Keys to successfully hiring Basque<>English translation services
Advertising and communication agencies have very specific needs when requesting translations from Basque or into Basque. 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 (the Basque Country, in this case) and how words are used.
A good advertising translation is paramount to expanding your target audience of Basque-speaking users. Here are a few tips to keep in mind.
Remember these tips when translating your marketing content from or into Basque:
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 Basque, think about which markets you want to reach. Only the Basque Country…? Or maybe into other territories with large Basque-speaking communitites? Always consider the local and dialectal variations of Basque 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 Basque or into Basque will attract potential buyers.
Consider all types of publications
There are many ways to enter local Basque 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 Basque and start publishing articles about products or services can be a great way to reach thousands of readers in the Basque Country.
One option is to start a profile on a social network such as Twitter or Instagram, and specifically target Basques. You can also start an email marketing campaign targeted at Basque!}-speaking countries. Remember to always include these new communication formats in your English-Basque strategies.
Translate and localize (i.e. culturally adapt into Basque)
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 Basque, we may need different translations for each region or country (the Basque Country).
A good localization in Basque helps us solve these problems: from everyday expression to date formats, weight units or forms of address used in the Basque Country, etc.
Take every aspect into account
In an advertising translation into Basque, not everything is text. Remember that there are also graphics, presentations and drawings that can be important to attract the attention of your Basque-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 Basque 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 Basque or vice versa.
Do not limit your imagination
When looking for translations in Basque for your advertising content, your initial idea in English may not work when translated into Basque.
It is important to maintain consistency throughout the campaign: it is what will identify your brand, company or product in countries like the Basque Country… Remember that a literal translation of an English witty expression will most probably not work in Basque.
Throughout the translation project, always think about which types of Basque-speaking users your campaign is targeting. Be open to new ideas so your message does not get lost in translation.
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A quick overview of the Basque language
Basque is a language with no known linguistic relatives, spoken by about 660,000 people, mainly in the Basque Country (Euskal Herria) in northern Spain and southwestern France.
An ancient form of Basque known as the Aquitanian language appeared in Roman inscriptions in Aquitaine, in southwestern France. The inscriptions consist of names of people and gods, and were written during the first and second centuries A.D.
The Basque language first appeared in Latin religious texts, the Emilian Glossesdating back to the 11th century. The first book published in Basque was a collection of poems entitled Linguae Vasconum Primitiae, published by Bernard Detchepare in 1545.
For centuries there was no standard spelling, and Basque was written with Romance spelling conventions supplemented with other signs to represent sounds not present in the Romance languages. In 1964 the Royal Academy of the Basque Language (Euskaltzaindia) published a new orthographic regulation, which met with some resistance at first, but which is now used by almost everyone.