The Landscape of Opportunity

19 Jan 2017

On 23rd June 2016, the UK public voted to leave the EU. At some point during 2017 the Prime Minister will serve notice of withdrawal under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union meaning the EU Treaties shall cease to apply to the UK. It is expected that the whole of the two year withdrawal period will be needed to negotiate these exit provisions, therefore, in practice the British exit (Brexit) date will not be before 2019.

This two year transition period will deliver both challenges and opportunities to businesses home and abroad as the dynamics of companies trading with the UK, and those UK businesses trading with, and expanding into other countries, evolves and develops. Alongside this evolution, translation services will provide the language ‘connective tissue’ to ensure smooth progression, for example with developing trade and the associated sphere of supporting legal services.

Trade

UK businesses will continue to trade in the EU and vice-versa, and there is talk of trading a lot more with America and China. However, Brexit could potentially act as a catalyst to pave the way to opportunities of new trade agreements opening up with many other countries, with a need for language translation service requirements covering more diverse languages and cultural variety.

If, as some believe, the UK becomes a powerhouse trading with the rest of the world, then experienced, culturally informed translation services will become a defining success factor in companies’ expansion strategies, encompassing legal contracts, documentation, promotional material and much, much more.

Breaking new ground with new markets and trade agreements in different countries requires not just the accurate, technical translation of one language into another, but the cultural knowledge of differences and nuances that places the translation into context in the eyes and mind of the reader.

Unravelling the Law

The majority of English corporate law is not derived from EU legislation, however, the UK has been part of the EU since 1st January, 1973, equating to a partnership of over forty years, and many of our laws are intertwined.

For the next two years and beyond, unravelling EU legislation at a country and corporate level will generate and require a massive amount of work for the legal services industry. By association, the translation industry’s services will be needed covering all aspects of legal and corporate material.

The Landscape of Opportunity

Speculation over the outcome of Brexit still abounds; the only certainty is change and this changing landscape opens up new horizons to businesses and opportunities that did not exist pre-Brexit. Whatever the evolution and changes businesses undertake, and the consequent translation requirements this brings, Intonation continue to provide culturally informed translation services to help business to engage consumers across many different countries.