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Translators’ forums are filled with highly
amusing menu translations from restaurants around the world. While linguists
may find these funny, restaurant owners should not. In fact, menu translation often
is an essential part of a restaurant’s success, needs to communicate many
messages and should be handled with care and attention.
The menu, including in translation, is a key
element in a restaurant’s image. First, customers judge a restaurant not only on
the merits of its food but also its dressings. Restaurant owners thus invest
incredible amount of capital in plates, silverware, glasses, tables, chairs,
wall coverings and menu design. They sometimes forget the fact, especially in
non-English speaking countries, the translation is the only menu seen by many
diners. Given the impact of tourist spending in the restaurant trade, a proper
translation creates a good impression while spelling and vocabulary errors lead
to, at minimum, laughing. Some potential diners may not enter a restaurant if the menu in their language is laughable. Since the
investment in translation is essentially a fixed cost that can be spread over
many years even taking into account occasional updates, proper translation is a worthwhile and cost-effective investment for restaurant owners.
Proper translation involves the weighed choice of vocabulary and clean text as well as application of marketing language. Choosing the correct
word for an ingredient or type of sauce involves understanding whether an
equivalent term exists in the target language and if the foreign term will be
understood to the average customer that would dine in that restaurant. An
example is with gravy or au jus. The translator needs to choose
the word that most of the diners will understood while projecting the desired
image. Of course, thorough QA is required to eliminate all obvious errors of
spelling and grammar, including homonyms (e.g., sea and see) in
order to render the menu a guide to the food, not a source of amusement.
Finally, the language chosen should be specific and enticing enough to cause
the diner to want to order the dish. For, example, grilled marinated chicken
accompanied by spiced rice sounds much more tempting than chicken with
rice. Menu translation is the elegant dance between earth and sky.
Restaurateurs should seek a translator that
has the required subject knowledge, ability to produce marketing language and
communication skills. Clearly, the ideal translator must be thoroughly familiar
with both the names of ingredients and dishes in the target language. Applying
that knowledge, the linguist needs to create descriptions in line with the
restaurant image and customers, going beyond merely statements of the dish and feeding the desire to order it. In many cases, it may be necessary to
communicate with the chef or restaurant manager to add or confirm details,
which entails dialogue on both sides. In any case, restaurant owners should
hire only translators with the proper set of skills working in their native
language even if they are more expensive as menu translation is far from
simple. Google translate is not an effective solution, however tempting it may appear.
The dining experience ideally is about the food
and company. The goal of all restaurant owners is for the customer to leave
with the memory of the meal and the desire to return. A poor translation of a
menu spoils that effect by making the menu memorable not because of its
culinary content but its linguistic issues. This situation is easily avoidable by simple paying for a professional translation. Restaurant owners should remember that he who laughs last does not necessarily laugh best.
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