Computer translators like Google Translate or Babelfish are often viewed as quick and cheap sources for translating material. However, for those who have used these methods, the end product is less than reliable-it’s usually peppered with errors.

When these mistakes become public, embarrassment typically follows. An American airline slogan “Fly Leather” was translated as “Fly Naked” in Latin America and Pepsi’s marketing slogan for China, “Come Alive with Pepsi” was translated as “Pepsi brings your ancestors back to life.”

These kinds of glaring mistakes are embarrassing for the businesses involved, but they are the very types of mistakes that a professional translation agency wouldn’t let slip through the cracks. In medical translations such mistakes could be deadly. ASIST Translation Services in Columbus, Ohio, only employs native speakers who are aware of these pitfalls and know how to avoid them.

For a free estimate for translation or other language-related needs, visit http://www.ASISTtranslations.com and click on the “Free Quote” button.

Translate narrations and onscreen text to any language

Proofread onscreen text after placement

Foreign-language voiceovers

• Provide voice talent
• In-studio auditor ensures accuracy and inflection in voice performances
• Record voiceovers in our digital (Pro Tools-based) studio
• Edit narrations and dialog to match picture in video files
• Cultural consultation regarding language variety and spoken accent

Collaborate in the planning of media projects that will be optimized for globalization

• Optimization and disambiguation for translation purposes
• Cultural perspectives on content
• Problem solving for language-support issues in the intended authoring and design software

Page layout, formatting in any language, including double-byte and right-to-left

ASIST routinely provides voice-over recordings for e-learning and computer-based training (Flash, Captivate, Breeze, PowerPoint, etc.). These narrations can be delivered as WAV, MP3 or any other audio file format that clients require. For many of these interactive applications, we often deliver separate audio files for each segment. That way, the interactive authors can easily align each scene, adjusting timing of graphics as necessary for the larger word counts in most translations.

We can also dub videos to many different languages. For clients with in-house video editing capability, the ideal method is for them to export a digital video file (QuickTime format is ideal, although we can convert almost any video file format). We use that video file as the onscreen reference while recording foreign language voice talent, and then edit the translated narrations and dialogs in Pro Tools. In that scenario, we return a WAV file to the client, that is already conformed to the video project. All they have to do is drop this translated narration at 0:00 in the video timeline—everything will line up through the end.

• In order to avoid a rushed pace in dubbed video, it helps to leave some extra padding between paragraphs and scenes in your original English version. With enough editing and/or time compression, we can make anything fit, but it may sound rushed if the translation must accurately reflect all nuances of the original English content. (In fact, creating a “looser” version of the original English program for dubbing purposes is one of the strategies that globalization-savvy content producers will incorporate into their project plan.)

Alternatively, clients can provide us videotape in any format. We then return dubbed versions via videotape, video files or DVD, as required. Of course, for computer-based training, dubbing video files to other languages for online delivery is a routine activity.

ASIST also provides translation and localization for all types of Web content. We have translated large sites to 11 or more languages, including Russian, Chinese, Arabic, Japanese and various other languages that don’t use Latin characters. Proofreading before the client goes live with the formatted content is one of the crucial services that ASIST provides—even in languages using Latin character sets, longer string length, line break issues and diacritical marks can be problematic if not reviewed by a qualified linguist.

ASIST Translation Services, Inc. is a full-service translation agency located in Columbus, Ohio. We provide translation, interpreting, proofreading, page layout, studio voice recording and media production, localization of interactive and Web content, and specialized language services to clients around the world.

www.ASISTtranslations.com

MYTH: Spanish spoken in the United States is “Spanglish.” It includes many English words and incorrect Spanish grammar.

FACT: This observation is true in relation to some of the colloquial or “street” Spanish one might hear in the United States, but it would never apply to a professional English-to-Spanish translation. Educated Spanish speakers surrounded by an English-speaking culture do indeed incorporate a higher proportion of loan words. In Spanish-speaking cultures around the world, borrowing words from other languages is more readily accepted when an exact (and brief!) equivalent doesn’t exist in Spanish. Even when translating to Spanish for other countries, it is not uncommon for our translators to include an original English term in parentheses if they are concerned that the Spanish version might otherwise be unfamiliar or ambiguous.

