10 tips to get the best English-to-Spanish translations

获得最佳英译西译文的10个技巧

2020-08-26 16:40 Smartcat

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Your business is thriving and you’re ready to go global. You’ve done some research and the data shows there’s interest in Spanish-speaking markets. Next step? It’s time to adapt and properly launch your products in these new markets! Which means getting your copy and content translated into Spanish. ¡Vamos! But where do you begin? How do you choose a translator? How do you make sure you end up with a great Spanish translation? Here are 10 tips that will help you answer these and other questions you might have. 1. Figure out which Spanish dialect you need Start by looking at your research data to figure out what Spanish-speaking areas you’re getting the most attention from. If your potential audience is large enough in several different Spanish-speaking countries, then you should consider getting different translations for each Spanish dialect. Spanish is a rich and diverse language, and you’ll need to take this into account when targeting Spanish speakers, whether it’s audiences all around the world or a specific market in one country. The goal is always to ensure you’re not alienating anyone — either with some sort of artificial, internationalized form of Spanish or with local expressions from a very different variant of Spanish. And the best way to do this is by working with a different translator for each dialect. 2. Choose the form of address — usted or tú? The next step is establishing how formal or informal you want to sound in Spanish. In English, it’s pretty easy — you tell your writers you either want it casual or more formal, and they compose the text using language that fits the context. In Spanish, that’s not enough. You’ve got to specify the form of address for your audience because there are two words for you in Spanish — the formal usted and the informal tú. Why isn’t it enough to just say you want it formal or informal? Well, tones aren’t always black and white — they often lie on a continuum and are open to interpretation — which means they won’t always match the the translators’ choice of you. The solution? You make the choice right from the start. It’s the best way to avoid ending up with glaring inconsistencies in your translations. Just ask any Spanish translator how many times they’ve seen Spanish website copy switching from usted to tú. And then ask them how bad of an impression it makes on the reader! But how can you decide what’s best if you have no idea how Spanish works? Well, now that you know how important it is to make a choice, talk to your Spanish translator(s) — potential or current — and ask them what they think is the best choice for each dialect and purpose. And then stick to it. 3. Focus on localization Which brings us to point three: taking care of the particularities of Spanish in each cultural setting. Don’t be afraid to ask your translators to adapt the content of your message to fit whatever works in the local context. For example, if your original English text happens to be a story about a parent taking their kid to a baseball game, this might work perfectly well in Spanish-speaking countries like Cuba, the Dominican Republic, or Mexico — where baseball is a national sport — but people in Spain, for example, would not relate. In such cases, it may be worth adapting the story to an entirely different sport altogether to create the same effect. Encourage your translators to do so. They will appreciate your trust in them and produce better work for it! (In case you were wondering, soccer/football would be the way to go for Spaniards!) The more creative you get with your localization process, the closer you’re getting to transcreation, which is a form of translation that can involve rewriting whole parts or changing the content entirely to create the same effect in a very different market. 4. Be prepared for Spanish to be longer Due to the nature of the Spanish language and how sentences are constructed, Spanish texts are usually longer than the English source texts. If you work with websites, software, or apps, you’ll want to pay close attention to this one. Texts in UIs, strings, and websites are often constrained by space limitations, so the sooner you take this into account, the better — ideally at the development stage — to avoid problems like overcrowded or missing text. Translators can sometimes work around these issues — by using abbreviations or English terms — but remember that the whole point of having your product translated into Spanish is to provide your Spanish-speaking customers with the best user experience possible. So, keep spacing issues in mind to give your translators the best chance of keeping your Spanish-speaking users happy. 5. Use Spanish equivalents of English terms — within reason Speaking of using English terms in Spanish… just like most languages, Spanish borrows words from other languages, especially English. For example, marketing, smartphone, and show are all words used in Spanish, even though there are homegrown equivalents. What’s best for your translations? Well, most language professionals will tell you that the Spanish words are best, but only if there are suitable Spanish equivalents! Sticking to just Spanish is hard to do, especially in tech, as many new concepts and innovations simply don’t have a Spanish word for them yet. Solution? Ask your translators to use the words that real people use on a regular basis. This becomes more important than ever if there’s SEO involved. Again, it’s worth mentioning that conventions vary immensely from one dialect to another. The level of acceptance of English words in Spanish is much greater in Mexican Spanish, for example, than in Spanish from Spain. 