10 principles for great translations
Achieving high quality copywriting in all languages
I’ve previously written about how we recruit our translators within our local teams at @Zomato. For all their potential and dedication, they don’t necessarily have hands-on copywriting and translation experience. This an adaptation of the language principles I discuss with them before throwing them to the sharks.
So you are in charge of the translations in your team.
If you were chosen to do this, it means you relish writing quality, can’t stand typos and get annoyed when text gets truncated in the app.
You own copywriting for your language.
This means translating, proofreading and reporting any bugs/issues. It also means constantly striving for a pleasant and SEO-friendly voice.
Here’s how:
1. Don’t translate literally
You know more than anyone about what works best for your own language — and what doesn’t.
The English version is a reference, a starting point, but at the end of the day you are aiming for natural language. The best translations are the ones that don’t sound like translations.
2. Keep an eagle’s eye on typos which may creep in
If you are not able to fix anything or if you find issues in the English copy, please report it!
3. Make sure the translations are consistent at all times, across all platforms
Don’t translate “Bookmarks” one way and have your translation buddy (or yourself, for that matter) using a completely different word somewhere else. We don’t want confused users!
4. Use Consistent capitalisation
Whether you opt for “Title Case” or “Sentence case”, just be consistent.
Remember, you don’t need to use the exact same capitalisation that’s in the English copy. Check what the convention is for your language.
5. Opt for the most often-used and natural expressions
We’re all guilty of this every once in a while. Sometimes when thinking in two languages at the same time, you’ll come up with some bits that are not necessarily wrong, but are just not the exact language people use.
Course correcting to natural expressions has two benefits: people resonate with the copy better (“Don’t make them think”), and SEO will be stronger.
If you are not sure, Google Trends is your friend!
6. Please don’t overuse ‘please’
The English language uses ‘please’ a lot; using the same ‘please’ density when translating to other languages might sound weird. Keep this in mind, and make some adjustments as you go along.
7. Develop and protect the company’s tone of voice
You know how some bands have their own sound, or when you are reading something and there is something pleasantly distinctive about that author? We aim for that as well.
The tone can vary a bit among languages (for instance, more playful in English, a hint of sarcasm in Portuguese…), but never within the same language.
8. Translate culturally
This is a subset of #1 — Don’t translate literally.
The smallest details change when crossing a border. Remember these details, and translate not only words, but the idea behind them. A “bar” doesn’t have the same connotation everywhere. There’s no use in beautifully crafting a sentence that mentions “make the food less spicy” if that’s a rare utterance in your country.
Feel free to adapt these examples to your own country’s reality.
9. If it does not fit, change it
When translating microcopy, you’ll have limited space—especially on mobile platforms. If you find truncated text, try to think of ways to shorten it.
However, this might not always be possible, which leads me to…
10. Be critical
Do you have a better suggestion for the content? Would a different design work better in your country? Let us know!
We’ll never completely know all design and language constraints for each market—we trust you to teach us and give us feedback if we miss something :)
