Keys to successfully hiring Norwegian<>English translation services
Advertising and communication agencies have very specific needs when requesting translations from Norwegian or into Norwegian. 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 (Norway, in this case) and how words are used.
A good advertising translation is paramount to expanding your target audience of Norwegian-speaking users. Here are a few tips to keep in mind.
Remember these tips when translating your marketing content from or into Norwegian:
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 Norwegian, think about which markets you want to reach. Only Norway…? Or maybe into other territories with large Norwegian-speaking communitites? Always consider the local and dialectal variations of Norwegian 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 Norwegian or into Norwegian will attract potential buyers.
Consider all types of publications
There are many ways to enter local Norwegian 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 Norwegian and start publishing articles about products or services can be a great way to reach thousands of readers in Norway.
One option is to start a profile on a social network such as Twitter or Instagram, and specifically target Norwegians. You can also start an email marketing campaign targeted at Norwegian!}-speaking countries. Remember to always include these new communication formats in your English-Norwegian strategies.
Translate and localize (i.e. culturally adapt into Norwegian)
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 Norwegian, we may need different translations for each region or country (Norway).
A good localization in Norwegian helps us solve these problems: from everyday expression to date formats, weight units or forms of address used in Norway, etc.
Take every aspect into account
In an advertising translation into Norwegian, not everything is text. Remember that there are also graphics, presentations and drawings that can be important to attract the attention of your Norwegian-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 Norwegian 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 Norwegian or vice versa.
Do not limit your imagination
When looking for translations in Norwegian for your advertising content, your initial idea in English may not work when translated into Norwegian.
It is important to maintain consistency throughout the campaign: it is what will identify your brand, company or product in countries like Norway… Remember that a literal translation of an English witty expression will most probably not work in Norwegian.
Throughout the translation project, always think about which types of Norwegian-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 Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language with about 5 million speakers, mainly in Norway. There are also some Norwegian speakers in Denmark, Sweden, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Canada and the United States.
The first Norwegian literature, mainly poetry and historical prose, was written in Western Norway and emerged between the 9th and 14th centuries. Later, Norway became to be ruled by Sweden and, later on, by Denmark. Norwegian was still spoken, but Danish was used for official purposes, as a literary and academic language.
After Norway separated from Denmark in 1814, Danish continued to be used in schools until the 1830s, when a movement emerged to create a new national language. The reason for this movement was that written Danish differed so greatly from spoken Norwegian that it was difficult to learn. They also believed that each country should have its own language.
There was much debate about how to create a national language and two languages emerged: the Landsmål (national language), based on colloquial Norwegian and regional dialects, in particular the dialects of Western Norway, and Riksmål (national language), which was mainly a written language very similar to Danish.
The Landsmål was renamed Nynorsk (New Norwegian) in 1929, and Riksmål is now officially known as Bokmål (language of books). Some people over 60 still use Riksmål, which is considered a conservative form of Bokmål and is slightly different.
Today, schools in Norway teach both versions of the language. Students are supposed to learn both, and they can choose which one they want to learn as their main language. Public officials are often familiar with both forms.
For a while there was a movement to create a single standard language that would be called Samnorsk (Norwegian Union). Politicians liked the idea of unifying the Norwegian language, while the others found it a bad idea and a waste of time. The Samnorsk project was officially disregarded on 1 January 2002.