What is Transcreation

When expanding a business to the global market, it is important to ensure an accurate and effective exchange of information between the involved parties. Linguistic and cultural differences can hinder this process, thus affecting a business’s success. 

Translation is used to overcome this difference. However, since translation focuses on word-to-word translation, it oversees the cultural gap and body language while relaying the message. Transcreation is a process that helps solve this problem. 

Transcreation Meaning 

Transcreation is a combination of the words “translation” and “creation”, and is a blend of translation and adaptive creativity. It is used to translate a text from a source language to the target language, considering the source text’s tone and cultural nuances and altering it according to the target language. 

Thus, transcreation is not the literal, word-to-word translation of a text, but rather, an alternative translation based on the cultural and linguistic background of the target audience. The transcreated document is, therefore, not entirely similar to the original text. It is a rewritten or recreated document, making it more relevant and accurate to the target audience. 

Uses OF Transcreation 

Transcreation is useful when the content is generated in a different language than the target audience or for businesses planning global expansion. Some example scenarios are discussed below.

1. Advertising And Marketing: companies looking to sell their products in the international market find the concept of transcreation very useful. Any cultural references, slogans, idioms, or visual content used in a marketing campaign may not be effective for all the target audiences. This can be overcome through transcreation, where the content is adapted as per the target audience with the original intended message kept intact. Transcreation not only translates the slogans or taglines into the target language but alters them to align with the target audience’s preferences. 

2. Video Games: with the increasing popularity of video games, it is important to ensure that all the users can relate to the characters and settings of the game. Transcreation helps the developers to adapt the characters, setting, or references in the game according to the international audience to ensure a better gaming experience, thus making the game a success. 

3. Entertainment: the audiences today tend to prefer international content, due to the better availability of streaming services. This makes it necessary that the dialogues and cultural references are used according to the target audience. Transcreation helps the creators not only to dub the content word-for-word but to adapt it using references from the culture and traditions of the target audience. This ensures better engagement towards the specific content. 

4. Company Websites: a business targeting an international audience needs an interface that describes the company policies and services and best aligns with the target audience’s interests. Transcreation ensures better accessibility for foreign buyers, eliminating risks of misunderstandings. 

5. Mobile Applications: Any new mobile application launched in the global market is transcreated to meet the needs of the foreign audience. This includes providing services according to the audience’s environment and making the interface easily accessible, considering cultural differences. This ensures that the app successfully meets all users’ needs. 

Practices To Follow During Transcreation 

Transcreation of a text or any other form of content can be successful using the best methods and practices. Some of them are discussed below. 

1. Understanding The Source Content: one of the most important steps is to understand and comprehend the source content and the intended message. The professional should not only be able to translate the written content or dub the words into the target language but also understand the tone of the message and cultural nuances to better adapt to the target language with the intended motive.

2. Market Research And Analysis: when entering a new international market, it is important to research the cultural background of the place. This helps by giving insights into the cultural differences and the extent to which the adaptation is to be done while transcreation.

3. Defining Objectives And Preparing Brief: defining the objectives includes defining the flexibility the professionals can use when transcreating. It is necessary to define how much the content can be altered to adapt it according to the target audience. Further, a carefully drafted brief, with important insights can help the professional in the transcreation process.

4. Selecting A Specialist Organization For Transcreation: it is important to reach out to a transcreation organization with prior experience. Also, after selecting a specific organization, it is necessary to take a demo to test the quality of the services provided in the required field to ensure effectiveness and accuracy in the process. 

Advantages of Transcreation 

Transcreation offers various advantages over the literal translation of the content. 

1. Cultural Significance: expanding the business to the international market, requires understanding the cultural differences between the source and the target audience. Transcreation helps adapt the original content to the target language by referring to the culture, traditions, and preferences of the target audience. This helps keep the message intact and also makes the content culturally relevant.

2. Maintain The Brand image: transcreation ensures that the target audience of companies with global sales can understand the product and services accurately. This is achieved when transcreation helps the audience comprehend the promotional messages or advertisements regarding the services without any cultural disparities.

3. Improved Profit: by investing in accurate transcreation of the content, a business can attract genuine customers. This leads to improved profit because of the increase in sales due to the better customer base. 

Difference Between Transcreation And Translation

Although transcreation and translation both involve transforming the content from the source language to the target language, the approach of both practices is different. On one hand, translation focuses on the linguistic aspects, i.e. word-to-word translation of the content, whereas, transcreation uses a creative approach to adapt the source content to the target, preserving the tone and intended message of the original content. 

Translation follows the literal approach and, therefore, is relevant for technical and legal documents where the meaning is straightforward, whereas, transcreation is more relevant for marketing and advertising as it follows a deeper approach. 

Conclusion

Transcreation is a blend of translation and creative adapting, which is becoming a strategic move implemented by businesses to make an impact in the global market. It focuses on making the content culturally relevant for the target audience while keeping the intended message intact. 

It is implemented by various businesses, gaming, and entertainment industries to connect better with the audience and improve the user experience. It follows the practice of understanding the source content, analyzing the potential market, and then transcreating the content based on the analysis.