INCORRECT automatic translation: 'ENGLISH' = 'ESPANOL'?!

[CalineBeadPatterns]

Hi, 
I sell Patterns in English on Etsy. To ensure that the buyer knows that the pattern is in English I put 'ENGLISH' in the title. 
I just had a customer complain that a pattern was not in Spanish, when it clearly states this as the title. 
Etsy automatically translated 'ENGLISH' to 'ESPANOL'.: WTF etsy??! I just had to issue a refund. 
This could cost me a lot of money. 

Does anyone know how to solve this? 

[CryzalisDesigns]

Etsy has been auto translating for years, I just looked at one of your listings and it starts with ENG. It does not say ENGLISH ONLY in the description or the title.

Maybe do what others do with digital files and add an image which states ENGLISH ONLY and add it to the title & description.

[ZenCatPottery]

Did u ask them to send u a screenshot of the translation?  It sounds to me like they might have made that up b/c they changed their mind or something.

[CryzalisDesigns]

Downloads are not translated by Etsy, only the Etsy website & listings are.

So when someone from Spain visits Etsy, they see everything in Spanish and if someone from Germany visits Etsy they see everything in German.

The customer is right on this one, it is not clear from the listing.

[ZenCatPottery]

@CryzalisDesigns   A screenshot of the Etsy translation of the listing.  I suspect they made it up & got a free pattern.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@ZenCatPottery 

it's not made up, I just tried it by changing my language from English to Spanish

Etsy does indeed translate their listing word in the heading from "English" to "Espanol"

[CryzalisDesigns]

they have been doing it for years. Unless the seller states that the download is in ENGLISH ONLY customers will assume it is in the language Etsy is showing them in their country

[CryzalisDesigns]

The problem regarding the translation is appearing because you have ENG instead of "PDF ENGLISH ONLY" the translator is changing it into the country for the translation.

Try it in any translator program and you will see the same happening.

Try changing one of your Titles to "PDF ENGLISH ONLY"

The translation software will pick this up and it should appear as

"pdf INGLÉS solamente"

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@CryzalisDesigns 

this heading

ENGLISH- Beaded Bracelet Tutorial, Pattern - PDF Instant Download

is changed to this

ESPAÑOL- Tutorial, patrón para pulsera y aretes de cuentas

[CryzalisDesigns]

Yes I understand that, because the translation is changing it to the country of the translation.

This will totally change when you change the title to

PDF ENGLISH ONLY - Beaded Bracelet Tutorial, Pattern - PDF Instant Download

PDF SOLO EN INGLÉS - Tutorial y patrón de pulsera con cuentas - Descarga instantánea en PDF

[CryzalisDesigns]

If you look at most of the listings, it does not even have ENGLISH, it has ENG

When the software translates it is seeing

ENG ... then title

When it translates for example to Spanish it is seeing ESP ... then title in Spanish

The OP needs to write exactly what they mean "PDF ENGLISH ONLY" or the translation is picking it up as a description of the title language. 

ENG: in English

DE: in German

ESP: Spanish

I may not be explaining it right but it is the way the translation is reading it

[JHFWBeadsAndFindings]

It's indeed surprising how automatic translations can sometimes turn out. As CryzalisDesigns suggested, adding 'ENGLISH' to the title is a smart move to inform buyers.

It's disappointing to hear that 'ENGLISH' was translated to 'ESPANOL,' leading to confusion. As an additional measure, you might consider adding a visual reminder, such as an image with the text "ENGLISH ONLY," to both the title and description. This creates an extra layer of clarity for potential buyers.

Additionally, emphasizing in the product description that the pattern is in English is a good idea. This way, you provide an extra reminder for buyers before they make a purchase.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

I looked at one of your listings that starts  - ENGLISH -

and when I changed etsy language to Spanish, it did indeed say ESPANOL

etsy used to do this with "inches", and translated 4 inches, to 4 centimetres - they really did.

I would log a call with Etsy

and put it on the actual picture

[OwlAlwaysKnit]

I just tried it to and Crafty is correct when I changed the language to French it changed the word English to Francais so there is a problem there.

[SmudgePlant]

It happened to this pattern seller too:

https://community.etsy.com/t5/Technical-Issues/Auto-translator-problem/m-p/144529854

[michellepatterns]

That is a pretty ridiculous translation and that should not be happening. 

At the same time, anyone selling a document in one language should turn off the automatic translation so the listing only appears in your language.  It will save you many problems.  Google how to turn it off for the instructions.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

etsy automatically translates the listing, to the language the buyer selects, on the bottom left

the seller can't turn that off

[SmudgePlant]

It gives us an option to turn it off.

In Settings and then Options, when you scroll down, there's a box that says:

"Automatic Listing Translation"

Reach more buyers by allowing your listings to be automatically translated.

Listing titles and descriptions will be translated into supported languages. Learn more.

Enabled Automatic translations of your listings will be surfaced to buyers viewing in supported languages.

Disabled Your listings will only be surfaced to buyers viewing in languages for which you have provided a manual translation.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@SmudgePlant 

that says , if you turn it off, your listings will only be shown to buyers, who are viewing in languages you have provided a manual translation for

which is very different, and very limiting

[SmudgePlant]

@CraftyCornishMaids 

Well, if someone only sells patterns written only in English, why would those patterns need to be shown to someone who doesn't read English?

[JMOldeVintage]

I read the following to mean:

"Enabled Automatic translations of your listings will be surfaced to buyers viewing in supported languages."

The OP is in Belgium but I see everything in the shop in English(US). My language preference is supported by Etsy. 

For someone in France, they would see the shop, hopefully correctly translated, into the French language.  

"Disabled Your listings will only be surfaced to buyers viewing in languages for which you have provided a manual translation."

Must admit I don't understand this, but would take this to mean that the shop owner has to check off what languages they have used in their shops? 
Or that only people in the OP's country would see the listings since Etsy would assume their patterns are in her country's language? 
That the OP would need to use (or choose?) English as 'their language' when listing?

To me then, turning off auto translation would definitely limit a shops sales. While Americans can often be "language challenged" many EU citizens are multi-lingual. They may prefer to see "the marketplace" translated into their country's language but would also willingly purchase a pattern in English since they could read it. 

Or maybe I'm not understanding Etsy's instructions?

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@SmudgePlant 

many people can read English, it's a very common second language,

I did a google search and it said 1.5 billion have English as a second language

you wouldn't want to exclude them, by limiting buyers to just the language they have set on the bottom , which is normally their native language.

ESL (English as a Second Language) is very, very, common

[SmudgePlant]

@CraftyCornishMaids @JMOldeVintage 

That is a good point.I had not thought of that. I just figured someone would prefer to read instructions in their native language.

[Vintorious]

You could try writing it differently to eliminate the auto translation error. E.g., "pattern only prints in one language, and does not translate to languages other than my own" or similar. 

[JMOldeVintage]

Just wondering if there is a glitch somewhere? When looking at the OP's main page, below the categories I see the highlighted notice from Etsy - "Etsy automatically translates most text on the site to your preferred language." I'm set to English(US) & this is how I see the OP's listings.

But if I click on the final sentence in the highlighted box "See in original language" absolutely nothing changes. 

And while I understand @CryzalisDesigns instructions on how to list to avoid the translation problem, I'm also a bit confused. A translator program that would change the word "English" to "Espanol" to me, is sort of like saying a "cat" a "dog". I must be missing something.