The international language of pets

Where do you turn if you need to overcome a language barrier to help animals and pet brands?

The love of pets is understood all over the world, but where do you turn if you need to overcome a language barrier to help animals and pet brands?

We discover Pawsome Translations which is on hand to help…

When Aggeliki Matsouka got her first dog, she wanted to train beautiful Ares to be a good boy and prepare him for everything life as a canine companion brings. But in the small town in Greece where she lived, there wasn’t a local dog trainer. She could also not find enough online content in her native language. She turned to her daughter, Popie for help.

As an experienced translator, Popie Matsouka translated some tips and tricks and even put some subtitles on videos from dog trainers on YouTube. But with Aggeliki’s drive to be the best dog owner she could be, it wasn’t enough. With her limited English, she could see there was a whole world of dog-related content out there that she could not access.

This inspired Popie to set up Pawsome Translations — a specialist translation service for everyone who loves pets and all things animal! Combining Popie’s expertise in medical, pharmaceutical, IT, and technical translation, along with the experience of a network of colleagues, Pawsome Translations overcomes language barriers for pet brands, trainers, and individuals to ensure that the love of pets is never lost in translation.

Both an art and a science

When it comes to translation, it is really important to get it right. Some say that translation is an art, not a science. But in reality, it is both. It is not just about translating the words; it is about translating the meaning and sentiment. Overcoming a language barrier takes an understanding of information, emotions, and cultural intricacies, too. That is art. But it is also the science of language, of being fluent in the target audience’s mother tongue, and of being able to work with specialised tools, of incorporating quality assurance, intricate workflows, balancing delicate localisation strategies, and more. That is science.

Popie explains, “When we work with pet brands on translation, of course we must get the factual information completely accurate — we’re used to that working across many technical industries. But for many pet brands, it is about how their whole brand crosses into different languages and cultures. You want your brand values and key messages to connect with international pet lovers.”

Pet brands work really hard to build their values around how their products help pets, their target audience, environmental responsibilities, and how consumers interact with their brand. When working with international partners, whether suppliers, distributors, or buyers, you want to ensure these values remain at the heart of your messaging. That is a key focus for Popie and her team at Pawsome Translations. It’s not just simply about putting words in a different language, her team strive to ensure that pet people can share their passion and professionalism for animals by translating their whole vision. Using a professional translation service can provide a reassurance and safeguard when moving into international territory.

Pawsome Translations

Pawsome Translations offers language services in almost every language, thanks to having a network of experienced translators. It offers a range of specialist language services that can help on a variety of different types of projects. An offshoot of MTLT, a translation business that has been operating for over 25 years, Pawsome Translations operates throughout the world, meaning there is flexibility for clients and customers. Consultations with a specialist begin with an initial discussion where you can go through all your questions before you submit files for translation for a quote and arrange a meeting with one of the project managers. It is easy to get in touch with the friendly and knowledgeable team, who will be eager to help to meet your needs and budget.

Popie explains that the business has married her team’s professional skills with their passion for pets, “We are a group of people that adore animals, and our mission statement is very simple: we exist to help people take better care of animals — all animals.

“We are a team of animal lovers, donors, volunteers, translation and localisation specialists, life sciences experts, and both amateur and professional dog and cat trainers. Whether you are a vet, pet owner, farmer, animal trainer, manufacturer, or leading pet brand, we enable you to access the information you need, connect you with the consumers you are targeting, expand to new markets, and care for the animals under your protection.”

Popie herself speaks Greek, English, French, and Italian, and loves dogs. She says that Nalla, her Greek Kokoni mixed breed canine companion, is her heart and soul. So, when working with pet businesses, she is in tune with it from both a professional perspective and from the view of a keen pet lover.

She said: “With years of experience of translating in professional industries such as the medical industry, life sciences, IT, marketing, cryptocurrency, and gaming, as well as the pet care industry, it is so rewarding to create Pawsome Translations to offer a full-scale, wholly integrated, and well-rounded service to pet brands and people. It is a great combination of my professional skills and love of animals.”

Using a translation service might just make the difference in your brand or project going global. As Popie’s mum proves, there are many pet owners out there who share the international love for companion animals — it might just be the right time to connect with them.

Pawsome Translations offers translation, localisation, voice-over and subtitling services, among others.

Areas Pawsome Translations works in: