Best Practices

The more you can tell your translator about your audience, the better they can tailor your project to speak to them.

• Who is the target audience?
• What is their cultural context?
• About how long have they been in the U.S.?
• What is their educational background and Spanish language fluency? (There are many indigenous cultures across Latin America with their own languages, so sometimes Spanish is their second language)
• Are you speaking to people who already know your “insider language” or are you speaking to people who may need more explanation?

Let the translator know your preferences for your project’s style and tone.

• Formal or informal – More than English, Spanish has a formal and an informal way of speaking that should remain consistent throughout a text and even across a brand/organization. Do you prefer to speak to your audience in a professional, respectful and formal way? OR Do you prefer a more laid-back, friendly and conversational style?

• Plural or singular – In Spanish the word for “you” must be singular or plural. You need to decide if you want to address your reader as a group of people (plural) or as one person (singular).

• How closely does the translation need to match the original? For example is it an official document or policy that needs to be perfectly faithful to the original or does the translator have the freedom to adapt for cultural or language differences? Do you want the Spanish to match the English as closely as possible and still make sense? (this is helpful if they will be used in a bilingual group simultaneously or printed side-by-side) OR Do you want the Spanish to sound as natural as possible while keeping the meaning of the English?

Download our Client Translation Preferences Checklist here.

Consider that any sources with copyrights used in the publication may have a separate copyrights for the Spanish version. For Catholic ministries this usually includes excerpts from the Lectionary, the Roman Missal and Sacred Scripture. Investigate how to obtain permission to use this material or ask your translator if you need more information.

In the case of Sacred Scripture, inform the translator which Spanish Bible translation to use or ask for their recommendation. We recommend El Libro del Pueblo de Dios since that is the one available on the Vatican website. Other popular Spanish Catholic Bibles are: Dios habla hoy, Biblia Latinoamericana, Biblia de Jerusalén, Sagrada Biblia and La Biblia de América.

Involve a translator before finalizing & publishing the project in the original language if possible.

Translation requires careful consideration of every word and critical reflection on the work. Translators often find inconsistencies or unclear language in the original.

When the translation needs to match the original (formal equivalence), like official statements or policies, the translator may need to reword things so they make sense in Spanish and the original may need to be tweaked to match.

Graphic design in the original language may not look as nice in the target language. The word order is often different and some languages will have a higher word count than other languages. For example, expressing an idea in Spanish usually takes more words than in English. (Juan’s bike = la bicicleta de Juan).

If you want the translator to keep the formatting the same as the original, verify which file types they can work with. We work with these file types and will return them in the same file type: Word (.doc), InDesign (.idml), PowerPoint (.ppt), and Subtitles (.srt). We can convert a PDF and return the translation in Word but the formatting may not convert well.

Proofread again once all formatting has been finalized. We provide this service at no extra charge.

Choose someone specific to be the point person to work with the translator throughout the phases of the project.

Decide who will make the final decision if the translator needs input about what the original means or about your organization’s preferences.

• Ask about their experience and request references or sample files.
• DON’T assume your bilingual staff are good at translating or have time to do it.
• Confirm they have access to Spanish versions of any materials you are quoting and are willing to do the research to find the official Spanish version of the quotes (for example, Vatican or USCCB documents, Roman Missal, Lectionary, theological or philosophical texts, Scripture, etc.).
• Share your preferences (see above), any of your custom terms if applicable and any materials you have already translated (share original & target languages).
• Inform them of the word count, deadline(s), file type of original, formatting preferences and confirm they can meet those expectations.
• Clarify whether their price includes their research time, adapting the text for consistency, copyediting the original and final proofreading, or if those services have additional fees.