How can I quickly turn a translation into a transcreation?
What can you do when you have a marketing text translated and then realize, upon seeing the translation, that the target text is not at all what you expected?
Why should sales and promotional material be handled by transcreators instead of regular translators?
Problems arise when clients request – and pay for – a translation but actually expect something that a copywriter would have written. That’s where transcreators come in.
I am bilingual and have taken courses in creative writing. Does that qualify me as a transcreator?
A transcreator needs deep expertise in translation and deep expertise in strategic copywriting. Expertise in both of these fields is indispensable.
Transcreation is not just about creativity
I bet that you have read somewhere that transcreation is a kind of “creative translation.” In fact, judging by Google results, “creative translation” appears to be the most commonly used term to describe transcreation.
Yet “creative translation” is a misnomer. Misleading at best.
Transcreation defined
What exactly do I mean when I refer to transcreation? What makes it so different from translation? I define transcreation as a unique type of service in the field of multilingual communication.
Limits of transcreation
It is important to stress that there may be situations in which transcreations are necessary, but won’t be possible. That is the case when:
