Keys to successfully hiring Arabic<>English translation services
Advertising and communication agencies have very specific needs when requesting translations from Arabic or into Arabic. Whether press releases or advertising texts, this type of translation requires not only an extensive linguistic knowledge, but also a good cultural background of each country or region (Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, in this case) and how words are used.
A good advertising translation is paramount to expanding your target audience of Arabic-speaking users. Here are a few tips to keep in mind.
Remember these tips when translating your marketing content from or into Arabic:
Know your audience
Before you start translating, decide who your target audience will be. Who do you think will be most responsive to your services or products?
Find out and limit who your target audience is going to be. In this case, if you intend translating into Arabic, think about which markets you want to reach. Only Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates…? Or maybe into other territories with large Arabic-speaking communitites? Always consider the local and dialectal variations of Arabic and how this may impact the recipient.
Also consider the age of your audience, as this will determine the style in the translation. The more you narrow your focus by directly targeting a niche market, the more likely it is that your translation from Arabic or into Arabic will attract potential buyers.
Consider all types of publications
There are many ways to enter local Arabic markets. Expand the type of advertising and informational content to cover all of your company’s social channels.
Press releases and printed advertising material are a classic, but translating your website content into Arabic and start publishing articles about products or services can be a great way to reach thousands of readers in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates.
One option is to start a profile on a social network such as Twitter or Instagram, and specifically target Arabic speakers. You can also start an email marketing campaign targeted at Arabic!}-speaking countries. Remember to always include these new communication formats in your English-Arabic strategies.
Translate and localize (i.e. culturally adapt into Arabic)
In the marketing world, localization refers to the adaptation of all elements (from design to cultural references) for a specific audience. A small change in an audience type will increase the response rate and the number of sales.
Even if two groups speak the same language, such as Arabic, we may need different translations for each region or country (Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates).
A good localization in Arabic helps us solve these problems: from everyday expression to date formats, weight units or forms of address used in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, etc.
Take every aspect into account
In an advertising translation into Arabic, not everything is text. Remember that there are also graphics, presentations and drawings that can be important to attract the attention of your Arabic-speaking users.
Changes in graphics and pictures not only affect the content, but are sometimes necessary for the readability of the translation. Sometimes we will need to make changes to accommodate the reading direction of a language (left to right or right to left), the spacing of a particular alphabet, or any features such as those specific to the Arabic language.
Always keep in mind that the space taken up by a translation may increase or decrease with respect to the original text when translating from English into Arabic or vice versa.
Do not limit your imagination
When looking for translations in Arabic for your advertising content, your initial idea in English may not work when translated into Arabic.
It is important to maintain consistency throughout the campaign: it is what will identify your brand, company or product in countries like Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates… Remember that a literal translation of an English witty expression will most probably not work in Arabic.
Throughout the translation project, always think about which types of Arabic-speaking users your campaign is targeting. Be open to new ideas so your message does not get lost in translation.
How do you say “Arabic” in Arabic?
Arabic (in Arabic, العربية or عربي/عربى) is an official language in 20 states with 180 million speakers and a homogeneous written language (standard Arabic). In the Middle East, about 30% of the population has access to the Internet.
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A quick overview of the Arabic language
Arabic belongs to the southern group of Western Semitic languages. It is based on dialects of North Arabia and spread with Islam in the Middle East and North Africa.
The Arabic script evolved from the Nabataean alphabet used in Aramaic. It has been used since the 4th century AD. , but the oldest document, an inscription in Arabic, Syrian and Greek, dates from 512 A.D.
Aramaic has fewer consonants than Arabic, so during the 7th century new Arabic letters were created by adding dots to the existing ones to avoid ambiguity. More diacritical signs were introduced to indicate short vowels, but these are usually only used to ensure that the Koran is read aloud without mistakes.
There are two types of written Arabic:
- Classical Arabic: the language of the Koran and classical literature It differs from modern standard Arabic mainly in style and vocabulary, with archaic words. All Muslims are expected to recite the Koran in the original language, however many rely on translations to understand the text.
- Modern Standard Arabic (اللغة العربية الفصحى / al-luġatu l-ʿarabiyyatu l-fuṣḥā): the universal language of the Arabic-speaking world understood by all Arabic speakers. It is the language of almost all written and television publications and academic activities.
Each Arabic-speaking country or region also has its own variety of colloquial Arabic. These colloquial varieties of Arabic appear in written form in some poems, caricatures and comics, plays and personal letters. There are also translations of the Bible into most variants of colloquial Arabic.