Slang translation: How to translate local lingo into other languages

For students and scholars of linguistics, one of the greatest joys is exploring how history, culture, and shared experiences interact with processes like clipping or borrowing to shape language. These are among the influences that give rise to slang words and phrases, the first experimental steps in linguistic evolution. 

But, as interesting as slang is for scholars, it poses unique translation and localization challenges. Without a clear understanding of the vernacular, a slang translation could unwittingly cause confusion or offense among native speakers. 

When businesses operate across language barriers, they need effective strategies to address slang expressions in a culturally sensitive manner. Here’s how translators produce accurate text that captures the color and context of a language so companies can forge authentic connections with localized markets.

What is slang, and why is it important for your business?

Slang is a collection of colloquial words and phrases that form everyday vernacular. Slang words and expressions, often marked by wordplay and humor, establish a more casual version of the formal language. 

Slang words and phrases generally include:

• Loan words: These terms from one language are incorporated into others. One example is the Italian word capisce. It’s a neutral question in Italy, meaning “Do you understand?” But in North America, it’s often considered confrontational.
• Made-up words: These slang words are either a combination of existing terms, like blamestorming (blame+brainstorming; attempting to identify who is most at fault for a plan’s failure), or something utterly nonsensical, like skibidi (which could mean cool, bad, or dumb, depending on context). 
• Profanity: Swear words or expletives are potentially offensive depending on the audience, as cultural norms, social settings, and individual sensitivities vary widely. However, they’re a core aspect of language, often used for emphasis, emotional expression, or to convey a sense of authenticity in certain contexts.
• Professional jargon: Slang phrases like circle back (to return to a previous topic of discussion) and EOD (an abbreviation for “end of day”) originated in business culture.

Generally, slang terms form a shared language among social groups or subcultures that others may struggle to comprehend. In other words, IYKYK (if you know, you know). Slang identifies others who share the same ethos, generating a sense of unity and belonging.

Why translate slang?

Translating slang is a critical part of an effective localization campaign. Here are several ways it can help businesses reach a new audience:

1. Improving communication

Accurate translations, including slang words, help bridge cultural gaps to ensure the target audience grasps the text’s intended meaning. 

2. Ensuring accurate interpretation

Some slang terms carry multiple meanings depending on the speaker and the context. A contextually accurate translation demonstrates respect on the company’s part while helping the intended audience relate to the message.

3. Establishing and maintaining relevance

Correctly translating slang words establishes an understanding of current trends, a desire to connect with consumers, and a healthy respect for the business’s position within the community. 

4. Increasing marketing effectiveness

Effective slang allows companies to target their intended marketing demographic with laser-like precision. It creates relatable campaigns that are culturally appropriate (without being “cringe”).  

Slang challenges

Slang is a powerful communication tool, but when attempts go awry, it can lead to misunderstandings. Worst-case scenario? The effort to connect appears forced or offensive, wearing away at audience goodwill and trust.

Effective slang translation presents several challenges:

1. Nuance

Understanding cultural nuance is slang’s biggest translation challenge. What might be acceptable to one cultural group could be profoundly vulgar to another. An effective translator accounts for cultural sensitivities when adapting work to different audiences.

2. Evolutionary speed

Social media and instant messaging are breeding grounds for slang, with new words and phrases routinely going viral. Slang phrases are dynamic, meaning they can fall out of favor just as quickly. 

Because slang terms come and go, translators may struggle to stay current. 

3. Ambiguity and variations

A slang expression may have multiple meanings depending on context, leading to potential misunderstandings. Regional linguistic variations also add layers of complexity to the translation. If an organization drafts a technically accurate translation that doesn’t account for situational and social context, it may still convey an inappropriate message to native speakers.  

4. Generational gaps

80% of people use slang terms. However, their preferred vocabulary varies widely based on age. Translators must balance new and old terminology to bridge generational gaps and accurately communicate their intended message.

5. Impact of pop culture

Never underestimate the power of pop culture. Although Gretchen couldn’t make the slang term “fetch” happen in 2004’s Mean Girls, the phrase “make fetch happen” still survives as a reference to any attempt to artificially introduce a trend.

