Common Website Translation Mistakes To Avoid

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Translating your website will be your key to withhold your ground in the global market. The only problem is that the journey is fraught with potential hazards. There are missteps around every corner, and if you slip up, your brand will suffer for it, reputation-wise and financially.

How can you get your website to reach out to a global audience, speaking different languages,  more effectively and naturally? While we would advise you to hire an official Spanish translator like The Spanish Group, if you are still planning to do it yourself with an in-house team, it’s critical to avoid certain common mistakes such as:

1. Don’t Translate Idioms Literally

Idioms are expressions that have implications beyond the literal meanings of their individual components. For instance, you might say that you feel “under the weather” when you’re sick, but that doesn’t mean you’ve taken a sudden interest in meteorology.

Idiomatic expressions tend to arise from common usage, so they’re packed with cultural nuances that aren’t necessarily logical from an outside perspective. If you do a word-by-word translation into another language, the chances are good that you’ll end up with gobbledygook.

Although the language you’re targeting might have idioms that mean the same thing as what you were trying to say, you’ll need firsthand communication and translation experience to identify the correct phrasing. Working with a native speaker also makes it easier to tell whether the expression is appropriately formal for the tone you want to set.

It should be noted that this rule also applies to sales slogans. Many such taglines already stretch the bounds of formality and proper grammar in their original languages. Translating this marketing language word-for-word won’t do much to enhance your company’s professional reputation.

2. Never Assume That Something’s Right — or Even Understandable — Just Because It Sounds Close

Languages like English and Spanish are full of words known as false friends, or falsos amigos. These terms sound similar and may look like they’re cut from the same cloth, but they carry entirely different meanings.

Mistaking a false friend for the right word can make you sound unprofessional or downright nonsensical. For instance, the English word “actually” commonly gets confused with the Spanish phrase due to their similar beginnings, but actualmente means “currently.” Many of these mistakes can get you into real trouble, such as the classic example of using the Spanish word excitada, which means “aroused,” when you wanted to express that you were excited about a proposed business deal.

3. Don’t Rely on Casual Translators

Business owners and webmasters love saving money, but skimping on translation quality might cost you more down the line. Depending on who’s viewing your website, what kind of data you keep, and where your audiences live, you might have to jump through specific hoops to satisfy relevant laws, such as the EU’s GDPR privacy regulations. In many cases, this means using clear, legally valid language to tell your digital visitors what their rights are and how you’re managing their data.

There’s nothing wrong with asking a relative or gifted pal for their opinions on your new bilingual site. They shouldn’t, however, be your only source of translation expertise. Working with an official Spanish translator is the best way to keep your business on the soundest possible legal footing.

4. Don’t Translate in Pieces

Translation works best when it happens in an organized fashion. Find a translator service that can tackle your entire website economically to maintain a more consistent, fluent marketing voice.

Translating bits and pieces of your online presence here and there might seem like an excellent cost-saving measure, but it ultimately leads to a disjointed digital product. If you’re trying to sell products or win the hearts of fans, then it’s smarter to put up a unified front.

What about blogs? This form of marketing material typically gets published on a gradual timetable, but that doesn’t mean you should delay your translation projects to match. Translating your complete content back-catalogue is a wise move if you want to control how people receive your messaging. By letting your professional translators work through the project in one go, you’ll make it easier for them to produce results that stay on target for your brand.

Want to learn more about engaging audiences across language barriers? Get the ball rolling by talking to an internationally recognized translation expert from The Spanish Group today.