What Do Translators Expect from Agencies?

Posted On May 16, 2010By TranspanishIn Spanish Translation, Tips for Translators, Translation Buyers/ No Comments

As freelance translators, we all know the importance of making a good impression on our clients and maintaining a healthy professional relationship with them; however, what about the impression the client makes on you? The translator-agency relationship can vary significantly from vendor to vendor, depending on factors such as the size of the agency, the experience of the project managers, and the overall attitude of the agency toward the translation process (quality vs. quantity). A translation agency or client with concern for the translator will strive to meet the following expectations:

» Ideally, agencies express interest in negotiating rates, deadlines, payment methods and terms, etc., instead of forcing their own terms upon the translator. If a project requires urgency or overtime, the agency offers the appropriate incentives.

» A friendly yet professional tone. When communications from the project manager are overly formal, it’s easy for translators to feel like they’re talking to a robot instead of another human being. A touch of small talk and/or pleasantries can go a long way to humanizing the relationship with the agency.

» Tactful feedback. Translators do occasionally make errors, and while they appreciate feedback about their mistakes, it’s more helpful when the criticism is given in a tactful and constructive manner.

» Keep it simple. The agency that excels at simplifying the communication process, even for the most complicated projects, makes the translator’s life much easier and more productive.

» The agency sends the complete file for the translator’s review before expecting him or her to accept the project.

» Reasonably prompt communication. Translators understand that project managers or other team members are often swamped with work; however, a quick response to a question or doubt, especially on an urgent project, is much appreciated.

» Deft handling of administrative matters. Translators rejoice when the purchase order is sent in a timely manner, the agency confirms that the invoice has been received, etc.

» Timely payment. Translators put a great deal of stock in agencies that pay reliably and within acceptable timeframes.

What do you look for in your relationship with a translation agency or other vendors?

Foreign Language Study Abroad

Posted On May 6, 2010By TranspanishIn Languages, Spanish Language/ No Comments

While it’s possible to achieve a high level of proficiency in a foreign language while studying in your home country, in order to take your skills to the next level, it’s essential to be immersed in the language. Language study with native speakers in a foreign country opens you up to the possibility of a more well-rounded experience, as you’ll be able to enjoy the culture together with the language.

Be sure to carefully weigh your options when planning for a foreign language study abroad experience. For example, if you’re interested in Spanish, there are over 20 Spanish-speaking countries to consider, each with its own unique culture, accent and slang. Do some research to determine which locations fit best with your language goals. If you want to improve your Spanish for use on the job, and the people you’re likely to be in contact with are primarily from Latin America, you may want to skip a language immersion experience in Spain in favor of, say, Mexico.

If you’re interested in studying a more obscure tongue like Icelandic or Luxembourgish, studying abroad may be your only opportunity to truly get a handle on the language, as access to native speakers and learning materials in these languages are most likely extremely limited in your home country.

Once you’re in country, one of the keys to gaining fluency is to reinforce classroom study through real world interactions. Don’t be afraid to take what you’ve learned in your language classes and practice it outside the classroom: go to the movies, chat up the locals, join a club or team. You’re bound to make mistakes as you go along, but language foibles come with the territory. Just remember to keep a sense of humor!

Lastly, it’s worth mentioning that merely visiting or living in a foreign country isn’t enough to help you perfect your skills – just ask the thousands of expats who successfully live for years on end in a foreign country without ever mastering the language. If you confine yourself to the “expat bubble,” you’ll spend the majority of your time surrounded by those who speak your native tongue, depriving yourself of the chance to exercise your foreign language muscle. Get out there and interact with the natives!

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.

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

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.

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.

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

The Machine Translation Debate

Posted On March 27, 2010By TranspanishIn Languages, Spanish Translation, Translation Buyers/ No Comments

Although computer scientists have toiled for decades to produce machine translation comparable to that rendered by humans, they have yet to succeed. In critical moments when human translation or interpretation is simply not an option due to logistical constraints (e.g. rescue efforts during the recent earthquake in Haiti), machine translation can be a literal lifesaver; however, in cases where style, originality, or real-world context count for something, call upon a human translator to deliver the best results.

Previously, computer scientists attempted to “teach” the computer the linguistic rules of two languages in the hopes that the computer would piece together something intelligible in the target language. These days, the newest machine translation technology available through Google Translate takes a different approach. Using powerful search techniques and Google’s vast library of books, Google Translate turns in a reasonable performance based on matches found among thousands of documents produced for organizations such as the United Nations and the European Union by human translators.

