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A document containing idiomatic expressions and slang can be translated. Idioms and slang are extremely culture-specific; there are no direct language equivalents outside of culture, and they are fairly difficult to decipher outside of the cultural context. While this is an acceptable level of muddle, with a little strategy and a bit of market knowledge, translators will be able to figure out the meaning and intent in idiomatic and slang language.
The translation services market is expected to grow steadily in the next few years. It will reach $29.85 billion in 2028 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.8%. So, this article provides tips and best practices for translators working with documents containing idiomatic expressions, colloquialisms, regional dialects, or other informal language.
Know Your Audience
The first key to successfully translating idioms, slang, and colloquial speech is knowing who your translations are for.
Are you building software or apps to be consumed by an international audience? Do you translate marketing content or support documentation? Subtitling videos and media? You should be 100 percent sure of your audience or context first before you translate.
Let’s take the example of technical documentation, where you want to maximize clarity over capturing cultural nuances in language. At the same time, marketing copy often needs an idiomatic translation that will ring true in the way target users tend to talk.
Always clarify the intended audience early in the translation process. This allows for the selection of the right register and linguistic style. For consistent, high-quality results across all these scenarios, consider working with a document translation service from Rapid Translate that understands these nuanced requirements.
Conduct Background Research
The main issue here is knowing the context for idiomatic expressions, the cultural and linguistic.
Research of the origins of the various meanings of these idioms, slang, and informal language conducted thoroughly can reveal nuances reproduced by dictionaries and automated tools.
Some best practices:
- Read the source and target language bilingual and monolingual dictionaries. The explanations of cultural context are more extensive in monolingual dictionaries.
- Look for the idiomatic expression in use online in context. This makes the meaning even clearer.
- Research how competitors have translated these expressions for product or brand translations.
- For example, if you’re using software or some other new technology, developer documentation and user forums should tell you whether certain idioms have technical meanings.
Consider the Translation Options
Once you’ve researched an idiomatic expression and understand its meaning and cultural context, the next step is weighing different translation options. There are a few main approaches, each with their pros and cons:
1. Translate the Idiom Word-For-Word Literally
This means preserving the lexical components of the idiom while translating their basic meanings. For example, the English idiom “It’s raining cats and dogs” might translate literally into Spanish as “Está lloviendo gatos y perros.”
The advantage here is clarity, especially for audiences reading technical content focused on precision over style. It avoids confusion when translating non-literal idiom components. The downside, however, is losing linguistic flair, resonance, and the cultural wisdom idioms impart. Literal translations also often sound unnatural or awkward to native speakers.
Use literal translations only when the priority is unambiguous clarity over style, such as in technical documentation or content for non-native speakers.
2. Find an Equivalent Idiom in the Target Language
Ideally, an idiom in the source language will have a corresponding idiom in the target language that conveys the same figurative meaning. For example, the English “break a leg” translates into the French “merde!” – both idioms wish good luck in a showbiz context despite non-literal meanings.
Equivalent target language idioms best preserve the original nuance, style, and cultural resonance. However, they only work if an equivalent idiom happens to exist across both languages and cultures.
3. Paraphrase or Explain the Implied Idiom Meaning without Using an Idiom
Rather than translate literally or find an equivalent idiomatic expression, the third option is conveying the essential meaning of the idiom through non-figurative language. For example, “It’s raining cats and dogs” could translate as “It is raining very heavily.”
Paraphrasing or explaining the idiom defeats the purpose of using colorful figurative language. However, it allows for efficient communication of the core idea accurately and clearly to audiences. It is always a safe approach when equivalent idioms do not exist or do not quite capture the full meaning.
The best option depends on context, audience, and the specific idiom in question. Use judgment and keep the intended readers in mind when deciding between literal, idiomatic, and explanatory translations. The “safest” approach is not always the right one. Strive to balance clarity, accuracy, and preservation of linguistic style.
Handle Culturally-Specific References
Pop culture references, geographic places, celebrities, food dishes, and other unique cultural touchpoints often appear in informal language. For example:
“Apple’s design has more lives than a cat.”
“That startup is about as useful as a chocolate teapot.”
These can be tricky to translate if the comparison point holds no meaning for target readers.
Some options in these cases:
- Replace it with a culturally appropriate equivalent. For example, translate “more lives than a cat” into a local idiom about longevity for the target culture.
- Universalize it by removing the specific cultural reference. For example, “Apple’s design persists despite challenges.”
- Add explanatory text. For example, “Apple’s design, which seems to overcome any challenge, much like how cats are said to have nine lives in English idioms.”
- As a last resort, leave the reference untranslated but highlight or call it out somehow so readers know a cultural reference is being made.
Pay Attention to Register, Tone and Style
Idioms and slang words belong to certain linguistic registers and styles:
- formal vs. informal language;
- written vs. spoken;
- regional dialects;
- age-specific language;
- tech jargon;
- and more.
It’s important to translate not just the meaning of the text but also the register.
For example, informal American slang likely won’t resonate well if translated into very polite, formal Japanese.
Pay attention to who is speaking and what the desired tone of the text should be. Then, translate accordingly into the matching register, formality level, or industry-specific terminology needed for the target language and audience.
Have a Review Process
When it’s about important translations of idioms, slang, or regional dialects, get a native-speaking editor or proofreader to go through a translation.
On top of that, they can catch any missed message issues of incorrect linguistic register or illogical phrasing and comment on translation decisions.
Creating this review process guarantees the quality of the translation, how it sounds and what feel it conveys.
Some idioms and linguistic phrases just have no appropriate translation or replacement in the target language, despite the greatest attempts.
In these situations, open with the customer or content creator about the difficulty the language presents. Present your suggested answer, but stress that subtlety could be lost in translation.
Understanding that certain meanings may not transfer allows the customer to alter the original material to eliminate awkward idioms or approve the translation understanding.
Conclusion
Idioms, slang, and informal language give color, gravity and resonance to writing. But they’re hard to translate well; they need context, cultural fluency, and linguistic understanding.
Covering these challenges, knowing your target audience, understanding expressions, weighing translation options, and paying attention to linguistic registers and built-in review processes will help translators get around these.
The trick is that idioms don’t have word-for-word equivalents across languages. The craft of the translator consists in his or her ability to find or to work up dynamic equivalents true to the spirit and style of the source text.
It makes even informal, culture-laden documents accessible and engaging to readers of all languages and cultures.
Reviewed and edited by Albert Fang.
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Article Title: Handling Idiomatic Expressions and Slang in Document Translation
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