 Use Accurate, Simple, and Appropriate Language
 Write Rather than Translate
The ideal method of developing Spanish-language materials is to write the material in Spanish, rather than translate from English. Word-for-word translation from English is the least desirable method of developing a Spanish language material. It will not capture the meaning of all the essential points and can project an “afterthought” approach.
According to Hablamos Juntos, a Web site with resources on writing materials specifically for Latinos, “Translation is about much more than replacing a set of words in one language with a set of words in another. It is a communication activity that must convey the intended meaning, not simply the words. The culture and communication style of Spanish speakers differ from those of native English speakers and can affect their understanding of materials originally written for an English-speaking audience” (Hablamos Juntos 2005).
If you are creating Spanish and English versions at the same time, use the process of transcreation. That is, develop the general ideas and messages you want to convey. Then, using the input you have collected from your target audience, write text that is appropriate for your English-speaking audience and different text (if warranted) for your Spanish-speaking audience.
 Find a Good Writer
The task of finding a writer for your educational material is not a simple one. Consider the following points:
- A person who speaks Spanish is not necessarily a Spanish writer. Writers receive specialized training in sentence construction, tone, grammar, and many other dimensions of writing.
- There is more to writing materials in English and Spanish than simply translating them from one language to the other. Your writer should have training beyond skills in basic translation from English to Spanish.
- Writers may work as freelancers or as part of marketing or public relations organizations. Some of these organizations specialize in reaching diverse audiences and/or have a social marketing focus on prevention-oriented topics such as traffic safety. These organizations can often provide other useful services such as focus-group planning and implementation, concept development, layout, design, editing, and printing.
Job Qualifications
The two most important criteria to look for in a writer are:
- Experience writing in Spanish
• An understanding of your audience’s culture and language
Other useful expertise for a writer to have includes:
- Native Spanish-speaking ability, although this is not essential if the writer is fluent in Spanish and understands the nuances of the Spanish language and Latino culture
- Health communications or marketing experience
- Experience with injury prevention or other public health issues
Where Can You Find a Writer?
There are several ways to locate writers. Contact membership agencies that specialize in social marketing and/or Spanish-speakers. Be aware that they will typically give you only their list of members. Examples include the American Association of Advertising Agencies, The Public Relations Society of America, and the American Marketing Association. Search for freelance writers through organizations such as the National Association of Science Writers or through the Internet. Contact the developers of materials you think are well written and/or attractively designed; find out which writer they used or ask them for recommendations. After you have the names of several writers, plan to interview at least two or three and to review samples of materials they have written. If they have written bilingual materials, ask them how the Spanish and English versions differ. If they simply translated the Spanish from the English without any linguistic or cultural adaptation, they may not be the writers who can best serve you.
Identifying a Good Spanish Writer
We use our staff’s creative minds. We always look for people in the field to get the appropriate and most up-to-date technical language for the topic we are addressing. In the case of “Corazón de mi vida,” we drew on the expertise of several traffic safety experts whose primary language was Spanish. |
Identifying a Good Spanish Writer
In our experience, finding a writer was a difficult task. We advertised the position and made personal contacts with the State and local health departments, multicultural Web job search engines such as latpro.com, advertisement and public relations agencies, and organizations represented by WEST. Several trained translators and writers expressed interest in this project; however, they did not feel comfortable with all its aspects: writing, message development, and cultural marketing. We finally found a media consulting company that specialized in working with various cultures. It had expertise in traditional and social marketing, and experience working in the Latino community. One of our sponsors helped defray the costs of working with this group. |
 Pay Attention to Word Usage
Regardless of whether your material is directed to a homogeneous Latino audience or a more diverse population, it should use clear and accessible language that respects grammatical standards and regional variations in vocabulary (Watson 2005). If you are writing for a multi-State or national audience, eliminate regional variations or colloquialisms to ensure that a wide audience will understand the material.
Consider the following tips as you carefully choose your words:
- Traffic safety terms must be accurate and understood by your audience. Define any terms that might be unclear, such as safety belt, booster seat, blood alcohol content, or DUI.
- Don’t use words that are too technical or complicated. In English, for example, there are ways to express concepts using casual rather than complicated words:
- car instead of automobile
- light instead of traffic signal
- safety belt instead of shoulder harness belt
- bike instead of bicycle
Using Spanish words that convey an informal tone can make your material more engaging and convincing, as well as easier to understand.
