The Importance of Translating Foreign Texts

Posted On April 29, 2010By TranspanishIn English Language, Languages, Spanish Translation, Translation Buyers/  1 Comment

The reluctance of publishers in the English-speaking world to translate works from other languages truly boggles the mind. At a point in the world’s history in which we are more connected than ever before, America and the rest of the Anglophone world remain remarkably isolated from the literary contributions of other languages and cultures. The statistics are rather eye-opening: Just two to three percent of books published every year in the U.S. and Britain are translations, in comparison to close to 35 percent in Western Europe and Latin America.

Ignoring a bulk of the world’s literature represents a problem on several fronts. Aside from the fact that English speakers lose out on the obvious advantages gained by an understanding of different worldviews and perspectives found in foreign literature, as it turns out, a refusal on the part of publishers to translate books from other languages into English also does a disservice to non-English speakers the world over. “English often serves as the linguistic bridge for the translation of a book into a number of Asian and African languages.”  Lastly, a paucity of translated works means that the exchange of information and ideas that is cherished by free, democratic societies ultimately suffers.

Click here for more information on this story from Foreign Policy.

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Transcreation: Specialized Translation for Marketing

Posted On April 20, 2010By TranspanishIn English Language, Languages, Spanish Translation, Tips for Translators, Translation Buyers/  1 Comment

The translation of marketing and promotional materials presents unique challenges, not only from a language standpoint but from a cultural one as well. Translations of advertising copy must strive for something beyond technical accuracy; just like the carefully-crafted original text, the translation of a marketing message must be both engaging and culturally relevant to the target audience. The incorporation of specialists in transcreation and cultural adaptation to the linguistic team ensures that marketing messages are accurately conveyed without sacrificing creativity or consistency.

Transcreation services focus on adaptation of a text rather than a strict translation, guaranteeing that – by remaining faithful to the original and reflecting the local preferences and culture of the target audience – the message achieves the greatest impact in every market. Transcreation entails a host of services including translation, copywriting, and localization, bringing together the creativity and contributions of professionals whose principal interests and activities center on content adaptation.

“The goal of transcreation isn’t to say the same thing in another language. Indeed, it is often not possible to say exactly the same thing in another language. The aim of the game with transcreation is to get the same reaction in each language, something that translation in itself won’t be able to achieve.” [1]

The translation of copy for the marketing world differs significantly from other types of translations such as technical translations, which leave little room for creativity, and some training in copywriting is recommended. Translators with a flair for creative writing tend to produce the best results with advertising, marketing, and media texts and are best suited to work as transcreators.

Transcreation demands an intimate understanding of the source language, continuous exposure to the local media in the target market, as well as a high degree of familiarity with the target audience. A specialist in transcreation will be able to evaluate why the advertising message works for the original group, and he or she will produce materials that are culturally adapted and tailor-made for the target audience. Ideally, translators, transcreators, and those responsible for content adaptation should engage the client in a dialogue about the brand and its intended message to consumers to maintain consistency and meaning for the target audience.

[1] Bad Language, Translation vs. Transcreation

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Desktop Publishing and Translation

Posted On April 14, 2010By TranspanishIn Spanish Language, Spanish Translation, Tips for Translators, Translation Buyers/  No Comments

While the content of a translation is always of utmost importance, the presentation of that content should not be underestimated. Even the best translation can flop if it is presented in an unprofessional manner. Desktop publishing (DTP) ensures that a translation delivers visual impact, with a design that complements and enhances the written word. Using sophisticated programs such as QuarkXPress, Microsoft PowerPoint, Adobe InDesign and PageMaker, a completed translation can be inserted into any number of file types, which may or may not include graphics, for use in presentations, advertising, web layouts, etc. The desktop publishing phase is not usually handled by the translator; instead, it is assigned to a team member with specific desktop publishing and design experience.

Documents translated from English to Spanish often contain up to 20% more words – a concept known as text expansion – as it often takes more words to express the same idea in Spanish. Text expansion may result in a visually-crowded document that is difficult to read, since an increased number of words must fit in the same design. To prevent higher formatting costs down the road, documents should be designed with adequate white space to accommodate text expansion.

