Spanish to English Translation

This direction comes into play when a Spanish document has to be sent to an English-speaking country. The source is a diploma, birth record or contract from Spain or from a Latin American country; the target is the English-language institutions of the USA, the UK or Canada. The most conspicuous technical issue in this direction is fitting the Spanish name structure into English form fields, a problem that does not arise in the en|es pair.

The principal users are people with an education or employment history in Spain or Latin America who move to an English-speaking country: the student applying with a Spanish diploma for a master’s degree in the USA, the family submitting documents of Latin American origin to a Canadian immigration procedure, the company presenting its Spanish contract to an English-speaking counterpart. For these profiles, identity consistency, that is, the same person appearing in the same form in every document, is the most fragile point in the process.

Challenges specific to this pair

Spanish official documents give a person two surnames: the paternal surname (apellido paterno) and the maternal surname (apellido materno). Because English forms expect a single “surname” field, if these two elements are matched wrongly the same person appears differently in two documents and the application is refused; the correct method is to keep both and to state which is the paternal and which the maternal surname. Date and number formats are arranged for the English target; false friends are watched for as well.

Spanish and Latin American administrative terms (partida de nacimiento, certificado de antecedentes) are translated by their institutional function; identity numbers (DNI, cédula) are not translated but kept, with their type stated. Spanish marking systems are not converted but explained. Whether the source comes from Spain or from which Latin American country it comes affects the choice of terminology and the form of the document, so it is settled from the start.

The question of the two surnames becomes even more important when it is considered alongside the form logic of English-speaking countries. Immigration forms in the USA and Canada usually ask for separate “given name” and “family name” fields; if the wrong one of the two Spanish surnames is chosen for that field, the name on the plane ticket, the visa and the diploma will not match. The correct method is to show both surnames in the translation and to take the order in the person’s passport as the basis. Latin American documents also carry local identity numbers and registration systems; these are not translated but kept, with their type explained. The long, clause-laden sentences of Spanish official style are carried into English in short sentences that put the subject first, but every condition and obligation is preserved. The positions of notarial and institutional seals in the source document are indicated with a note in the translation; since the apostille or attestation that has to be obtained in the country of issue is as decisive as the validity of the translation, this step is planned from the outset.

Which documents call for this direction

Education files lead the way; diploma, transcript and course descriptions sit at the centre of the recognition assessment. They are followed by civil registry records and criminal record certificates, and by commercial contracts and company documents. Because the marking systems and course names of Spanish and Latin American diplomas do not map directly onto the English system, the content is conveyed in full and marks are explained rather than converted. As fields such as the two surnames, the place of birth and the parents’ names on civil registry records are carried into an English form, identity consistency is kept in view. In commercial documents the company type (S.A., S.L.) is kept in its original form and explained; amounts are not converted. In multi-document immigration files the person’s name appears in every document with the same order and spelling as in the passport; which of the two surnames goes into the “family name” field is settled once and applied the same way throughout the file.

• Spanish/Latin American diploma, transcript and course descriptions
• Birth, marriage and civil registry records
• Criminal record certificate and administrative certificates
• Commercial contract and company documents

Chain of certification

Since the target is an English-speaking country, no sworn translator system applies; the USA and the UK ask for a translation with a certificate of accuracy, while Canada asks for a translator registered with a professional association or an affidavit. The apostille, or whichever attestation applies, has to be obtained for the source document in its country of issue (Spain or the Latin American state concerned). For the differing expectations of each target, look at the country certification regime and the document requirements.

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