Well is seems that the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission has been instructed to “consider” translating into Spanish a statement given to all drunken-driving suspects. That’s the recommendation of an appeals court that upheld a Hispanic man’s conviction for refusing to take a breath test. The court said state law does not require translation.

However, the judges said the MVC should consider having the statement translated into Spanish and “perhaps other prevalent foreign languages.” The court said recordings could be played for suspects who need translation. Police read German Marquez the 11-paragraph statement explaining the test after he was arrested following an accident in Plainfield in 2007. Marquez responded in Spanish that he didn’t understand.

We’re confident that consideration is taking place.

The following was reported on the receipts at a Red Robin restaurant in Arizona.

Notice the bottom of the receipt. In English, it says “Thanks for visiting RED ROBIN. Please Pay Your Server”. Underneath that, in Spanish, it says “Please Pay Your Server. Tip is not included.” Are they insinuating that Mexicans don’t tip and have to be reminded to include a tip, whereas English speaking people are good tippers and are welcome at Red Robin any time. One might argue that perhaps tipping isn’t common in Mexico. However, tipping is just as prevalent and expected in Mexico as it is here, so that isn’t a valid argument.

Or to our way of thinking the more obvious question is if there were four guests why only two drinks? It’s Arizona for goodness sake. Everyone’s always thirsty there.

A new study from Northwestern University highlights the challenges many pharmacy-counter exchanges might present for those who speak only Spanish. Researchers there surveyed pharmacies in Texas and Colorado (which have had, for some time, large Latino populations) and Georgia and North Carolina (which have burgeoning Latino populations).

Of 764 pharmacies, only 43.3% could solidly offer instructions in Spanish, 21.7% offered some translation services and 34.9% offered no such  services.

Reference information available at: 1) The Northwestern news release and the journal abstract in the June issue of the journal Medical Care, and 2) Manual Merck de información médica para el hogar.

The abstract concludes: “The majority of pharmacies surveyed offered limited or no translation services. Lack of translation services is not isolated to rural areas or locations with a marginal Latino population. Spanish-speaking patients encounter barriers to acquiring instructions that support the safe and effective use of medications.”

A recent publication in Chief Marketer provides some tips for managing Spanish translation projects. It’s one perspective, and we include a sampling of their comments here for consideration.  

1. Go neutral
Today, thanks in part to widely available media like Univision, major Spanish newspapers and the Internet, these disparate varieties of Spanish are familiar and increasingly comprehensible to Spanish speakers of different backgrounds.

Meanwhile, a “Neutral Spanish” has developed to bridge the gap. Sometimes known as Latin American Spanish, it tends to disregard local grammatical and vocabulary differences in order to standardize the language. This makes it a perfect translation solution as it is likely to be easily understood by all Spanish speakers with whom you are communicating.

2. Don’t forget the visual
Colors, symbols, images — all are part of your message. Often these elements are responsible for the initial response in your audience before even a single word is read. So it’s imperative to adapt the entire communication, not just the words, to ensure the desired result.

This requires understanding both the protocols and the taboos that define ways of communicating in a given market. Cultural adaptation provides the cultural lens through which your non-English-speaking customers view your message, your products and services, and ultimately your value.

3. Create a style guide and glossary for consistency
Developing a reference manual can be a useful tool for helping ensure consistent translation results every time. Think of it as a sort of dictionary of terms and concepts and how they should be correctly translated and presented.

Creating a glossary in which to record the desired translations of product or services names, their features and other pertinent information is also key for consistency. By guaranteeing that translations are consistent across documents, you avoid confusion and present a unified image to your customers and potential customers.

4. Save time and money with translation memory
In the case of documents that don’t change much over time (i.e., technical information or order forms) you can store the translations in a database system called a “translation memory” for future use.

This resource gives the translator the option of choosing a stored translation when working on an identical or similar document. The translator uses the context of the project and past experience to determine if the translation requires modification. Large documents that go through new editions on a regular basis are especially good candidates for translation memory.

5. Don’t forget the review
Finally, it is essential to present your style guide, glossary and term list to your in-house or community reviewers and translation teams at least a week in advance of the launch of a project. They require sufficient time to ask questions, get clarifications and make changes to help ensure accuracy, consistency and the nuance of your community.

Review by program managers or qualified members of the target audience can be another critical step in achieving the desired quality for your translated materials. It is best performed by one of your staff or a trusted associate.

He had a perfectly good name: Chad Johnson. Yet the Cincinnati Bengals receiver wanted to have “Ocho Cinco” on his back (the Spanish translation of his jersey number (85), and a trademark he uses to hawk merchandise on his website). When the NFL wouldn’t let him, Johnson went to court in Florida last summer and had his name legally changed to Ocho Cinco. Given that level of sound reasoning, it’s not a shock that he incorrectly filled out the form. He now is legally known as Ochocinco (all one word). And the NFL is holding him to it, trying not to laugh too long and too hard to his face.

Cincinnati Bengals football player Chad Johnson awards game ball to his two children Ochoseis and Ochosiete.

In early May of this year it was reported that so-called typos in a Spanish translation may have been so egregious that they violated the rights of a suspect in the Newark, New Jersey schoolyard shootings.State Superior Court Judge Michael J. Nelson today granted a request by defense attorney Michael Robbins to have a language expert examine the 18 errors in the Spanish version of the Miranda rights given to the suspect’s mother.

