Verbal identity

Member lesson

Adapting voice across languages

Lesson 10 of 10 in Verbal identity.

What is Transcreation and How Should a Global Brand Use it · Lionbridge Dublin
Lesson

A voice built in English does not survive translation, because most of what makes it distinctive is idiom, rhythm and register, and none of those cross directly. What crosses is intent.

voicewho the brand isthe sameeverywheretonehow it sounds in each momenta welcomean errora receiptbad newsseriousplayfulthe tone changes with the moment. the voice never does
A brand's voice stays the same everywhere, while its tone changes with the moment: playful for a welcome, serious for bad news.
On the left a curly ribbon is cranked through a mincer and comes out broken for a frowning reader, and on the right a glowing heart passed across a border becomes a new bright ribbon for a smiling reader.
Word-for-word translation breaks a brand's voice, while handing the feeling to a local writer gives new words with the same effect. What travels between languages is the intent.
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  1. Question 1, locked

    A brand is casual in English and formal in German. Why is that a problem rather than a local adaptation?

    • German has no informal address, so a casual English voice cannot be matched
    • Formal German runs shorter, so the layouts stop matching across markets
    • Formality is a house style decision, so it belongs with the serial comma rather than with voice
    • It is running two brands, and the split was usually made by accident by the first translator hired
  2. Question 2, locked

    Which of these words means this? “Rewriting for effect in another language rather than translating for accuracy.”

    • Formality register
    • Voice principle
    • Descriptive naming
    • Transcreation
  3. Question 3, locked

    Which of these words means this? “Languages with a formal and informal you force a decision English never has to make.”

    • Native
    • Lexicon
    • Formality register
    • Descriptor
End of Verbal identityMembers onlyNow play it5 games from this module at four levels, and a stamp for your ticket book.

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