In the past decade, the Internet has really made an impact on our daily activities, especially for businesses. Why? Because anyone with access to the Internet can become a potential  consumer if you know how to market the message properly. If a couple of years ago it was enough to simply have an website and practice simple SEO practices, in present time much more is needed. Since competition is booming in pretty much any field, you have to find a way to stand out. And how  can you do that? By personalizing your website and business message.

A very good start would be to prepare your website clients from all over the world. How? By translating it into their native language. The Netherlands is a powerful market that can bring considerable revenue. It’s not necessary to be located there in order to be able to earn. Anything is possible online! So, how can you translate your website to Dutch? It’s not as difficult as you think!

Dutch translators have to follow some guidelines to translate any text into Dutch. These guidelines clarify the responsibilities of clients, and translation agencies in ensuring translators deliver the desired or expected outcome. These guidelines are designed for the localization section. We assume that translators are already in place. We include the main actions needed to create a successful working environment and thus a successful Dutch translation.

Keep Text Brief

For increased understanding and simpler translations, aim for about 20 words or less means keep text you want to translate to Dutch brief and boost readability. Reading text helps to keep them short and simple.

Gender of Dutch Noun

The variation between the gender of the nouns has gone over the years in the Dutch language. Masculine and feminine nouns are now both ‘de,’ and ‘het’ is still the article of a neuter noun. Although most words are not masculine or feminine, ‘de’ is the article used for feminine and masculine nouns. Some words have no doubt about their genders, which makes it clear to see that they take ‘de’.

The Untranslatable

There are several words in Dutch that have no translation or untranslatable. To overcome this barrier, the text would require localization, which in other words means readjusting the text to the target country language and culture, choosing a word or phrase that will fit within the context of the text and be understood by locals.

Use Standard Dutch Word Order

This generally means a subject, verb, time, object with associated modifiers. Ensure accurate grammatical structure and correct punctuation. This includes reviewing the basics because errors can travel across source and target languages. Translators usually find and flag source mistakes, but that shouldn’t substitute proofreading your source text.

Use Just One Word to Distinguish a Single Concept

Synonyms get in the way of accuracy. Write the same thing, the same manner, every time you write it. Finding different methods to write a single term will not only change the consistency of translation, but it will also decrease the related translation memory support. This can lead to reduced quality, increased cost, and extended turnaround. Translation memories leverage words in sections, so changing even a small word has an impact.

Be Clear with Format of Dutch Date

Style patterns should document the approach of large numbers, measurements of height, weight, temperature, width, time, phone numbers, date, currency, etc. for each language pair. For example, 05/06/2015. Is that May, or June? In the Netherlands, dates are written using the little-endian pattern “day–month–year” as is usual elsewhere in Europe. The reliable choice is to write the name of the month. Using an abbreviation for the month is okay if space is short.

Personal Characteristics

You are independent, exacting and can quickly familiarize yourself with various Dutch subjects and conditions. You prove yourself clearly and make it simple to understand when you translate any text from a source language to Dutch.