What does that mean?
“As faithful as possible as free as necessary” that is the mantra translators all over the world are taught from day one. But that is not how we understand our craft.
Don’t get us wrong, it has its merits. Most technical and medical translations cannot exist without it, as they focus on precision information, not emotion. The unfortunate result, however, is that too many translators out there end up as slaves to the source’s choice of words and sentence structure, not considering whether that’s actually natural in their target language.
But hey, it’s quick, it’s easy, and in most cases it’s “good enough”.
We, at LocTailor, follow a different approach.
For us language is more. Language is a living, breathing, evolving thing. Look at the difference between written and spoken language, for example. Which one of the two do you think is more accessible to your audience? Therefore, we don’t ask “How does one translate these words?”, rather we ask “How does one recreate the same meaning with the same impact in the target language?”
It is all about the emotional connection. Like a classic tailor, we take the measurements of what your source text says and how it feels for the native reader. And then we custom-fit our translation to achieve the same result.
We don’t just go to the dictionary and look up the word. For us, every word is a conscious choice, a decision. We put as much attention and effort into the words we choose for our localization as you do when writing the original, that is the only way to do them truly justice. Just like in that catchy marketing slogan that stuck with you, just like the chorus of a chart-topper, or the title of your favorite movie. All words need to hit their mark and strike the most fitting emotional connection with their target audience.
That’s what we are all about:
the impact on the target audience.
An example?
Think of the golden M’s brilliant “I’m lovin’ it” campaign.
As far as slogans go, it doesn’t get more simple and to the point than this — Instant. Emotional. Connection.
It’s brilliant. And at the same time, this should easily be universal across all languages, right? With straight-forward translations, as it is such a basic emotion.
Uhm, no. Not every locale succeeded to localize this slogan, because it might have sounded ridiculous in their language. In their country, that’s just not how people talk.
Why? Well, for example not every language has a fitting word for “it”. Some need to address what “it” actually is — the feeling, the food, the restaurant, the company? Boom, added complexity right there!
Top that off with regional nuances, and this simple slogan might not be as simple as it seemed on the surface.
Compare for example the frFR version:
“C’est tout ce que j’aime”
(literally “This is everything which I love”)
vs. the frCA version:
“C’est ça que j’m”
(literally “This is that which I love”, or “luv” rather, if you want to mirror the slang spelling).
Dare to dare
In order to achieve the best results and cope with such difficulties, you require an accomplished language partner who is not afraid to leave the trodden path in order to go above and beyond. You need someone with long standing experience, the right feel for the natural flow of the language, knowledge of the target market, and frankly grit — someone like… well, like us.
We are your localization tailor. We take the measurements of your source text, such as content, message, tone, emotional impact,… and we tailor you a localization that will strike these notes with your intended target audience.
This is our mission.
This is what we mean by our 6 Ts credo: Tailor the text to the target.
Our Promises
We will deliver work that we ARE proud of
There are many fantastic things we are proud of. We have no reason to stop. We will do the same for you. We will keep pushing!
We are not afraid to say “no”
For fear of losing a client or a job, other providers will never tell you they can’t do it.
They’ll assign additional B- and C-listers so that your project makes it on time. (Time, not quality)
Not us. We practice honest communication. We will warn you if things look tight. And we will not take the job if we believe that we can’t deliver it on time or would have to make sacrifices to the quality.
We will ask questions
Using one’s best guess is pretty much inherent in the nature and work of any translator — every word is a choice after all. We try to incorporate a special awareness of this fact into our work. As a result, we will send smart questions and queries when we come across the difficult or ambiguous cases. We will ask your input rather than making assumptions.
We care post-delivery
Do you know the feeling when you completed something or answered a question and then a bit later you suddenly have an idea of how you could have done it better? #showerthoughts
Well, if that happens to us and we can think of improvements post-delivery we will still send them your way. Promise.