Checklist: Preparing your content for translation into Spanish
It’s easy to think that translating a document into Spanish is as easy as sending it to a translator (or worse, passing it through ChatGPT with no proofreader!). But if you’re looking for a stress-free, fool-proof translation process, there’s a little bit of prep work that you can do to make the whole process smooth sailing – and likely save yourself some money.
Whether you’re a business, a filmmaker, an educator, a healthcare provider, or a non-profit, you can use these tips to work with every member of your Spanish translation team.
Define your audience
Spanish is a vast, diasporic language that spans North America, South America, Europe, and Africa. So it’s not enough to say that you want to translate into “Spanish.” Specifying the country or population that you’re targeting will help the translator to curate the language that they use for that audience.
It is possible to translate for a broader audience, for example “Latin American Spanish” or “Spanish for the United States,” but being as specific as possible ensures that your text will resonate with that market as much as it possibly can.
Write a clear brief
The translator mantra is: “Context, context, context.” The copy might be clear and understandable to you, but the translator is usually coming to the project without all the necessary background information. Spending time to write a clear and thorough brief will mean less questions for you during the translation phase and a better overall output from the translator.
Make sure to include information like what the goal of the text is, who will be reading it, what format it’ll be seen in, any tone of voice guidance, how far a translator can stray from the original text while still maintaining meaning, and more. When in doubt, over-explain yourself.
Provide references
If you’ve had translations in the past and want your translator to match the terminology and style of the previous translations, make sure you have them on hand to give to your translator. Brand guidelines and style guides are also super helpful, as well as a “Do Not Translate” list of industry- or company-specific terminology.
If the copy is going to be laid out in a specific way, or is part of an image, make sure you share the text in-context with the translator so they can see how everything relates to each other. This helps them better understand how all elements on the page are interconnected.
Finalize your content
It can be tempting to send the V2 version of your copy while you’re working on the V3, especially if you’re short on time. Wherever possible, send the final version of the text knowing there won’t be any further amends. This is for two main reasons: firstly, it means that your team won’t waste their time translating content that’s never actually going to make the cut, and secondly, it saves you money. Substantial changes to the copy often incur additional costs from the translation team.
Set clear and reasonable deadlines
Translation is often the last step in a long and drawn-out process, so translators are often making up for time that was lost earlier on. Setting reasonable expectations around turnaround times and including buffer for any last-minute revisions or feedback helps the whole process feel much less stressed for all involved. If you know a document is going to need translation at the end, it’s worth reaching out to your translator and seeing exactly how much time they’d need so that you can start planning backwards.
Preparing your documents for translation can save significant amounts of time, money, and frustration. I encourage everyone to engage with this checklist before sending anything out to your Spanish translation teams.
And if you’re still looking for a Latin American or United States Spanish translation partner, get in touch to see if we might be a good fit.