Translate a specification document into Spanish

Shall, should, may: requirement language in Spanish

A specification stands or falls on how clearly it separates obligations from options. Spanish technical writing usually expresses a binding requirement with the future tense: The system shall export data in CSV format becomes El sistema deberá exportar los datos en formato CSV. May maps to podrá; should to debería or sería deseable que, and in a tender to se valorará ("will be scored favourably").

The risk is inconsistency. If shall is rendered as debe in one place, deberá in another and tiene que elsewhere, a supplier can argue about whether a line is mandatory. If your source follows RFC 2119 conventions (MUST, SHOULD, MAY), check that each keyword keeps a single Spanish equivalent.

• There is no single word for the document itself: pliego de condiciones (and pliego de prescripciones técnicas in Spanish public procurement), especificaciones técnicas, documento de requisitos.
• Phrases such as it is necessary that take the subjunctive: es necesario que el proveedor entregue.
• Spanish runs noticeably longer than English, so requirement tables designed around English column widths may overflow.

Spain or Latin America: what changes in the document

Spanish from Spain and from Latin America are mutually intelligible, but a specification aimed at an integrator in Mexico or Colombia reads better in local vocabulary:

• ordenador / computadora, fichero / archivo, móvil / celular;
• decimal separator: a comma in Spain (12,5 mm), a point in Mexico and several Central American countries (12.5 mm). A misread tolerance becomes a manufacturing error;
• dates: 15 de marzo de 2025, with months and weekdays in lower case.

Some conventions apply everywhere. Headings capitalise only the first word (Requisitos no funcionales, not Requisitos No Funcionales), and questions in an "Open issues" section open with an inverted mark: ¿Debe el sistema admitir el inicio de sesión único?

If the specification defines interface strings containing numbers, note that Spanish has three plural categories: 1 usuario, 5 usuarios, and a separate form for round millions, with de: 1 millón de usuarios. Developers need to handle all three.

What Manuce delivers, and what it does not

At Professional level, your specification goes to Dédale, Manuce's technical specialist, which handles requirements, acceptance criteria and engineering vocabulary. The file comes back in its original format with the layout intact: a Word document stays a Word document with its tables, and an Excel annex stays a workbook. Accepted formats: Word, PDF, PowerPoint, Excel, plain text, Markdown, HTML, RTF and CSV. A typical document of around 20 pages (about 6,000 words) is delivered within minutes and kept in your client area.

What Manuce does not do:

• it cannot read a scanned PDF (an image with no selectable text);
• it does not produce sworn or certified translations. If a Spanish body requires a traducción jurada, it must be signed by a traductor-intérprete jurado;
• it does not adapt technical content: a BS or ANSI standard cited in the source stays as cited, and it is up to you to state whether a UNE or ISO equivalent applies;
• it does not take glossaries or translation memories. For a module name or in-house term that must stay unchanged, check it in the free sample and again in the delivered file.

Preparing the file

• Upload the editable source. The original Word file translates more cleanly than an exported PDF. If you only have a PDF, make sure the text can be selected.
• Diagrams and wireframes. Text baked into an image is no more readable than a scanned PDF. Plan to redo labels on block diagrams or screen mock-ups in Spanish.
• Identifiers. References such as REQ-F-012 or field names such as delivery_date tie the document to code or contract: list them so you can check them after delivery.
• Tight tables. A compliance matrix with narrow columns (Requirement, Priority, Status become Requisito, Prioridad, Estado) copes badly with longer text: leave some slack or allow wrapping.
• Annexes. A bill of quantities or a scoring grid in Excel can be uploaded separately in its own format.

Checking the Spanish version

Before sending the pliego to suppliers, a targeted review catches what matters:

1. consistent requirement verbs: deberá for every shall, podrá for every may;
2. consistent roles: if contractor is adjudicatario on page 3, it should not turn into contratista on page 15 without reason;
3. cross-references: see section 4.2 becomes véase el apartado 4.2, and the number must still point to the right place;
4. the Word table of contents: update the fields so it shows the Spanish headings;
5. numbers, units and tolerances, row by row in every table.

For a document that commits budget, have the requirements read by a Spanish-speaking specialist in the field, ideally from the recipient's country.

In practice

1. Gather the editable version of the specification (Word if possible) and its annexes.
2. Upload the file: the quote appears instantly, based on the exact word count.
3. Choose a level and read the free sample: check deberá, the regional vocabulary and your in-house terms.
4. Pay, then download the translated file from your client area within minutes.
5. Check cross-references, table of contents, identifiers and figures before circulating it.