Detectives brought Anna Gomez to Newark police headquarters on Aug. 9, 2007 to gain her permission to talk to her 15-year-old son, according to Detective Sgt. Miguel Arroyo. Gerardo was in custody, suspected of robbing and killing three students behind Mount Vernon School on Aug. 4, 2007. State law prohibits police from questioning a juvenile without a parent’s consent.

Because Anna Gomez indicated she felt more comfortable speaking Spanish than English, police provided a typewritten Spanish translation of the Miranda warnings and waiver. The defense attorney has argued that these errors have interfered with the suspect’s mother’s understanding of her son’s rights.

Defendant Gerardo Gomez, above, lowers his head as his attorney speaks during an April hearing in Superior Court in Newark. The judge in the case granted an examination of the Spanish version of the Miranda rights, which had typos, given to Gomez’s mother.

Assistant Essex County Prosecutor Thomas McTigue, however, said the court should consider the context of the entire interview in its ruling. “This hearing is not going to hang on a single word of a single phrase,” McTigue said.

In court, Arroyo admitted during cross-examination today that there were errors in the translation, but they did not affect Anna Gomez’s comprehension of the form’s content. “The form had the problem, not the reader,” he said.

Robbins continued to argue the errors interfered with the defendant’s mother’s ability to understand her son’s rights, and how to protect them.

As reported by the Associated Press, President Barack Obama’s joke wasn’t lost in translation — even though he referred to a Cinco de Mayo celebration as “Cinco de Cuatro.” Obama jumbled his words as he welcomed guests to the White House to observe the Mexican holiday, sending the crowd into laughter before he referred to the day correctly.”Welcome to Cinco de Cuatro — Cinco de Mayo at the White House,” said Obama, in what appeared to be an attempt to note they were celebrating on the fourth of May instead of the fifth. Cinco de cuatro means “five of four” in Spanish.

“We are a day early, but we always like to get a head start here at the Obama White House,” he said. During the presidential campaign, Obama acknowledged his Spanish skills weren’t great. “My accent’s always been good,” he said. “It’s just that I only know 15 words.”

To those that have written us with concerns about where the great Spanish translation dessert blogs of tomorrow will come from (and to those who are too embarrassed to write but share the concern), we offer the following in an attempt to quell the growing anxiety:

With its longtime popularity on restaurant menus, creme brulee continues to rank as one of the top desserts in the US. The literal translation of the dessert is “burnt cream” — and although the French, English and Spanish (in Spain it’s known as crema catalana) claim to have invented it, it’s the French who are credited with bringing it into vogue in the late 19th century.

For a lower calorie alternative omit raspberries.

A group of Albertville, Alabama’s Hispanic residents wants the city to require all business signs be in English and Spanish. Their proposed ordinance comes in response to Mayor Lindsey Lyons’ plans to require Spanish-language signs have an English translation. “We think it’s a chance for Albertville to become a city of the future,” said Anita Stancil, a member of La Voz de la Comunidad, or the Voice of the Community. The mayor said he was not in favor of the idea. Lyons drafted a nine-month plan of things he wants the city to accomplish through the end of his first full year in office. Among the items is an ordinance that includes the appearance of signs. The mayor wants “sign professionalism” that prohibits hand-made or homemade signage and suggested a three-person committee that would have to approve new signs. He also cited “public safety” issues in saying the city should require English to be part of signs.

Aylene Sepulveda, a member of La Voz and an outspoken presence at City Council meetings and in a series of cultural blending meetings, said in a statement released by her group that its proposal “is our way of showing the mayor and council that the Hispanic community of Albertville supports improving the looks of business signs.” She said the group agrees with Lyons’ proposals on regulating the size and appearance of signs. “We want to see the same improvements the mayor has outlined, but we want to see them happen in an equal way,” Stancil said. “The Spanish-speaking businesses can change signs and so can the English-speaking businesses so that everybody understands and so everybody can come together as one Albertville.”

Lyons, however, said he was “disappointed” by the proposal. “In 1990, Alabama passed Amendment 509 declaring English as the official language of the state,” he said. “I totally support this amendment.” He disagreed with Sepulveda’s statement that the La Voz proposal would unite Albertville. “The approach that Aylene’s proposing is not pulling the community together,” Lyons said. “In fact, it’s totally divisive.”

Lyons said he spoke with three council members Friday morning at a ribbon cutting ceremony for a business that renovated its downtown store.“I felt no support whatsoever from them toward Aylene’s proposal,” he said. “None at all.”

Welcome sign with barbed wire security fence in background extends inviting greeting to residents and visitors entering the city.

New York mayor Michael Bloomberg spoke Spanish during a string of news conferences about the swine flu outbreak. Mr. Bloomberg has been studying Spanish since around 2000, but he only began responding in Spanish around 2007. 

At a briefing on Friday about the current outbreak of the strain known as influenza A(H1N1), the mayor and his health commissioner confirmed cases in New York City have stayed at 49. After taking a stream of questions on the flu, the mayor visibly brightened when asked a question in Spanish and is reported to have replied: 

Nada es nueva, desafortunadamente. No hay nuevo casos. Y las personas que están enfermado mejora y tomar precauciones lo mismo: Cubre su boca y nariz, y lava la manos. Y quédate — quédase — en tu casa si tu estoy — tiene los symptomáticos — symptomáticos — si tu está enfermo. Y paso un buen fin de semana también.

A translation:

Nothing is new, unfortunately. There are no new cases. And the people who are sick are getting better and are taking the same precautions: Cover your mouth and nose, and wash your hands. And stay at home if you have symptoms — if you are sick. And have a good weekend, too.

Y paso un buen fin de semana también.