Translation Languages in New York City
Translation Languages in New York City
New York City is home to a tremendous number of languages. The way that most researchers quantify this data is my measuring the languages spoken “at home” for residents of New York City. Based on census data, we know that over 170 languages are spoken here, and that in some neighborhoods as many as 20% of residents speak only a language other than English.
Many companies choose to translate their sales and marketing materials into Spanish because of the nearly 2 million residents of New York City who speak Spanish at home. New Yorkers who prefer to speak Russian, French or Italian are also plentiful, together comprising nearly 500,000 residents.
Chinese is also an extremely important and plentiful language in New York, spoken by over 300,000 residents. There are also 3 daily newspapers printed in Chinese in New York, offering a great advertising venue for companies who wish to market their products and services to this vibrant immigrant community.
Language Translation for Companies
Thousands of companies that are based in New York make their business exporting goods to other countries, and these companies hire a professional translator, or an agency, to assist them with this process. Many companies are exporting to Mexico, or to parts of the US that have a high density of Spanish speakers, and are most concerned with making sure that their product manuals and catalogs are in Spanish. Additionally, the largest country in South America is Brazil, a land of 193 million Portuguese speakers.
Export Management Companies are often based in New York City because of the proximity to shipping ports as well as commercial activity in the region. These companies require language translation for their clients, who are US manufacturers who are shipping their products to be sold overseas. According to the US Department of Commerce the largest overseas purchaser of US exports is China, followed closely by Japan, which should come as a surprise to no one. However, the UK and Germany are both massive importers of US goods, together comprising nearly 90 billion dollars in 2008.
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