Spanish

If there is something that minorities will appreciate is when a state attempts to make them feel more welcome. This is usually achieved when that state is trying to eliminate the need to force people to learn the foreign language in order to function normally within its borders. The state of Connecticut has recently made another step towards that goal by translating to Spanish a tutorial video for Hispanic citizens. This was done in the form of a tutorial video for Spanish speaking audience in order to simplify the state tax form.

Kevin Sullivan appeared in a 13-minute video that explained to Spanish-speaking residents how to handle the previously mentioned state tax form. Because there are a lot of Spanish business owners in Connecticut who cannot comply with the state tax laws, since they do not understand them, Kevin felt it was necessary to provide an elaborate explanation in their own language. He appears at the very beginning of the tutorial greeting the citizens with a single word – “Hola” – after which a Spanish speaker woman took over and proceeded with the explanation in Spanish.

About Kevin Sullivan 

Being a commissioner of the Department of Revenue Services, Kevin acted following his responsibility and made sure everyone was able to understand the form. This 13-minute video contains a demonstration of how to electronically file the previously mentioned state sale as well as use how to use tax returns.

This is a great way to display how his department actually serves the taxpayers and does not exist for the sole purpose of gathering their taxes. Like it was mentioned before, people who live their lives in a different states should feel more appreciated by being addressed in their native language.

Spanish language and Connecticut

Current data shows that 15 percent of Connecticut’s population consists of Spanish-speaking residents. Moreover, there are approximately 14,000 Hispanic-owned businesses in the state. Governor Dannel P. Malloy declared that the real progenitor of the idea was the task force established to evaluate the state’s communication policies. Sullivan also stated that he hopes for more tutorial videos providing instructions for Connecticut’s Spanish-speaking citizens to emerge in the future.

This was not the first of Sullivan’s contributions to this department, namely, soon after he had become a commissioner in 2011, Google Translate was added to the agency’s website. Sullivan claimed that this was one of the easy ways to make their website more user-friendly.

Additionally, the video will be promoted thanks to the agency’s official who contacted Spanish-language media. A spokesman for the Connecticut Society of Certified Public Accounts, Mark Zampino congratulated Sullivan on his efforts stating that making of this video was a good move. He also added that they are in constant search of CPAs who are fluent in Spanish, Polish, and Russian languages.

Impact on the future

Taxes are going to play an important role in Malloy’s campaign for a second role. Increased income and sales tasks during 2011 occurred in an attempt to close budget deficits, and the Democratic governor and Democrat-led Legislature passed down the decision. This had brought upon some sharp complaints from rival Republicans and critics.

Malloy defended his fiscal policy, adding that in the future, they will endeavor to simplify state’s tax code and thus make it more accessible. This plan has been implemented, and the administration is already searching for ways to make complicated state tax instructions less troublesome to understand.

One may argue how all of this is just a presentation assembled to boost one’s political campaign. Regardless of the case, this should be the standard that any state should strive to achieve and make different nationalities more welcome.

This is one way of showing that the state has sincere respect for other cultures and does not impose its own cultural values upon them. People view their culture and language as a part of their identity and would like to hold on to it even in different surroundings. In addition to that, the true values of the particular state are reflected in the way it treats and how that state feels towards minorities who live there.

A good translation isn’t just grammatically correct. It is also culturally appropriate. When translating into any language, it is crucial to take into account cultural values, norms, etiquette, humor, and slang in order to avoid potentially embarrassing mistakes. When translating from English into Spanish, be sure to remember about the different Spanish varieties.

Beware of literal translations

When American Airlines wanted to promote its new, luxurious first-class leather seats in its Mexico market, it inaugurated a brand-new advertising campaign with the slogan, “Vuela en Cuero” (“Fly in Leather”). Unfortunately, in Spanish, “en cuero” means in the nude, so the phrase translates to “fly naked.”

Mexican Spanish

Mexican consumers most likely thought that the airline lacked tact, as well as etiquette. In a similar incident, the California Milk Processing Board released a Spanish-language “Got Milk?” campaign. Unfortunately the board translated the question literally to “Tienes Leche?,” which in Spanish isn’t a way of asking someone if he or she has milk in his or her possession, but rather a way of asking mothers if they are lactating. Needless to say, the translation didn’t go over well, and a fun slogan morphed into a very invasive, personal question (more about Mexican Spanish).

