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Cultural Adaptation: English Loanwords in Your Marketing Translation

If you’ve worked with marketing or advertising material, you know how subjective the subject matter can be and how much it relies on a certain tone and nuance to convey your message effectively. What happens when that highly specialized material gets translated? Why is it that sometimes certain English words or phrases are still present in the translated version? Don’t be alarmed. Sometimes the best translation of a word or phrase is no translation. This article will give you an overview some of those circumstances and situations where such words and phrases might be beneficial to the translation and actually convey your message more clearly.

We all know how important the target audience is in the writing of marketing materials. If your product, say, an MP3-player, is geared toward a younger demographic, you might use informal language, slang and current pop culture references in order to make the product relevant and enticing to your market. When translating that material into another language, translation teams consider the use of idiomatic expressions, slang and technical terms in the material. In some cases, these types of words or terms are best left in English instead of being translated into the target language to accurately communicate the nuance of the message. These “loanwords” might best transfer the actual meaning you’re trying to convey.

Loanwords, that is, words from one language that also are used in another, appear all the time. For example, a couple of German loanwords that we use in English are “blitz” and “Kindergarten”. Conversely, English is popping-up in other languages all over the world. There are even campaigns by some governments and official organizations to preserve the language and culture in order to keep each language separate and English words out. For example, the Associated Press reports that, in Iran, the President famously ordered that people stop using the word “pizzas” and begin using a modified Persian phrase which literally translates as “elastic loaves”. ‘Could be a little chewy, but that’s reality.

However, loanwords from English are hard to keep out of languages. Sometimes a loanword introduces some “new thing” or concept to the culture of the adopting language. The word and the new thing are simultaneously introduced before a word in the native language can be created. Another example has to do with technical terms in English which are imported by way of technical documentation and U.S.-made software applications. The influence is seen in colloquial German, in which one might hear the computer terms “neu booten” and “downloaden” for the verbs “reboot” and “download”. The word “Internet” is also used “as-is” in many languages. And, speaking of the Web, English words are spreading across the globe quickly and thoroughly since an increasing number of people worldwide are online for business and personal use. Business terms like “Brainstorming” and “Service” are creeping into other languages with little or no confusion over their meaning – even though they’re English words.

In some advertising agencies, it seems that using international words when there are substitutes in the target language makes the final product more engaging and interesting: that pop culture effect. For example, DAKINE, an industry leader in manufacturing action board sports equipment and accessories for snowboarders, surfers, kiteboarders and windsurfers found that their German target market preferred the term “girl” instead of “Mädchen” in the company’s marketing material. Although “Mädchen” is technically the direct translation for the German word for “girl” it is perceived as much less “hip” than simply using the English word “girl.” DAKINE was careful to use a network of translators and consultants who have lived in the United States as well as in its targeted countries, and avoided errors like this. In the end they achieved the desired message behind their brand.

So how can your team evaluate whether or not English words in a marketing translation are useful and appropriate? Intuitively, it may seem that back translation is best. Well, back translation into English is usually NOT the best way. This is because idioms and slang won’t often translate literally back into your original message. If the translation team did a good job of cultural adaptation, that’s a normal result. The best way to evaluate the effectiveness of your translated message is through in-country review. Your colleagues in international branches of your company or organization live in these target countries, are familiar with your brand and product and would know how well these translations would work in other languages. After the in-country review, the Language Service Provider (LSP) translation team should take another look at the reviewed material so they can offer further feedback or make corrections as necessary. Your in-country review team, along with your LSP team, can also suggest new additions to your company’s style guide and glossary based on this review. This will ensure that all teams use these phrases or words consistently in all future translations.

