From the sunny beaches of Spain to the mountains and jungles of South America, there are nearly half a billion Spanish speakers living across the globe.  With so many Spanish speakers spread around the world, the demand for Spanish to English translation has been growing immensely.

But with so many translation options available — from machine translations to certified translation agencies — it can be difficult to know where to begin.

Here are some interesting facts about the Spanish language and some expert tips on what you need to know to ensure that your Spanish translation is accurate.

Where Does the Spanish Language Come From?

The Spanish language originated in Spain and can trace its roots to the Romance family of languages (which includes Italian, French, Sicilian, Romanian, Catalonian, and Portuguese).

What sets Spanish apart from other Romance languages is the heavy influence that the Arabic language had on Spanish.

Most of present-day Spain was governed by Arab-speaking Moors from 711 AD until 1492 AD.  Arabic culture, art, and language permeated the Iberian peninsula, and their influence can still be seen today.  In fact, a variety of Spanish words are rooted in Arabic.  Some examples include:

Where Do Spanish Speakers Live?

Spanish is the official language of 20 different countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equitorial Guinea,  Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Spanish is also the official language of Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States.

Within the United States there are 41 million native Spanish speakers, as well as 11 million people who are biligual in Spanish, bringing the total number of Spanish speakers in the US to 52 million.

That means that there are more Spanish speakers in the United States than there are in Colombia (48 million speakers) and even Spain (46 million speakers), giving the United States the second-largest Spanish speaking population on earth!

Steady economic growth in Latin America, as well as the growing role of Spanish speakers in the United States, presents an enormous opportunity for companies looking to reach new audiences.

Multiple Variations of Spanish Exist

With so many Spanish speakers spread over such a wide area, numerous variations of Spanish have developed.  The main variations are Castilian Spanish, which is spoken in Spain, and Latin American Spanish which is spoken in the Americas, from the southern tip of South America all the way up into the United States.

Both Castilian Spanish and Latin American Spanish have their own regional dialects as well.  In Spain, Spanish speakers in the northwestern province of Galicia sound significantly different than speakers from the southern province of Andalucia.  Not to mention Spaniards in Catalonia or the Basque Country.

In Latin American Spanish, dialects differ as widely as the geography.  For instance, Spanish spoken on the US-Mexican border is much different than the Spanish spoken in Argentina.

Spanish spoken on the US-Mexican border likely uses a lot of Spanglish (a mixture of Spanish and English), and a variety of words in Mexican Spanish incorporate words and syllables from the ancient Mayan and Aztec languages.

Argentine Spanish, on the other hand, has retained many formalities from Castilian Spanish and has been heavily influenced by Italian — Argentina has a large Italian-Argentine population — as well as Brazilian Portuguese, as Argentina shares a border with Brazil.

With so many variations, it can be difficult to know if a Spanish translation is accurate and geared toward the intended target audience.

How to Get an Accurate English to Spanish Translation

While there are some obvious differences between English and Spanish, such as syntax and gender assignation, there are some subtle variations that only a native speaker or skilled translator would be aware of.

For instance, Spanish can be very formal or informal.  One example is that there is an informal way of addressing someone directly — tù, meaning you — and also a formal way of addressing someone directly – usted.  When translating from English to Spanish,  it is of the utmost importance to know who the target audience is, as you will want to address them accordingly.

Another point to be aware of when translating from English to Spanish is that you can expect the text to expand 15 to 25 percent.  Spanish words are not necessarily longer than their English counterparts, but the Spanish language is more expressive, poetic, and detailed.  For example, the word clockwise in English translates to en el sentido de las agujas del reloj in Spanish.

Lastly, the person translating into Spanish needs to know how to use accentuation in Spanish, as adding an accent when one is not needed, or forgetting to use one when necessary, can change the meaning of a word entirely.  For example, the words se and sé mean completely different things.  Misusing something that seems so tiny, like an accent mark, can have a gigantic impact on the quality of a translation.

How to Get an Accurate Spanish to English Translation

When translating from Spanish to English, one can expect the text to contract.  All of the poetic details found in Spanish texts are translated into straight-to-the-point, business-friendly English.

Similarly, a grandiose description in Spanish that takes up three lines on the page can sometimes be translated into a single word or phrase in English.  English is the language of international business and the Internet, and as a result, it can be very succinct and direct.

Spanish is one of the official languages of the United Nations, and its importance in global affairs is growing by the day.  In order to successfully reach Spanish speakers, businesses need to translate their websites and marketing materials into Spanish.

While machine translations offer a quick, cheap avenue to have documents translated into other languages, they translate word for word.  Only a certified human translator can deliver true, accurate, contextual, and complete translations.