Transcreation and its Importance to Your Business

Just when you think the translation industry has reached the limit of ingenious inventions, it hits you with a brand new brilliant concept – Transcreation.

Translation as we know is the re-fabrication of text or words from one language to another without the loss of the original message and meaning. Translation of texts has existed from the beginning of time and as the industry invented simpler and easier ways to translate materials, it has consistently thrived. One of its innovative inventions is transcreation.

What Is Transcreation?

Transcreation can literally be split into two words to understand it better. “Trans” is derived from “translation” and “creation” is self-explanatory. It is the copywriting of source text that needs to be made comprehensible in a new language while ensuring that the meaning, original style and tone of the text are preserved.

Transcreation is being recognised as a major marketing tool in maximum brand presentation globally. It helps companies customise their message to the cultural background of the target audience.

How Is Transcreation Different From Translation?

In essence, transcreation is the next more meticulous step in translation; it doesn’t simply translate a text but also customises the text from one culture to another.

Translators play with words. They take a source document and convert it into a different language based on the client’s request. This translation can be simple and basic word-to-word or can embody hints of creativity in the form of paraphrasing.

On the other hand, in transcreation, copywriters play with style, tone, context and general impact. They familiarise themselves with the source document, but language is not the only basis of their work. Cultural context is their focus. Changing idioms, adjusting figures of speech, removing culturally sensitive references – these are some examples of transcreation.

The Benefits Of Transcreation

A literal word-to-word translation is not what you need while translating creative projects. Think film and TV scripts. How many times have you watched a film with literal translation in the subtitles and cringed? This just underlines the need for transcreation.

Listed below are a few benefits of transcreation that we can notice around us:

1.   Product Name

In 1971, Ford launched its Pinto Model in Brazil.  However, when translated it meant “tiny male genitals” in Portuguese and Spanish slang. The brand then had to immediately rename the Pinto line to Corcel which translates to horse in Brazil.

Even if the translation is technically accurate, the meaning behind the name may be lost or misunderstood.

2.   Creative Writing

This is another field in which transcreation is immensely beneficial. When authors want to promote their novels, mangas, comics or books to a wider range of audiences, it is important to translate this content properly other than only literally translating it to make it more sensible and relatable.

3.   Slogans

Another funny incident that took place with literal translation was when American Airlines launched their tagline “fly in leather” in order to advertise their newly added feature of leather seatbelts. When translated to Spanish however, the slogan took a hilarious turn into “fly naked” (Vuela en Cuero)! 

Slogans are an important selling point for many markets but when poorly translated, they can produce the opposite and often offensive results.

What Role Does Transcreation Play In Businesses?

With the overwhelming suffuse of globalisation, businesses are challenged to reach new goals and wider markets. Some of the many benefits of transcreation in a business are listed below:

1.   Increase In Sales

In a nutshell, bigger the market base, bigger the sales.

2.   Accurate Brand Image

If a business aspires to be a global brand, its first step is to build and maintain a reliable brand image in all countries.

3.   Acceptance

When trying to branch out to different countries, it is important to keep their cultural and social practices in mind before marketing a product. Intel is an excellent example of this. Its slogan “Intel: Sponsors of Tomorrow” had a different and contradictory connotation in Portuguese, which is why when introducing it in Brazil the slogan was transcreated to say “Intel: In Love with the Future”.

4.   Cultural Awareness And Sensitivity

The main purpose of marketing is to convey a message. It should resonate with the customers encouraging them to purchase a product or service. This is why it is important for companies to market themselves accurately while being mindful of the cultural backgrounds of their target audience.

Don’t Just Translate, Let’s Transcreate

Decoding the intricate nuances of a language and breathing in meaning to a foreign language is what we do at Simpson Soft. Our team of localisation experts and translators are native speakers of the language and have lived and breathed the same air as the audience you are targeting. They know what it takes to reach their hearts, tap into their thinking, and make your brand fit into their lives. Give us a call and let’s get talking about how we can achieve this together.