Creating content in multiple languages can increase your readership and grow your audience. Sharing from Spanish to French is not only common, effective, and practical, but it’s fairly easy to have a strong translation as the languages are quite close. No matter how similar languages are, though, it takes an expert translator to include all the nuances of the content, keep the integrity of the piece, and appeal to both Spanish and French readers. Let’s see how to do this!
To have another language is to possess a second soul. – Charlemagne
This post has been updated in September 2021.
The work of a translator
Translators are professionals fluent in more than one language. Usually one is their native language, and the other language may be a second language they were brought up speaking or one they have learned along the way. The more languages they are fluent in, the more work they can translate, and often, once someone knows more than one language, the others come easy.
It may seem easy to translate content, after all, there’s Google Translate, right? Ehhh, not so. If you need to find out what a word means or how to order some food, sure Google translate is your friend, but beyond that, stick with a human. A human professional at that. Translating is not simply a word-for-word exchange. It’s including nuances, word plays, emotion, and affectation. It’s sharing ideas, excitement, and the integrity of the original content. Translation is an art, and Spanish to French translation is one worth working with.
A translator does what?
So let’s break this down a bit. Whether you are going from Spanish to French or any other language, a translator is your guide. They’ll take the original piece and create a coordinating document in another language that opens the door to readers in other areas, cultures, and languages. Remember, translation is taking one written work and creating the same work in another language. The translator must take cultural aspects into account while keeping the document true to the original.
It’s important to note that translation is not the same as interpretation. Interpreters work with the spoken word. For instance, you may have a Spanish to French interpreter when people from each language are meeting. An interpreter will know both languages and make sure communication is clear. A translator sticks to the written word. This covers so many things, from medical documents to legal and educational ones. You may want your novel or poetry translated or the content on your website. There’s a market for the translation of labels, marketing materials, and promos. Don’t forget business translation where you share materials between different language speakers and even corporate branches in other countries. For instance, you may have a company manual or development report that all employees need. If your company is global or simply reaches into more than one country, you may need some translation services.
Clearly, a translator is a pretty valuable professional. Before we check out what to look for in a great translator, let’s see the importance of translating content from Spanish to French.
Translating from Spanish to French
Spanish and French are two very similar languages. They both fall into romance languages, and sure, they sound beautiful and can set the mood, but that’s not really what romance language means. According to Babbel.com, romance languages include 44 languages across the globe. When you look at Spanish and French combined with Portuguese, Italian and Romanian, you get about 90 percent of all the romance languages. They got their name from “Roman” because they all began with Latin, the language of the Romans. Yes, Latin is one of the oldest languages, and though it’s no longer alive, it set the stage for many global languages of today.
What’s lovely when it comes to translating from Spanish to French is that the languages are quite similar. That means that share grammatical tendencies, an alphabet, and structural forms. That doesn’t automatically mean that you’ll know them all if you know one romance language, however. After all, then we wouldn’t need translation, would we? It just means that translation can come a little easier.
Let’s see some numbers
Babbel also tells us that there are around 450 million Spanish speakers in the world and it is the second most spoken language. Spanish speakers live all over the world, and along with those 450 million native speakers, there are 75 million people who have Spanish as a second language. It makes sense why your content is in Spanish! Now for French...French is the 6th most spoken language globally, with about 300 million speakers. They range across the world and more and more people are learning French making it a fast-expanding language. So yes, you can see translations from Spanish to French are a good idea.
The importance of dialectical awareness
One thing about a widely spoken language is that you’re going to see a lot of different dialects around the globe. French is known for this with French Canadian, Haitian Creole, and European French. Each of these languages shares qualities, but also has distinct, unique differences. It’s crucial for the translator to be aware of this, and one thing you can do is make sure they know where the language is going.
Let’s look at this example: If you are translating a Spanish document to French with a focus on Canadian French, you’ll want a translator who can incorporate those nuances. For instance, French Canadians speak a bit more informally than the European French. The grammatical structure can also be a bit different, and these small differences can have a big impact on acceptance and connecting with that audience.
Vocabulary and slang can be specific to different dialects, too, and, to make a translation sound natural, work on getting these right. So whereas European French has that formal flair, Canadian French is a bit looser and the formality could be a turn-off to the French Canadians. Remember, accessibility is the bridge to content, and you want your content as accessible and accepted as possible. The closer you can reach your audience, the more they’ll accept and respond to your work. Keep those intricacies and distinctions relevant, and your readers will respond positively.
Now for finding your Spanish to French translator
We’ve already pointed out that a human translator is much better than a mechanical one. Now for what to look for in that human. Again, we’ve pointed out that region, dialect, and specific form of the language are important. So check that off. But what about the skills your translator should have beyond complete proficiency in the desired distinction of both languages? Here we go:
Skills
- Great grammatical skills and attention to detail – This is important to maintain the integrity as well as the format of your content. Your goal should be to reach new audiences with the content you’ve already created. So the translated version should mirror the original. That goes to format, structure, tone, and grammar. You don’t want your translator creating new content, just content in a new language. You probably spent a lot of time on formatting and want to see that replicated. Your translator should have that detailed eye to do that very thing.
- Cultural awareness – It’s not enough to know the language, a good translator also needs to have cultural awareness. No matter the content, the translator needs to present it in a way the new culture will embrace it. And if that involves subtle content changes, that’s okay.
- Professional skills – A professional translator should be aware of deadlines, check-ins, asking questions if needed, presenting professional material, and maintaining a professional demeanor. We love to suggest finding not only a skilled professional, but one who practices dependability, integrity, and adaptability. You don’t want your corporate information or medical translations shared with anyone; a professional knows to keep content confidential.
- Technological skills – Hiring a professional well versed in technology will make things much easier. You’ll be sharing documents, perhaps asking for revisions, and working virtually. It makes sense your translator should be able to communicate and respond appropriately.
Where to look
You’ve got some options when it comes to finding a translator. You can go local and find someone in a shared community. However, they may lack the professional skills we’ve mentioned. You could hire a full-time translator, but they may be overkill. It can work if you’re going to be translating consistently from one language to another, but if you want to switch up languages that may not fit your needs.
Work with a service. Many people have great luck working with a translation service, just like our own Bunny Studio. With a service, you can go project by project so you’re utilizing your time and budget. You also can specify not only languages but specific dialects and regions. If you have multiple projects, it works, too. If you’re more the one and done type, it’s perfect.
Services have already done the work for you, too. It’s tough to know your translator will do the work you want if you have no references, samples, or guidelines to go from. However, when you work with a service like Bunny Studio, you’ll know you’re getting a professional with a solid background, great client feedback, and a support system.
The takeaway on Spanish to French translation
Spanish to French translation will create a great opportunity for you and your content. Whether it’s for a specific purpose, like a legal document or one-time work, or you want to create your evolving content in more than one language, a Spanish to French translator may be just what you need. When you work with a professional, they’ll maintain the integrity, tone, and purpose of your piece. We also recommend finding a translator or translation service that you’ll be happy to do future work with as well, whether from Spanish to French again or in different languages. Spanish and French can be the key to reaching wide audiences, sharing your content, and gaining the exposure you want.
We make hiring a translator easy and would love to be part of your team. Just let us know how we can help, and let’s get your work translated!
