[Sigia-l] Translating Spanish Content on the Web

[Bryan Skelton]

Courtney:

Some comments on your question based on our experience. We haven't done 
any rigorous testing, just the feedback we have accumulated from native 
speakers in a couple of different Spanish cultures:

1.  Word for word translation rarely works.  Transcreation is much more 
effective, however you need to be careful not to make the text 
culturally specific.  For example, do not use Mexican colloquialisms 
and/or regional syntactical text unless specifically intenting to cater 
to a Mexican audience.  So,  it is not only specific words that you 
need to be careful about, but also how common words are used and 
arranged.

The best Spanish content is the one that is the most culturally 
generic, and that typically requires native speakers to review it.

2.  Again, in our opinion, the question of what dialect most Spanish 
speakers use is irrelevant.  There is a correct, generic, Spanish that 
can be used.
Every country has their own "dialect", nevertheless there is a common 
underlying generic Spanish that all Spanish speakers understand.

It functions much the same as English.  Every English-speaking country 
and region of the US have their own words, accent and  colloquialisms, 
but there
is an underlying basic phraseology and syntax that everyone can 
understand.

For example:  Soda, Pop, Soft Drink; Eraser, Rubber; Truck, Lorry; 
Lads, Blokes, Guys

All these examples have a word(s) that can be used to universally 
describe them. Its the same in Spanish.  Joven = chavo, guero, pelado, 
guey, man

Joven is universally understood by the Spanish-speaking world as the 
word for young man.

3. Anecdotally speaking, Spanish audiences are not fundamentally 
different from other European or American audiences in how they use the 
web. That is admittedly a broad statement, with exceptions, I am sure, 
but nothing comes to mind that would seem to warrant a different way to 
do IA categorization/classification, language and content issues aside. 
Others may have a better answer on this particular issue.

We're just a couple of blocks away if you want to discuss it further ;-)

Bryan

On Thursday, April 3, 2003, at 10:10  AM, courtney.crowell at wachovia.com 
wrote:

> I am working on a large financial services website and exploring ways 
> to
> better serve our Hispanic/Spanish speaking customers and am looking 
> for any
> information on the following:
>
> 1) Are there accepted standards/best practices regarding translating 
> and
> integrating Spanish content on the web from one language to another? To
> what degree is word for word translation vs. "transcreation" (creating
> appropriate content in a culturally sensitive context) considered the 
> best
> way to approach providing multilingual content on the web?
>
> 2) Of the sites that have currently translated some of all of their 
> site,
> does it appear that a particular dialect of Spanish is used more often 
> than
> others? How is it determined which dialect speaks to the most people?
>
> 3) Is there any information on approaching information architecture 
> design
> for a Spanish language site? Are there cultural differences that will
> influence customer classification/organization expectations?
>
> Any information or experiences shared would be greatly appreciated. 
> Thanks!
>
> ~Courtney Crowell
>
Bryan Skelton
Director of Internet Strategy
Vialogix
704 716-9106
http://www.vialogix.com/