Welcome to International Language Consultancy (ILC), where we prioritise capturing the essence of your work through our translation services. At International Language Consultancy, we fully understand the importance of carrying through the meaningfulness of your work, regardless of the language. Today, we rely on language and communication so much within society, and the need to understand each other within different cultures remains an important part of the functioning world.
Novels and poetry need to be shared across different languages, and the experiences within one’s work should still be felt by an individual who speaks an entirely different language – this is why translation services are important. True translation, as we see it, goes beyond mere language transformation; it involves creatively imparting emotions and the profundity of complex communication.
Transcreation embodies this concept, as it allows for creative integration within translation services. Our qualified team of translators ensures high-quality work that effectively navigates the intersectionality of language and culture, delivering translations that dually represent the language and the essence of the original work.
The Depths of Translation: What Is Transcreation?
When loosely defined, transcreation is the act of translating a body of work, while at the same time, creative reinterpretation is applied to preserve cultural sensitivity. Transcreation is much more complex than one-to-one translation, as one needs to substitute words while considering the contextual factors of the text’s characteristics, client outline and vision, target audience, and overall purpose of the text.
Considering these factors, linguistic discourse has suggested four perspectives which help frame and further contextualise transcreation, including Translation, Communication, Advertising, and Poetry. The translation perspective acknowledges that transcreation is concerned with mirroring a set body of text, encompassing a text’s message, style, emotion, and most notably, the cultural essence of the text. The translation perspective’s focus is maintaining absolute accuracy within the translated product.
In the health sector, transcreation serves to bring congruence within medical discourse to reach a particular cultural or ethnic target group. For example, the field of mental health relies heavily on cultural and societal influences but is hindered by the strong Western influence on diagnostic materials and overall discourse. The communication perspective speaks for this directly and is concerned with delivering therapeutic measures which can mitigate health risks whilst still resonating and being relevant across cultures.
Advertising firms rely heavily on transcreation, as they need this process to establish applicability within different cultures and markets. Marketing companies must ensure a campaign upholds its effectiveness when applying marketing strategies and tools to different population groups. By achieving this, advertising firms can seamlessly reach and be relevant within international markets. Thus, the advertising perspective mainly focuses on promoting relevance within the marketing industry, for optimal global outreach.
Transcreation, through the lens of the poetry perspective, would consider the integration of poetic devices within the new body of text. In other words, the act of interchangeably exchanging different poetic expressions. Transcreation, through these four perspectives, embodies the true and absolute adaption of a body of text across different cultures, while upholding the true essence of the original work.
Localisation And Transcreation
Simply put, translation is the act of exchanging one word for another, from one language to another. One could argue that translation could be the first step in transcreation, where the focus lies in accurately transforming the language from the original language. Following translation, a fleshed-out process of localisation comes into play.
Localisation involves adapting the translated text to consider local dialects and terminology. This step is crucial to ensure that target populations fully understand the context and message intended by the text. By integrating localisation into the translating process, transcreation emerges as a comprehensive approach that goes beyond linguistic conversion, fully encompassing cultural adaptations and creative reinterpretation.
Industries That Require Transcreation
Transcreation spans across many different industries; however, it is particularly relevant to those who intend to reach a global audience. The different industries that would benefit from transcreation include:
Marketing Agencies: Transcreation plays an important role in effectively communicating messages and narratives across cultural barriers. Marketing materials, like websites and social media ads, rely heavily on transcreation to achieve global outreach and ensure their message resonates with people all over the world. Through creative application, transcreation allows marketers to tailor content to specific cultural nuances. This process is essential in capturing the attention of desired demographics, ensuring optimal engagement.
E-commerce Translation: One can apply transcreational techniques to facilitate the adaptation of online storefronts and product listings for multilingual audiences. For example, our services can be particularly useful if you are an international e-commerce business owner looking to penetrate the South African market.
Transcreation is integral to this process, ensuring e-commerce platforms can effectively convey product descriptions, promotional offers, and customer reviews accurately. Through the incorporation of transcreation, e-commerce business owners can enhance the user’s experience, build trust with international clients, and compete in global markets.