6. Avoid the default male gender Spanish is a gendered language which means that when you talk about an individual, you have to assign a gender. For example, “Ask your friend.” is gender neutral in English, but in Spanish, you have to specify if you’re talking about a male or female friend (amigo or amiga). This means that the translator has either got to make a choice or find a way around it to avoid specifying a gender — ie. rewording the text. Traditionally, the male gender is considered the default gender when it is unknown, but, just like in the rest of the word, things are changing culturally. Many people no longer find these gendered forms acceptable, and this is starting to make a mark in the way people speak and write too. What does this mean for you? Well, unless your audience is specifically male or female oriented, the safest bet is to ask your translators to keep language as gender neutral as possible. 7. Don’t be surprised by “¿” or “¡” There are many quirky phenomena in the Spanish language, but perhaps the most unique — and perplexing if you’ve never seen it — is the use of an upside down question mark at the beginning of every question and an upside down exclamation mark at the beginning of every exclamation (as well as the normal ending like in other languages — we’re not animals!). Unfortunately, too many translated texts exclude this vital punctuation, either because they haven’t been put there in the first place or someone unfamiliar with the language has removed them. Either way, they are there for a reason — and it doesn’t look very professional if they are missing! While we’re at it, a couple of other differences with English include using commas instead of points for decimal places and only capitalizing the first letter of the first word in titles. Now you know! 8. Minimize your pleases and thank yous If your English-to-Spanish translation comes back with only around 20% of your original pleases and thank yous, don’t think you’ve been swindled! Your translator isn’t being careless or taking creative liberties. In fact, it’s quite the opposite — it shows they’re doing their job. Because Spanish is typically less polite by default. Or let me put it this way, it does not need as many pleases and thank yous to denote politeness. If you leave them all in, you risk coming across as a bit patronizing or inauthentic at best. Your translators should already be taking these cultural differences into account, but it doesn’t hurt to remind them and explicitly give them permission to add or remove as much as necessary to make the text fit in the local context. 9. Beware of false friends No, we’re not talking about you reconsidering the company you keep (but feel free to do that on your own time!) If you don’t already know, false friends or falsos amigos are words that sound very similar in both languages, but that — against all logic — actually have very different meanings in each language. Let’s see an example: embarrassed in English is very similar to embarazado or embarazada in Spanish. The problem is that the Spanish word has nothing to do with feelings of shame or awkwardness and everything to do with being pregnant! Yep, you can imagine the number of funny, confusing, and downright embarrassing (so meta!) situations this has led to in the history of English-Spanish relations. Just imagine a native English man saying “I am embarazado”. Well, he definitely will be embarrassed after saying that! Other Spanish examples include sensible (means sensitive), actual (means current), bombero/a (means firefighter, not bomber!), and compromiso (means commitment). So what do you do about these traps the language gods have set up for you? Well, you just need to be aware that false friends are very common in Spanish. It’s your translator’s job to worry about these things, not yours, but it’s helpful for you to know that deceptively similar words can mean very different things in another language. 10. If in doubt, just ask! Okay, this last one applies to any language, but it’s really important! Remember that your Spanish translator is there to help you with any questions you might have. Something as simple as “Would this make sense in your country?” or “Is there a better way to get the message across?” can do wonders for the final Spanish text. Your translators are consultants as much as linguists, so just ask them what they think is best and trust their guidance. Since we’re talking about the importance of communication with your Spanish translators… if you’re working with them on the Smartcat platform, remember that you can ask them questions via the chat or leave instructions and comments within the text editor. ¡Buena suerte! So there you have it! Ten pointers to help you out in your English-to-Spanish translation ventures! What did you make of them? If you’re worried that you won’t remember every detail or wondering why the hell you, the client, should be worrying about these things instead of the actual professionals doing the work, here’s your out — you don’t have to remember everything and the translators should be taking this all into account! But if the problem is not knowing who to go to for your Spanish translations, then being aware of these issues and talking about them with potential suitors will be of great help in your search. We won’t sugarcoat it — expanding into new markets is not for the faint-hearted, especially when you consider the vast cultural differences around the world! But if you know what to look for in your translations and your translators, you’re off to a great start. Good luck expanding into Spanish-speaking markets and feel free to drop any questions in the comments. We’ll be happy to help!
