Legal translation

What is Transcreation?
Transcreation is the process of adapting content from one language to another while maintaining the existing tone, intent and style.
While creative translation will generally include some of your original content, just a reworking of specific ideas, transcreation will often be a complete reimagining of your content so that it better resonates with a different culture.
How is Transcreation Different from Translation?
While translation focuses on replacing the words in one language with corresponding words in a new language, transcreation services are focused on conveying the same message and concept in a new language.
Transcreation enables translators to inject their own creativity and cultural knowledge to create content that resonates with a new audience.
If you're still not completely sure how transcreation differs from translation, here are six ways to distinguish between the two:
1. Transcreation specialists are writers.
Usually, people who provide transcreation services are copywriters in other languages instead of translators.
Some translators also happen to offer copywriting services in other languages, but in general, these are two different services, and the people who provide the services are not always part of the same professional associations and networking groups.
2. Transcreation starts with a creative brief
Unlike translation, which starts with a source text, transcreation starts with a creative brief, just like your other creative projects do in your source language.
Instead of simply providing text to the transcreation provider, you’ll need to provide them with clearer ideas of the creative concept and the desired action you are hoping to trigger with the copy.
3. Transcreation can be costly
Translation is typically billed by the word, whereas transcreation is billed by the hour, or sometimes by the project. Billing per word is not an accurate reflection of all the work a transcreator does to recapture and recreate your brand's messaging, since the idea isn't just to translate with equal language. This is because transcreation is a creative service, more like copywriting, graphic design, or video production.
4. Transcreation results in new messaging
Usually, messaging that was written for one target segment or audience will not resonate with a completely different group. With transcreation, the result is brand new messaging that is targeted and localized, while with translation, the result is new words in another language, but with the same messaging. A good translator will translate website or app content “in the spirit” of the source text without being too literal, but even so, the message can lose impact in the process of straight translation.
5. Transcreation is for creative, marketing-focused copy
Translation is perfectly fine for informative text, but when text is designed to trigger an action from the reader, as marketing text usually is, transcreation is simply a better fit.
6. Transcreation involves advising on look and feel as well
Often, providers of transcreation services will also advise customers on the look and feel of a creative asset or campaign, to ensure acceptance and resonance in the local market. Transcreation is about creating new content that captures the brand voice and message in an entirely new language. This isn't a simple translation, but a recreation tailored to a specific culture.
Transcreation in the real world
Smartling experienced a unique challenge when we set out on our Move the World with Words campaign. And this was a challenge solved by transcreation.
When you translate a phrase like "move the world with words," there's a lot of meaning and context to capture. There's a lot of nuance in the language that can lead to confusion. For example, does "move the world" physically mean move the Earth to a new location? In our intentions, the phrase is more around "impacting communities, brands and cultures." So, a simple translation doesn't exactly cut it. We needed to make sure our intentions and core message were captured and expressed properly, with transcreation.