Download how foreign language can help marketers in professional growth

HOW FOREIGN LANGUAGE CAN HELP MARKETERS IN PROFESSIONAL
GROWTH
Lazareva A. Anastasia, 4th -year student,
Faculty of Marketing, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics
Scientific supervisor – Sinyaeva I. Nelly,
Senior lecturer, Department of Foreign Languages №1,
Plekhanov Russian University of Economics
Abstract: The author of the article touches upon the role of a foreign language for a
company to be a success in business, in this very case, in the sphere of marketing.
The author stresses not only the necessity of learning a foreing language but,
rather, qulitative skills to use a foreing language, namely, the English language, as
it is the one being used on the global level.
Examples of borrowings from English used by marketers are provided for.
Keywords: marketing, the English language, business, language for business,
borrowings.
Marketing in the simplest description attempts to understand customers in
terms of what they buy, when they buy, why they buy, how much they buy, where
they buy. Internationally, this means understanding culture. How marketing efforts
interact with culture determines the success or failure of a product. There are many
examples of cultural differences that have affected marketing success or failure. The
relationship with culture comes into play with the realization that each of the
consumer behavior factors noted above varies from culture to culture.
One of the most influential cultural elements is language. Every form of
culture is identified in terms of language. In short, every language serves as a vehicle
of the culture of the people who speak that language. Consequently, global
companies, when entering a foreign market, need to know what is the message they
are trying to convey and what is the message they are actually conveying about their
product.
One of the challenges international marketers need to surmount is a kind of
practice called the self-reference criterion. Unconsciously, individuals tend to use
the standards of one’s own culture, including language, to evaluate others. “Foreign
marketers should never take it for granted that they are communicating effectively
in another language.” (Cateora) The important thing for marketers is to consider how
these biases may come in the way when dealing with members of other cultures.
English has become the fastest scientific language increasing in the world. At
the present time English language occupies the position of a commercial language,
connecting East with West and South with North. More than two billion people all
over the world speak English and that number increases everyday.
English has special or official status in more than 75 countries and more than
375 million people use it as their first language. It is also the most commonly used
language among foreign language speakers. It is the most dominant language of
diplomacy, business, science, economy and marketing.
Many multi-national companies when dealing with cross-border business
communication will do it in English. English is a language of art, the film industry,
music and books. Nowadays almost every field demands English and marketing too.
Success in business is often hinged on one single important word –
communication; and most of it happens in English.
It can cross international borders and transcend language compatibility
barriers that have made English the most sought after language in today’s corporate
world. Conversely, poor communication can obviously cause various difficulties.
For example, the fact that English is widely spoken in India can be very misleading,
as there is a difference between Indian English and the English we know. Some
words or terms sound like English but they are Indian-English, giving them a
completely different meaning. For instance, what sounds as “a lack of rupees” could
mean “lakh of rupees” signifying a 100,000 of them. The proficiency of the language
has also made it a vital part of success in the highly competitive corporate world.
Many reputed organizations around the world rely on English as a means of
communication in everything from emails to corporate documentation to even
popular and well-read business resources both in print and over electronic media.
Fluency in English, both written and spoken plays a critical role in many aspects of
corporate life from securing employment to communicating with clients and
achieving business partnerships all over the world.
English has now become a global language for business all over the world to
such an extent that it is the standard official language in certain industries. Apart
from having an impressive command of spoken English today’s competitive
corporate culture demands an equally impressive command of written English as
well. It is mainly because almost all forms of business communication such as
emails, presentations, sales and marketing and even corporate legal documentation
are now carried out in English.
Business matters apart from those who have a constant, and continuous
income everyone is more or less dependent on their company. If you are conducting
your own business then, there is much more burden on your shoulders than you are
working for a separate business entity. Simple explanation – in addition to
maintaining your company, you have to make it a success on your own.
English language is vital for that success you have in your mind for your
enterprise. A sound knowledge of English enables effective communication with
your potential customers. When you advertise your business, greet your customer,
execute transactions, follow-up to ensure customer satisfaction, English comes
handy. It is the key to customer relationship management, unlocking opportunities
that bring profit.
