About project
Period: 2000-2016
Client: Media agencies
Subject: Client / loyalty magazines
These magazines are created, localised and printed on behalf of automotive manufacturers by media agencies (Haymarket, Parnassia Media). They contain brand information and often cover many lifestyle themes, with stunning photography and artwork.
My Task Was
Translation, obviously, and very often, adapting the copy: creating headlines and pullquotes, shortening copy length when required.
Process
The trick consists in conveying the meaning and intention, which often means tweaking the translation to match the tone of the text for the intended French readership. In turn, you enter into a dialogue between the publisher and he French market comms teams to find “where to place the cursor”.
- Creating and curating distinct automotive glossaries for each brand, applying the house style (see how I do this using my AI translation SaaS)
- Researching technical automotive engines and systems vocabulary
- Strong emphasis on style
- Adapting text body when a reference would have not been understood by a French readership – context adaptation
Result
A long term collaboration with several publishing houses
- Hundred of articles translated
- From the most technical to pure lifestyle
- Brands: Jaguar, Lexus, Land Rover, Toyota, Volvo, Mazda, Jeep, Chrysler
Conclusion
This equipped me with a very good understanding of automotive and lifestyle topics. It was also a great exercice in getting the tone and intent of these stories across.