Of course our “ordinary” translation is accurate, and of course it’s fully-reviewed and ready to use. But sometimes, that isn’t enough. And that’s where our multilingual copywriting comes in – an optional service that lifts your translation to the next level.
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Persuasive, absorbing copy – a great marketing piece, or glowing brochure – doesn’t just happen. The author revises the text many times, re-arranging, deleting, restoring, and massaging the text until it shines. Then it goes to the client, who’ll polish it some more. When it finally goes to press or website it should be one of the best texts EVER on that topic.
When that text is needed in a foreign language it needs translation. And here, a number of factors may affect that careful polishing, especially where the target language’s characteristics are different to the source language – which to be honest, is most of them. The target’s structure and grammar may require the source be completely re-written. Word order can change dramatically. The language may not even possess translations for some words in the source.
So the translator has to work within those constraints to render the source accurately into the target language, which means that it may emerge reading very differently to the source. On top of that the translator has time constraints – they simply don’t have the many hours to spend on the text that the copywriter did. So the translation will be generally accurate, and the best the translator can do in the time.
Review is the process of checking the translation for accuracy. Did the translator make any errors? Did they misconstrue any text? Or introduce any typos? The reviewer checks for these, so the reviewed text will be more accurate than the source. But it may still be a bit “clunky” and awkward to read. Then, it needs revising.
Revision is the process of ensuring the text is “nice”, to make it read naturally and easily. It may still sound “translated” but will be good to go as a translation.
Remember that the copywriter will have spent many hours on even a short text. The translator, reviewer or reviser however doesn’t have that luxury of time – they’re up against other project deadlines, and often do not anyway possess the stylistic skills of a copywriter.
So our multilingual copywriting calls on a whole new supplier base. Just as you used an English copywriter, we use professional mother-tongue copywriters in the language. So you’ll receive a foreign language text that glows just as brightly as your English original did.
Few things frustrate translators and copywriters as much as seeing their beautiful text hurled onto an InDesign or Quark page by someone with no understanding of the language’s presentation. We’re baffled – a lot of money’s obviously been spent on that translation, but most of that value is destroyed when the product looks like a joke in the target country. Don’t let that happen to yours – our expert multilingual typesetting services will be happy to help.
Multilingual copywriting – when properly done – can really boost your overseas markets success. If you’d like to learn more about how we can help your business, just drop us a few details (in total confidence) and we’ll get straight back to you. Or why not give us a call on UK Freefone 0800 783 4678 (International 00 44 1772 558858)?
