The International does not offer translation services, but we are happy to put you in contact with Maryland Composition, the vendor that we use. When we are translating into Spanish, *do not forget to* forward the Spanish Translations Guidelines below.

Spanish Translations Guidelines

VOCABULARY 

UFCW/UNION 

  1. UFCW – UFCW
  1. United Food and Commercial Workers International Union – Unión Internacional de Trabajadores de la Industria de Alimentos y del Comercio.
    1. Use the article “la” before the union’s name.
  1. Union – Unión
    1. Avoid using “sindicato” or “sindicalizados” or any other relatedword.
    2. Write the article “la” before “union.”
    3. Do not capitalize “unión”unless is in a title or at the beginning of the sentence.
  1. Unionized – Avoid using the word “unionizado.”
    1. Unionized plant – Planta con unión.
    2. Unionized workers – Trabajadores con unión or Trabajadores miembros de la unión.
  1. Local – Local
    1. E.g. La Local 22 de la UFCW/ Miembros de la Local 22 de la UFCW.
  1. Shop Steward – Delegado/ Delegado de la unión
  1. Union Representative – Representante de la unión.

LABOR RELATED

  1. Labor Movement – Movimiento laboral. 
  1. Workers – Trabajadores.
    1. Obreros – Avoid the use of “obreros” unless you are referring to the construction industry or a campaign that requires its usage. 
  1. Change to Win – Alianza Laboral Change to Win or just Change to Win.
  1. AFL –CIO – Federación Americana del Trabajo-Congreso de Organizaciones Industriales.
  1. SEIU – Sindicato Internacional de Empleados de Servicio.
  1. Member/Members – Miembros or Afiliados.
    1. Become a member – Afiliarse a la union.
    2. Try to avoid “unirse a la unión.”
  1. Protest – Manifestación/ marcha.
    1. Do not use “protesta.”
  1. Protester – Manifestante.
    1. Avoid “protestante.”
  1. Strike – Huelga.

ORGANIZING/CONTRACT/BARGAINING

  1. Arbitration –  Arbitraje/ Mediación.
  1. Article –  Artículo.
  1. Bargaining Table –  Mesa de negociaciones.
  1. Bargaining – Negociar/ Negociación.
  1. Contract Negotiations –  Negociaciones del contrato.
  1. Grievance – Conflicto/ Demanda
    1. To file a grievance – Reportar un conflicto.
    2. Grievance report – Reporte de conflicto.
    3. Grievance procedure – Procedimiento de resolución de conflictos.
  1. Fired – Despido
    1. To be fired –  Ser despedido
    2. Layoff – Cesantía laboral
    3. Layoff (furlough) – Suspensión temporal.
  2. First contract arbitration law should be translated as “Ley de arbitración (or arbitraje) del primer contrato.” Noting that “first” qualifies the contract not the law.
  1. Defined benefit pension plans (or pension funds) should be translated as “Planes de jubilación de beneficio definido (o prestación definida).” Noting that “definido” qualifies the benefit (as opposed to the plans where the contribution is what is “definida” a.k.a. 401ks)

INDUSTRY RELATED

  1. Meat Packing – Empacadoras de carne.
  1. Poultry Plant– Empacadora de pollo. Do not use the word “polleras.”
  1. Poultry workers – Trabajadores de las empacadoras de pollo. Do not use “polleros,” this means “smugglers.” 
  1. Line Speed – Velocidad de la línea.

IMMIGRATION

  1. Ilegal Immigrant (s) – Inmigrantes indocumentados. Never use the term “ilegales.”
  1. ICE (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) – Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas.
  1. Department of Homeland Security – Departamento de Seguridad Doméstica.
  1. Enforcement (law) – Agencia de orden público.
    1. To enforce:  Aplicar la ley. 
  1. Broken Immigration System – Un sistema de inmigración quebrantado.

HEALTH CARE

  1. Health Insurance – Seguro de salud.
    1. Avoid writing “aseguranza.”
  1. Health Care – Cuidados médicos or Cuidados de salud.
    1. When referring to a more particular situation use “cuidados medicos.”
    2. E.g.  El trabajador necesita cuidados médicos. 2. Todos los trabajadores necesitan cuidados de salud de calidad.
  1. Health Care System – Sistema de salud.

CAMPAIGNS 

  1. The Employee Free Choice Act – Should be translated as “El Employee Free Choice Act.” If possible in the first mention of the term, write “El Employee Free Choice Act, un proyecto de ley que beneficiará a los trabajadores.” 
  1. Health Care for America Now – Should be translated as “Campaña para la Reforma del Sistema de Salud (Health Care for America Now).”  The English translation in parenthesis should be only be written down after the first mention of the term.

II. STYLE 

STYLEBOOKS 

The following stylebooks should be used as guides:

  • The Associated Press Stylebook 2009 – Use this stylebook as a guide for abbreviations, titles and capitalization.
  • National Association of Hispanic Journalists Manual de Estilo – Can be ordered at http://www.nahj.org/nahjnews/articles/2004/august/spanish-languagesurvey080704.shtml
    • This will be the main reference to UFCW’s Spanish language publications. This stylebook has basic information about Spanish grammar and the correct usage of the Spanish language for a Hispanic audience.
    • This stylebook is more advanced, precise and complete than NAHJ’s stylebook. It is a good reference for more detailed information such as names, titles, punctuation, capitalization and general vocabulary.

