Spanish Translation Twists – Part 2
Here are some more examples of Spanish translation twists:
- The mayor of a city or town is an intendente in Argentina, a presidente municipal in Mexico and an alcalde in Spain.
- A waiter is a mesonero in Venezuela, a mesero in Colombia and most South America, and a camarero in Guatemala and Spain.
- A toothpick is a montadientes in Chile, an escarbadientes in Argentina, a picadientes in Mexico and a palillo de dientes in most other countries.
- A ticket can be an entrada, a boleto, a pase or simply a ticket (sometimes spelled tiqué).
- A toilet can be indoro, taza de baño, retrete, wáter or poceta.
- A simple writing pen is a bolígrafo, birome, lapicero, puntabola, esfero, pluma and lapiz-tinta.
- In Spain, a coche is a car, whereas in the most countries it means “baby stroller”, and in Guatemala it means “pig”.
The misuse of some words can lead to significant social embarrassment. The everyday Spanish words coger (to get or pick up) and concha (seashell) are considered vulgar and rude in some Latinamerican countries, where their meaning is “to have sex” and “vulva” respectively.
A Puerto Rican would refer to a bobby pin as a pinche, which is considered an obscenity in Mexico.
In Spain, pija can refer to a snobbish or posh girl, while in most other countries it is an obscenity.
Just as there are differences between American and British English for referring to a “chap”, “dude”, “fellow” or “buddy”, your friend would be your güey, mano, cuate or carnal in Mexico, your mae in Costa Rica, your tío in Spain, your tipo in Colombia, your hueón in Chile and your chabón in Argentina.
Although it would be impossible to translate a text to the satisfaction of every Spanish speaker in the world, a knowledgeable translator can communicate in terminology understood by all. The worst thing to do is pretend that these difficulties do not exist. Some people believe in the existence of a universal, “generic” Spanish clearly understood by everyone, when, in reality, especially for technical language, no such Spanish exists.
The task of a Spanish translator is to be sensitive to cultural variants on an international and a local scale, and the task of an LSP is to guide clients through the complicated maze.
