A penchant for linguistic puzzles

While William Shakespeare had the courtesy to simplify things for translation experts with his famous “To be or not to be”, David Bowie would no doubt have caused some sleepless nights if he’d decided to translate the title of his 1973 album Aladdin Sane. We’ll let you think about that for a moment… and you’re already in the shoes – or rather the mind – of an ad translator. Translators like us.

Therein lies the challenge of ad translation: how do you convey a given message as faithfully as possible – sometimes with a double meaning, stylistic elements, rhymes, puns or irony – while having the same effect on the target audience as the source language?

The key is a combination of factors, where mastering the finer points of language is just as important as having a flawless knowledge of idiomatic expressions, cultural references and customs specific to the target audience – qualities that only native speakers can fully master. Hence textocreativ’s choice to work exclusively with qualified, mother-tongue linguists with a deep understanding of Swiss culture when it comes to content in French, German and Italian intended for Switzerland and its different linguistic regions. Naturally, the same quality standards also apply to translations into English.

While we would never cram every sentence with Helvetisms, Swiss audiences will be all the more receptive if the terminology carries a certain authenticity, which is why the term “bancomat” gives an ATM that Swiss touch in the blink of an eye! The same goes for evolutions within a language, its neologisms – in short, all those trending buzzwords like “co-living” or the “Uberisation of society” that need to be integrated into our writing to keep brands relevant.

Taking it a step further

Derived from the fusion of “translation” and “creation”, transcreation takes full ownership of a source text – even if it means breaking away from it – in order to localise the content (in the sense of “making it local”) with the aim of provoking the same reaction and emotions as originally intended. This concept is almost synonymous with ad translation, with the exception that transcreation offers greater flexibility, as the name suggests. Nevertheless, the limits to a translator’s artistic licence are always established in consultation with our clients.

Linguistic first responders

While blessed with infinite possibilities, the world of communication – our favourite playground – is still governed by certain rules. In practice, the limited space of printed media, such as posters or adverts, sets physical boundaries on our creativity. For subtitling or radio and television commercials, time constraints will need to be observed. Then, there’s the added challenge of meeting deadlines. Although the art of time travel still eludes us, we always deliver quality services on time, even with a tight turnaround. Far be it from us to compete with Marty McFly, though Shakespeare and David Bowie had better watch out!