Literary Translation: Arguably the most important application of transcreation, as the perseverance of artistic integrity and essence is crucial in upholding literary standards. International Language Consultancy is determined to navigate the complexity of language, capturing the author’s voice, style, and thematic nuances. Through creative reinterpretation, translation services are tasked with the responsibility of carrying over the author’s intended vision into the new language, including the cultural adaptations that this may require.
Real-Life Applications Of Transcreation
Transcreation can be useful for several projects and goals. Some real-life applications of transcreation throughout history have highlighted its importance as a measure of quality translated work. Within the world of advertising and branding campaigns, the clever use of transcreation has maintained or even boosted effectiveness. For instance, Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” campaign required multiple applications of transcreation to apply the campaign to global audiences.
Alternatively, when preparing a product for an international market launch, each population must be fully understood, and their cultural experience adapted to the product. Black Friday for example, exists as White Friday in Arabic-speaking countries as the colour ‘black’ signifies mourning and ill-will in these countries. The use of transcreation is also highly useful in the world of digital systems, where content creators use it to resonate with various audiences across different platforms.
This includes adapting hashtags, caption-copy, and visual elements to engage diverse populations. Starbucks transcreated its Instagram to resonate with audiences around the world whilst still maintaining its brand identity. E-commerce marketing relies on transcreation strategies to tailor product descriptions, user interfaces, and promotional content. Amazon achieves this by altering its website to apply to multiple different countries where its services are available.
Probably the most significant applications of transcreation are in literary writing. Most non-fiction books are pure transcreation and potentially the most difficult practice of all. To capture the essence of an artist in a way that still effectively relays their intended message is no easy feat. Thus, translation services that specialise in transforming literature-related text are expected to be particularly skilled in ensuring the translated work meets the standard of the original.
Effective translation services are achieved by close cooperation between translators, companies, and creatives to ensure all the materials are effectively adapted to different cultural contexts whilst still maintaining the brand’s identity. At International Language Consultancy, we guarantee precision, expertise, and depth in understanding cultural nuances. From advertising campaigns to confidential documents, our translation services are all-encompassing, and we vow to comprehensively handle your content with care.
Unlike automated systems of translations, our professional hands-on services ensure meticulous work, making sure the essence is preserved as effectively as possible. Whether you are a lawyer looking to translate your client’s immigration documents or a business owner looking to reach foreign markets, our translation services have got you covered. Moreover, we offer translation services that span across South Africa’s rich language climate, making sure your work can be heard by a diverse population.
Choose ILC for accurate translation services, dedicated localisation, and partnership with professional translators with expertise across an array of industries. With over a decade of experience and a roster of local and international clients, International Language Company is at the forefront of global standard translating services. Contact us today to explore how the translation services we offer can further contribute to your business’ success.
Challenges of Transcreation
In theory, transcreation is undoubtedly the most ideal approach to providing a high-quality translation service. However, transcreation presents a myriad of challenges that require careful navigation and expertise. One of the biggest of these is capturing linguistic nuances and idiomatic expressions which may not exist in other languages.
This challenge demands a deep understanding of cultural contexts and linguistic subtleties, ensuring the translated work effectively resonates with the target audience. Cultural context and sensitivities also pose a significant challenge in transcreation. Effective translation needs to readily understand the cultural beliefs, norms, and taboos of the target audience to ensure no offence is made towards a target population.
Brand consistency is imperative when creating a homogenous identity across a global market. Theoretically, you want individuals from all over the world to identify with your brand or product, regardless of their social standing in the world. Transcreators must balance the art of adapting content to resonate with an audience’s context whilst still preserving the brand’s core values, tone, and most importantly, identity. This necessitates a thorough understanding of the brand and its target market to ensure that the transcreated content aligns with the brand’s overarching messaging strategy.
Creativity and originality are essential areas of focus in translating services – transcreation must involve innovation. Techniques and cultural references to convey the original concept compellingly, while still respecting cultural boundaries. This requires not only linguistic competency but also an intuitive eye for cultural trends.
ILC: Final Thoughts
At International Language Consultancy, we are ready to help you achieve accurate and localised translations. Take your international marketing strategies to the next level, by engaging your foreign speakers effectively and helping them understand your product fully.
We can help your content enter the South African market and help you share your work, globally. With over a decade of experience and a diverse clientele, we guarantee effective translation services that span across various industries. Contact us today to find out more about our translation services and how they can contribute to your success, as our mission is to bridge the gap between linguistics and culture.