Translation: The Foundation of Language Adaptation

Translation is the process of rendering meaning from one language into another. There are different approaches to translation. Over the years, scholars have introduced two main orientations when approaching a text: choosing a source-text or a target-text orientation. In the former approach, significant departures from the source content are usually prevented, while the latter tends to adapt content for the target audience. In short, there are two possible strategies: a more faithful or a more creative approach. What translation strategies have in common is one main objective: making the translated text clear, and accessible. When accessibility becomes full cultural adaptation for a new target locale, and we speak of a multi-step process that involves more than language, the industry prefers the term “localization.”

Localization: Functional Adaptation for Specific Markets

Localization goes beyond linguistic transfer. The aim of localization is to make a product feel native, and culturally appropriate for the target audience. While linked to the language industry, localization is part of a broader process that involves not only linguists and translators, but many other professionals. From localization engineers to project managers, they all collaborate to produce multilingual content that “reads” like the original. Localization is necessary whenever consumer-facing content is to be adapted for a larger, international market. Common examples include marketing, websites, apps, video games, and software.

Transcreation: The Most Creative Approach

Transcreation involves re-creating content for a new market locale. This can be needed in advertisement and marketing, when ‘reframing’ a product for a different target culture is essential. In short, transcreation encompasses translation, but also cultural adaptation, and the overall re-interpretation of the source message. However, not everyone agrees on transcreation being a separate practice from translation, or a different specialization. One thing is certain: while academia remains in two minds, transcreation has become increasingly central to marketing communication.

Where Does Translation Stand?

Are translation, localization, and transcreation interchangeable? Even though you may be led to believe that translation encompasses them all, they are, as we speak, increasingly distinct practices. In a world where AI handles a large share of general language translation, what sets apart language professionals is being able to deliver more culturally-nuanced and specialized work. Therefore, the industry is currently evolving towards culture-specific roles that go beyond translation. The distinction matters, because the industry demands it. Understanding where one practice ends and another begins is what defines a specialist.