This year 50 million Hispanics in the US hold nearly $1 trillion in purchasing power. As the US Hispanic population and purchasing power grows, it has become increasingly important for companies in certain industries to translate their websites into Spanish. At face value this seems like a pretty simple proposition. However, it quickly becomes apparent that there are several ways to go about translating content. Which is best? This is a difficult question to answer. There are two basic methods of translating a page, using software or by hiring someone and there are instances where either method is superior.
In this article we provide a description of each method of translating a website to Spanish for you to consider when you’re faced with the tough decision of how to communicate with your Spanish seeking audience. We listed the time it would take as well as an approximate cost for a typical 10 page website.
Read the entire article.
Google Translate “often causes contextual issues and sometimes translates text in a comically literal and incorrect way.”
Would you risk alienating Latino customers just because you were unwilling to invest in an accurate and culturally appropriate translation? Costs can be managed in a number ways and any translation company will help you do so.
If you are going to ask Latinos spend their money on your product or service, the least you can do is pay a professional to do the translation right.
I was actually embarrassed when I heard a Latina rep from Facebook saying that user translations are best because they are free.
Our money is not worth less so why would you even consider upsetting us? As a consumer, I have stopped going to restaurants or buying products because of grammatical or orthographical errors in their menus or packaging. What a lack of respect.
There are many bilingual professionals in this country who are dedicated to providing insightful translations that motivate action so please, do not insult us and spend some money on us if you want us to spend some money on you.
@Janine I think it really depends on what the content is to be translated and how big the potential customer base in Spanish is. You are right in that larger companies can easily justify the expense of a translator service. But for small companies with budget concerns that want a solution to offer their products to a wider audience – Google Translate is a solution. Maybe not the best, but definitely a workable solution.
@Coco – I believe that a system in which users vote for the most accurate translation can be quite effective such as the one that Ada Luz Restrepo of Facebook describes. I was on that call and I don’t recall her saying it was “better” because it was free, and if she did say something similar I think it to be a misunderstanding. Finding the lesser cost method is not an issue in this situation as building the robust functionality for an application to allow users to provide translations and then vote on them surely costs more than hiring a firm to do the translation directly. Facebook has chosen this method for its user based interaction as well as its accuracy. Besides, without this method, how else could we get Facebook in Pirate?