Lost in Translation: How to Retain the Meaning in Translation When Writing Succinctly

‘If I’d had more time, I would have written a shorter letter’. Some of you may be unfamiliar with this quote, but it’s worth thinking about.

That’s because essentially, writing a concise translation can often take longer than writing long-form content. Pinpointing the precise meaning of a short translation requires thought, patience, and generally takes many revisions in order to get it right in the target language.

‘If I’d had more time, I would have written a shorter letter’. Some of you may be unfamiliar with this quote, but it’s worth thinking about.

That’s because essentially, writing a concise translation can often take longer than writing long-form content. Pinpointing the precise meaning of a short translation requires thought, patience, and generally takes many revisions in order to get it right in the target language.

It’s vitally important to reflect the original meaning when working on a translation, whether the form is an advertisement copy, a blog post, or an article. With this in mind, it’s crucial the original purpose and intent of a given piece isn’t lost in the translation process, especially when you’re limited to a small number of words.

Though doing this requires a lot of skill and care, especially when the aim is to keep things concise.

Entre les lignes helps brands craft messaging across languages and cultures. Want to learn how we can help you with translation and transcreation? Get in touch today.

The pitfalls of translating short copy

Short copy isn’t synonymous with easy copy. While trying to ensure a short piece of writing remains clear and concise, every word takes on great significance in terms of the overall translation.

When translating slogans, advertisements, and copy into effective and relatable pieces, it’s easy to convolute a translation and lose the meaning. This happens all the time and there are loads of examples out there.

KFC provides us with a prime example of translations gone wrong, with their famous “finger lickin’ good” slogan once memorably mistranslated into Chinese as “eat your fingers off”!

While it’s certainly amusing to read, it would be difficult to deny the original meaning has been lost in the act of translating it to another language.

Compare that to this more successful example of a short piece of advertising copy being translated for De Beers.

Their iconic English phrase ‘Diamonds are Forever’ was similarly difficult to translate for the Chinese market as, when translated directly into Mandarin, the phrase only implies physical durability and not the other connotations it has in English, which include a sense that a diamond won’t depreciate in value and that it’ll become a family heirloom, lasting into the future.

To fix the issue, the process of transcreation was applied and allowed the English phrase ‘Diamonds are Forever’ to become the Mandarin phrase ‘one diamond is forever, it can be passed from generation to generation’; in Mandarin, this phrase is lilt and delicate, much like the jewellery. Crucially, it does a much better job of conveying the original meaning than a literal translation would have.

The power behind words

When exploring the meaning behind words, it’s important to understand the semantics of transcreation. Transcreation is often defined as the process of adapting content from one language to another, while still keeping the original’s intent and meaning, particularly as it relates to cultural connotations and sensitivities.

When working with translating advertisements and copy, it’s important to keep this in mind. When you reach the root of the meaning, you’re able to tap into the reader’s emotions. If you can move the reader in any way, then your copy, advertisement, or article is going to make a difference.

Whether its purpose is to sell, inform, or educate, when copy resonates with the reader, then a mutual understanding and connection are formed between the product or service and the reader. This creates a client-customer bond that gains you valuable loyalty and develops your customer base.