Translation, localisation, transcreation – What’s the difference?
If you want to expand your business globally, it’s important to choose the right language for your target audience and share content that really resonates with them. Here’s where translation, localisation, and transcreation come in. But what’s the difference between these three? Find the answer in this article.
What is translation?
Translation is a word-for-word conversion from one language (source) to another language (target). The goal is to maintain the original message and tone while ensuring that it’s grammatically correct in the target language and doesn't add or omit information. Creative freedom is very limited.
When to use it?
Translation is best for legal or technical documents since you want the translation to be as accurate and close to the source language as possible. This can be contracts and legal documents, technical guides, user manuals, FAQs, terms and conditions, cookie statements, and your privacy policy.
What is localisation?
Localisation goes a step further than translation by taking into account the culture and language of the target audience to ensure that the translated text makes sense in its new context. Simply translating your content won't get you far since it won't resonate with your new market's audience.
When to use it?
It's wise to start localising your content as soon as you plan to launch in a new market. For example, when you want to expand from Estonia to Germany. But localisation isn't limited to different countries with different languages. Linguistic and cultural differences can exist even within the same country or countries that speak the same language. Examples: UK English versus US English, German versus Austrian or Swiss German, or Spanish versus Mexican Spanish.
What is transcreation?
Transcreation, sometimes also called creative translation, takes it another step further by recreating the message from scratch for the target audience. As the term suggests, it’s a combination of ‘translating’ and ‘creating’ a new text that is equally engaging. It’s a very creative way of expressing the message of the source text in the target language and might involve completely changing the tone or approach to resonate better with the target market. Unlike translation and localisation, transcreation is not focused on preserving the original message.
When to use it?
Use transcreation for any content you want your reader to engage with personally, such as website content, blog articles, social media posts, email marketing, etc.
As you can see, the main difference between translation, localisation, and transcreation is the level of adaptation required.
Translation is a word-for-word conversion from one language to another with no adaptation required. Localisation takes into account the culture of the target audience and adapts the message accordingly. Transcreation recreates the message from scratch for the target audience without worrying about preserving the original message.
At Öökull Creative I can help you with all three. but my focus is on localisation and transcreation. In fact, I prefer the term localisation over transcreation because I believe that these two are very similar and related to each other, so there’s no real need to distinguish between them.
Which one is right for your business?
It depends on your goals and objectives. If you simply need to convert your text from one language to another with no changes made to its meaning or style, then a translation is your best solution. However, if you want to ensure that your text is culturally relevant and meaningful to your new audience, then localisation or transcreation is your best friend. Read more about how you can benefit from content localisation.
If you want to succeed globally, go the extra mile that goes beyond just translating your content into a different language. Understand the culture and the expectations of your target audience. Build a connection with your local customers by speaking their language.
Working with language experts who understand the cultural nuances in your target market will allow you to create content that speaks to your audience and give them the same experience they would expect from a local business.
I am more than happy to discuss your content needs and support you along the way, so please reach out. I’m here to support you.
