Spain: language and translation guide
Choose vocabulary suited to Spain and review regional names rather than treating all Spanish usage as identical.
Practical guides for translating files, emails and reviewing results
Languages spoken
Spanish is used nationwide. Catalan, Galician and Basque also have important regional roles; the appropriate language depends on the location and audience.
Translation use cases
Translation can help you understand travel information, prepare a message to a host, compare product descriptions or draft workplace correspondence involving Spain. Keep the intended audience and purpose with the text. Machine translation is useful for a first reading; it does not replace a certified translation for an official submission.
Local language information
Choose vocabulary suited to Spain and review regional names rather than treating all Spanish usage as identical. Keep addresses in their original format where delivery matters, and write month names when a numeric date could be ambiguous. Verify specialist terminology with the receiving organization.
Clarify the audience for a message used in Spain
Before translating a group message for recipients in Spain, identify whether you are addressing one person or several and what relationship you have with them. Spanish address forms have regional variation; RAE–ASALE notes that ustedes is used differently across Spanish-speaking communities, including within Spain. A country label is therefore a starting point, not a guarantee of the right tone for every recipient.
For a practical enquiry, give the location or service reference, the question and the desired date in separate sentences. Preserve the recipient’s full name rather than dropping a part that looks unfamiliar. After translation, check that the requested action still addresses the correct person or group. Keep administrative titles from the source available for review when you are unsure of an exact equivalent.
Further reading: RAE–ASALE: usted and grammatical agreement · W3C: personal names around the world
Useful language pairs
Language guides
StarTranslate is an online language tool and does not claim a local office in Spain.