🇨🇦Worried your communications won’t resonate in other languages?

Let’s look at what it takes to make sure they do. HINT: Say what you mean

Does your company speak to audiences in different areas of the world? In their own language? Do you wonder if your audiences are understanding exactly what you spent hours meticulously crafting in the original language? Do you mark up texts for translation or trust the translator to figure it out? Have you ever been unsure what a text meant, and realized that something was lost in translation?

Let’s take a look at what makes a translation accurate:

🙋🏽‍♀️ Is it using the right terms?

🙋🏻‍♂️Is it using the right voice? Or the right tone?

🙋🏻Is it about consistency?

🙋🏿‍♂️Is it about relevance to the audience?

I’m betting there are criteria above you never thought about. At Usher & Spur, we communicate in more than one language, and intercultural communication is literally part of our daily life. We’re often called on to produce communications in both the official languages of Canada (English and French, in case you’re wondering), or use our skills to edit and revise English written by non-native speakers, or translations from one language to the other. Additionally, we handle localization into South American and Iberian Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, German, Arabic and Chinese, thanks to trusted translation partners.

 For sure, the right terms are essential. When selling technical products, documentation uses particular jargon that is often specific to the industry, and sometimes specific to the company. It can refer to cutting-edge techniques, for which there are not yet any approved translations in other languages. It can refer to concepts that are understood in English (because English is a language that is quite vague and open to interpretation), but very hard to translate into other languages. Consider, for example, the literal and conceptual meanings of words such as “seamless” or “frictionless”.

So, for any given word, there’s usually not just one translation. There can be many translations, just as there can be many definitions of a word in our own (source) language. What’s important is not the term itself necessarily, but what is meant.

How do we ensure a translation says what we mean?

After spending half a week revising a 36-page annual report one year, with two-thirds of that time on the translation from English to French, we were motivated to share what we’ve concluded over the years:

👉 A translation should do the same job as the original copy:

👉👉 Speak to the same audience.

👉👉 With the same voice.

👉👉 In the same tone.

👉👉 Coherent and consistent in itself and with all other communications the company puts out.

Because this is about your brand. And that might mean that it’s not an exact translation, but an adaptation of your text.

Either way, you can’t expect a translator to do a good job if you don’t prepare the document. And thinking about what the text means is a pre-requisite. Here’s an example: does “vendor reports” mean “reports for vendors” or “reports from vendors” or “reports about vendors”? The right preposition can make all the difference in how someone understands something. And if they don’t understand, the consequences could be costly, either monetarily or in terms of impact on your reputation and credibility.

Here are some pointers for marking up the texts to be translated as helpfully as possible:

👉 Give the translator the official translations of your brand elements.

👉 Give them a list of technical or commercial jargon commonly used in your documentation, along with your company-approved translations, or discuss with them beforehand what those translations might be, based on the concepts.

👉 Highlight the terms that need to be translated as closely as possible.

👉 In a vague language like English, being translated to a more precise language, specify exactly what is meant when there is ambiguity.

Is AI any good for translation?

It’s getting a lot better. And we suspect that some of our clients are using AI to save on per-word translation costs, and transfer it to by-the-hour revision costs instead. Apart from the fact that we still need to know what you mean whether we’re translating or revising, don’t forget that, with translation, you’re not paying for the time spent on each word. You’re paying for the time spent finding the exact right translation for your technical jargon or your clever tagline, the time spent adjusting the voice and tone, the time spent figuring out that ambiguity. And that’s why AI is a long way from being perfect.

Here's another thing AI is not too good at, differentiating between French from France and Quebec French. While both take up more space on the page – an important consideration for your layout! – French from France is generally more flowery and even more voluminous (in fact, many languages take up more space than English). Quebec French tends to correspond much more to North American English; it’s more direct and it also has its own set of rules, so don’t assume that what AI gives you will work across francophone countries.

In short: To ensure your texts resonate across languages and cultures, it’s important to be clear about what you mean and provide that meaning, along with official translations of your company- and brand-specific terms, to the translator or revisor. You also need to make sure the translation is made into the correct flavour of language (Quebec or France French, Brazilian or Iberian Portuguese, Latin American or Iberian Spanish etc.). Do your teams have enough time to do all that?