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I was wondering, when you translate a text into Spanish and you don't have any specific instructions, do you always convert the inches into meters, and other units? Like gallons, and pounds.
I was thinking maybe the best way is to write the English and the Spanish in brackets like XX inches (XX cm).
Hi Veronica!
If absolutely no instructions are given, I would do what you said, place the English next to the Spanish in parenthesis. But, I think it's always very important to ask the client what's the target audience. If by chance they are US Hispanics, then, they stay the same.
Best to you!
Hi veronica ….. I would do exactly what you suggested in case of free translations. Yet, in the case of legal certified translations (which are normally subject to stricter rules of accuracy) I would just use the unit originally indicated in the text, without stating any equivalency, since the inclusion of an equivalent unit may lead to the wrong interpretation that both units appear in the original text.
Regards :)
I agree with In-House: always ask to the client at the beginning of the translation. You must take a look on the translation before start it. If you have the problem now, and you can't ask to the client, you can use the solution you propose.
Anyway, there are some kind of translations in wich you obviously must proceed in certain way by default.
For example, in a technical translation about machinery, you must let "tuerca de 3 pulgadas"... never translate "tuerca de 7.62 cm"!
If the translation is related to meteorology and you know the text is directed to Latin America, you must say "el huracán se encuentra a x kilómetros", because it is more clear for the readers.
And so on, if you can't ask, you must take decisions, but always taking into account the public.
Thanks everyone! You've been so helpful! :-)