你的生意蒸蒸日上,你已经准备好将你的业务拓展到世界了。你已经做了一些研究,数据显示一些人对讲西班牙语的市场很感兴趣。下一步?是时候适应并适当地在这些新兴市场推出你的产品了!这意味着把你的副本和内容翻译成西班牙语。那我们开始吧! 但是你从哪里开始呢?如何选择翻译?你如何确保你最终得到一份完美的西班牙语翻译呢?这里有10个小贴士,可以帮助你回答这些问题和你可能遇到的其他问题。 1.弄清楚你需要哪一种西班牙语方言 先看看你的研究数据,找出你最关注的西班牙语地区。如果你的潜在受众在几个不同的说西班牙语国家中足够多,那么你应该考虑为每种西班牙语方言找不同的翻译。 西班牙语是一种丰富多样的语言,在关注讲西班牙语的人时,不管是全世界的观众还是一个国家的特定市场,你都需要考虑到这一点。 目标始终是确保你不会疏远任何人——不管是使用某种人为的,国际化的西班牙语形式,还是使用来自于一种极为不同的西班牙语变体的本地表达方式。最好的方法是为每种方言选用不同的翻译。 2.选择称呼的形式——ussted还是tú? 下一步是确定你想让西班牙语听起来多么正式或非正式。在英语中,这很容易——你告诉你的作者你想要的是随意的还是略正式的,他们就会用符合上下文的语言来写文章。但在西班牙语里,这还不够。你必须为你的听众指定称呼的形式,因为在西班牙语中有两个词适合你——正式的ussted和非正式的tú. 为什么仅仅说你想要正式的或者非正式的还不够呢?嗯...音调并不总是黑白分明的——它们通常位于一个连续体上,并且可以被解释——这意味着它们并不总是与译者对“你”的选择相匹配。 解决办法?你从一开始就做出了选择。这是避免翻译中出现明显不一致的最好方法。只要问问任何一个西班牙语翻译,他们见过多少次拷贝西班牙语网站时从usted切换到Tú。然后告诉他们这给读者留下了多坏的印象! 但是,如果你不知道西班牙语的工作原理,你怎么能决定什么是最好的呢?好吧,既然你知道了做出选择是多么重要,那就和你的西班牙语翻译谈谈吧——潜在的或现任的——问问他们,对于每种方言和其目的什么是最好的选择。然后坚持下去。 3.注重本地化 这就把我们带到了第三点:关注西班牙语在每一种文化背景下的特殊性。 不要害怕去要求你的翻译员修改你的信息内容,使其适合当地环境。例如,如果你的英文原文碰巧是一个父母带孩子去看棒球赛的故事,那这在古巴,多米尼加共和国或墨西哥这样的西班牙语国家(棒球是一项全国性运动)可能很好用,但在西班牙,人们就不会这么想了。在这种情况下,也许值得将故事改编成一种完全不同的运动来创造同样的效果。鼓励你的翻译这样做。他们会感激你对他们的信任,并为此做出更好的工作!(如果你想知道,soccer/football将是西班牙人的必经之路!) 你在本地化过程中获得的创造性越多,你就越接近于跨创作。跨创作是一种翻译形式,它可以包括重写整个部分或完全改变内容,以此在一个极为不同的市场中创造相同的效果。 4.为西班牙语的语篇长做好准备 由于西班牙语语言的性质和句子的构造方式,西班牙语文本通常比英语源文本长。 如果你使用网站,软件,或应用程序,你会想要密切关注这一点。UI,字符串和网站中的文本通常受到空间限制的约束,因此越早考虑到这一点,就越好(最好是在开发阶段),以避免文本过多或丢失等问题。 翻译人员有时可以通过使用缩写或英语术语来解决这些问题,但请记住,将您的产品翻译成西班牙语的目的是为您的西班牙语客户提供尽可能优质的用户体验。因此,请记住间距问题,以便让您的翻译人员有最好的机会使西班牙语用户对您的工作满意。 5.在合理范围内使用英语术语的西班牙语对应词 说到在西班牙语中使用英语术语…就像大多数语言一样,西班牙语借用了其他语言的词汇,尤其是英语。例如,marketing,smartphone和show都是西班牙语中使用的词,尽管在国内也有相对应的词。什么对你的翻译是最好的?嗯...大多数语言专业人士会告诉你,西班牙语单词最好,但前提是有合适的西班牙语对等词! 坚持只说西班牙语是很难做到的,尤其是在科技领域,因为许多新概念和创新还没有西班牙语词汇。解决方案?要求你的翻译使用一般人经常使用的词汇。如果涉及到SEO,这就变得比以往任何时候都重要。 同样值得一提的是,不同方言之间的差异很大。例如,墨西哥的西班牙语对英语单词的接受程度要比来自西班牙的西班牙语高得多。 6.避免默认的男性性别 西班牙语是一种性别语言,这意味着当你谈论一个人时,你必须指定一个性别。例如,“ask your friend.”在英语中是中性的,但在西班牙语中,你必须指定你说的是男性朋友还是女性朋友(amigo或amiga)。 