Spanish Help

[pink_silk_glove]

Just going through final edits for a story and could use the expertise of someone fluent in Spanish to help with a handful of dialogue in Spanish. This would be Spanish from Southern Spain if that matters, and it would be three lines in particular that I'm not sure how much to trust google translate with sexy talk. I'd post the lines here but for some reason it feels funny. If anyone could lend a hand, shoot me a private message. It would be much appreciated.

 

[12oclocktales]

Good luck with your request and hope someone can help you out. I have to admit I’ve always been a bit perplexed when a request like this shows up on a forum, asking for foreign language assistance. Would it not be simpler and better appreciated by a vast majority of your readers to say, Speaking in Spanish, Diego cried vehemently, “Blah, blah, blah,” which of course would be shown in English. The reader understands instantly what he said and knows he said it in Spanish. Especially if it’s a whole sentence or longer; the reality of having to show the foreign language words used seems like overkill to me, a distraction. Short phrases are fine: hasta la vista, nom de plume, etc. and don’t even need translating. [P.S. I’ve done this myself in a story where I say the characters are speaking German and give what they’re saying in English, and no one complained or even seemed to notice. I admit I get few comments, however.]

 

[MrPixel]

I disagree, unless the intent is lengthy conversation. I have used a phrase or two of Spanish or French in my stories to assist with expressing the personality of the character, and sometimes the scene. In situations of high emotions (...uh... like sex, maybe?), non-native speakers inadvertently fall back into their first language. It adds color, and in many cases doesn't need translation.

There is a literary technique where even conversational will work, non-English in italics followed in-stream with the translation in square brackets. Subtitles, basically:

¡Pedro! ¿Adónde vas? [Pedro! Where are you going?]
Nosotros vamos a nadar desnudos. [We are going skinny-dipping.]
¿Puedo ir yo también? [May I go, too?]
¡Sí! ¡Síganos! [Yes! Follow us!]

¿Entiende, amigo?

 

[MrPixel]

Oh... to @pink_silk_glove 's inquiry, I will be no help at all to your situation. I was dredging down into 3 years of long-forgotten high school Spanish to come up the above example, with assistance from Google Translate to recall half of it!

 

[Trionyx]

I disagree, unless the intent is lengthy conversation. I have used a phrase or two of Spanish or French in my stories to assist with expressing the personality of the character, and sometimes the scene. In situations of high emotions (...uh... like sex, maybe?), non-native speakers inadvertently fall back into their first language. It adds color, and in many cases doesn't need translation.

There is a literary technique where even conversational will work, non-English in italics followed in-stream with the translation in square brackets. Subtitles, basically:

¡Pedro! ¿Adónde vas? [Pedro! Where are you going?]
Nosotros vamos a nadar desnudos. [We are going skinny-dipping.]
¿Puedo ir yo también? [May I go, too?]
¡Sí! ¡Síganos! [Yes! Follow us!]

¿Entiende, amigo?

I personally don’t like this. Either mention the character(s) is/are speaking in the language or use such simple phrases most people will understand.

In one story I did use some less well known Spanish words but I made sure one could understand them by context and how they were used in the conversation. For example:

“Te amo.”
“I love you, too.”

This was with a couple of immigrants who spoke both languages frequently and it would not work in every case.

 

[MillieDynamite]

You can get generic simple translations into Spanish, or almost any other language, by googling English to Spanish. The Google software translates the most commonly used Spanish in the proper order of the words. For example, "I'm so turned on," she said. Becomes, "Estoy tan excitada," she said. Which is, "I'm so excited." If you want profanity, then do a search on Spanish Profanity, but the precise translations won't be what you think they are. Though, they know and use words like Fuck as is.

