Lessons in translation – from a single language speaker

Having lived and worked in Hong Kong for almost five years, I have managed to pick up a gentle smattering of Cantonese.. I can guide a taxi to my destination and have a simple conversation with building security. Sihk jó faahn meih ah? However, I’ve yet to master tones – and don’t even try to ask me to read a Chinese character…

While I may not be able to read the fantastic Chinese copy produced by my very talented team, led by Janice Wong, I’ve learned a lot about the translation process. Most of all, I’ve learned how complex translation work actually is, and how multi-skilled a translator must be to do it well. Being a speaker of two languages does not a translator make.

Now, occasionally here at The Giles Agency we handle projects that require what we call ‘direct translation’. With these projects, clients want bilingual readers to be able to look at both languages and read as near to identical texts as possible. Usually, the text is for internal purposes and the aim is to present some simple facts. It’s a functional, quick and dirty kind of job.

The majority of the work we do is what’s become popularly known as ‘transcreation’. Our clients need us to take the original text and recreate it in a different language for a different audience. The overall message must remain, but the new text must be reworked, sometimes significantly, so that it resonates with the target reader. It must sound natural. If the reader can tell that the text is a piece of translation, then the transcreator has failed.

Like all good projects, translation work must start with a clear brief. There are many things a translator needs to understand in order to do their job. First and foremost, who will be reading this? If we’re translating for an audience in Hong Kong from an older generation, the tone and vocabulary would differ greatly from what we’d use for a younger audience in Taiwan, for example.

What’s the channel? What’s the key message and the purpose? What action do we want the reader to take? Then there’s the all-important reference material. By looking at samples of copy that the client is happy with, we’re able to understand their style preferences and pick up the brand language that needs to be used in order to stay consistent.

Having all the above information to hand allows us to get it right – and to get it right the first time. So, while I’ll be leaving the actual translation to our creative multilingual team, I do understand the process and work hard to give the team everything they need to do a fantastic job.

Are you looking for a highly skilled team to help with your translations? Get in touch with us today at enquiries.hk@gilesagency.com and mention this post to get a special discount on your next project.