Spanish advertising translation

The translation of advertising copy is a topic of considerable interest from both a commercial as well as a cultural perspective. Such translation is essential in order to get U.S. products into Spanish-language markets (in the U.S., Latin America and Spain), as well as to promote products from Spanish-speaking countries in the United States. Bilingual airline in-flight magazines contain some of the best (and worst) examples of this genre of translation, and their errors or effectiveness are glaringly evident because they are usually printed in both languages on opposite pages. The very word for "advertising" poses a false cognate problem since the corresponding Spanish word is "propaganda," which has other connotations in English. The apparent Spanish cognate for advertising ("aviso") means a written ad, and not the broader concept of advertising.

Goals and risks

The premium in advertising translation is on high-quality, hard-hitting copy with maximum effectiveness. The information load in the medium is very high, and is conveyed by many factors besides the lexicon. It is also a high-risk proposition, as can be seen below from some of the examples of counter-productive advertising. The possibilities of cultural mismatch are high, and can easily result in the ad being ignored or, worse yet, becoming the butt of jokes.

The need

Despite these problems, the interest in effective use of translation to put ads into the Hispanic market will continue to be high. By the year 2015 Hispanics in the U.S. will number 40 million and will have long surpassed blacks as the country's largest minority group. At present the earning power of Hispanics is of television, and have a high degree of brand loyalty, especially if there is a feeling that the brand is culturally attuned to their wants and needs.

Examples of mis-translations

Here are some classic mis-translations of advertising copy: [For sources of these ads, see Valencia, "Point of View," Fortune, "If you want a big new Market...," and Michel Coclet, "Translating Advertising Copy," in "ATA Proceedings", 26th Annual Conference, Miami, 1985]

- Braniff's ad telling Hispanics they can fly "en cuero", of which the intent was to bring attention to Braniff's leather seats, erred in that "en cuero" means "naked".

- The use of the word "bichos" in a pesticide ad promising that their product would kill all kinds of "bichos" may be misunderstood on grounds that "bichos" can also refer to male genitals.

- Morris the cat is shown talking about his nine lives; in Hispanic folklore, cats have seven lives.

- Frank Perdue's boast that "it takes a tough man to make a tender chicken" acquired the meaning in Spanish that "it takes a sexually aroused man to make a chick affectionate".

- The following extracts from a California county government form: "¿Estar usted interesado en a bajo interés préstamo componer o añadir a tu casa? Si así, por favor completo esta forma y traer a City Hall en la franqueo pagado sobre no mas que viernes, cuatro de marzo, 1983."

- And finally, this survey question: "El jefe de la casa es de Spanish/Hispanic origin o decente?"

ee also

*Spanish-English translation problems

References

Bibliography

Larson, Mildred, "Meaning-based Translation". Lanham: University Press of America, 1984.

Child, Jack. "Introduction to Spanish Translation". Lanham: University Press of America, 1992.

Escobar, Javier. "Bilingual Skills for Commerce and Industry". Cincinnati: South-Western Publishing Co., 1984.

Jarvis, Ana C., et al. "Spanish for Business and Finance". Lexington: D. C. Heath, 1988.

Vázquez-Ayora, Gerardo. "Introducción a la Traductología". Washington: Georgetown University Press, 1977.