这意味着译者要么要做出选择,要么想办法绕过它,避免指定性别——改写案文。 传统上,男性被认为是默认的性别时,它是未知的,但是,就像在这个词的其余部分,事情在文化领域发生变化。许多人不再认为这些性别化的形式是可以接受的,这也开始在人们的说话和写作方式上留下印记。 这对你意味着什么?好吧,除非你的听众是特别以男性或女性为导向的,否则最安全的赌注就是要求你的翻译尽量保持语言的性别中立。 7.不要对“¿”或“?”感到惊讶 西班牙语中有很多奇怪的现象,但最独特的——如果你没见过的话,可能会让你感到困惑——是在每个疑问句的开头使用一个颠倒的问号,在每个感叹句的开头使用一个颠倒的感叹号(还有其他语言中正常的结尾——我们不是动物!)。 不幸的是,太多的翻译文本将这个至关重要的标点符号排除在外,要么是因为这些标点符号一开始就没有放在那里,要么是不熟悉语言的人把它们去掉了。不管是哪种方式,它们都是有原因的——而且如果它们不见了,看起来也不是很专业! 在此过程中,英语使用中还有一些不同之处,包括小数点使用逗号而不是点,标题中第一个单词的第一个字母只大写。现在你知道了! 8.尽量减少你的快乐并感谢你 如果你的英语翻译成西班牙语的译文只得到了你原文的20%左右的满意和感谢,不要以为你上当了!你的翻译不是粗心大意,也不是在自由创作。事实上,恰恰相反——这表明他们在做自己的工作。因为西班牙语在默认情况下通常不那么礼貌。或者让我这样说,它不需要那么多的愉悦和感谢你来表示礼貌。如果你把他们都包括其中,你就有可能给人留下一种傲慢的印象,或者充其量是一种不真实的印象。 你的译者应该已经考虑到了这些文化差异,但也无妨提醒他们并明确地给予他们增加或删除必要内容的许可,以使文本切合当地的上下文。 9.谨防假朋友 不,我们不是在说你要重新考虑你的同伴(但是你可以在你自己的时间做这件事!)如果你还不知道,false friends或falsos amigos这些词在两种语言中听起来都很相似,但实际上,与所有逻辑相反,它们在两种语言中的含义却大相径庭。 我们来看一个例子:英语中的尴尬与西班牙语中的embarazado或embarazada非常相似。问题是,这个西班牙语单词与羞愧或尴尬的感觉无关,而与怀孕有关!是的,你可以想象有多少有趣的,迷惑的,和在英西关系史上导致彻底的尴尬(so Meta!)的情况。想象一下一个土生土长的英国人说“我是Embarazado”。嗯,他说完肯定会很尴尬的! 其他的西班牙语例子包括sensible(表示敏感),actual(表示当前),bombero/a(表示消防员,而不是轰炸机!)和commorposo(表示承诺)。 那么对于语言之神给你设置的这些陷阱,你怎么办呢?好吧,你只需要知道假朋友在西班牙语中很常见。担心这些事情是你的译者的工作,而不是你的,但是知道具有欺骗性相似的单词在另一种语言中可能意味着非常不同的东西的这个事实对你是有帮助的。 10.如果有疑问,直接问! 好吧,最后一条适用于任何语言,但它真的很重要!请记住,您的西班牙语翻译会帮助您解决您可能有的任何问题。像“这在你的国家有意义吗?”或者“有没有更好的方法来传达这个信息?”这样简单的问题就能为最终的西班牙文本创造奇迹。你的翻译既是语言学家,也是顾问,所以只要问问他们认为什么是最好的,并相信他们的指导。 既然我们在讨论与西班牙语翻译沟通的重要性……如果你在Smartcat平台上与他们合作,请记住你可以通过聊天向他们提问,或者在文本编辑器中留下说明和评论。 “Buena Suerte! 你明白了吗!上述十条建议可以帮助你在英语到西班牙语的翻译冒险中走出困境!你怎么看待这些方法? 如果你担心你不会记住每一个细节,或者想知道为什么你,客户,应该担心这些事情,而不是真正的专业人员在做工作,这是你的出路——你不必记住所有的事情,而译者应该考虑到这一切! 但如果问题是不知道去找谁去找你的西班牙语翻译,那么意识到这些问题并与潜在的应聘者谈论它们将对你的寻找有很大的帮助。 我们不会美化它——拓展新的市场不适合胆小的人,特别是当你考虑到世界各地巨大的文化差异的时候!但是如果你知道在你的翻译和你的译者中寻找什么,你就有了一个很好的开始。 祝你在西班牙语市场的拓展顺利,欢迎在评论中提出任何问题。我们很乐意帮忙!

以上中文文本为机器翻译,存在不同程度偏差和错误,请理解并参考英文原文阅读。

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