Despite all this, when ASIST creates formal Spanish translations for use in the United States, all conventional rules of Spanish grammar and punctuation apply and English words would never be gratuitously included in Spanish text. When “US Spanish” is designated as the target language variety, this in no way implies indiscriminate use of anglicisms, non-standard grammar or slang vocabulary that combines English and Spanish.

Among US Hispanics, in many cases their Spanish-language education may be interrupted or incomplete. This accounts for much of the “Spanglish” that Spanish speakers outside the United States always find so remarkable. Our professional Spanish translators are well aware of these issues, and work with ASIST clients to identify the appropriate educational level for the target audience.

MYTH: English-to-Spanish translations for the United States can be Mexican Spanish, because they represent the majority.

FACT: According to the US Census Bureau (2007 American Community Survey), only about 64% of the Hispanics across the United States (including many who speak little or no Spanish) identify themselves as being of Mexican origin. So, if you produce a translation that is specifically Mexican, without verifying its usability for other Hispanic groups, this potentially alienates over a third of your target audience!

These percentages vary widely from one US city to another. For example, census bureau data (ACS 2003) about Hispanic populations in metropolitan areas (without taking into account their native language, or Hispanic residents in their surrounding counties) tells us that:

• In the city of San Francisco, less than half of Hispanics are of Mexican origin.
• Within the city of Cleveland, 82% of Hispanics are of Puerto Rican origin.
• In Philadelphia, 76% of Hispanics are of Puerto Rican origin.
• Less than 5% of Hispanics in Boston are of Mexican origin (Puerto Ricans, at 27%, represent the largest Hispanic group in that city.)
• Within the city of Columbus, Ohio, 59% of Hispanics are of Mexican origin.
• In New York City, only 8% of Hispanics are of Mexican origin. (Over 30% of Hispanics in that city are of Puerto Rican origin, and slightly over 2% stated Cuban origin.)
• However, there are many cities with large Mexican majorities among their Hispanic residents. For example, about 67% of Hispanic residents in Atlanta are of Mexican origin, 73% in Chicago, 76% in Denver, 81% in Las Vegas, 89% in Dallas, 90% in San Diego.

MYTH: Spanish is Spanish. There is only one correct version. The principal Spanish dictionary is that of the Real Academia Española; therefore, the Spanish spoken in Spain is also appropriate for all other Spanish speakers in the United States and Latin America.

FACT: Many varieties of Spanish exist around the world. The formal written and spoken versions used in various countries or regions are equally legitimate. Just as with English, the fact that a language may have originated in a one country, or has a greater number of speakers in another, doesn’t make any given variety “better” than others. Certain vocabulary and grammar used in Spain can be unfamiliar for many American speakers, and in spoken Spanish the accents from regions within Spain can be hard to follow. Each translation must be tuned for the target audience, and when there are significant differences, the knowledge and creativity of the translation team will address this issue.

MYTH: “Neutral” Spanish translations will be equally comprehensible to Spanish speakers from anywhere in the world.

FACT: There is no such thing as “neutral” Spanish! Well-known grammatical differences include the use of vosotros the second-person plural form of address in Spain, and the use of vos to mean “you” in many South American countries. (In some countries, vos is less formal than the tú form, and in others, it is more formal.)

Even more problematic, however, are the thousands of minor differences in vocabulary and usage from one country to another. Words used for even commonplace objects—especially, clothing, food, plants and household items—can vary widely. Experienced, professional  translators have interacted with many Spanish-speaking cultures, and are aware of these differences. This informs their decisions about which terms to use, and whether alternate terms need to be provided in order to produce the most inclusive translation possible. (Indeed, there are occasions when two separate translations are required.)

MYTH: If the Spanish translation is for Florida, it should be Cuban Spanish.

FACT: Even in Miami, census data (ACS 2003) tells us that only about 54% of the Hispanic population in that city is of Cuban origin. In Orlando, a mere 5% of Hispanics state Cuban origin, in Tampa about 35%, and about 13% in Jacksonville. It is interesting to note, however, that half of our nation’s Cuban-Americans reside within Miami-Dade County.

MYTH: In Spain they speak “Castilian,” and in the rest of the world they speak “Spanish” (español).

FACT: Another article in this blog explains how Castilian, Spanish, castellano and  español are all synonyms for the same language. To avoid confusion, the language spoken in Spain can be referred to as Peninsular Spanish or European Spanish. (Occasionally, Spanish speakers in the Americas use the word castellano to mean “good” Spanish; i.e., not regional or slang. But that is a colloquial expression, not a linguistically accurate description.)

