What Spanish "type" should you translate for the Hispanic market in the United States?

August 2009 by PLG

A common concern that our translation customers often have is that their products will not suit their Spanish speaking population appropriately, particularly because of the diversity of Spanish speaking consumers in the United States. The reality is that not every Spanish speaking consumer in the United States may understand your translation 100 percent, but with good market research, you may be able to maximize the amount of information given to your Spanish-speaking consumers or readers. This article is intended to help you understand the right translation for your Spanish-speaking market.

The following map shows the concentration of Spanish speakers (the darker the blue, the higher the percentage) living in the United States. Note that the largest concentration of Spanish speakers live in the southwest, due to the historical connections with Mexico and more recently the large waves of immigration from Latin America. A good generalization is that your material should be translated into Mexican Spanish if your intended market is Texas and California, but should this be the correct choice if your intended market is in let's say, in a more diverse location like New York City where there is a sizable Puerto Rican community as well?

Concentration of Spanish Speakers in the United States:

What are the common "types" of Spanish spoken in the U.S.?

The most common Spanish dialects reflect the Spanish-speaking groups living in the United States, including Mexican, Cuban, and Puerto Rican living in communities like Los Angeles, Miami, and New York respectively. The following are common translation requests for Spanish "type":

Mexican Spanish - For use in Mexico and the United States or where large Mexican populations reside
North American Spanish, American Spanish - Spanish generally intended for N. American markets
European Spanish, Peninsular or Iberian Spanish, Castilian Spanish - For use in Spain
Latin American Spanish - Spanish for use in Latin America, may include the U.S.
Caribbean Spanish, including Cuban and Puerto Rican - spoken in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and along the Caribbean coasts of Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Central America, and the U.S.
Standard, Neutral, or International Spanish - Spanish for use worldwide or where a large diversity of Spanish-speaking groups reside (This is often the preferred choice for newscasters and radio hosts in U.S. Spanish media)

What is often not discussed is that there is a Spanish standard when communicating to the Spanish population in the United States. This is not necessarily a dialect, but a Standard used when diverse Hispanic groups communicate within themselves. There are many cultural factors that contribute to this, one factor is the Spanish media like CNN en Español or Univision that cater to a wider Spanish speaking population, and thus, cary Spanish programming that use terminology that is more universal and less regional. We have this in English as well; here in the midwest we call carbonated drinks "pop" often getting confused stares from outsiders.

For example, a common term for grass in Mexican Spanish is zacate, which would be understood by any Spanish-speaking Mexican-American living in the United States, but not necessarily by someone coming from Cuba or Puerto Rico. Zacate is borrowed from Zacatl, the Nahua term given to the lush grass found in the Mexican hills. But to be understood by a larger Hispanic group, the term pasto would thus be preferably used. Another term for grass, cesped, would be less preferable to use as this is a term that may not be commonly understood by all Spanish-speaking groups.

Anglicization and the Spanish Language

Anglicization is a global phenomenon, but even more so in bilingual countries like Canada and the United States where English is the dominant language. If your intended market is Hispanic youth, the language may largely differ from their parents' in that English terminology would be preferred rather than the Spanish term, for let's say, "party". The correct translation for party is "fiesta", but a younger Hispanic-American generation may prefer to use the English term. Another example commonly used is "club". The correct translation for "club" as in night club is antro, but most Hispanic American youth may prefer to use the word club, pronounced "Kloob".

Is Mexican Spanish really different from let's say, Puerto Rican Spanish?

No, not when it comes to the shared foundations of the language, or at least in most written form. Sure there are regional spoken dialects, but like we discussed above, it is very acceptable to translate into a more universally understood Spanish, but nonetheless it is important to indicate your target market as your translations can be even more useful if there is a cultural factor that is applied. If you are specifically advertising to the Mexican-American market, then translating "grass" to zacate when selling grass fertilizer may be very appropriate to connect with the cultural aspect of the population. If your intended audience is the Spanish-speaking population in general, then the more universal Standard or Neutral Spanish should be applied -- we would use pasto when translating the label of a grass fertilizer product into Spanish.

One particular Spanish-speaking country that does not have a large immigrant population in the United States is Spain, whose Spanish also differs from Latin American countries. A common term in Peninsular Spanish that is not used in Latin American Spanish is "ordenador", meaning computer. The more anglicized term "computadora" is more common throughout Latin America. European or Peninsular Spanish translations are an uncommon request for the American market, but it is usually if not always the recommended choice when a translation is intended for the European market.

So when it comes down to it all, you should translate your certificates, labels and packaging, or any other materials into the language that your customers or readers understand. Mexican Spanish is preferred when translating for communities in the Southwest, but a more standard Latin American Spanish should be chosen when targeting the Spanish-speaking market as a whole in the United States. And if you are going global, then a more universal Spanish that is understood in Spain to faraway places such as Equatorial Guinea is optimal.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

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