If you think blockchain technology is difficult to understand, it may be because of the language and terminology surrounding it. Often, the processes of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency are expressed in technological jargon. This is because they belong to the internet, having been birthed by the tech industry. However, this also makes it difficult for the layman to process. What’s the solution, for individuals who want to get into cryptocurrency?
To top it off, while English has become the language of the internet, various language barriers exist for non-English speaking cryptocurrency companies. Cryptocurrency is the next generation of money, and it’s a global one, but only 20% of cryptocurrency investors speak English. How to overcome this language barrier, on the business side?
Translation may provide a way to solve the problems of cryptocurrency communication problems. It may lead the way in making cryptocurrency easier to understand. Today, we’ll take a look at how cryptocurrency works from the perspective of language, and difficulties in cryptocurrency language/jargon, with an emphasis on translation as a means to combat it.
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The Language Barrier in Cryptocurrency Businesses and Cryptocurrency Audience
Cryptocurrency comes from the words “cryptography,” meaning coded language, and “currency” meaning some form of money. Thus, “cryptocurrency” means “code money,” according to this 6-minute English lesson on cryptocurrency by the BBC.
Blockchain technology, meanwhile, is the technology behind cryptocurrency–since it’s not backed by a bank, it’s backed by the Internet. Bitcoin is a share mutual ledger that records transactions and tracks assets in a business network. Thus, the cryptocurrency business runs on information, on code. It runs on a peer-to-peer network to facilitate end-to-end transactions–those who facilitate bitcoin are thought of as “miners” processing transactions on the blockchain.
Thus, you have a decentralized network, with no authority but instead credibility, and you have no government or bank supervision over cryptocurrency such as bitcoin. And, there are no physical bitcoins, only balances on a public ledger. All bitcoin transactions as verified by computing power–which is why it’s truly internet money.
Have I lost you yet? When people hear cryptocurrency, they ultimately dismiss it as a form of speculative spending on the internet. Indeed, when it was first formulated, it was released as the original Bitcoin white paper that outlined the associated principles in 2008 and then the bitcoin software in 2009. It was released by Satoshi Nakamoto, either a person or a group of people, no one really knows who. With that mystery surrounding it and the fact that it ran only through coding on the Internet, people were at first sceptical about using bitcoin.
Now, attitudes are shifting from suspicion to curiosity, but it doesn’t help that there are two major language barriers involved.
The First Language Barrier: Technical, Technology Jargon In This Industry
One, there’s a lot of tech jargon involved. It’s often been commented on that cryptocurrency is difficult to understand due to the technical technology jargon involved. As this article says claims, cryptocurrency is disrupting language itself: “Providing a plain language conversation around cryptocurrencies and non-developer-facing terms would be a great starting point to increase discovery of problems, framing of solutions, and adoption.” The Internet often uses abbreviations, and cryptocurrency is no exception, which makes it difficult for the man on the street to understand it. So, from tech jargon to abbreviations to specialized terms, cryptocurrency is a very industry-specific language. It’s difficult to penetrate for the ordinary person, for example, Boomers or the war generation, who are not as accustomed to the internet.
The Second Language Barrier: The Limits of English-Only Content In This Industry
Second, English, the language of the Internet, is actually not the first language of cryptocurrency businesses. The cryptocurrency business actually doesn’t have its heart in English-speaking countries. This weforum chart specifies that in 2021, Nigeria, Vietnam, the Philippines, Turkey, and Peru are the top five countries with cryptocurrency miners. That puts the US as eighth on the list, and the only predominantly English-speaking country on the list. And, as for investors, it is estimated that only 20% of cryptocurrency investors speak English, with China as the country with the most investors.
Thus, translation could help broaden cryptocurrency adoption for the masses through industry-specific tech translation companies, as well as help leverage cryptocurrency companies who want to internationalize to the whole world.
How Translation Helps Overcome Language Barriers in the Cryptocurrency Industry
A translation company may be able to leverage your virtual currency business or businesses that engage in virtual currency with a multiregional, multilingual approach. Cryptocurrency businesses could employ the services of a translation company, which will provide an industry-specific linguistic approach to internationalizing brands for international expansion outward.
This means anything from: financial reports, which could mean traditional currency converted to cryptocurrency and vice versa; white paper translation, which is essential to cryptocurrency businesses; content creation, for fintech businesses who are interested in translating aspects of their marketing messages; and whole multilingual, multiregional websites to be built and localized for the blockchain industry. A translation company could help in so many ways, efficiently, and accurately.
Meanwhile, to solve the other language barrier problem, the individual investor or those who are interested in going into cryptocurrency mining, could also avail of translation companies. A translation company could provide much-needed, industry-specific expertise when it comes to cryptocurrency. It could help broaden the horizons of those interested in cryptocurrency mining, supporting the growing market demand for modern international payments. It doesn’t have to be Bitcoin–it could be Ethereum, Tether, Tron, or any other cryptocurrency. A translation company could support multilingual financial transactions through any ledger.
The Takeaway
Cryptocurrency doesn’t have to be difficult. In fact, it could be very easy, as easy as turning on your laptop in the morning. The challenges of language that come with bitcoin will be there, but as it’s changing to become more of an everyday aspect in our mainstream lives, it will need to incorporate some changes as well. Tech industry-specific translation could aid in this matter, overcoming industry barriers that individuals face in the blockchain world, as well as helping cryptocurrency businesses transcend language barriers in the fintech world.