That’s just one example of slang entering everyday language, demonstrating why linguistic experts must monitor influential media like television, fashion, and social networks. Falling behind on the latest slang could lead to inaccurate translations and an out-of-touch public image. 

7. Informality

Because of its evolutionary speed, slang isn’t well documented. The English dictionaries add new slang expressions like whatevs, chillax, and bae every quarter, but these terms have often been in circulation for some time and may already be out of style. 

Slang translation techniques

Translators typically use one of three strategies to maintain slang’s nuance. These techniques work when translating English to slang in another language or between other language pairs. 

1. Softening

Softening tones down a slang phrase’s meaning, making it less vulgar or culturally offensive for the target audience. 

For example, if the source text describes a rusted-out vehicle as a “crappy car,” the term doesn’t translate well from English into Italian. Its literal meaning may be offensive to native speakers. Instead, the translator could use synonyms like rubbish, dilapidated, or shoddy. As a result, “I won’t drive this crappy car” becomes “Non guiderò quest’auto spazzatura,” or “I won’t drive this junk car.”

2. Literal slang translations

A literal translation converts a slang term into another language word for word. This only works for languages that share slang equivalents. For example, blue-blood (meaning aristocrat) can be directly translated into Spanish as sangre azul and retain its meaning.

Inappropriate literal translations are often seen in machine translation, hence why it makes light work of some language pairs, but isn’t always a viable solution. For example, if a machine translation swaps the slang expression “I’m dead” (an English expression indicating something is hilarious) with “Jag är död” for a Swedish audience, it’s literally saying the speaker is deceased. This translation completely changes the meaning of the English slang term.

3. Stylistic compensation

A translator may paraphrase a slang term into a contextually appropriate expression in the target language—a process called stylistic compensation. Although it may take longer to complete, this method accurately conveys the meaning and context of the expression. Because of its precision, stylistic compensation is the best and most common method of slang translation.

If an English-language author wants to convey that a character has a lot of cash, they could colloquially say, “She has a lot of dough.” Translating that directly into Spanish produces “Ella tiene mucha masa,” which would be read literally by a Spanish speaker. For a more accurate translation, one could substitute masa (dough) for plata (silver) or lana (wool), the Spanish slang for money. 

5 tips to translate slang terms

The following tips will help ensure your translations are, as the British say, bang on the money:

1. Immerse yourself

Translators should take a deep dive into their target audience’s culture to better appreciate slang’s origin, usage, and situational appropriateness. Books, music, and movies are a great place to start, but translators must also collaborate with first-language speakers to achieve true nuance. Their insights and feedback can be invaluable.

2. Keep learning

Slang constantly evolves, so translators must remain curious about linguistic changes and continually update their knowledge base. Translators who are receptive to new slang expressions and maintain a flexible approach will generate creative translations that communicate meaning in new and dynamic ways.

3. Broaden your focus

Concentrating on individual words is tempting, but that’s what machine translation is for. The art of translation lies in analyzing a source’s cultural, contextual, and situational meaning. Translators can use that analysis to generate relatable text for target audiences.  

4. Stay updated on pop culture

Pop culture is often the source of new expressions and phrases. To develop valuable insight into origins and usage, translators should familiarize themselves with slang’s primary influences, including the following:

• Movies and television
• Music
• Fashion
• Social media
• Gaming

They should also track slang usage among specific age groups and demographics to improve translations.

5. Leverage online resources 

There is no definitive street lingo translator for professional linguists, but informal online resources can help. Urban Dictionary and Green’s Dictionary of Slang include eye-opening examples of English slang usage. Language forums and communities on Quora and Reddit can provide insight into any number of languages. 

Translators can increase their efficiency by creating a slang dictionary of idioms and colloquialisms they often use.

Optimize your localization efforts with Smartling

Translating slang terms is a challenging but gratifying part of the localization process. An accurate, high-quality translation maintains the authenticity of the original message while making it accessible and relatable for a new audience. 

However, generating precise translations of slang terms takes time and effort. Smartling understands. Our LanguageAI™ translation platform handles the heavy lifting so global businesses can focus their creative and problem-solving skills on crafting culturally nuanced messaging for an international market.

Download our free eBook, “10 Strategies to Boost Translation Efficiency,” to discover expert strategies and best practices to knock your next localization project out of the park.