This guy definitely has Rizz…
The word of the year for 2023 is ‘Rizz’. If you need to ask what Rizz means, just take a look at this guy!
Where did Rizz originate – possibly from ‘charisma’.
But words like Rizz highlight the fluidity of language, how words trend and then can vanish forever or stay a part of the oral landscape with little thought as to their origin.
They influence how we communicate. They can define who you are, your social status, how you are influenced, who you influence and what you or your customers buy.
So, words and how you use them are very important to your business.
And they change – everywhere in the world, faster in some cultures than in others.
Why keeping up with your neighbours is important to your business
Neighbours being those countries and cultures where your business engages with customers.
This is why professional translators keep up with the changes happening to their own languages, and why living and working in their native country keeps them permanently in touch.
For anyone, being away from their native country and culture, their language can gradually lose its ‘Rizz’! Its ability to convey exactly the message envisaged to the audience who need to hear it.
Even being marginally out of tune with your audience can hit a business’s bottom line.
Fast-changing markets where having Rizz is important
Fashion retail comes to mind immediately. I’ve translated for the fashion industry for a couple of decades. It’s creative, inventive and moves fast, ‘if we don’t have a name or a description for a new product, we’ll make it up!!’ It’s true.
The use of new descriptive words and terms doesn’t stop with fashion. Technology also creates a unique vocabulary, where using the wrong words can separate the front-runners from the has-beens.
How merging cultures influences the words we use
OK, we all know about ‘bungalow’ and ‘shampoo’ being Indian words that were assimilated into the English language. But rather than just the words, it’s how merging cultures influence how we speak.
Take Chinglish for example. Chinglish is essentially English that has been strongly influenced by Chinese. I’ve seen it used for above-the-line advertising targeting a young, mixed Chinese/English audience, such as found in Singapore and Hong Kong.
Research indicates that over 300 dialects of languages are spoken in London. One of the most distinctive has been East End Cockney. But since the 1980s, another dialect, ‘Multicultural London English’, or MLE, has emerged, which reflects its origins in multiple Caribbean languages.
And so, changes to the languages we speak are happening everywhere.
The need to speak the right language
Professional translators and transcreators know how to convey the words and the intent behind your message to a new audience.
When armed with a clear brief, they can fine-tune your message to reach a precisely identified audience in the language that resonates with the target demographic.