Due to its worldwide acceptance, English has become a much sought after gobetween in global business. Being a world language that can be understood by eight
people out of ten, English is considered as a top choice for language learners.
If your English for business is fluent, it gives you a competitive edge against
other businesspersons in your industry. The majority of people would understand
your message a lot better. Irrespective of his/her race or religion, you can also win
the confidence of your customer more quickly. Moreover, you can keep the
bargaining power of your client at check and drive the negotiations your way.
The organization’s opportunities will become limitless when their employees’
proficiency level in English increases. English is widely used in communication
process. Communication is one of the most important ways of promotion in
marketing.
English as a global language plays the biggest role in the communication
element of the marketing mix, as it may impede communication across groups
because of a lack of shared or common cultural values. To make consumers accept
a product, English is used to promote that product through advertising, personal
selling, sales promotion and publicity, all of which cannot be effectively used
without it. Marketers going into any foreign market need to understand this and
fundamentally believe in it. This is the reason why a standardized advertisement may
have difficulty in communicating with consumers in foreign countries because of
differences of their languages, so English as an international language helps them to
create a marketing strategy in a right way. Advertising and promotion require special
attention because they play a key role in communicating product concepts and
benefits to the target segment.
Nowadays the profession of the marketing specialist becomes more and more
popular. There are lots of English words which marketer needs to know. And in
marketing sphere in this country there are fewer Russian words than English ones.
While talking about some examples we can truthfully say that the word brand
is an English word and the phrase "brand image" can be translated into Russian like
"имидж бренда". But in Russia today any marketer knows what this phrase implies,
as well as brand loyalty, brand identity, brand positioning, brand book. It goes
without saying that there are borrowing from business English in the sphere of
marketing such as: product, producer, performance, profit and what not.
In Russia lots of marketing professions named in English too. Like:
PR officer, marketing assistant, art director, product manager.
I work in PR sphere and all of my colleges use a lot of English words but in
Russian, like «комьюнити», «косты» and the like. And if I didn’t learn English, I
wouldn’t understand them at all.
In my opinion, in Russian language a lot of analogues to special marketing
lexicon, for example PR is “связи с общественностью», but we use PR or public
relations in our work and study. Despite the fact that marketing came from America,
Russian marketers have to translate and adopt English terms to the Russian language.
Reference:
1. Robert D. Can You Standardize Multinational Marketing? Harvard Business Review,
Nov./Dec. 1968, Pages: 102-113.
2. Philip R. and John L. Graham. International Marketing Eleventh Edition. The McGrawHill Companies Inc., 2002.
3. Sinyaeva N.I. “On some problems when translating / Міжнародний науковий журнал.
2016. Т. 1. № 1. С. 53-55
4. Барсова О.И., Сизова Ю.С. Cочетание основных стратегий обучения английскому
языку для специальных целей студентов экономических специальностей /
Международный научно-исследовательский журнал. 2014. № 1-4 (20). С. 40-42.
5. Кардович И.К. Предметно-содержательная и логико-семантическая связность в
научно-техническом тексте / Международная торговля и торговая политика. 2008.
№ 4. С. 167-175.
КАК ИНОСТРАННЫЙ ЯЗЫК МОЖЕТ ПОМОЧЬ МАРКЕТОЛОГУ В
КАРЬЕРНОМ РОСТЕ
Лазарева Анастасия Алексеевна,
студентка 4 курса факультета Маркетинга,
РЭУ им. Г. В. Плеханова
Научный руководитель – Синяева Нелли Ивановна,
Старший преподаватель кафедры иностранных языков №1,
РЭУ им. Г.В. Плеханова
Аннотация: Автор статьи рассматривает роль иностранного языка в качестве
инструмента для успешного ведения бизнеса, а именно, в сфере маркетинга.
Автор подчеркивает не столько необходимость владения иностранным
языком, сколько качественное умение пользоваться им, в данном случае
английским языком, поскольку он является международным в области
делового общения.
В статье приводятся примеры использования заимствованных из
английского языка терминов маркетологами российских и международных
компаний.
Ключевые слова: маркетинг, английский язык, бизнес, иностранный язык в
бизнесе, заимствования.