A free translation is better than a paid translation anyday even if imperfect. Really? Well for some this may be a true statement.

Is there such a thing as a perfect translation at all? If the quality of a translation is determined by the quality of the conveyance of meaning, a translation’s quality can be no better than the original declaration. A troubling problem arises, however, with the inevitable realization that the original statement may have been flawed itself. While a resulting translation could be skillfully crafted and technically correct, what is its real value if the intended original meaning is lost?

Most of care about the quality of our communication. Many of us (me included) make assumptions about how well we communicate. We may be shocked to learn that what we intended to say was not what was understood. The consequences of poor communication can be dramatic, even devastating, in business and personal relationships.

There’s always another business opportunity just around the corner. The consequence of poor communication in human terms, regrettably, may be much more difficult or even impossible to recover from.

For free Spanish translation utility click here. The Google language tool is as good as any around for quick reference.

For high quality professional paid Spanish translation services click here for information.

The Google tool supports online translation of text from numerous popular language combinations, in addition to Spanish-English. The tool might be considered particularly useful for quick translation of emails and other brief text passages. For those whose translation requirements exceed the capabilities of free online resources, professional translation services from skilled linguists remain the best option for high quality translation in any language.

On occasion one of our clients inquires about the various English to Spanish translations tools available online. While these tools are not yet to a state of development where they’re 100% reliable, they have their place. Here’s an interesting test.

What follows is a paragraph of Lincoln’s Gettysburg address in English:

“But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Here’s the automated English-to-Spanish translation using the Google tool:

Pero, en un sentido más amplio, no podemos dedicar - no podemos consagrar - no podemos hallow - este terreno. Los valientes hombres, vivos y muertos, que lucharon aquí, lo han consagrado, muy por encima de nuestras pobres facultades para añadir o restar. El mundo se nota poco, ni recordará durante mucho tiempo lo que decimos aquí, pero nunca podrá olvidar lo que hicieron aquí. Es para nosotros la vida, más bien, que se dedica aquí al trabajo inacabado que ellos que lucharon aquí hasta la fecha han avanzado tan noblemente. Es más bien para nosotros estar aquí dedicado a la gran tarea que tenemos ante nosotros restantes - que de estos muertos honrados nos tomamos una mayor dedicación a esa causa por la que se dio la última plenitud de la devoción - que estamos aquí muy resolver que estos muertos no se han muerto en vano - de que esta nación, bajo Dios, tendrá un nuevo nacimiento de libertad - y que el gobierno del pueblo, por el pueblo y para el pueblo, no perecerá de la tierra.

Finally here’s the automated Spanish-to-English translation of the first translation. You be the judge.

But in a broader sense, we can not dedicate - we can not consecrate - we can not Halloween - this ground. The brave men, living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or subtract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but can never forget what they did here. It gives us life, rather, that here is dedicated to unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which was the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these No deaths have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that the government of the people, by the people and for the people, not perish from the earth.

For information on Spanish translation services performed by professional linguists click here.

Search engine optimization (SEO/SEM) is one important benefit associated with corporate blogs. Outsourcing an organization’s corporate blog to a professional blogging team is one way to ensure your company’s blog gets the regular attention it needs, including ongoing content generation built on strategic keywords and phrases.

Outsourced corporate blogging services from Affinity Spanish include a dedicated subject matter authority (writer) that knows your company and business, and can compose timely, interesting content that attracts attention from search engine robots as well as human readers. Keyword research, project management, blog setup and design/maintenance, all are included in turnkey outsourced corporate blogging services. A parallel Spanish blog to accompany an English language blog is available as an option.

Affinity Spanish today announced new outsourced corporate blogging services in English and optionally Spanish. Blogs are perhaps the most effective method currently available for promoting organic search engine results. A fully staffed, high-volume blog adding search engine friendly content on a daily basis can be used to ‘flood the internet’ with content that ranks prominently in connection with strategically selected target keywords and phrases.

A themed blog operation is highly scalable and can be established and supported at a level in line with a range of determined budget allocations. For more information contact us at 303-404-8699 or info@affinityspanish.com.

This month an article we authored on the topic of Hispanic Internet Marketing appears in the March 2008 edition of Used Car Dealer Magazine. The magazine issued monthly by NIADA (National Independent Automobile Dealers Association) is the oldest and most prestigious trade journal for used car dealers.

Despite the article’s stated title, we prefer to think of so-called Hispanic Internet Marketing as ‘bilingual English-Spanish internet marketing’. We’re big advocates for leveraging web content in both English and Spanish to strengthen search engine positioning in each language. The practice is of particular interest to US auto dealers that have English language web sites plus interests in the US Hispanic market, a significant portion of which prefers Spanish language content.

To browse the online magazine and read the full article, click here and navigate the flash display to the article beginning on page 34.

If search engines were perfect the best (i.e., most relevant) sites would always rank at the top. Amazing pieces of technology that search engines are, indexing and organizing apparently non-stop, they’re far from perfect. And it’s darned near impossible to determine absolute ‘best’ in connection with a web site.

When the buzzword acronyms of SEO (search engine optimization) or SEM (search engine marketing) come up in conversation among business people it’s seldom immediately clear what’s meant by those using these terms. After a few gently probing questions though, the respective definitions of these things begin to emerge. SEO is something you do once and then it’s done. That’s one idea we hear. The other is that there’s some kind of trick involved in getting high rankings in search engines.  

This morning I was reading an interview with well-known marketing commentator Seth Godin. In his view a problem with search engine optimization services is not so much with the consultants, but with some (not ours) clients’ expectations of immediate results. It’s part of our society I suppose … the quick fix mindset. Well, how about just taking the time, applying the resources, etc., etc., to over time create websites full of useful content. In other words give search engines and users just what they want. This is the ‘new SEO’ (actually what our company has always done). And we do it in English and Spanish.

In test marketing this video we found that many viewers experience a sudden and compelling desire to engage us for Spanish translation services, to conduct search engine marketing in English and/or Spanish, or to recruit bilingual employees (strangely, independent of whether the services are actually needed). 

Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Bilingual abilities at all levels of business organizations are becoming more the norm than the exception. Just as having bilingual abilities can be a tremendous personal advantage for individuals, many companies also benefit by hiring employees that speak a language in addition to English.

How many foreign languages do executives speak? We came across the following survey results and thought they were worth noting. Well-known executive search firm Korn/Ferry International asked visitors to its web site the following question: “How many languages do you speak?” Of the 12,562 responses they received, the answeres were:

• One language (36 percent)
• Two languages (31 percent)
• Three languages (20 percent)
• Four languages (9 percent)
• More than five languages (4 percent)

What’s interesting about the percentage distribution? For one thing it seems there were almost as many bilingual respondents as there were those who speak only a single language. Other observations?

See also: English-Spanish bilingual employee recruiting services.

When new clients contact us for the first time we’re sometimes asked about the translation process we adhere to. Over time we’ve settled on a translation process based on the following five primary stages:

1. Review and Preparation. Source material is reviewed to identify any special terminology; research is conducted and glossaries are created as needed.

2. Initial Translation. Translation from the source to target language is conducted.

3. Quality Review/Editing. Material is reviewed and edited to ensure the highest quality translation. 

4. Second Quality Review (as needed). A second final quality review may occur depending on project complexity.

5. Delivery and Approval. Translated text is provided to the client for approval.

For additional information on English-to-Spanish and Spanish-to-English translation services click here.