There are more than 40 million Spanish speakers in the United States, and Spanish is the second most spoken language in the country. Consequently, it’s a good idea for nonprofits to consider this large section of the population in their communications and marketing strategies.

The Shortcomings of Online Translators

New technologies have given us some handy translation tools, and it’s tempting to use them to save time. However, literal translations aren’t helpful when getting a complex message across. Depending on your target audience’s specific cultural and linguistic context, a literal translation might, in the best-case scenario, not make any sense or, in the worst-case scenario, offend.

For instance, idiomatic expressions depend almost entirely on cultural context, which is difficult for online translators to get correct. If you use a phrase in English, such as «It’s raining cats and dogs,» a literal translation to Spanish would be useless. The right equivalent would be “It’s raining jugfuls” (Está lloviendo a cántaros). Even common words and phrases, if translated literally, can confuse readers. For example, in English, we often use the term «to make sense,» which, if translated literally, would be «hacer sentido.» Ironically, this translation doesn’t make sense and should instead be «to have sense» (tener sentido).

Translation vs. Transcreation

Translation involves more than speaking the language; it’s about understanding the linguistics of your target language. Sometimes, that requires deeper knowledge of the message’s context, and knowing where to turn if you need more information.

Translation is already a complex process, but sometimes it isn’t enough. In the marketing world, simple translation often falls short when trying to communicate a specific message for a company or organization. For example, when working on a copy for an ad, preserving the brand’s style and meaning without increasing the amount of text is crucial.

We do that here at Inspirare through a process called «transcreation.» Quite simply, transcreation is creative translation–grasping the emotional meaning of a text and adapting it to another language, not just with words, but within the appropriate context and using the creativity necessary to deliver the original message in a way that feels natural to your target audience and elicits the intended emotional reaction.

How to Utilize Transcreation

To provide effective and high-quality transcreation services, you must understand how to stay faithful to the original message without necessarily producing a word-for-word translation. On the contrary, good transcreation is an open-ended process that requires a high level of creativity. The goal is to modify the text in such a way that it provokes the same response in your target language as the original message, albeit with different vocabulary and cultural cues.

The challenge of eliciting the same emotional reaction in an entirely different audience has always made translation in marketing particularly complex. A good transcreator, then, has to have more than excellent translation skills. They must also be the cultural advisor of sorts who can achieve two essential goals: master the original message and deliver it to the target audience.

How Can My Organization Benefit from Transcreation?

Professional transcreation services take your nonprofit’s message and make it culturally relevant so your stakeholders feel seen and heard. This kind of language adaptation isn’t limited to marketing; transcreation is also used for literary texts, audiovisual material, and websites, where the process might even involve changing color schemes to make them more culturally relevant and effective.

At Inspirare, our transcreation team enjoys drawing from our distinct cultural contexts to help your organization communicate effectively. By assessing your goals and target audience, we can determine whether your content needs a simple translation or a more complex transcreation. Either way, you can be confident that your message is making the desired impact.

Transcreation in Action: Carlo, the Superhero Spy

In the Spring of 2023, Go Austin/Vamos Austin (GAVA) approached our team to help develop a comprehensive communications campaign to raise awareness and educate the Austin community about Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) childcare. Rather than a top-down communications approach, we chose a grassroots approach to empower those on the ground to shape and lead efforts to improve their communities.

Eventually, we worked with GAVA to write and transcreate «Carlo, the Superhero Spy,» a bilingual coloring book created to support and advocate for FFN childcare providers, born from listening to FFN providers and understanding their needs and challenges.

Michelle Mejia, GAVA Early Childhood Health Equity Organizer, reflects on her experience working with Inspirare Communications: «I was happy to work with a group of mothers at Inspirare who felt connected and committed to portraying FFN providers in such a humanistic way. We were collaborators all along the way and appreciated their professionalism and how they were able to interpret the experiences shared into something like ‘Carlo, the Superhero Spy'».

Ready to ensure your nonprofit’s message resonates with your target audience? Contact us today and learn how our transcreation services can help you achieve your goals.