Clothing label translation services are one of our core areas of work, we have been translating wash care instructions and fibre comps into a wide variety of languages since the early 1990s, and work with many leading brands and label companies. Clothing label translations can be especially tricky for the unwary because typically the wording is very short, and lacking in context. We work very closely with regular label translation client’s to ensure accurate and appropriate terminology. Typically Latin based languages have to be very precise, and this can cause problems when translating from English, which can be very ambiguous. For example in the phrase “neck and sleeve trim” does the word “trim” refer to both items (the neck and the sleeve), or one item only (the sleeve), both are possible here, and it depends on the context, we know the phrase is for a fibre composition, (e.g. “neck and sleeve trim 100% polyester”), but for the neck, does the composition refer to the whole of the neck of the garment, or a neck trim? If you had the garment in front of you, it would probably be straightforward to decide which was referred to, but normally our clients don’t have direct sight of the garment. There is also the possibility of ambiguity in the target languages, for example Spanish has two possible terms for “trim” depending on the context, (an “edge” trim, or an adornment). The solution to this, is that we work closely with clients to give the greatest possible clarity about the context, and we use the most generic terms possible in translation. Where necessary we can give alternative translations with context advice to make clear when each translation should be used. Speak to us today if you need us to quote for clothing label translation.

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