Demystifying the Art of Translations: Guidelines Make Translations Easy to Understand
By Manuel Ruiz, President & CEO, Hispanic PR Wire, Inc.

Does our press release for U.S. Hispanic media really need to be in Spanish? Should the translation of my press release be made to sound regional to Mexicans? Should I translate technical terminology to Spanish?

On any given day these are some of the recurring questionsclients ask Hispanic PR Wire about its translation services.The fact is that many people find the process of translatingtheir documents to or from Spanish a bit more complicatedthan it need be.

For your benefit, HPRW has compiled a list of the most common translation issues. Below are some of the most common questions we get asked, starting with the ones previously mentioned.

Do press releases really need to be in Spanish?

If you’re talking about distributing your release to U.S. Hispanic media, the answer is a resounding YES. Here are some major reasons why:
1. Translated releases help Spanish-only and bilingual media use press releases with fewer hindrances
2. They communicate that you care and are sensitive
3. They minimize common translation errors that can hurt you or your client
4. Translated releases help Latino media save their time and/or money that may be necessary for some of their own outsourcing

Should the translation of my press release be made to sound regional to certain Latino groups?

In general, it is best to avoid Spanish regionalisms. Regionalisms can become an unnecessary issue, especially when there’s a chance that a press release or document will be read by people from different Hispanic backgrounds.

Spanish regionalisms typically limit the appeal of your release and make it susceptible to misinterpretations. It can create problems because in some countries certain words mean the exact opposite of what they do in others. In some cases, those words are considered foul language.

The good news is that quality translators know which words work across various Latino cultures. HPRW’s translators, for example, use a neutral, high quality Spanish we call “Walter Cronkite Spanish.” That said, there are times and situations that may call for regionalisms, but mainly this is not the case.

Should technical terminology be translated to Spanish?

The answer to this question is not as clear cut but generally the answer is no.

The most complicated terminology to translate is generally related to the fields of technology, medicine and financial services.

Computer technology in particular is interesting because many terms rarely need translation. That’s because technology terms are often new or unrecognized by standard English dictionaries. The result of so many new terms is that some properly translated documents often sound as if they were written in Spanglish.

Medical translations can be very challenging not so much because of the terminology as much as the degree of FDA oversight these types of documents sometimes generate. Financial related releases also can be very sensitive because of government regulations. For these and other similar reasons it is rarely appropriate to translate brand names.

Which translation software do you recommend?

The first cardinal rule of translation is that you never trust any software to translate documents for you. If these software titles make it look so easy, it’s because it’s usually wrong.

Somebody, somewhere is going to become filthy rich when they do figure this out, but in the mean time stay away from software titles.

If you don’t want to be embarrassed, work with the experts.

Can the translation be changed to sound more creative than it is?

The second cardinal rule of translations says that you NEVER EVER take creative license with translations. The time to be creative with a document is before the translation. It is not the job of translators to inject creativity into a poorly written release. The processes of writing and translating are related but separate. Each hits own boundaries and objecas tives.

What can I do to insure that I’m working with the best translators?

Quality translation services are only as good as their translators’ reliability. Make sure your translators are certified and that your translations are fully guaranteed by he translation service.

Reprinted with permission from The Hispanic PR Monitor. Copyright 2002.