Getting Lost in Translation

An overseas trip is often a journey that helps you discover that the simple things are usually the best — in all areas of business, including copywriting. Let me explain with a few anecdotes from our Mexican adventure.

We were travelling north along what’s called the ‘East Cape Road’ — at best a loose description, at worst a veritable lie to trap naïve ‘gringos’.
“I know it looks like a sandy track, but I’m sure this is the road,” Pete said.
“Aha,” I said, gazing at the spectacular Mexican scenery, just outside San José del Cabo (Saint Joseph’s of the Cape).
“Oh, why are we stopping here?” I asked waking from my scenery stupor.
Pete rolled his eyes, “We’re . . . er . . . stuck.”
Indeed we were. The more he spun the wheels, the more sand billowed around us.
“Oh,” I said, “I suppose we’d better dig ourselves out then.”

Our little Hyundai’s wheels were half buried in the sand — all four of them. We started scooping it out and laying stones and vines behind the wheels to give them a bit of traction. Then Pete pushed and I tried in vain to reverse the car. Yep, more sand flew initiating more furious digging.

Five minutes into the exercise a vehicle resembling a small Jeep with a young couple in it, pulled up. The occupants spoke no English and our Spanish was limited to “hello”, “good bye”, “please” and “thank you”. Oh, and “Two beers and a couple of tacos, please”.
They gestured, “Do you need help?”
Pete, being the man gestured, “No, we’re fine thanks anyway.”

They drove another five metres before it became apparent that they vehicle was not a 4-wheel drive and they too became bogged.

Despite not speaking each other’s language, we were still able to communicate:
“Oh damn you’re stuck too.”
“We’ll help you out and then you can help us out.”
“Gosh we’re good! Look at that. Both vehicles out and not a scratch on them. "
“See you later. Have a great trip!”

On another occasion we visited a museum in Las Paz, the capital of Baja California Sur. While the downstairs exhibit had English translations, the main exhibits that cover two further floors did not. Still, we managed to learn a lot about the history of the area, what the original inhabitants ate, how they buried their dead, what animals roamed the area. It was fascinating.

So how can you do that with only a few scant words and what does it have to do with copywriting to a predominantly English-speaking audience?

The first thing you do when you try to communicate with anyone is establish what language they are speaking. Is it English? Spanish? Perhaps they speak German or French? If you can find that common language you can easily communicate straight away.

And that’s one of the first rules of copywriting: Find your target market’s language.

Okay, so what if they don’t speak your language at all? What to do then? If you’re patient and attentive, it’s actually not as difficult as you think. The rule here is: If your target market speaks a different language, find the commonalities.

It’s not hard to conceive that “perdón” in Spanish translates to “pardon” in English. In fact, ‘idea’ in Spanish is spelt the same as in English, only the pronunciation is different. “Escribe” means “write” and “pronuncia” means “pronounce”.

And I’m not referring to people that don’t speak English, I’m referring to customers who may not speak the language of your business. Jargon and technical terms are basically another language to your customers. Great if they understand it. Not so great if they don’t.

The other aspect to communicating with someone who doesn’t speak your language is that you reduce your communication to its simplest form. We were in a pet shop and I managed to ask a 60-year old lady who spoke no English what a particular animal was. How? I simply pointed at it. She responded, “Ratón”. I could then look that up and discover that a ratón was Spanish for mouse.

So often we think our audience wants bells and whistles — and not just the technological kind. We overpower what we really want to say with flowery descriptions; we add non-essential information; we find a quirky angle that’s perhaps just a little too creative.

When you’re not sure someone can understand what you’re saying, you keep it as simple as possible.

So the next rule is: While still giving the information needed, keep your message simple.

The final thing to remember when we’re trying to relay a message is patience. Even English-speakers aren’t always speaking our ‘language’. Ask questions and really listen to the answers. Then match your words with theirs. You’ll not only build great rapport, you’ll give a clearer more meaningful message.

An Old Man's Garden

An old Mexican man lived alone in East Los Angeles. He wanted to spade his garden, but it was very hard work. His only son Jose was in prison.

The old man wrote to his son:

Dear José,
I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won’t be able to plant my garden this year. I’m just too old to be digging up the garden. If you were here, all my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the garden for me.
Tú padre.

A few days later he received a letter from his son:

Dear Papa,
Por Diose Papa, don’t dig up the garden. That’s where I buried all my drugs and money.
Tú hijo.

At 6am the next morning, the LA sheriffs showed up and dug up the entire area without finding any drugs or money. They apologised to the old man and left.

The same day the man received a letter from his son:

Dear Papa,
Go ahead and plant your garden now. It’s the best I could do under the circumstances.
Love, José.

Reprinted from Destino Los Cabos, The English Magazine of Baja California Sur

Globalization
While we often talk of globalisation, we don't really understand how it impacts us every day. Here’s a great example.

Destino Los Cabos, The English Magazine of Baja California Sur is compiled by a Canadian using American technology and printed on paper from Canada, printed in Minnesota using technology from German presses with Taiwanese-made chips and Korean-made monitors, assembled by Bangladeshi workers in a Singapore plant. The magazine is transported by Mexicans.

Saying to Soar by

Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out
they've got a second.

Give your dreams all you've got & you'll be amazed at the energy that comes out of you.

William James, American Philosopher, 1842-1910

Email: mandy@talkingturkey.com.au
Web: www.talkingturkey.com.au

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