Designers must be sensitive to the fact that the Spanish language includes characters and punctuation not found in English. The desktop publisher will ensure that special characters appearing in the Spanish translation such as á, é, í, ó, ú, ü and ñ are preserved in the final product. Special attention should also be paid to the uniquely Spanish inverted question and exclamation marks (¿ and ¡) as well as angular quotes (« and »). Desktop publishers should carefully select digital typefaces, as some fonts do not contain these characters. It is also worthwhile to experiment with different fonts in order to choose one where the accent marks do not appear to merge into the accented letters.

Lastly, a crucial element of desktop publishing is a visual assessment of each project to make sure it is acceptable from a cultural perspective. The use of certain images or colors may be perceived as offensive in some cultures and must be adapted for the local market.

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Spanish Speakers in U.S. Exposed to Dangerous Pharmacy Errors

Posted On April 10, 2010By TranspanishIn Latinos, Spanish Language, Spanish Translation, Translation Buyers/  No Comments

Apparently, speaking Spanish in the United States can be hazardous to one’s health. According to a recent study to be published in the journal Pediatrics, Spanish speakers are exposed to an unacceptable number of grave translation errors in the instructions provided with prescription medications. Pharmacists’ computers frequently deliver “Spanglish” translations, which ultimately pose a threat to patients’ health, as they are open to misinterpretation and therefore possible overdose. Overloaded pharmacists who are lacking Spanish-language skills simply do not have the time or ability to review the prescription labels for errors.

The best way that non-English speaking patients can protect themselves from misunderstandings when dealing with medical professionals is to request an interpreter or translator with expertise in the medical field in order to receive instructions and other vital information in their native tongue. In addition, the pharmaceutical industry should push for the hiring of more bilingual pharmacists and the development of more advanced pharmacy prescription software that produces clearer translations when the use of automatic translation is unavoidable.

Click here for more information on this story from HealthDay.com.

Visit our Pharmaceutical Glossary for English and Spanish terms and our Pharmaceutical Abbreviations section for English and Spanish Meaning of Latin Abbreviations in the Pharmacy Industry.

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Constructed Languages

Posted On April 1, 2010By TranspanishIn Languages/  No Comments

Though thousands of natural languages are spoken throughout the world, constructed languages – also known as conlangs or artlangs – peacefully coexist (often in obscurity) alongside them. Unlike the natural evolution that led to the creation of most languages spoken today, a constructed language’s elements have been consciously formulated by one or more individuals. There are numerous reasons to devise an invented language including a desire to facilitate communication, linguistic experimentation, as a means to bring a fictional world to life, or for artistic expression.

Esperanto, arguably the most successful of all constructed languages, was invented in 1887 by linguist L. L. Zamenhof. Created with the admirable goal of having a universal language that would unite people regardless of their culture and native tongue, Esperanto claims a small but fiercely-devoted following. According to figures provided by Wikipedia, “Esperanto has between 100,000 and 2 million speakers in about 115 countries, and approximately one thousand native speakers, i.e. people who learned Esperanto as one of their native languages from their parents.” [1]

According to Arika Okrent, author of In the Land of Invented Languages, “We are in an era now where the majority of languages being invented are invented for artistic purposes alone. Not to heal the world, or cure language, but to express a personal idea of what a language could or might be.” [2] For example, Elvish from The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Klingon from the TV series Star Trek are well-known constructed languages that were born of artistic endeavors. The recent blockbuster film Avatar features an invented language called Na’vi, which was created as a reflection of the sci-fi world found in the movie.

Invented languages tend to be more of a western phenomenon, with the majority of the creators and invented language enthusiasts being found in the United States and Europe; however, there are a few constructed languages from non-western cultures including  Emami’s City-Language (Iran), Igbinewka’s Guosa (Nigeria), and Morioka’s Baronh (Japan), but these are relatively unknown.

For some, constructed languages are slightly controversial. Some people argue against the invention of languages when there are so many natural languages near extinction. In addition, opponents argue that numerous dead languages exist that could be revived for use in literature or other artistic works.

[1] Wikipedia, Esperanto

[2] Schott’s Vocab Blog, The New York Times, Questions Answered: Invented Language

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