MYTH: Because the metric system is used in Spanish-speaking cultures, all measurements should be converted to metric units.

FACT: Spanish speakers in the United States are immersed in a culture where “English” measurements are the norm. Accordingly in US Spanish translations, these units appear first—commonly followed by the metric conversion in parentheses). When ASIST creates Spanish translations for use in other countries, the order of measurement units is usually the opposite, because elsewhere in the world, the metric system is the norm. Exception to this rule are made when approximate metric conversions would be misleading or cause problems; for example, plumbing fittings or wrench sizes.

While we are on the subject of numbers, it should also be noted that, in Spanish, the use of commas and points to separate thousands and decimals is opposite from English. That is, they would write 1.000,01 instead of 1,000.01 as in English. This is the norm in the Spanish-speaking world, except in Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico… and the United States.

ASIST Translation Services, Inc. is a full-service interpreting and translation agency located in Columbus, Ohio. We provide translation, interpreting, proofreading, studio voice recording and media production, localization of interactive and Web content, and specialized language services to clients around the world.

www.ASISTtranslations.com

1. Most of the time, reviewers are not professional linguists, and are not familiar with the laborious review and double-checking the translation process requires. It is important to emphasize that personal “style preferences” must be avoided. Even the smallest change suggestions typically require review by 2-3 people on the translation side alone—hardly a good investment, if the translated text wasn’t “wrong” in the first place.
2. Instruct your reviewers that they must resist the temptation to add anything to the translated text that isn’t in the English original—this is a cardinal rule for our own translators, editors and proofreaders at ASIST. Any omissions or ambiguities in the English should be corrected at the source and addressed in all languages where appropriate. This is crucial for multi-language projects. Otherwise, as your company’s in-house coordinator, it quickly becomes unwieldy to manage documents, and each translation could stray from the English meaning in its own way.
3. It is very helpful if reviewers provide you an explanation in English (as a Comment in the translated MS Word file) for every suggested change—indicating exactly what each revision means and why it’s necessary. As you can imagine, this requirement for explanatory comments in English reduces the number of non-essential changes you will receive! Most importantly, being in the loop on how the content is being altered gives you the chance to manage the process before returning suggestions for review, comment and approval by ASIST linguists. Indeed, some comments may suggest improvement that should be made to the English original (and then updated in the other languages).
4. Timing is important. In-house reviews of a translation should be completed in the source Microsoft Word document before page layout, audio recording and so on are done. This is not only more efficient and reduces extra work, but also improves change tracking and consistency in the translation memories that ASIST maintains for your projects.

ASIST Translation Services, Inc. is a full-service translation agency located in Columbus, Ohio. We provide translation, interpreting, proofreading, studio voice recording and media production, localization of interactive and Web content, and specialized language services to clients around the world…

www.ASISTtranslations.com

This article highlights a few of the most common mistakes we see at ASIST Translations, when page-layout experts are unfamiliar with handling translated text.

Title Case
Title case (initial capitals on individual words) is customary in English for section headings, titles of articles, programs, etc. However, this doesn’t necessarily apply to other languages—Spanish, Portuguese and Italian, for example,  where sentence case is the norm. Even if the English original is in title case, don’t “fix” individual word caps in the translated version without consulting a professional linguist.

Punctuation
English conventions for punctuation don’t apply to other languages. Here are some common misunderstandings.

• Bullet lists. Punctuation in bullet lists can be fairly fluid in English. However, in many languages the conventions are different and a more structured approach is obligatory. For example, in Romance languages, one bullet list may have semi-colons after each item and a period on the last item—because each of these is treated as an alternate ending to a partial sentence that precedes the bullet list. Conversely, a different bullet list in the same document may have no final punctuation each list item, because they are fragments that aren’t grammatically linked to the surrounding text. In either case, they may differ from the format of the original English bullet list. Use the text provided by the translators, and if in doubt about differences from the English original, consult a professional linguist!
• Spacing. In French, colons (and usually semi-colons) are separated from the preceding words by a space (ideally, a non-breaking space, in word processing or layout programs). We frequently see French text get “fixed” during layout because this extra space looks like an error to English speakers.
• Numbers. The English use of commas and points to separate thousands and decimals in numbers is exactly the opposite of many languages. Most (but not all) European languages other than English use a point to separate thousands, millions, etc., and a comma as the decimal separator. (Note that Spanish text for Mexico, the USA, Puerto Rico and Panama is an exception to this rule.) That being said, the International System of Units (SI) standard also encourages using spaces (technically, thin spaces, 1/5 of an em wide) as the thousands separator, in order to avoid confusion.
• Quotation Marks. Style guides for the American English recommend placing quotation marks outside commas and periods. But that often doesn’t apply to other languages—don’t try to “fix” anything before consulting a linguist! Of course, languages like German or French also use completely different symbols for quotation marks—the well-known “chevron” style guillemet symbols in French, for example. (By the way, it is also best if the spaces inside French guillemets are non-breaking spaces.) Even so, for contemporary text in many of these languages it is also common to use the more international quotation marks, although dialog in works of fiction is a frequent exception.

