News

Quebec City Tourism TV ad wins U.S. translation award

Quebec City, October 29, 2009 – The English version of a Quebec City Tourism TV ad has won the Alicia Gordon Award for Word Artistry in Translation. The 30 second spot, created by agency Amalgame and translated into English by Anglocom, vaunts the Quebec capital as a winter travel destination.

A French-to-English challenge

The ad presented several challenges for its translator, Anglocom president Grant Hamilton:

1.   The words had to rhyme and fit the music.

2.   The English version had to say “Quebec City” in the very first line because its U.S. target audience would not immediately recognize the city pictured in the ad.

3.   Geographic references to “Île d’Orléans” and “Grande Allée” had to be removed as they, too, were unfamiliar to the target audience.

4.   Several shots were changed from the original French version, requiring a corresponding change in the wording.

The Alicia Gordon Award

The Alicia Gordon Award for Word Artistry in Translation salutes the memory of Alicia Gordon, a California translator known particularly for her work in the entertainment and advertising industries. All members in good standing of the American Translators Association (ATA) are eligible to win the award (see www.afti.org/award_alicia.php).

Anglocom’s president will be honored at the 50th annual ATA Conference taking place this October 28 to 31 in New York City. The award-winning TV spot will be presented to conference attendees, who will see for themselves how much of a winter wonderland Quebec City truly is.

About the winner

Grant Hamilton, the founder and president of Anglocom, teaches marketing translation at New York University and is assistant administrator of the ATA Translation Company Division. He is also a board member of OTTIAQ (Quebec’s professional order of translators) and the Duke of Edinburgh's Awards. His firm Anglocom does translation and copywriting work for over 60 advertising and communications agencies.

View the original French version and the English translation of the TV spot

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For information:          

Grant Hamilton, CT

President, Anglocom Inc.

In Quebec City, 418-529-6928

In Montreal, 514-780-1707

Toll free in North America, 1-866-529-6928

ghamilton@anglocom.com