Spanish Translation: Where The Money Is

Spanish falls behind Chinese with one billion native speakers, and is a little ahead of the English language that has about three hundred twenty eight million speakers.

Spanish is spoken across the continents of Europe and South America, and is the most popular foreign language to learn in Canada and the United States.

In the United States, the government states that about a thousand Spanish-speaking immigrants come to the country each day. Currently, the Spanish-speaking Hispanic community comprises a population of fifty million, or simply-put, one out of six Americans. The term Hispanics came from the U.S. Census to classify Spanish-speaking Latin Americans who come to the U.S. This should be keeping Spanish translators and interpreters very busy.

With the facts presented above, it is evident that the Spanish-speaking community, particularly in the U.S., is a social and economic force to reckon with. The influence spans from culture, to lifestyle, to education, and to business. The community represents a key demographic for business, economic, and political matters. More and more are looking at accurate Spanish translation to understand and communicate with the Hispanic segment.

Spanish translation moving the economy

Realizing the influence and purchase power of the Spanish-speaking market, the demand for Spanish translations has undoubtedly increased. As part of their marketing strategies, small and big businesses are integrating the Spanish translation of their content, as well as communicating their messages in the vernacular.

Advertising figures speak for themselves. According to a 2005 survey by HispanTelligence, the purchasing power of Hispanics in the United States amounted to $ 700 billion annually. And we can imagine the number has only grown since then.

Statistics also show that the Hispanic community tends to be more brand-loyal. This is one of the reasons behind such great efforts from businesses to talk to this important segment.

Studies show that people are more likely to purchase something if the offer was made in their native language. This is leaving industry players in a scramble to gain market share from this emerging target audience. And the answer is obvious—high quality Spanish translation is a must.

An online force to be reckoned with

Online content is also in a frenzy for translating Spanish. Research company Ipsos notes that every day, 63% of the millions Spanish-speaking market trust the Internet for their news, social activities, and purchasing.

Numerous retail companies are making their websites available in Spanish content. Successfully reaching this segment online has led to expanding Spanish translation services to social media and mobile strategies as well, integrating it into their business strategies.

Schooled in Spanish

The Spanish-speaking industry is changing the horizon of many industries—manufacturing, production, finance, food. So much so that Universities in the United States are seeing the need for their students to be exposed to the language. In Canada, McGill University offers Hispanic studies and provides the option for other courses to be taken in Spanish. Meanwhile, Florida State University’s Center for Hispanic Marketing Communications is offering graduate and undergraduate studies.

As Spanish becomes more widely used in English speaking countries, native English speakers are given more opportunities to learn the language. Thus, continuing the expansion of the Spanish-speaking market segment.

Spanish translation will also be more frequent, as a growing number of English speaking individuals will be capable of speaking the language. The cycle of exponential growth is now clear and visible. But as constituents of the modern world, we can expect no less.

Charlene Lacandazo is a marketing executive at Rosetta Translation, a leading London and Shanghai translation agency offering Spanish translation and Spanish interpreting services worldwide.