"We need this text in Arabic/English, but don't translate it literally."

I graduated with a BA in Languages and Translation, and let me tell you what I think (rarely silently), every time I hear that phrase in the creative industry.

“Translation itself is not a literal process. It never was.” 

Translation has always been about transferring meaning, intent and feeling with your own creative touch. Unless we're working with legal, medical or religious text, there's no reason to be literal with words. On the contrary, it's an opportunity to get creative and simply see it as developing new content in a different language. It's like copywriting, except that the concept is already created.

Translation teaches us to be writers, too.

I do understand, however, why "don't translate literally" became a thing. The word "literal" got attached to translation because most people encounter bad translation that is rushed or linguistically correct but culturally hollow. The problem is not the discipline, but the execution.

In an attempt to clear the confusion, the creative industry created a new word to solve a problem that didn't really need a new word.

"Transcreation."

Wonderful.

I've used it, and clients loved it. But every time I did, I felt like I was cheating on the translation process and the importance of translation as a creative act in its own right. What we really needed wasn't a new word to ensure creativity. It was a better understanding of the original one.

So here's a reminder to writers and translators in the creative industry and beyond: give yourself the freedom and the confidence to translate concepts and written content in your own words.

At Vice Versa Studios, we attach the word "Conceptual" to "Translation." Not to add an adjective to the process, but because we literally create and translate concepts into real-world stories, whether they start as thoughts, words or images.

In the end, both copywriting and translation (and transcreation) are about creating meaning that matters.