When translating from English to Spanish, never assume that a phrase denotes the same concept in both languages. Chances are that it may not. Always go for a translation that makes cultural sense as well as linguistic sense. Take, for example, the internationally acclaimed 2009 Peruvian film “La Teta Asustada,” which deals, in part, with the idea that women who were abused or sexually assaulted during Peru’s brutal Internal Conflict transmitted their pain, fear, and trauma to their daughters via breast milk.

Though the film’s title literally translates to “the scared tit,” the film was released to English-language audiences in the U.S., U.K., and Canada as “The Milk of Sorrow.” While “teta” is a relatively benign word in Spanish, its literal English translation, “tit,” is generally considered to be on the vulgar side. This difference is in part due to different cultural notions and taboos regarding the body and breastfeeding. 

Different regions use different slang

There is a significant amount of regional variability in how the language is spoken, especially when it comes to slang (see Spanish-speaking countries and populations). Spanish is the most widely spoken Romance language, and 21 different countries list Spanish as their national language. There is no single “universal” version of Spanish. In Peru, for example, “que paja” is a slang term that means “that’s cool,” while in Argentina the same phrase is slang for “how boring.”

In Guatemala, “coche” means “pig,” while in most other parts of the Spanish-speaking world, it means “automobile.” Assuming that a word or phrase has the same meaning throughout the entire Spanish-speaking world could very well be a recipe for a marketing fiasco. For example, take Fiat’s marketing campaign for Fiat Punto. When the Italian car company expanded to Spain, it was convinced that the Fiat Punto fit the market perfectly. The company anticipated steady sales and was dismayed and confused when the car preformed relatively poorly. As it turns out, the low sales of the Fiat Punto in Spain was due to a major linguistic blunder.

In Spain, “punto” is actually a vulgar slang term used to denote male genitalia. Because of the negative (and offensive) connotation, virtually nobody in the country wanted to drive the car, let alone purchase it. The bottom line? Culture molds language usage. Culture varies according to region or country, whether that variation is mild or significant, and so does language.

Be cognizant of cultural-specific phrases

Imagine you are translating a text from English to Spanish for a company trying to target customers in the Caribbean, and you come across the phrase “white as snow.” If you translate the phrase literally, the meaning isn’t going to resonate with audiences as well as it could because there isn’t any snow in the Caribbean! It is always best to frame concepts and ideas in culturally relevant terminology.

In this situation, you would need to find some other kind of culturally relevant substitution, such as “white as cotton.” A concept commonly expressed in English simply might not exist in Spanish. In order for a text to be as coherent and as relevant as possible, the key is to “translate” these concepts into Spanish using culturally appropriate terms and ideas.

That’s why translation companies like The Translation Company assign country-specific Spanish translators when working with English to Spanish or Spanish to English translation projects.

Professional translation for companies can help a business find great success as it expands into overseas markets. With more customers using mobile devices to connect to the internet, it is even easier for them to shop online and search for new businesses to meet their needs.

Detecting Potential Markets Abroad

Even if a company doesn’t plan on going global per se, taking a look at website analytics will likely show that customers from other countries are already looking at your product, explained a Fox Business article.

“To be successful, you must be inclusive; that is, you must give up misplaced sentiments of ethnocentrism and seek to learn, really learn, about the native culture you hope to market to from the native culture you hope to market to,” the article said. “You can’t take a U.S.-centric approach.”

A Forbes piece gave an example of when Buffalo Wild Wings expanded into Canada. Local staff members said that patrons prefer bloody caesars to bloody marys and a side dish other than french fries. Furthermore, CEO Sally Smith explained to the news source that the key is to listen – find out what locals know and use that knowledge to further the business’ expansion.

Success at Home and Potential Abroad

Buffalo Wild Wings has close to 857 stores in the United States and Canada and sees even greater opportunities by moving into more countries, according to Forbes. Starting later this year, the restaurant chain hopes to push into the Middle East, opening 22 locations across Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi.

Translation and localization services will not only help companies better advertise to new markets, but they will also prove to customers that the business is making an effort to adapt to their needs. In the US and Canada, English to Spanish translation services has helped food chains to expand their business in the Hispanic markets. The Translation Company is one of the top providers of Spanish American translation services in the United States.