Spanish is the native language for approximately 340 million
people in the world and one of the five most commonly spoken languages.
Spanish-speaking Latin American nations are one of the emergent powers of the
future with large-scale imports and exports to many nations. It will continue
to gain importance as Latin American economies grow. Again, Spanish is a
leading language in tourism, art, literature and business. Spain and Mexico are two of the most visited
countries in the world. From this, you can imagine the number of tourist
guides, websites, hotel brochures and other documents needs to be translated
into Spanish.
Spanish is often the first choice for companies that are
expanding their marketing to foreign language speakers. Translation is an
effective way to reach millions of people. The Spanish-speaking population is
one of the fastest growing segments in the world, especially in the United States.
The Spanish- speaking segment constitutes a huge community that shares products,
services, culture offering businesses and institutions a truly unique growth
opportunity. This is especially in United States, where the Hispanic
population has recently become the largest minority in the country.
Spanish translation can be from Spanish to Spanish or from
any foreign languages to Spanish. The Spanish language spread widely everywhere
and today people speak Spanish in Europe, Asia, North and South
America. Naturally, these regions developed their own variations
and that’s why the Spanish spoken in Miami is
different from that of Spain.
These distinctions explain why you have to work with different translators in
different parts of the world to provide correct nuance of language.
The purest form of Spanish is called Castilian, the original
dialect. Spanish vocabulary is basically
of Latin origin, though like British and American English, there are
differences in vocabulary in different parts of Spain. There are numerous
particularities and idiomatic expressions with Spanish or Castilian. In
Spanish, there are question and exclamation marks, which appears right at the
beginning or in the middle of a sentence. Capitalization occurs only at the
beginning of the sentence and for proper nouns, not for days, months, years,
languages etc. This written form of dialect is standard for broadcast, media
and print.
Most of English
speaking countries are Spain’s
important business partners. Therefore, the English Spanish translation is a
necessity for companies trading with Spain. A large number of English
documents required to be translated in Spanish, as Latin American countries are
becoming commercial business partners worldwide.
A variety of documents needs to be translated into Spanish in
different industries like-
1. Advertising and marketing
2. Automotive
3. E business
4. E-learning
5. Finance
6. Legal
7. Media and entertainment
8. Travel and Tourism
Translation tips
1. Don’t simply interpret the word, ‘feel’ the intention for
whom you are translating.
2. Use correct spelling, grammar and punctuation for the
highest quality translations.
3. After translated, proofread the document by an expert
before sending.
4. Translators should be a native to that place only, so
that they can do a proper justice while translating.
For this, you can take help from an online dictionary or a
translating machine. Online Spanish dictionary provides thorough and current
definitions, new vocabulary and word borrowings from other languages much like
translating machines.
The rate of translation into Spanish varies according to the
nuance of language you wish. That means if a translator has to perform a lot of
research, translation will take more time and naturally, more rate.
Difference between
Translation and transcription
Translation is the action of interpretation of the meaning
of a text and subsequent production of an equivalent text that communicates the
same message in another language. Spanish translation involves listening to an
audio or video tape in Spanish language and producing an English translation or
vice versa.
Transcription, on the other hand, is the conversion of a
spoken source into written or printed format in the same language. The Spanish
transcription is generally done by a Spanish person, while translation by an
English speaker translating into English.
Spanish translation is more than just putting words into
another language; it requires an understanding of the information being
translated, so that the spirit, meaning, tone and style of the communication
are preserved, While Spanish transcription requires a good listening skill,
understanding of the subject matter and ability to write the same information
in the same language.
To perform Spanish transcription and translation, one has to
listen and write down the content in the language in which it is presented.
Then translate it to the target language required.
Spanish translations of official documents, such as driver’s
licenses, birth/death certificates and school or university transcripts for
submission to govt. offices require certification. That means the translator
must be certified by the certifying body of the province in which the document
will be submitted. Translation should ensure localization, clarity and overall
cohesion of message for the target audience.
Whether you need to transcribe interviews, focus groups,
depositions or conferences, the goal is the same-conversion of audio into text
format.
Online dictionaries are now available to translate English
words into Spanish languages and vice versa. In English to Spanish translation,
machine translation can help certainly with specific words and some phrases in
the same way as an online dictionary, but it is not yet powerful enough to cope
with all kinds of translation. A computer cannot think the way a human editor
can do; the ‘feel’ will not be there.