Transcreation and the Art of Creative Translation

One of my favourite things about being a marketing translator is that I can often take a transcreation approach to my work. For anybody not familiar with the term, transcreation is a field of translation studies that combines copywriting and translation. It involves adapting content from one language to another while still maintaining the tone, style and intent of the original text. Essentially, there’s a focus on the functionality of your translated text and the effect it has on potential readers. In a marketing context, this means that instead of looking for the most accurate and literal solutions, you’re trying to translate the original message of a text in a way that’s engaging and persuasive to the client’s target audience.

So, how do you do this? Today, I wanted to share some of the things I think about when I’m trancreating a text. My top transcreation tips and tricks, if you will. Whether you’re thinking of having a text transcreated or you’re interested in giving it a go yourself, hopefully this will be of interest to you.

Identify Your Target Audience

This is always step one for me when I go to transcreate a text. I need to ask myself who I’m writing for. Who does this text need to speak to? It’s possible that a client’s intended demographic may have slightly different expectations in your target culture and this could affect your translation choices, or even cause you to modify the text.  

After familiarising myself with the source text to get a sense of the style and tone, I’ll usually have a conversation with my client about the kind of people who interact with their brand. Marketers often think in terms of “user pen portraits”, which refers to the practice of describing an imaginary typical customer or client. It’s much easier to transcreate if you have a specific type of customer in mind.

Focus on emotional impact

As a trancreator, you’re thinking about so much more than words on a page: you’re focussed on the power of language and how you want your reader to feel. Since you’re hopefully a native (or highly proficient) speaker of your target language, you should be well acquainted with all the various connotations of individual words. These really matter in a marketing context.

For example, early on in my career, I used to translate for a client that sold heavy metal merchandise. They once questioned my decision to translate the German verb “zieren” as “decorate”. Although this is an accurate literal translation, they were concerned that sentences like “this hoodie is decorated with skulls” wouldn’t really appeal to a metal-loving audience. It was the wrong vibe, so to speak. I took this onboard and instead decided to translate “zieren” as “emblazon”. This means that you end up with sentences like, “this hoodie is emblazoned with skulls”. Although it’s a really subtle change, the effect on the reader is huge and the client loved it. This incident taught me that it’s really important to pay close attention to your specific word choice and always go for maximum impact.

Style Matters

Linking back to the previous point, when it comes to transcreation, style matters. This is one of those times when you don’t want your text to read like a translation. It needs to include idiomatic language and the kind of stylistic features you would expect to encounter in a marketing context, such as puns, alliteration, memorable slogans and maybe even rhyme. 

Most translators are familiar with the struggle to remain faithful to a source text whilst also creating something beautiful. Well, in this context, beauty takes priority. That’s not to say that meaning doesn’t matter at all (I’ll discuss that more in a minute) but in this context, your client is paying for something that flows authentically and sounds great as a stand-alone text. Keep your client’s needs in mind and remember that it’s okay to make modifications to the text if something just really doesn’t sound right in your target language. 

Know Where to Draw the Line

Having said that style is a priority with transcreation, you need to make sure that you don’t go mad with power. This is something I’m always conscious of. It’s really important that you don’t end up making false claims about a business in a bid to sound persuasive. You also need to make sure that technical information relating to a product or service is translated accurately: this means checking measurements, terminology etc. 

As a transcreator you don’t have total freedom when it comes to what you write. Even though you often aren’t directly translating words on a page, you need to make sure that you are conveying the original message of the source text in your target language. As I wrote in the introduction, the tone, style and intent of the original text need to remain unchanged. It’s a delicate balancing act, but it’s important to know where the boundaries are so that you don’t get yourself or your clients into trouble. If there’s some reason why you need to substantially alter the meaning of a text, then it’s essential to let your client know and explain your decision. 

Cultural Knowledge is Key

I’ve kind of alluded to this already, but as a transcreator your knowledge of your own target culture is just as important as your linguistic expertise. If your client is looking to sell to a modern audience then (depending on their product or service) they probably aren’t interested in your ability to write like you’ve swallowed a dictionary or use rare archaic grammar structures. What you can really bring to the table is an intricate understanding of current language usage. This means having an awareness of trends, buzzwords and modern idiomatic phrases, particularly in relation to the industry your client is operating within.

You need to do your research and make sure you have your finger on the pulse. It’s strange because I’m so used to having to remind myself that I need to engage with media in my source languages (German and Dutch for me) that I often forget how important it is to stay connected to my target language (English, of course). An essential part of transcreation means understanding how people are using your native language right now in real life scenarios. You need to be skilled at slipping in and out of different voices to create different effects. Whether it’s books, movies, music or podcasts, make sure you’re aware of what’s going on around you, because this cultural sensitivity is invaluable to your clients and it’s a big part of what they’re paying for.

So, there you go, those are my tips and tricks for improving your transcreation texts. It’s worth mentioning that in some transcreation scenarios, you might not even have a proper source text. Your client may send you a selection of source language materials and ask you to create something completely new in your target language. It’s a flexible practice and this focus on the usability of the text is something that always appeals to me. I wish you luck with all your transcreating endeavours!