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So I'm translating ... something from Colombian Spanish to English, and there's a scene where a kid is kind of caught off-guard by an adult using "tú" when addressing her (she's been using "usted" with a group of other kids).
It's nearly impossible to convey this in English.
It's nearly impossible to convey this in English.
To be palatable to a US audience, the Colombian use of "usted" even with friends & family has to be just translated with the normal "you" of American English.
The jarring shift to "tú" (especially the actual use of that word) ... ugh. Impossible.
What I did instead was ...
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The jarring shift to "tú" (especially the actual use of that word) ... ugh. Impossible.
What I did instead was ...
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... make the adult go MORE FORMAL, using "miss" and "ma'am" and other strangely quaint ways of talking to a child.
That way I preserve the girl's surprise and confusion at being addressed in a markedly different way.
But I'm making all those things up. They aren't there.
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That way I preserve the girl's surprise and confusion at being addressed in a markedly different way.
But I'm making all those things up. They aren't there.
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It's part of the tricky magic of translation.
INVARIABLY, the translator inserts themself into the translation. NEVER are the author's words purely conveyed in the new language.
The ability, the art, the voice of the translator becomes an essential element in the alchemy.
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INVARIABLY, the translator inserts themself into the translation. NEVER are the author's words purely conveyed in the new language.
The ability, the art, the voice of the translator becomes an essential element in the alchemy.
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BTW, um, how do I say this delicately ...
I'm just explaining my solution. I'm certainly delighted to hear what y'all might've done, but the point of the post wasn't to elicit help. Thanks, though!
I've been translating for a LONG time, heh. I got this.
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I'm just explaining my solution. I'm certainly delighted to hear what y'all might've done, but the point of the post wasn't to elicit help. Thanks, though!
I've been translating for a LONG time, heh. I got this.
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Also, this might not have been clear to everyone: the tricky part isn't the tú / usted divide in Spanish.
It's the pervasiveness of "usted" in this region of Colombia. The children are using it with each other, & the psychologist suddenly breaks in with "tú," causing shock.
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It's the pervasiveness of "usted" in this region of Colombia. The children are using it with each other, & the psychologist suddenly breaks in with "tú," causing shock.
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The shock isn't RUDENESS, BTW. The psychologist (who is a woman, for those making different assumptions) is being nice to the girl, just unexpectedly intimate in a totally disarming way.
So less formal than kids won't work, because that would mean disrespect. There's none.
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So less formal than kids won't work, because that would mean disrespect. There's none.
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A side-bar:
My wife and I speak to each other in, hrm, Northern Mexican Spanish.
When we're particularly annoyed with each other but are trying to scold without being insulting, we switch to "usted."
"Ah, no. Usted quiso cocinar eso, y ahora se lo come. No ande llorando."
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My wife and I speak to each other in, hrm, Northern Mexican Spanish.
When we're particularly annoyed with each other but are trying to scold without being insulting, we switch to "usted."
"Ah, no. Usted quiso cocinar eso, y ahora se lo come. No ande llorando."
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Also, wwitching to "usted" is a sign that our kids are asking for trouble & need to straighten up.
"Usted póngase mejor a limpiar su cuarto y deje de resongar."
That's the last step before we switch to something decidedly less formal, like "tú, pinche pendejo."
HAHAHAHA!
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"Usted póngase mejor a limpiar su cuarto y deje de resongar."
That's the last step before we switch to something decidedly less formal, like "tú, pinche pendejo."
HAHAHAHA!
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Note: though a good chunk of Colombia primarily uses "usted," there are regions where "tú" or "vos" are more common.
Didn't mean to flatten the country's linguistic complexity.
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Didn't mean to flatten the country's linguistic complexity.
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