What Is Transcreation?

by Target Language Translation Services

- September 18 2021

Transcreation Defined

Transcreation is the act of changing a text to make its meaning culturally appropriate for a target market， which is a combination of translation and copywriting. Translation, on the other hand, is the verbatim transfer of text from one language to another. Transcreation is a more creative process than marketing translation, though you may have both in the same project. Sometimes there’s more translation, other times there’s more copywriting. The transcreator generates new content from the seed of the original material. This may be involve working with brand names, slogans, advertising contents and visuals.

Why do you need transcreation?

Transcreation takes more time and resources than a word-for-word document translation, but the extra work can pay off.

We all have a cultural background and way of thinking. The original writer creates their text for a certain readership. They write things those readers will like and comprehend. They choose the content based on their own understanding of the world. We’re all limited by our own experience.

However, the readers of the new text will be people from a various culture. So, they’ll have a various way of comprehending the world, and they’ll like various things. The marketing translator will be one of them. But, translators also have a deep understanding of the original context and culture. So, they are able to take the original and adapt it to the new culture. Add knowledge of marketing and copywriting to the mix, and the new text achieves your goal. These services make sure your new text achieves its objectives, by tapping into what moves the new target customers.

Transcreation is usually utilized in the marketing and advertising field as a way to adapt creative messages, slogans or figures of speech to global audiences. But transcreation might also be utilized in a situation where a message’s creator and its intended recipient speak the same language; for instance, Britons might not understand some American phrases and vice versa.

Transcreation can utilize when translating the following:

Idioms

Taglines

General Branding Materials

Humor

Country-Specific Phrases

Wordplay

How to achieve qualified transcreation?

The goal of transcreation is to keep the same intent, style, tone and emotion of the source material in the target language. Here are some things to consider when choosing a transcreation provider:

Transcreation should be performed only by native speakers

It’s well know that communicating in a second language never has the same natural flow as communicating in native language. It is not enough to be bilingual. To maximize success, transcreation should be performed by people who were born into and think in the target language.

Transcreator should be in-country with your target audience

A language service provider is that shares native language of your target is not enough. An in-country transcreator who is embedded with the most current local culture and context of your target can best communicate in way that is relevant and vital to them.

Transcreator must be a content professional

How can a language service provider adapt content that they do not comprehend? Transcreator must also be professionals in the information that is being localized. No matter how well the language service provider knows the target language, if they do not comprehend the content, the transcreation will not be a success.

Transcreator must have extensive copywriting expertise

Good transcreation involves good writing. To protect your brand, you need to choose a transcreator who has extensive marketing and writing expertise and understands your global campaign while tailoring your message to best connect with local customers.

Transcreator must have knowledge and understanding of the target market

Beyond language, culture, content expertise and writing skills, a good transcreation will speak to the heart of the target audience. A good transcreator will research and understand the target market and how best to reach them.  A transcreator with knowledge of the target market will know the target market and the local advertising regulations, media and commercial codes to avoid embarrassing mistakes that may come from not understanding the target audience while enhancing your message.

Famous examples of effective slogan translations

Haribo

Haribo’s famous gummy bears are actually German. And the original German slogan is: “Haribo macht Kinder froh, und Erwachsene ebenso,” which literally means, “Haribo makes children happy, and adults too.”

Although it might be a clear, winning concept from an advertising point of view, the slogan got translators baffled around the world. In Italy, the slogan was brilliantly transcreated as “Haribo è la bontà che si gusta ad ogni età,” (lit. Haribo is a treat to be enjoyed at any age). Italians reading this article will have undoubtedly hummed along to the advertising jingle. A perfect feat of transcreation.

Mac Donald’s

The powerful American fast food chain’s slogan is: “I’m Loving It.”

The problem when translating this slogan comes down to one word: “love,” which is not used with quite the same ease in other countries as it is in the USA. While someone from the United States might nonchalantly proclaim that they “love” their car, in some countries, the word “love” cannot even be spoken aloud, as is the case in China.

Due to a similar problem, Spanish advertisers decided to translate the slogan with “Me encanta!” that is, with a somewhat gentler “I like it”. While in Italy, advertisers kept the original slogan!

Now you know what transcreation is. So, contact us to talk about your project.

This article is reprinted from UNITED LANGUAGE GROUP, The Translator's Studio and LANGUAGE SCIENTIFIC.

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