Transcreation: Pride and Prejudice II

​By Delfina Morganti Hernández✍️

Transcreation is in vogue.
​So I've decided to try and demystify some key prejudices and stereotypes around transcreation and transcreators...

TAKE ME TO PART 1

So for my second review on transcreation prejudice, I’ll demystify the following widely accepted statement:

#2: Transcreation is a service somewhere between translation and copywriting which is used for advertising campaigns.

Indeed, I agree with considering transcreation as a service between translation, writing, copywriting and perhaps even literary translation. However, while this statement focuses on transcreation as applied to the advertising industry (slogans, web banners, etc.), transcreation is also very much used when it comes to adapting app and video game content.

​Now, when we think of translating games, most translation industry players will talk about “game localisation”; only seldom do we hear the phrase “game transcreation”.
Both localisation and transcreation address and generally prioritise cultural sensitivities, but while localisation implies adapting the source message to a target language and audience customising a few features, transcreation goes a step further when it comes to the recreation of the source.

LET'S DEFINE LOCALISATION AND TRANSCREATION

Localisation closely follows the source and ensures it fits the target market or region from the point of view of cultural issues and legal requirements. This service is often performed by translators specialised in the field in question and it is done in one direction only: from a certain source language into a particular target language, e.g., from English (US) into Spanish (Argentina).

Transcreation is more subjective than localisation. It entails a series of creative strategies (such as brainstorming, euphonic pattern analysis, rewriting, market research). Such strategies often lead to “authorised” deviations from the source text in order to achieve a certain effect on the target audience. Therefore, transcreation allows for a more creative touch when adapting the text to suit a target locale and it’s performed by transcreators.

Finally, transcreation may imply working into the transcreator’s second language, such as when a client requests back-translations. For example, when a game title is transcreated from English (UK) into Spanish (Mexico), and then, the resulting text in Mexican Spanish is translated back into English (UK). This is usually done in order for the client to have an idea of what their transcreated content sounds or reads like in the target market.

Want to learn more about transcreation as a service? Think you could use it for your brand's messaging?

Listen to the first episode of Founded in Transcreation, the first ever podcast on transcreation where I delve into how brands cross borders. You can follow all episodes on Anchor or Spotify as well.

Or tell me about your project, the languages you need to transcreate into and let's see how I can help or assemble a creative language team for you.

​Delfina
​#orangepowerDMH

Delfina Morganti Hernández is a writer, marketer and English-Spanish (LATAM, Argentina) transcreator and reviewer. Her purpose is to help fellow brands and people with a true entrepreneurial spirit shine through their communication strategy in English and in Spanish.

She provides marketing consultancy, brand assessment and cross-cultural services for high-end brands in Digital Advertising, Human Resources, Corporate Communications and Video Games.

Delfina is a self-published author of an essay on literary translation in Spanish and of a collection of poems in English, Spanish and French, and has been delivering training on literary translation and marketing for translators for 8 years now.

In 2018, she was invited to work as social media strategist and co-host of Traductores al Aire, the first online radio show and podcast by and for translators in Spanish.

In 2020, her branded hashtag #HablemosDeMarketing made it to YouTube, where she hosts her own podcast to discuss marketing and branding for freelance translators and budding entrepreneurs in Spanish.

You can learn more about her at en.traduccionescreativas.com or by searching her hashtags #orangepowerDMH and #BrandingBrain on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.