History tells us that revolution does not start with noise but with
a silent voice that demands change.
This holds for the language industry, too. Over the years, language translation companies have witnessed several changes—the rise of global languages, the rise of transcriptions, the impact of AI translations, and the growing demand for specialized translations. However, one trend that is transforming the Indian language industry is the rise of vernacular or regional language translations. Today, this rise is emerging intensely from Indian tier 2 and tier 3 markets, while rewriting how brands communicate and expand.
What are tier 2 and 3 markets?
These are smaller markets that are classified according to the population, infrastructure, and economic development of the region. Specifically, tier 2 cities or markets consist of populations one to four million, while tier 3 cities consist of less than one million.
This blog will shed light on the rising demand for translations for Indian vernacular languages and how language translation companies can position themselves to capitalize on this trend.
Why Is There a Digital Transformation in Tier 2 and 3 Markets?
A digital shift has been witnessed in tier 2 and 3 cities. However, this is not sudden but has resulted from years of transformation that have emerged from consumer expectations.
For several years, India’s digital consumers were primarily based in metropolitan cities, but today, the numbers are changing.
More than 50% of India’s digital consumers come from smaller towns.
A 2023 KPMG report concludes that 90% of new internet users like to engage with content in their native language.
Tier 2 and 3 consumers have increased spending powers, which provides a great opportunity for e-commerce businesses.
These markets don’t just represent new consumers; they reflect new expectations.
These stats bring us to a very vital conclusion: brands need to start engaging with consumers in Indian regional languages.
Why Has Regional Communication Become a Business Essential?
Are you a brand that still relies on English and Hindi for customer communication in India?
To reach the innermost depth of Indian consumers, communication in regional languages has now become a must.
Research shows that:
- 68% of Indian consumers trust a product more if the information is provided in their regional language.
- 74% are more likely to make a purchase if the brand communicates in their native tongue.
- Regional language search is growing 2.5x faster than English search—showing a shift in Indian consumers’ digital behavior.
So, when a brand communicates in regional languages, it builds trust, familiarity, a competitive edge, and conversion.
This has impacted translation companies in India, causing them to implement a new approach for translations for Indian languages.
Why Are Language Translation Companies Pivoting Their Strategy?
With more brands demanding translation and localization of content according to regional preferences, every language translation company in India is refining its approach.
This new approach includes:
- Investing in skill-building for native translators in India.
- Expanding services to encapsulate regional languages and scripts.
- Prioritizing regional language website localization services.
- Scaling capabilities to handle large and multilingual content.
- Assessing QA steps to ensure culturally aligned messages.
But this pivotal shift is not simple. Agencies offering translation services for Indian markets face several challenges.
Key Challenges in Vernacular Translations
Quality Assurance
India has 22 constitutionally scheduled languages and hundreds of regional dialects. This unique diversity makes it difficult for language translation companies to maintain consistent accuracy. Ensuring high quality in such diversity, where a single grammatical symbol can change the entire meaning, requires highly trained linguists, multiple rounds of review, and region-specific expertise.
Technical Hindrance
Translating regional scripts often faces issues such as:
- Font incompatibility
- Formatting disruptions during publishing
- Mobile compatibility with regional scripts
- Slow loading time for regional content
This makes localization for Indian vernacular languages far more complicated than English.
Volume and Scalability
When brands target tier 2 and 3 cities, they don’t just target one city. Targeting 8-10 markets simultaneously requires assistance from scalable translation services for the Indian market.
This assistance includes:
- Managing high-volume workflows
- Working under rigid timelines
- Efficient version control
- High consistency
While advanced CAT tools and MTPE can help language translation companies to manage such heavy workloads, it still tends to become a challenge for some.
Price Pressure
Clients expect high-quality translations at affordable prices. However, costs sometimes tend to increase in these translations due to limited expertise and resources. Balancing cost and quality continues as a major challenge for translation services for the Indian markets.
Beyond translations, the Indian market remains a complicated landscape riddled with localization hurdles. Don’t miss our related blog to know more: 5 Localization Hurdles Brands Trip Over in India.
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Best Practices for Translation Companies Targeting Vernacular Audiences
Leading translation services for Indian markets need a robust strategy to ensure culture-driven and accurate results.
- Always use native translators in India and not bilinguals.
- Create centralized glossaries to maintain consistency.
- Prioritize translations that reflect cultural elements of the regional language.
- Be open to embracing AI tools but validate accuracy and cultural sensitivity through human proofreaders.
- Create region-specific style guides to ensure scalability.
- Linguistically testing the content with actual consumers can help with relevance and relatability.
- Offer certified translation for legal and sensitive content.
Following these tips ensures that content feels natural and not forceful.
How Have Somya Translators Aligned with this New Regional Wave?
Somya Translators has cultivated an enriching network of expert native linguists and has expanded its capabilities to specifically cater to the Indian markets.
We focus on:
- In-depth cultural understanding.
- Timely and scalable multifunctional workflows.
- Certified processes with strict quality checks.
- Regional script-accurate results that are compatible with print docs, websites, apps, and marketing.
Our aim is to continue to support brands entering tier 2 and 3 markets with high-quality and comprehensive vernacular language solutions.
India’s next wave is not driven only by English- and Hindi-speaking audiences but also by millions more surfing the digital world in their own language.
For brands, this only means one thing: adapt to this multilingual reality.
With ISO 17100:2015-certified translation services, Somya Translators can help businesses connect and communicate efficiently with those speaking Indian vernacular languages.
Are you someone with a vision to enter and operate efficiently in regional India? Then let’s transform your vision into reality with expert regional translation services for Indian markets.
Reach out to us!
Call: +91-11-43061918
Email: info@somyatrans.com
Check out our services here: https://www.somyatrans.com/services/