Summary

The key to good cultural adaptation and the strategic use of English loanwords in marketing material is to use translators and proofreaders with native experience in each of the target markets. When you pair this with a thorough in-country review process and follow-up by the translation team, there’s no need to panic when you see the occasional English phrase or word in your finished translation. You can be confident knowing that these are not out of place, and have actually improved the quality of your marketing material and brand internationally.


	viaLanguage Translation Articles Cultural Adaptation: English Loanwords in Your Marketing Translation If you’ve worked with marketing or advertising material, you know how subjective the subject matter can be and how much it relies on a certain tone and nuance to convey your message effectively. What happens when that highly specialized material gets translated? Why is it that sometimes certain English words or phrases are still present in the translated version? Don’t be alarmed. Sometimes the best translation of a word or phrase is no translation. This article will give you an overview some of those circumstances and situations where such words and phrases might be beneficial to the translation and actually convey your message more clearly. We all know how important the target audience is in the writing of marketing materials. If your product, say, an MP3-player, is geared toward a younger demographic, you might use informal language, slang and current pop culture references in order to make the product relevant and enticing to your market. When translating that material into another language, translation teams consider the use of idiomatic expressions, slang and technical terms in the material. In some cases, these types of words or terms are best left in English instead of being translated into the target language to accurately communicate the nuance of the message. These “loanwords” might best transfer the actual meaning you’re trying to convey. Loanwords, that is, words from one language that also are used in another, appear all the time. For example, a couple of German loanwords that we use in English are “blitz” and “Kindergarten”. Conversely, English is popping-up in other languages all over the world. There are even campaigns by some governments and official organizations to preserve the language and culture in order to keep each language separate and English words out. For example, the Associated Press reports that, in Iran, the President famously ordered that people stop using the word “pizzas” and begin using a modified Persian phrase which literally translates as “elastic loaves”. ‘Could be a little chewy, but that’s reality. However, loanwords from English are hard to keep out of languages. Sometimes a loanword introduces some “new thing” or concept to the culture of the adopting language. The word and the new thing are simultaneously introduced before a word in the native language can be created. Another example has to do with technical terms in English which are imported by way of technical documentation and U.S.-made software applications. The influence is seen in colloquial German, in which one might hear the computer terms “neu booten” and “downloaden” for the verbs “reboot” and “download”. The word “Internet” is also used “as-is” in many languages. And, speaking of the Web, English words are spreading across the globe quickly and thoroughly since an increasing number of people worldwide are online for business and personal use. Business terms like “Brainstorming” and “Service” are creeping into other languages with little or no confusion over their meaning – even though they’re English words. In some advertising agencies, it seems that using international words when there are substitutes in the target language makes the final product more engaging and interesting: that pop culture effect. For example, DAKINE, an industry leader in manufacturing action board sports equipment and accessories for snowboarders, surfers, kiteboarders and windsurfers found that their German target market preferred the term “girl” instead of “Mädchen” in the company’s marketing material. Although “Mädchen” is technically the direct translation for the German word for “girl” it is perceived as much less “hip” than simply using the English word “girl.” DAKINE was careful to use a network of translators and consultants who have lived in the United States as well as in its targeted countries, and avoided errors like this. In the end they achieved the desired message behind their brand. So how can your team evaluate whether or not English words in a marketing translation are useful and appropriate? Intuitively, it may seem that back translation is best. Well, back translation into English is usually NOT the best way. This is because idioms and slang won’t often translate literally back into your original message. If the translation team did a good job of cultural adaptation, that’s a normal result. The best way to evaluate the effectiveness of your translated message is through in-country review. Your colleagues in international branches of your company or organization live in these target countries, are familiar with your brand and product and would know how well these translations would work in other languages. After the in-country review, the Language Service Provider (LSP) translation team should take another look at the reviewed material so they can offer further feedback or make corrections as necessary. Your in-country review team, along with your LSP team, can also suggest new additions to your company’s style guide and glossary based on this review. This will ensure that all teams use these phrases or words consistently in all future translations. Summary The key to good cultural adaptation and the strategic use of English loanwords in marketing material is to use translators and proofreaders with native experience in each of the target markets. When you pair this with a thorough in-country review process and follow-up by the translation team, there’s no need to panic when you see the occasional English phrase or word in your finished translation. You can be confident knowing that these are not out of place, and have actually improved the quality of your marketing material and brand internationally.