PUNCTUATION

Commas and periods – Commas and periods should always be placed outside quotation marks, apostrophizes, question marks, parenthesis and exclamation points. In English, as a rule, commas are placed inside quotation marks. In Spanish it is just the opposite than English.

E.g. “Me gusta la unión”,dijo el delegado. “¡Quiero que venga la unión!”.
Exclamation points and Question Marks – Use exclamation points and question marks at the beginning and at the end of a sentence.
E.g.  “¿Qué es la unión?” or  “¡Todos juntos con la unión!”.
Tildes – Emphasis should be placed in the use of tildes (accents). Please refer to the NAHJ’s stylebook pages 17-20.  If there is any doubt please consult with the Real Academia Española dictonary (http://www.rae.es/rae.html).
The word “sólo” should have an accent when it refers to “only.” It should not have an accent when it refers to “alone.”
Be aware of the “tilde diacrítica” (¿Qué? ¿Cuándo? ¿Cómo? Él, Tú… etc). 
GRAMMAR 
Prepositions – Sometimes prepositions are misplaced in sentences.  When translating or writing a document in Spanish, double check all preposition. For more information, refer to NAHJ’s stylebook pages 31-33 & 77-80.
Some preposition to check: A, CONTRA, DE, ENTRE, PARA, EN and POR.
Gerunds – Try to avoid the use of gerunds, especially in headlines. Minimize the use of gerunds when translating from English to Spanish. When possible use active verbs Refer to NAHJ’s stylebook pages 29 – 30.
Gerunds in Spanish end in the syllables –ando and –endo. As a general rule gerunds are more widely used in English than Spanish.
E.g. English: Our membership is growing.  Incorrect translation: Nuestra unión está creciendo. Correct translation: Nuestra unión crece. 
Indicative Perfect (Pretérito Perfecto) – Avoid literal translations of indicative perfect verbs (have/has + infinitive). In Spanish the “pretérito perfecto” is the verb ha (from haber) plus the infinitive.
E.g. English: Workers have signed their first contract with the company. Incorrect: Los trabajadores han firmado su primer contrato con la compañía. Correct: Los trabajadores firmaron su primer contrato con la compañía. 
Use of articles – When translating, avoid the excessive use of articles el, de, los and la.
E.g. English:  Workers’ Center. Incorrect translation: El Centro de los Trabajadores. Correct translation: Centro de Trabajadores. 
Use of person – The standard person to use is the second person impersonal su/usted/ustedes. Avoid the use of “tu” in all forms, except when it’s in the form of a personal communication.
Incorrect: Cuando tu comité se reúna contigo. Correct: Cuando su comité se reúna con ustedes. 
Consistency – All UFCW publications in Spanish should be have the same grammatical consistency and follow these guidelines throughout all the text. Particular attention should be given to the use of su/usted/ustedes. 
Abbreviations – When translating abbreviated agency names, always spell out the complete name in Spanish and then its initials inside parenthesis, next with the note “por sus siglas en inglés.”
E.g. La Unión de Trabajadores de la Industria de Alimentos y del Comercio (UFCW, por sus siglas en inglés). 
Pronouns/Gender – The use of pronouns and gender should be consistent in all translation and Spanish language text. Avoid writing both genders with the respective nouns/pronouns and possessives.
E.g. Incorrect: Los trabajadores/trabajadoras deben unirse.  Correct: Los trabajadores deben unirse or Las trabajadoras deben unirse.
RECOMENDED USAGE OF VOCABULARY 
Spanglish – Avoid any use of “spanglish.” For a list of the most typical words in “spanglish” refer to the NAHJ’s stylebook pages 64-70.  If there is any doubt consult with the Real Academia Española’s dictionary (http://buscon.rae.es/draeI/).
Offensive Words – Some words in Spanish might have a different meaning is some countries/cultures which could be offensive to some people. Avoid the use of any of these words. A list of some of these words can be found at NAHJ’s stylebook pages 100-104. 
 Regional/Local Vocabulary – Avoid the use of regional/local vocabulary. For instance, “alberca” is only used in Mexico for swimming pool. When in doubt consult the Real Academia Española’s dictionary (http://buscon.rae.es/draeI/).
COMPOSITION/EDITING
Simple Vocabulary – Use the simplest vocabulary available. Do not use complex words and avoid wordiness.
Short Sentences – Write short and complete sentences. Avoid run-on sentences, long clauses and fragments. 
Break-up Paragraphs – Paragraphs should be short and must not contain too many sentences.
Grade Level – All UFCW Spanish language material should be written for a grade level less than 6th grade in the Flesch–Kincaid scale.
Editing/Revisions – All material should be edited and revised by a second reader who is a Spanish language native speaker.
III. INTERNET RESOURCES 
Real Academia Española’s Dictionary:  http://buscon.rae.es/draeI/ 
Real Academia Española Diccionario Panhispánico de Dudas: http://buscon.rae.es/dpdI/ 
Diccionario Diario El Mundo: http://www.elmundo.es/diccionarios/index.html?a=44b2070eb77ad29631194448ccbf4d76&t=1207939487 
Libro de Estilo El País – http://estudiantes.elpais.es/libroestilo/dic_a.asp 
OSHA Spanish-English Dictionary- http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/compliance_assistance/spanish_dictionaries.html 
Conjugador de Verbos – http://www.sintx.usc.es/conjuga.html