What is Latin American Spanish? Can't I just get one
Spanish translation to work in all countries? Is there such a thing as
Universal Spanish? And what is this Spanish for the US?
Although regarded as an easy language to learn,
translating into Spanish can turn into one of the most complicated decisions
for a company. Believe it or not, some of the most heated debates and
discussions over proper terminology I have faced in my 7 years in the
translation industry has been for Spanish. I always assumed it would be for
much tougher languages like Japanese or Korean. The problem lies in the fact
that Spanish is spoken in so many different countries across the globe.
Word Meanings often
vary depending on the context and country, and not just for Spanish, but for
English too. If I were to ask someone for the meaning of garage, an English
speaker from the UK is likely to say this is the place where we get gas for
your car. An American, on the other hand, would say it this is where you park
your car. For this reason it’s essential to understand who makes up your audience
and target market. With just those little differences between England and the
US, some of which you are probably familiar with, imagine the multitude of
differences that exist in Spanish. There are 21 countries with a total of 423
million people who speak Spanish, making it one of the most difficult languages
to translate. Each country has its own unique culture and dialect, which can
vary widely depending on the region but are still similar enough to be
understood and considered the same language.
So, don’t get confused when you are in a Latin American
country and want a straw for your drink and a straw in Colombia and Venezuela
is “pitillo” but “popote” in Mexico and ”pajita” or “pajilla” in Spain but
“bombilla” in Chile and Bolivia, even though “bombilla” means light bulb in most Spanish-speaking
countries, and “caña” in Peru which is some slang term in Venezuela. Also, when
looking for a swimming pool in most Spanish-speaking countries you should ask
about the “piscina” but in Mexico you’ll need to ask about the “alberca” and
the “pileta” in Argentina. Wow. With all that said, I hope on a hot day in some
Latin American country we helped you find a pool and get a straw for that cold
drink you’ll need.
With this being said, ask yourselves what is universal
Spanish? Or what about US Spanish when we do not only have Mexicans who make up
the US Spanish speaking population, but also many Cubans, Puerto Ricans and
Dominicans? And how is it possible to have Latin America Spanish when there are
over 15 countries with 15 or more different cultures on the entire continent
that spans a vast region.
Therefore, it’s critical to know your audience in order
to transmit an accurate message. It’s also critical that if you want to use one
translation to reach many different Spanish speaking regions and countries,
it’s best to work with a professional translation agency who understands the challenges
and can provide you with experts and leading translators from multiple
countries. Working with speakers for several countries ensures that terminology
for is specific to one country would be flagged and amended in favor of a more
neutral one. This is just one tactic that LingPerfect employs when completing
“Universal Spanish” translations.
For more information on how we can help with your Spanish
translations, please go to www.lingperfect.com
