Translating The World Cup: A truly global event for all

The World Cup is in full swing and heading into the finals. With more than 3 billion people watching the football event, understanding exactly what is happening at all times is key. The World Cup is a truly global event with 32 teams from around the world participating and speaking a total of 18 officially recognised languages.

The international sport supports the languages of English, French, German, and Spanish as well Russian as the host country of this year’s games. The World Cup truly brings together spectators from all over the world. The football fans of the World Cup make up an even more diverse group of speakers as it has been estimated that nearly 200 countries are watching the games, speaking a whopping total of 180 different languages.

When you consider the breadth of viewers as well as players, translation becomes central to making sure everyone has the best viewing experience possible while watching the World Cup. Behind the scenes of the game is an intense group of translators that are busy translating the action of the games into understandable information for viewers as well as players.

Translating the world cup for the entire world

From scores, stats, and plays, translators have the important role of translating every aspect of the World Cup into digestible information that all fans can understand and enjoy. Beyond the games, translators also have the important task of translating the many press conferences and press releases that go out in a flurry as news breaks.

Getting the facts straight and making sure accurate translation occurs, is imperative to the games and the viewers’ experience. With only native-speaking translators on site, every informational piece uses a two eyes approach that has multiple translators look over a translated document before it is released to the media or the public. This is designed to ensure the accuracy and quality of such an important event like the World Cup, where the entire world is watching.

The challenges of translating Russian at the World Cup

By selecting the four main languages of the game, FIFA is able to ensure that everyone that watches the World Cup can understand exactly what is happening at any moment in the game.

Because Russia is the host country, it has been added as a translated language for viewers. Russian adds some complexity to the translation of the games as it uses the Cyrillic alphabet which makes it more of a challenge for translators to quickly interpret and translate the information. It is just one more step in the translation process. The results of adopting Russian as a fifth language of the World Cup has been a boon for fans and players when you consider the comprehensive translation services that are needed to accomplish a smooth progression of the language.

Receive translation services for your global business interactions

Translation services have been essential to the success of the World Cup. Without accurate interpretation and translation of all aspects surrounding the World Cup, viewers would not be able to easily follow their teams. Viewership would be down, and even the players would have a level of confusion on the field.

By the way, it is coming home!

As you look to add translation services to your business or event, think about the international impact of the World Cup and the importance of providing accurate translations. Wordminds can offer your company the translation services it needs to ensure a comprehensive and accurate understanding of the information you are presenting. We look at all nuances of a language and ensure your message is translated exactly as you intended it to be understood.

About Wordminds

Wordminds is a close-knit team of language experts – professional translators, project managers, localisation engineers and business visionaries who work closely with global clients, helping them connect with their international audience. Wordminds works with over 3,000 language specialists and subject-matter experts to enable companies to overcome cultural and language barriers, helping them build trust and create long-lasting business and human relationships. Fully certified under ISO 9001 and ISO 17100, the company believes in continuous improvement and so stands at the forefront of new language-technology implementation, smart collaboration and excellent customer service. Find out more about Wordminds.