introduction
The Chinese real estate market is currently experiencing a bubble in growth as investors rush to acquire real estate property both within and outside the country. As such, there is a need for effective communication platforms to facilitate the frequent talks and negotiations between China and other countries to take care of the increasing numbers of Chinese investors who want to purchase or invest in real estate properties overseas. In most cases, these negotiations crumble because of the lack of understanding as the buyer and the seller speak two different languages, hence a communication malfunction (Bogucki & Deckert, 2012). Therefore, there is a need to overcome this communication barrier to promote effective communication between the Chinese nationals and their foreign counterparts who are keen on investing in real estate.
The language barrier is a serious communication problem that can easily cripple international business if not managed properly. Such is the scenario witnessed within the Chinese real estate markets, a situation whereby Chinese nationals and investors want to buy or invest in properties overseas, but they lack full understanding of the real estate advertisements placed by realtors because of language barriers. For instance, some of the real estate advertisements are done in English, a foreign language that many Chinese nationals are not familiar with (Borodo & Hubscher-Davidson, 2012). Consequently, it is evident that the best way to overcome this challenge is by employing the services of a good language interpreter, whereby real estate advertisements would be translated accordingly depending on the language background of the involved stakeholders. According to Roos, (2010) most real estate market analysts assert that there is a growing need for realtors to provide real estate materials, such as brochures and related advertisements, in both Chinese as well as English language. English will assist China to communicate with the rest of the world whilst Chinese would assist foreign investors to understand the real estate market in China.
However, a major problem that arises from these language interpretations is the poor quality of translation by industry operators. In fact, research findings note that some real estate advertisements and brochures have poor quality levels of translation, which in turn confuses the buyer instead of convincing him or her. Furthermore, these real estate brochures with poor translation fail to attract potential customers, majorly because of the confusion that arises from language miscommunication (Jettmarova, Kaindl & Snell-Hornby, 1997). Real estate proprietors also suffer the damages caused by poor translation as potential buyers and investors question their brand image and reputation. In this regard, it is imperative for realtors in both Chinese and foreign markets to undertake the proper language translation, especially on their advertisements as well as brochures in order to attract and retain potential customers, and maintain a stable brand equity.
A notable case in these real estate advertisements is the fact that a brochure is one of the most important materials for real estate developers and agencies to facilitate the sale of their properties. Borodo, & Hubscher-Davidson, (2012) argue that brochures are instrumental tools of advertisement in the sense that they introduce information about properties to attract potential customers. In this regard, it is imperative for real estate developers to design high quality brochures for use in advertising the properties that they sell. Similarly, the quality of translated content of the brochures must be good to attract more potential buyers and customers for their properties (Keim, 2007). The issue is especially in consideration of the very crucial and expensive decision that is buying property as perceived from the Chinese customers’ perspective. The brochure plays a critical role in enlightening the customer of the properties on offer, thereby making an informed decision as to either purchase or rent.
Statement of the Problem
The following research paper seeks to cover the gap of research studies done in the field. For instance, there are no general, deep and systematic research studies done on this topic. As such, it is difficult to use any previous researches to set a precedent on the possible hypothesis of this research question, as to the impact of real estate advertisement translations on market performance across the Chinese and related markets. The research study will therefore seek to explore the effectiveness of translated brochures and advertisements in the real estate market. A particular area of concern by the researcher is some background knowledge sources from an internship experience. As it so appears, the researcher was once an interpreter for an Australian real estate agency. The company has offices in Sydney, Australia and Shanghai China. The duties were to translate real estate brochures from English language to Chinese language. Judging from this perspective, it would be easier for the researcher to apply the experience sourced to undertake a more practical research study for this proposal.
Yiu, (2014) posits that realtors therefore need to make the translations for real estate brochures more attractive in the sense that they would catch the eye of both potential as well as prospective customers. As such, the translation needs to try an enable the translated text contains the same informative and vocative function as the original text. For instance, the Australian real estate agency mentioned above needs to translate its English brochures into Chinese to take advantage of the Chinese real estate market. In most cases, the real estate advertisements and brochures done in the Chinese market usually contain a high content of exaggerated expression (Roos, 2010). However, the translated version of the advertisement in English text might not contain the exact same words as the Chinese text, but should still contain the same vocative effect for the Chinese customers.
Research Questions
The main research aim is to investigate whether the real estate advertisement translation is effective in promoting real estate investments in China as well as across foreign markets. The main real estate advertisement tool evaluated in this research topic is the brochures. Therefore, the research topic evaluates the impact of brochure translations in the Chinese real estate market. Apart from the research aim, the research study seeks to answer a number of research objectives or research sub questions. These sub questions cover the practical application of the research aim as evidenced in the Chinese real estate market. The following are the research objectives or research sub questions.
Is there adequate brochure advertisement translations for the Chinese and foreign buyers in the real estate industry?
What factors should be considered while translating the real estate advertising brochures?
How should the translation and design of the advertisements be improved to meet the future needs of the growing demand for overseas properties by the Chinese investors?
Research Objectives
The following are the research objectives covered in the paper
Establish whether there are adequate brochure, advertisement translations for the Chinese and foreign buyers in the real estate industry
Determine the factors that should be considered when making translations of the real estate advertising brochures.
Determine measures that can be adopted to improve the translation of real estate brochures for foreigners and Chinese investors.
Significance of the Study
The research study is significant because it will act as a precedent for other research studies seeking to investigate the impact of language translations of real estate advertisements in the Chinese market. As such, the research will help establish a precedence for decision making, especially for industry stakeholders such as real estate developers, investors, as well as agencies on how best to structure their real estate advertisements in order to ensure maximum returns on their investments. As You (2014) posit effective marketing through advertisements plays an imperative role in enhancing the success of an investor and this study seeks to bridge a gap existing in the advertisements of real estate products using translated brochures. The main objective of advertisements is to attract and retain potential customers, and as such, the paper will guide industry players on the best way to develop and design properly translated advertisement brochures for the market.
Limitations of the Study
The main limitation of the study was lack of maximum cooperation from select participants who were active industry players. For instance, some realtors declined to give us important information on the effect of language translations on their advertisements. Similarly, some property owners and buyers equally declined to engage the researchers on any serious discussions pertaininng to the challenges they faced regarding language translations on real estate advertisements while purchasing their respective properties.
Reference List
Bogucki, L. & Deckert, M. (2012). Teaching Translation and Interpreting: Advances and Perspectives. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Borodo, M. & Hubscher-Davidson, S. (2012). Global Trends in Translator and Interpreter Training: Mediation and Culture. London, UK: A&C Black.
Jettmarova, Z., Kaindl, K. & Snell-Hornby, M. (1997). Translation as Intercultural Communication: Selected Papers from the EST Congress, Prague 1995. New York, NY: John Benjamins Publishing.
Keim, L. (2007). The Fundamentals of Listing and Selling Commercial Real Estate. Allentown, PA: Loren Keim.
Mueller, B. (2011). Dynamics of International Advertising: Theoretical and Practical Perspectives. Bern, ST: Peter Lang
Pivar, B. (2003). Big Book of Real Estate Ads: 1001 Ads That Sell. La Crosse, WI: Dearborn Real Estate.
Roos, D. (2010). Commercial Real Estate Investing: A Creative Guide to Succesfully Making Money. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Yiu, M. (2014). Chinese Discourses on Translation: Positions and Perspectives. London, UK: Routledge.
