Without a doubt, the hallmark of professional translation is attention to detail. This concept applies to each and every one of the elements that make up a text requiring translation. As we know, one of the most important is terminology. What text can function properly in its area of specialty and among professionals working in this field if the terms they work with aren’t correct? A good translation must not only reproduce what the original says, but it must be able to transmit the concept in its own language, using the correct jargon. Furthermore, we must be very rigorous with regards to this terminology because an inconsistent translation in which the same term is translated in several different ways will create misunderstandings, ambiguity and will decrease the final quality of any project as it will reduce ease of comprehension and uniformity. Lastly, as an additional example of this list of basic requirements, we cannot forget that absolutely accurate translations in terms of spelling and grammar must be delivered. Indeed, the language service provision industry is one of the professions that is most intimately linked to proper language use and dissemination of culture, so there is no margin for error. This means that professional translators strive to learn all the spelling rules and style guidelines for the languages they work with since it is common for them to be updated or corrected from time to time. Ultimately, this should serve as a reminder to review certain texts that are no longer up to date as a result of the new writing rules that are developed.
The reality is that there is a certain amount of uncertainty within the profession when applying these criteria. There are several cases in which one spelling rule gives the option to follow several different rules and it is up to the translator to make a consistent decision. In many cases, this decision must meet the client’s criteria in order to ensure that the requirements are in line with the expectations of the markets with which we work. This is just another example that demonstrates the fact that a translator’s profile requires a high level of accuracy and attention to detail. Therefore, in this article we want to review one of the most controversial aspects in the sector when writing texts and preparing their translations: numbers. Numbers are present in the majority of texts created, and we find them in all types of specialties, such as technical (in studies and research), legal (in legal provisions or certificates), advertising (advertising or offers) or communicational. The curious thing about numbers in writing is that they can be represented in two ways (with figures or letter). This in turn can entail secondary considerations, which causes doubts when deciding on one criterion or another. In addition, each community of speakers has its own way of representing numbers depending on the context, so what works for one language may not work for another. As a result, the translator must have sufficient knowledge to detect these situations and know how to adapt numerical representations to the target culture. One of the most well-known examples is that of decimals when writing numbers with figures. In English the decimal is marked with a point and, when localizing to a Spanish-speaking culture, the translator must research whether the point is commonly used (as in Latin America) or a comma is used (as in Spain). This is why, in this article, we want to summarize some of the most important writing keys in order to know how to adapt writing numbers into Spanish.
It is essential to bear in mind the type of text that is being adapted since it is more important to keep numbers written with figures in scientific and technical texts. This is because they help improve understanding of the information and, in general, they deal with more complex amounts. However, in more informative texts we can consider a series of more basic rules. For example, in Spanish it is appropriate to write using letters the numbers that are pronounced as a single word, that is from one to twenty-nine, as well as the corresponding subsequent tens (thirty to ninety). In the case of hundreds, it changes depending on the context and, in the case of thousands and millions, the previous rule can be applied, but it is increasingly common to find them written with figures for simplicity. However, there are numbers that must always be written with figures, such as numbers denoting units, numbers used for time, such as hours, days, months and years, and numbers for directions, such as addresses.
Without a doubt, the most important thing when localizing numbers to our target culture is to think about the needs of the text’s target audiences and make decisions that facilitate understanding or help them better understand the data being presented.
Ref. de la imagen: https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/numbers-wallpaper