Symbols
Some common typographical symbols in English are not acceptable in many other languages. When these form part of an artwork file, some redesign may be required. For example, the number sign (#) is not often used in other languages, and frequently gets substituted by an abbreviation for the word “number.” The ampersand is very uncommon in other languages, and gets replaced with their word for “and.” The “at sign” (@) does not automatically suggest an abbreviation for the word “at” in most languages, and its use is mostly limited to e-mail addresses.

Hyphenation and Line Breaks
If the page-layout program doesn’t have a hyphenation table for your target language, the post-layout proofreading process will be more cumbersome. If this feature is available, always make sure that the program you’re using properly indicates the language being formatted. As a general rule, it’s useful to know that Romance languages favor hyphenating prior to the initial consonant of the next syllable, for example. However, in languages like Chinese, where the words themselves are not separated by spaces, only a Chinese linguist can ensure that the line breaks in your final layout don’t create anything “funny” sounding.

One last note of caution: never retype translated text, no matter how brief! Cut and paste directly from the source translation document; you will avoid a lot of problems.
Another article in this blog provides more general tips for foreign-language layouts. Planning ahead for translated content always makes the process smoother.

ASIST Translation Services, Inc. is a full-service interpreting and translation agency located in Columbus, Ohio. We provide technical translation, interpreting, proofreading, studio voice recording and media production, localization of interactive and Web content, and specialized language services to clients around the world.

www.ASISTtranslations.com

Translations often have larger word counts; as much as 25% more in Romance languages, for example. Plan ahead by leaving more space around your onscreen text. If you already crowding the available space in your English original, the problem can get much worse in the translated version.

1. Increased word counts can cause you even more headaches in narrations. Suppose your original English voice-over is cruising along at 120 words per minute, with no big breaths or pauses between sentences or paragraphs. For the equivalent translated voice-over with 25% more words, the narrator has to sustain 150 words per minute. For many situations, this is simply too fast for the message you need to transmit—and will inevitably feel rushed to the listener. If you leave a little bit of extra time around each bullet point or paragraph in your original English narration (perhaps even creating a special edit of the video, specifically for dubbing purposes), you and your audience will be much happier with the translated results.
2. Some languages, like Chinese, Hindi, Farsi and Arabic, use more complex characters than the Latin alphabet used in English. Consequently, the equivalent text in your onscreen titles often needs to be slightly larger in order to maintain legibility. For example, many Chinese characters have very fine strokes that can flicker or “sing” when displayed at a small size on a video screen. Be sure to check with your translation agency about which character sets for those languages are most “video-friendly.”
3. If you build graphics or titles in other programs (Adobe AfterEffects or Live Type, for example) that include text, make sure the source script documents you submit for translation include all this text, clearly tagged as a graphic.
4. Even for languages that use the Latin character set, some fonts don’t support the required diacritical marks (accents, etc.). Obviously, this issue is more frequent with specialty fonts, and in languages such as Hungarian, Czech, and so on. Sometimes the errors are obvious, but in other instances it’s more confusing, because characters actually get switched to something else! For this reason (and many others, such as odd line breaks) always have your final video text proofread by your translation agency before releasing it.

ASIST Translation Services, Inc. is a full-service translation agency located in Columbus, Ohio. We provide translation, interpreting, proofreading, voice recording and media production, localization of interactive and Web content, and specialized language services to clients around the world.

www.ASISTtranslations.com

Obviously, when the destination is a single Spanish-speaking country, making voice talent selections with appropriate accents is simpler. However, when a voice recording must be used in multiple countries, ASIST will help you select voices and accents that will be most acceptable to the greatest number of listeners. Accordingly, our discussions will include questions about destination countries, and which of them represent the largest proportion of the audience.