While machine translation does serve a purpose now and again, the current technology’s formulaic approach depends upon the works that skilled human translators have already created. In the case of truly original works with zero precedent to be found online, computers fail to render the nuanced translations created by humans every time.

Read more about the machine translation debate in this article by The New York Times.

Read our articles:
Google Translate and the Struggle for Accurate Machine Translations
Google Strikes Deal to Translate European Patents
Machine Translation vs. Human Translation: Pay Less, Get Less
When Never to Use Google Translate

Accent Reduction Techniques

Posted On March 19, 2010By TranspanishIn English Language, Languages, Spanish Language/ 1 Comment

Though many learn to express themselves quite masterfully in a foreign language, most speakers of a language other than their mother tongue can still be easily identified by their accent. Most of the time, an accent poses no problems in terms of intelligibility; indeed, many people find foreign accents charming. However, if your accent interferes with native speakers’ ability to understand you, or you’re simply looking to blend more with the locals, here are some tips for reducing your accent. Remember: it’s very difficult to completely eliminate an accent. Instead, your goal should be to neutralize your accent.

» Don’t speak too quickly. Native speakers will have a difficult time understanding you until you learn the correct intonation and rhythm of the language. Speak slowly so that you can enunciate each word.

» Observe and imitate the facial movements of native speakers. When watching television or conversing with native speakers, take note of the facial movements of the person speaking in order to more accurately reproduce the sounds of the language.

» Record your own voice and listen for errors in pronunciation. Become more aware of the mistakes you’re making by listening to a recording of your voice.

» Read aloud every day for 15 to 20 minutes. This exercise will help strengthen the facial muscles you use when speaking a language other than your native tongue.

» Become accustomed to the prosody or “music” of the language. Each language has its own rhythm, intonation/tone, and pausing. Familiarize yourself with these patterns in order to speak more naturally.

» Listen to audiobooks and follow along using a printed version of the text. You can also make a recording of yourself as you read portions of the book aloud, and then compare your speech to that of the audiobook’s narrator.

» Keep your dictionary handy. Familiarize yourself with your dictionary’s phonetic symbols, and look up the correct pronunciation of words that pose difficulty.

» Create a list of words that are difficult for you to say, and ask a native speaker to pronounce them for you. Make a recording of these words, listen, and practice saying them.

» Consider working with a speech-language pathologist or a dialect coach for professional evaluation and feedback.

Studies Reveal Inadequacies in Marketing to the Latino Demographic

Posted On March 15, 2010By TranspanishIn Latinos/ No Comments

Although the Latino market in the United States continues to grow exponentially, many marketers have yet to effectively learn how to tap into this key demographic. With Hispanic spending power approaching the $1 trillion mark, it’s hard to believe that retailers aren’t working more aggressively to capture the attention of this influential segment; however, the truth is that many businesses have yet to wake up to the importance of marketing to the Latino community.

A recent survey of marketers conducted by Orcí – a leading Hispanic advertising and marketing firm – revealed that only 50% of marketers direct their advertising specifically at the Latino segment. While “the majority of respondents believe Hispanics will have a significant impact on a variety of aspects of American culture” [1] including food, fashion and beauty, and technology, the vast majority of marketers don’t plan to specifically target the Latino demographic in the upcoming year.

According to the Orcí survey, nearly 40% of marketers question the return on investment that a Latino marketing campaign would bring, while approximately 30% feel that their company’s current marketing strategy is effective for the Latino segment.

In addition to the lack of attention paid to Hispanics in the traditional realms of advertising such as TV, radio and print, marketers have also neglected to reach out to this segment through trends such as social media (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace).

In a separate study conducted by AOL, findings revealed that most companies that have attempted to reach out to their Hispanic customers online are going about it in the wrong way. Spanish sites are often poorly translated, resulting in a mere shadow of the English version of the company’s online presence. Even when retailers do get it right and hire a translator to create a top-notch, professional translation, the message frequently fails to connect with readers because it hasn’t been specifically tailored to Hispanics.

“Hispanics are tech savvy, young trend setters with incredible spending power,” Orcí said. “Companies that recognize the potential of the market by effectively engaging them will see a return on their investment.” [2]

[1] Orcí 2010 Hispanic Marketing Trends Survey
[2] BizReport, Hispanic-specific marketing found lacking

Our Blog