Website translation Translating your website offers several benefits. It attracts global traffic, diversifies your audience, and increases your conversion rate by improving the user experience for international visitors.
Portuguese, in particular, should be a priority for a globally expanding business. More than a quarter of a billion people speak Portuguese worldwide, with countries like Brazil, Portugal and Angola leading the way. Localized Portuguese content allows you to tap into these sizable markets and maximize your growth potential.
This guide will explain how to translate English to Portuguese, highlight notable differences between European and Brazilian Portuguese, and discuss the best methods for translating websites into Portuguese.
Translation into European Portuguese versus Brazilian Portuguese
Regional dialects are an important consideration when translating English to Portuguese, as the language differs significantly between Brazil and Europe. Brazil has a population of over 200 million, almost all of whom speak Brazilian Portuguese, making it the most common variety of the Portuguese language. Translating websites into Brazilian Portuguese should be at the top of the list for companies looking to expand internationally .
European Portuguese is spoken by about 15 million people. There are also several African dialects that are similar to European Portuguese. Most Portuguese speakers can understand both varieties; however, they have subtle differences that you should consider when translating Portuguese from English for your website.
Pronunciation
The most significant difference between Brazilian and European Portuguese is pronunciation, which is mostly irrelevant for translating text-based websites.
Brazilians generally pronounce vowels more openly and clearly, while Europeans tend to reduce or “swallow” unstressed vowels, making their speech sound more clipped. In addition, some consonants (e.g., T and S) are pronounced differently in specific contexts.
Grammar and spelling
Portuguese grammar is basically the same in Brazil and Portugal, but there are some important differences in sentence structure, especially in everyday speech. While these may not be prevalent in formal writing, it is an important distinction if you want your website to sound more familiar and conversational.
One key difference is the use of pronouns. algeria whatsapp number data 5 million In Portugal, speakers often use “tu” for informal situations, while many Brazilians use “você.” This also affects the conjugation of verbs. In Portugal, the verb “to speak” is “tu falas.” In Brazil, it becomes “você fala.”
There are also spelling differences. For example, “recepção” is written “recepção” in Brazil, but “recepção” in Portugal, dropping the “p”. Similarly, “fato” is “fato” in Brazil, but “fato” in Portugal.
Vocabulary
Despite their shared roots, Brazilian and European Portuguese have developed distinct vocabularies over time. For example, the word for “trem” is different: Brazilians say “trem” while Europeans use “trem.” For another example, “ice cream” is a guide to ai and seo called “sorvete” in Brazil, but it is “gelado” in Portugal.
These differences arose because each country borrowed words from different languages. Brazil was influenced by indigenous and African languages, as well as Italian and German. On the other hand, Portugal incorporated more terms from other European Romance languages .
The best methods of translating from English to Portuguese
Businesses seeking English to Portuguese translation for their website can choose from several approaches, each with unique advantages and disadvantages. Your translation needs and budget will determine the most suitable method.
Human translation
A professional Portuguese translator can easily translate your website into Portuguese, ensuring culturally and contextually relevant translations that match local linguistic expectations. However, human translation can be more time japan data -consuming and expensive compared to other methods. A Portuguese translator is ideal for high-value content that requires accuracy and natural presentation.
Automatic translation
AI-based translation solutions use cutting-edge machine translation software to translate between multiple languages. Many MT solutions employ neural machine translation (NMT), which uses a machine learning method that works similarly to how the human brain learns.
Popular machine translation tools include Google Translate, DeepL, and Microsoft Translator. These programs can translate text quickly at scale, but they struggle with context-specific language, proper sentence structure, and idioms. They’re great for straightforward translation of factual text like FAQs and product descriptions, but they’re not always ideal for initial website content and marketing material.
Recent developments in large language models (LLMs) have further advanced machine translation, making it faster, more accurate, and more affordable than ever before. Smartling’s AI Translation solution combines the power of NMT and LLMs to deliver instant, human-quality translations at half the price.
AI Human TranslationThis translation method combines human and AI approaches to maximize efficiency with assured quality. Machine translation tools provide fast translations for large-scale content updates, and professional Portuguese translators check their work. Several website translation software solutions support this hybrid approach, including Smartling’s translation management system (TMS) and Global Delivery Network (GDN).
How to translate English to Portuguese in 3 steps
You’ll need an accurate translation solution to capture the nuances of the Portuguese language and connect with locals. Fortunately, Smartling offers several translation tools that maximize your ability to localize all types of website content with unmatched accuracy.
Our AI Translation solution instantly delivers cost-effective Portuguese translations, maximizing your budget and saving you time. For English to Portuguese translations perfected by expert human translators, try our AI-powered human translation solution.
One of the easiest and most flexible ways to quickly launch a multi-region web experience is with our website translation proxy, the Global Delivery Network. Follow these steps to start translating your website with the GDN:
1. Capture website content
Once installed, the GDN should collect text for localization, including menus, pop-ups, forms, and interactive elements. Smartling scans your website and organizes the content into text strings—units of text ready for translation.
To get started, open your TMS dashboard, go to the “Domains” tab, and select the website you want to translate. If this is your first time scanning, click “Capture Content” and navigate through the web pages to capture all the text on the screen, including drop-down menus and embedded content. The captured text strings are stored in Smartling, where you can review and approve jobs before they are sent for translation.
2. Create a translation job
Now you can create a translation job to track translated content, deadlines, and target languages.
Here’s how to create a translation job:
Go to the GDN project dashboard and select the “Strings” tab
Select the text strings that need translation
Click on “Actions > Request translation”
Enter details like job name, due date and select target languages
After submitting the work,.