Spanish UX Keywords Cheat Sheet

Question

I expect to be working on a web application within the next several months and I'd like to "shoehorn" a Spanish language version of the site. If a large enough number of Spanish language users begin using the site we'll likely hire a professional translator (or at least recruit someone who actually knows the language), but in the meantime is there a good cheat sheet I can use for common UX keywords, like "OK", "Submit", "Cancel", "Delete" and "Save"?

I know I could use an online translator, but I'm concerned the translator would not pick up on context (thus giving me a Spanish word meaning something closer to "Take" for "Accept" or "Surrender" for "Submit", etc.)

I'm not looking for a 100% solution, just something to give me the bulk of the keywords until there's enough reason to hire a real translator. This site will be in a beta development phase for a long time, I think, so we're not expecting a huge user base to start things off.

Answer 1

I'm Spanish, I hope I can help. I don't know any cheat sheet of common Spanish words for interfaces, but one possible solution would be to change the language preferences of one application you are familiar with (Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, Ebay) and use the expressions it uses.

Having said that, I recommend thinking carefully about the decision of translating your application. It takes an extra amount of time and money that has to be taken into account. And an interface half translated is really weird... Therefore, if your users understand English, I would recommend using this language in the first version of the application. ¡Mucha suerte!

Answer 2

Hire a translator with experience in localization. It'll be better in the future. There are several translators that originally were from IT areas and have expertise in both areas.