- Avoid slang. Slang is defined as “language particular to a specific group; informal nonstandard vocabulary composed typically of coinages, arbitrarily changed words, and extravagant, forced, or facetious figures of speech” (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary 2003). It is often short-lived, easily sounds outdated, and can be misunderstood. Furthermore, if the material is intended for a national audience, slang terms will probably not be understood by the entire audience.
- Pay attention to the way in which your audience uses words. Many experts advise that if you have a heterogeneous audience, it is better to select words that are easily understood by many Spanish-speakers, sometimes referred to as Pan-Hispanic words. If your audience is a local or homogeneous community, you should use words that are particularly familiar to them.
- Be aware that not all groups share the same sense of humor. Although a phrase may be funny or cute to one Latino group, another might not perceive it the same way.
- Consider whether you want to use tú, the informal form of “you,” or usted, the more formal, respectful form. Your choice will depend on how familiar you want the tone of your material to be. If you are speaking to elderly persons or persons of authority, it is customary to use usted unless asked specifically to use tú.
- Remember that words that rhyme in English will probably not have the same effect when translated directly into Spanish (e.g., Click It or Ticket).
- In any language, health and safety messages have the greatest impact when they are repeated in various formats, such as a poster, a public service announcement, and a brochure. Also, messages are most effective when they direct the audience to take an action (“Buckle Up Every Trip, Every Time”) rather than simply give information (“Safety Belts Save Lives”) (R. Mayer, personal communication).
- Finally, remember that the best way to ensure that your words—especially traffic safety terms—will be effective with your target audience is to ask members of that audience for feedback, such as through pilot tests, focus groups, and interviews.
 For recommended definitions of words commonly used in traffic safety educational materials, see appendix C.
 Example of a Material That Uses Language in a Simple, Accurate Way
 “Corazón de mi vida, Tris, Tras; No adelante, pero siempre atrás. Estará más seguro, Y si lo verás!” (2003)
This two-sided hanging card is part of the “Corazón de mi vida” kit developed by the National Latino Children’s Institute. This material uses accurate and appropriate language, which is clearly not a word-for-word translation from English. It uses Pan-Hispanic language that is accessible to all Spanish-speakers. This material was created in a bilingual format with English on the reverse side, which can facilitate broader use of the material. It also uses simple text and is written at a low literacy level.
Example of Differences in Word Usage
“Click It or Ticket”
Below are Spanish translations of “Click It or Ticket” taken from several different materials. They are written here exactly as they appeared in the original material. EST staff then translated them back into English, with the following results:
- “Te abrochas o te multan”
You buckle yourself or you get a ticket [present tense]
- “Abrochado o multado”
Buckled up or ticketed
- “Abróchese el cinturón o sufra la sanción”
Buckle your belt or suffer the sanction [command form]
- “Abrochado o arrestado”
Buckled up or arrested
More Advice on Usted vs. Tú
The challenge is whether to use the formal usted or informal tú. This is where most organizations/companies fall flat. They want to be respectful, so they do it all in usted. But it’s an immediate red flag to the target audience that the developer doesn’t know them. For serious topics and for older audiences, the formal may apply. But for a peer or young audience on topics like impaired driving and pedestrian safety, you want to talk in a more familiar, intimate way. If you are listening to a McDonald’s spot, they say “Do you want to supersize those?” Using usted, the equivalent would sound something like, “Sir, would you prefer to upgrade your large carbonated beverage and your fried potatoes?” It’s correct, but it’s just not how people talk—not just the formality, but also the blandness. You want to ensure, when you’re expending the resources to do this, that your audience feels it was written for them, produced for them, created for them. If they don’t, it’s not effective.
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Whether you use tú or usted, it’s important to be consistent throughout your material. Mixing the two forms demonstrates poor understanding and fails to communicate effectively with the audience. Often, the usted form is better because it conveys respect and a formality that can make social communications involving desirable behaviors more credible and authoritative. |
Although the two quotes above may appear to differ, the important point is that there are many nuances to consider. Deciding between tú and usted is not a trivial matter and must be considered carefully.
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