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SPANISH LANGUAGE
TRANSLATIONS FROM A MARKETING
PERSPECTIVE
By Tony Malaghan Arial International,
LLC
Good communication takes place when the
receiver decodes the message as the sender
intended to communicate it, and the receiver
provides feedback that allows the sender to
judge the accuracy of the communication piece.
In the case of marketing communication, the
immediate result is increased awareness,
sales, increased usage and improved customer
retention, depending on the specific
objectives of the communication.
However, the impact of a communication piece
has wider and longer-term consequences than
the response to a specific campaign or
promotion. A company’s brand values are
conveyed to its customers in each and every
communication through the style, tone, pitch
and choice of words.
In a decade of delivering translation services
to companies who service Hispanic customers in
the U.S., Arial International has developed a
checklist to help organizations ensure their
translated material conveys an accurate
message consistent with brand image and
perception:
-A company’s brand values are strengthened
when it communicates well with customers.
Speak to customers in a consistent brand
voice regardless of the language being
used.
-The same level of care and attention
should be given to your Spanish language
communication as is given to your English
communication pieces. It would be
unacceptable to have spelling mistakes or
grammatical errors in a product brochure
or Web site in English, so mandate the
same high levels of care and
professionalism from your translators.
-Choose a vendor that is familiar with
your industry and the specific
terminology, jargon and technical terms
used. For example, a firm specializing in
translating for the financial services
industry will have a better understanding
of the terms and phrases used in the
banking industry than a firm that
primarily translates for companies in the
pharmaceutical industry. Specialized terms
such as unsecured credit card, grace
period, balance transfer,pre-approved,
secondary account holder and wire transfer
are specialized terms in financial
services communication that must be
translated accurately.
-Use ‘Neutral Business Spanish’ to appeal
to all Spanish speakers. Many U.S.
companies overlook the regional
differences and language nuances when
formulating Hispanic marketing programs.
In the U.S. there are three major groups
of Spanish speakers. Many who live in the
East are of Puerto Rican or Cuban-American
origin. In the West, the heritage of
Spanish speakers is mostly Mexican and
Central American. Then, there are people
from South America, who live all over the
U.S. and who speak yet a different
variation of Spanish.
A simple example of a commonly used Spanish
word is "cancelar." In Mexico, for example,
this word means "to cancel." However in Puerto
Rico, Venezuela and other countries, the word
"cancelar" is used primarily to mean "to pay."
In fact, there are more than nine different
verbs in Spanish that signify "to pay." These
isunderstandings can cause confusion and
damage the company's image if misused.
-Be consistent in your use of words across
all communication medium and customer
contact points. A useful tool to help
ensure consistency is to develop a
glossary of terms defining the word and
phrases you want to use and the specific
ways you want to use them.
-Literal translations are not always
accurate and in some cases can be
misleading. To preserve the context of
what you are saying, the best approach is
to translate the meaning of the word or
phrase.
-Use a vendor that has an internal audit
procedure to check the translation against
the original document. Arial
International’s standard business practice
for translations is to have a second Arial
International translator audit and edit
the translated document comparing it to
the original to ensure accuracy and that
the translated document retains its
original tone and meaning.
-Do not underestimate the benefit of local
knowledge. Translators who are intimately
familiar and/or native Spanish speakers
understand cultural nuances,
colloquialisms and idioms.
-To ensure the purest translation, use a
combination of native Spanish and native
English speakers in each translation
project.
Tony Malaghan, Director, Strategic
Marketing, brings 21 years of professional
experience in marketing to Arial
International, LLC, a firm providing
comprehensive marketing consulting &
training services to companies that service
the US Hispanic market. Since joining Arial,
Tony’s focus has been on Hispanic marketing
projects in the USA. His areas of expertise
are strategic planning, new market/product
development, product management, direct
marketing through multiple channels for
acquisition, usage, retention, up-sell and
cross-sell. For additional information, check
their website www.arialinternational.com or
e-mail Tony at tony@arialinternational.com
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