For Spanish-speaking audiences within the United States, the issue of accents is more complex—as is the selection of target Spanish dialects during the translation process itself. Specific geographical areas may have very high concentrations of a particular Spanish variety—Mexican speakers in parts of the southwestern US, or Cubans in Miami, for example. Another article in this blog presents current facts about the Spanish-speaking population in the USA. More than half of this country’s Spanish speakers do cite Mexican origin; but that still leaves a huge number of people who speak other Spanish varieties. People from other countries may not understand some vocabulary that is specific to Mexican Spanish . Often, ASIST will suggest providing multiple terms for certain items, to ensure that your “US Spanish” is as inclusive as possible; however making this flow smoothly in spoken Spanish is an art in itself. In short, you want your recorded Spanish narrations to sound “good” to the largest number of people, and to be understandable by everyone, no matter what variety of Spanish they speak.

ASIST Translation Services, Inc. is a full-service translation agency located in Columbus, Ohio. We provide translation, interpreting, proofreading, voice recording and media production, localization of interactive and Web content, and specialized language services to clients around the world.

www.ASISTtranslations.com

Many countries in the Americas enjoy rich linguistic diversity (as does Spain), and not everyone there speaks Spanish as their first language. Additionally, in Brazil and the United States, significant portions of the population speak Spanish as a second language.

It is also interesting to note that, even though the number of first-language Spanish speakers in the United States is relatively small when considered as a percentage of the population (12%), this country still represents the third-largest native-speaking Spanish population in the world.

For example, compare these “top ten” lists:

Spanish Speakers (1^st or 2^nd language) *

1.      Mexico                                         107 million

2.      United States                                50 million

3.      Spain                                           46 million

4.      Colombia                                       45 million

5.      Argentina                                      40 million

6.      Venezuela                                     28 million

7.      Peru                                             25 million

8.      Chile                                            17 million

9.      Ecuador                                        14 million

10.    Brazil                                            12 million

Spanish Speakers (“mother tongue” only) *

1.      Mexico                                           100 million

2.      Colombia                                         45 million

3.      United States                                   43 million

4.      Spain                                              42 million

5.      Argentina                                         39 million

6.      Venezuela                                        28 million

7.      Peru                                                23 million

8.      Chile                                               15 million

9.      Ecuador                                           13 million

10.    Cuba                                                11 million

*   Source: 2009 study “The Economic Value of Spanish” funded by the United Nations and the International Telecommunications Union, based on population data from 2004-2005. Figures rounded to the nearest million. 2004-2005 data estimated 400 million first-language Spanish speakers, plus perhaps 25 million non-native speakers. However, the same study’s projections for 2009-2010 estimate approximately 500 million “Spanish speakers” in total.

ASIST Translation Services, Inc. is a full-service translation agency located in Columbus, Ohio. We provide translation, interpreting, proofreading, voice recording and media production, localization of interactive and Web content, and specialized language services to clients around the world.

www.ASISTtranslations.com

Here, we recap a few points that are of great interest for anyone involved with Spanish translations for the United States.

• 52% of foreign-born Hispanics speak only Spanish at home.
• Only 23% of Latino immigrants say they can carry on a conversation in English very well. However, for their adult sons and daughters, this figure rises to 88%.
• Only 7% of foreign-born Latinos report that they speak English mostly or exclusively at home. In contrast, 48% of their adult sons and daughters speak mainly (or only) English with their own families.
• English proficiency also correlates with educational level. 54% of newly-arrived adult Latino immigrants with college degrees speak English “very well,” compared with 34% for those with high school diplomas. Among foreign-born Hispanics without high school diplomas, only 11% say they speak English “very well.”
• Ability of immigrants to speak English also varies according to country of origin. 52% of Puerto Rican immigrants say they speak English “very well,”, compared to 39% of South Americans, 31% of Cubans, and only 16% of Mexican immigrants.
• 71% of Mexican immigrants say they speak little or no English, as do 64% of immigrants from the Dominican Republic, 62% from Central America, 57% from Cuba, 44% from South America and 35% from Puerto Rico.

ASIST Translation Services, Inc. is a full-service translation agency located in Columbus, Ohio. We provide translation, interpreting, proofreading, voice recording and media production, localization of interactive and Web content, and specialized language services to clients around the world.

www.ASISTtranslations.com