Keys to successfully hiring Spanish<>English translation services
Advertising and communication agencies have very specific needs when requesting translations from Spanish or into Spanish. 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 (Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Spain, in this case) and how words are used.
A good advertising translation is paramount to expanding your target audience of Spanish-speaking users. Here are a few tips to keep in mind.
Remember these tips when translating your marketing content from or into Spanish:
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 Spanish, think about which markets you want to reach. Only Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Spain…? Or maybe into other territories with large Spanish-speaking communitites? Always consider the local and dialectal variations of Spanish 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 Spanish or into Spanish will attract potential buyers.
Consider all types of publications
There are many ways to enter local Spanish 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 Spanish and start publishing articles about products or services can be a great way to reach thousands of readers in Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Spain.
One option is to start a profile on a social network such as Twitter or Instagram, and specifically target Spanish-speakers. You can also start an email marketing campaign targeted at Spanish!}-speaking countries. Remember to always include these new communication formats in your English-Spanish strategies.
Translate and localize (i.e. culturally adapt into Spanish)
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 Spanish, we may need different translations for each region or country (Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Spain).
A good localization in Spanish helps us solve these problems: from everyday expression to date formats, weight units or forms of address used in Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Spain, etc.
Take every aspect into account
In an advertising translation into Spanish, not everything is text. Remember that there are also graphics, presentations and drawings that can be important to attract the attention of your Spanish-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 Spanish 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 Spanish or vice versa.
Do not limit your imagination
When looking for translations in Spanish for your advertising content, your initial idea in English may not work when translated into Spanish.
It is important to maintain consistency throughout the campaign: it is what will identify your brand, company or product in countries like Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Spain… Remember that a literal translation of an English witty expression will most probably not work in Spanish.
Throughout the translation project, always think about which types of Spanish-speaking users your campaign is targeting. Be open to new ideas so your message does not get lost in translation.
How do you say “Spanish” in Spanish?
Spanish is an official language in 20 countries, with 332 million native speakers and many dialects that can vary widely. After English, Spanish is the most important language in the world economy.
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A quick overview of the Spanish language
Spanish belongs to the Western Romance languages group. It was formed from Vulgar Latin during the Roman occupation of Spain, and from displaced Celtic and Iberian languages.
As a literary language, Castilian Spanish prevailed, although there are different dialects such as Andalusian, Aragonese, Leonese and others.
In Latin America, Spanish was influenced by the indigenous languages, so although the grammar is almost identical, the accents and slang are quite different.
In Latin America, technical terminology comes directly from English, so the computer in Spain is called "ordenador" based on the French word, while in Argentina it is called "computadora", based on the English “computer”.