If you import products into Georgia, this concerns the manuals your Georgian customers receive. In this article we look at what Georgian legislation requires regarding the language of consumer information, how violations are fined, where machine translation makes its most expensive mistakes, and how to check whether a Georgian manual you have already received from your supplier can be trusted.
What the law requires
Under Article 5(1) of the Law of Georgia "On the Protection of Consumer Rights" (29 March 2022, No. 1455-VIII), a trader must provide the consumer, before the contract is concluded, with reliable, complete and clear information in the Georgian language, including information about the main characteristics of the product.
Machine translation is formally in Georgian, but it is often not "clear". If a consumer cannot work out from the manual how to install the device or use it safely, the information can hardly be considered provided. Under the law, the burden of proving that the information was properly provided lies with the trader.
In addition, certain sector-specific technical regulations require a Georgian manual directly. For example, the technical regulation on appliances burning gaseous fuels obliges the manufacturer to accompany the appliance with instructions drawn up in Georgian.
Fines and supervision
Compliance with the law is supervised by the Georgian Competition and Consumer Protection Agency. Under Article 34:
- the upper limit of the fine is 2% of the trader's turnover in the previous financial year;
- the amount depends on the nature, gravity and duration of the violation;
- for a repeated violation within 12 months the fine is doubled.
For a large importer, even a percentage of turnover is a serious financial risk, and a repeated violation doubles it. On top of that come indirect losses: returned goods, extra calls to the service center and damage to the brand's reputation.
Consumers can file a complaint with the Agency, and a single complaint often ends with a check of the entire product line. So the quality of a manual is a question not of one model but of the whole range.
Safety instructions: the highest risk
Machine translation most often goes wrong exactly where a mistake costs the most:
- "Do not operate without grounding" can come out as "არ იმუშაოთ დასაბუთების გარეშე" ("do not work without justification"), because "grounding" is also used in other contexts. The correct version is "არ გამოიყენოთ დამიწების გარეშე" ("do not use without electrical earthing");
- WARNING and CAUTION collapse into one word, "გაფრთხილება", and the reader can no longer tell a danger to life from a risk of damaging the equipment;
- "Do not immerse in water" can come out as "არ დაასველოთ" ("do not get it wet"), although immersion and getting wet are different safety thresholds;
- Units and numbers are sometimes lost or mixed up when tables are translated.
Article 25 of the law treats as a misleading practice, among other things, providing false information about a risk to the consumer's personal safety. If a consumer is injured because of a wrongly translated instruction, the matter is no longer just about a fine.
The safety chapter is the shortest part of a manual, but it carries the most responsibility. It is the part that has to be translated and checked first.
Where machine translation fails systematically
Machine translation often handles an individual sentence well, but a manual is a single, coherent document. Typical problems:
- Inconsistent terms - the same button is "Switch on" on one page, "Launch" on another and "Start" on a third. The user looks for a button that does not exist on the device;
- Lost context - "Filter" can be a physical filter, a software function or a mode. The machine does not know which;
- Tables and diagrams - diagram labels are often not translated at all, or are translated in isolation from the text;
- Georgian grammar - verb person, case and word order are often broken, so step-by-step instructions become vague;
- Missing fragments - in a long document, individual sentences or lines can disappear without a trace.
How to check the Georgian manual from your supplier
If the manufacturer has already supplied a Georgian manual, run a quick check before using it:
- read the safety chapter: is it clear what is prohibited and why;
- compare the button names on the device and in the manual;
- verify the tables: do the figures and units match the original;
- check whether any English or Chinese fragments have been left in the text;
- ask a colleague who is not a technician to carry out one operation following the manual.
If at least two of these points turn up a problem, the manual needs professional editing. Editing does not always mean a complete retranslation: the editor compares the text with the original, corrects errors of meaning and terminology, and leaves the sound parts unchanged. More detail: editing and proofreading.
What a good Georgian manual should have
A good manual is not just "correctly translated". It should read as if it had been written in Georgian from the start:
- One form for one action - the imperative used consistently: "დააჭირეთ" (press), "შეაერთეთ" (connect), "გამორთეთ" (switch off), not "უნდა დააჭიროთ" (you should press) on one page and the informal "დააჭირე" on another;
- Buttons and on-screen labels exactly as they appear on the device, in quotation marks or in a distinct font;
- Safety levels - "გაფრთხილება" and "სიფრთხილე" as two different words for WARNING and CAUTION, used the same way throughout the document;
- Diagrams and tables - with translated labels, and numbers and units as in the original;
- Contact and warranty information - the details of the Georgian service center, not only the manufacturer's foreign hotline.
A typical scenario: seasonal imports
An electronics importer receives 30 new models for the season. The manufacturer's manuals arrive in English and Chinese, and some come with a machine-translated Georgian version. The goods will arrive in two weeks.
The right sequence is this: first an analysis of the files, to see how much text is repeated across models; then a termbase for the buttons and functions; then parallel translation, and finally DTP. Next season the same base automatically reuses the text that has already been checked, and the work covers only the new functions.
How to prepare files for the translator
The better the files are prepared, the faster and more accurately the Georgian version is produced:
- Source files - ask the manufacturer for an InDesign, IDML or Word file. We also work from PDF, but a source file makes DTP easier;
- One source language - if the manual exists in several languages, tell us which one is the original. Usually it is English or the language of the manufacturer's country;
- Interface text - if the device has a Georgian screen, send us its strings or photos, so that the manual matches the screen;
- Previous translations - old Georgian versions, even incomplete ones, become the basis of the termbase;
- List of models - which manual belongs to which model, and which ones are almost identical.
The right way to do it
- A professional technical translator who knows the Georgian terminology of the field;
- A termbase, so that one button has the same name in every model;
- Editing and QA to check numbers, units and safety levels;
- DTP, so that the manual comes back in print-ready form;
- A Translation Memory, so that text already checked is automatically reused in the manual for a new model.
TARGMANEBI translates user manuals and instructions into Georgian for importers the same or the next day. More detail: user manual and instruction translation.
How to order a manual translation
Send us the file
The original manual and, if you have it, the supplier's Georgian version.
List the models
How many models there are and which manuals repeat one another.
Terms
The names of the buttons and functions as they are written on the device.
Receive the translation
A print-ready Georgian manual the same or the next day.
Do you have a manual that was machine-translated? Send it to us together with the original - we will check it, and you will receive a corrected version the same or the next day.
Call: 501 113 200Frequently asked questions
Is machine translation prohibited by law?
No. The law requires reliable, complete and clear information in Georgian. It does not regulate the tool, but if a machine translation is unclear, the requirement is not met.
Who imposes the fine?
The Georgian Competition and Consumer Protection Agency. The upper limit of the fine is 2% of the previous financial year's turnover, and for a repeated violation the fine is doubled.
Is the supplier's Georgian manual enough?
If it is clear, accurate and fully matches the original, yes. If not, the responsibility stays with the trader, so it is worth checking it before use.
Can you correct an existing translation?
Yes. The editor compares the Georgian text with the original, corrects the safety instructions and installation first, and then the rest of the text.
Which part needs the most careful translation?
Safety instructions, installation, electrical connection and technical data tables.
How long does a manual translation take?
The same or the next day. On a large package, several translators work at the same time with a single termbase.