The processes and guidelines defined in this document will also provide the training material for an online course to be made available in the TAUS eLearning Platform with exclusive examples and practical exercises.
In mid-2018, participants of the TAUS QE Summit in Dublin assigned TAUS with the task of presenting a structured set of best practices, guidelines and training materials, for linguists interested in developing their skills around transcreation and international copywriting. This publication would serve as a step towards formalizing an understanding of both the terms and the processes.
TAUS, therefore, formed an editorial board consisting of Alvaro Villalvilla Merelo (Senior Global Localization Manager, Nike), Angela Petrilli (Translation Regional Manager, Workday), Makiko Aoki (Senior Transcreation Manager, Burberry), Vladimir Zhdanov (Localization Specialist, ex-Alibaba Group). The Transcreation Editorial Board was chaired by Paul Mangell (Director, Global Strategic Consultancy, Alpha). The Board came together to discuss and agree on the definition of transcreation, methods of differentiating transcreation from other industry terms as well as steps to produce excellence in transcreation and the importance of cultural relevance.
"It was time to take on this task," says Solen Aslan, Digital Marketing Manager (TAUS) "as the discussion around transcreation had been going on for some time, but without the guidelines that could help define, scope and potentially measure the output of these processes. It was also necessary, because the need for giving practical support to transcreators has never been so great, and is increasing daily." The Chair of the Editorial Board, Paul Mangell (Alpha) adds that "Some seasoned translation experts believe that transcreation is really just another name for good, culturally adept translation. In other words, they believe that transcreation has 'hijacked' what well-educated, skillful translators have always done - provide a culturally relevant, linguistically accurate text, rather than a 'word-for-word' translation. All good translation is in some way creative – and must take into account the writer and their purpose, plus the reader and their culture."
In the TAUS Transcreation Best Practices, the Board firmly concluded that transcreation is a distinct process, and can be separated through different forms of preparation, source material, and intent. This document investigates, elaborates on and exemplifies these indicators that separate transcreation from other industry terms.
The discussions started in the Best Practices will be continued at the TAUS Global Content Conference in Salt Lake City on 27-28 June. TAUS Transcreation Best Practices are freely available for everyone to download.