Otherwise, just say it in English and indicate it's Spanish. Perra estúpida is often used and translates to Stupid Bitch. Perra is bitch, and estúpida is stupid. More often than not, they'd say something like, son of pig and not son of a bitch. But never say, Tu madre es una puta, them be fighting words.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Good luck with your request and hope someone can help you out. I have to admit I’ve always been a bit perplexed when a request like this shows up on a forum, asking for foreign language assistance. Would it not be simpler and better appreciated by a vast majority of your readers to say, Speaking in Spanish, Diego cried vehemently, “Blah, blah, blah,” which of course would be shown in English. The reader understands instantly what he said and knows he said it in Spanish. Especially if it’s a whole sentence or longer; the reality of having to show the foreign language words used seems like overkill to me, a distraction. Short phrases are fine: hasta la vista, nom de plume, etc. and don’t even need translating. [P.S. I’ve done this myself in a story where I say the characters are speaking German and give what they’re saying in English, and no one complained or even seemed to notice. I admit I get few comments, however.]

There are times when just giving the translation works fine, but it's not the right option for every story. Sometimes giving a translation breaks the flow or perspective. The balance between "some people won't understand it" and "it doesn't feel right this way" is one that every author has to navigate for themselves. I think we had another thread about this question fairly recently.

In this case it sounds as if PSG has already decided to give the Spanish, so those of us who don't speak Spanish might do best just to leave the thread for any who do.

 

[mildlyaroused]

I personally disagree with a few people in this thread. I would never just offer the English translation and mention that a character was speaking a different language. Not unless the entire book was actually set in, let's say, 1800s France, so every character is speaking French the whole time.

If English is the primary language and someone says something "in Spanish", readers' minds will just entirely skim over the "in Spanish" part. It won't have any affect on them at all. They might register that the words are in Spanish, but in terms are actually feeling that they're in Spanish, not so much. It has none of the authenticity that writing phrases in the actual language does.

Saying "she said in Spanish" is not the same as having an actress speak Spanish with English subtitles.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I have a fundamental understanding of Mexican Spanish but not any other Spanish dialects. However, the main differences are in pronunciation, not the spelling or use of the words.

In fact, the American English Dialect is further from British English than Spain's Spanish is from Mexicos.

There are times when just giving the translation works fine, but it's not the right option for every story. Sometimes giving a translation breaks the flow or perspective. The balance between "some people won't understand it" and "it doesn't feel right this way" is one that every author has to navigate for themselves. I think we had another thread about this question fairly recently.

In this case it sounds as if PSG has already decided to give the Spanish, so those of us who don't speak Spanish might do best just to leave the thread for any who do.

 

[ThatNewGuy]

I happen to be in a similar situation to @pink_silk_glove . I'm about eighty percent finished with a draft of a story that contains a few phrases and bits of dialogue in Spanish (my character is from Ecuador rather than Spain). If anyone who is willing to help the OP would also have time to lend me a hand, I'd be grateful.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Again, it is more about the pronunciation of the words and not the spelling.

I happen to be in a similar situation to @pink_silk_glove . I'm about eighty percent finished with a draft of a story that contains a few phrases and bits of dialogue in Spanish (my character is from Ecuador rather than Spain). If anyone who is willing to help the OP would also have time to lend me a hand, I'd be grateful.

 

[ThatNewGuy]

Again, it is more about the pronunciation of the words and not the spelling.

I understand what you're saying, but let me give you a few examples of what I mean.

1. Would it sound odd for a 15-year-old girl to call her grandfather abuelito rather than abuelo? From what I've read, the diminutive is a sign of affection and not something that only younger children would use, so I'm assuming it's fine.

2. When telling a grandparent you love them, would you say Te amo or Te quiero? I've read that in some countries, Te amo is used almost exclusively in a romantic context. I've also read it's perfectly fine to use Te amo for family. Which usage is more common in Ecuador?

3. How would one say "Are you okay?" if you are trying to check if someone is in danger or feeling unsafe? My web research tells me Are you okay? is ¿Estás bien?. But is that really what you would say in a tense moment? Here's the sentence in question:

She shot me a wary look. Her right hand clutched what looked to be a can of pepper spray. She strode to Katie’s side. “<i>¿Estás bien?</i>”

In this case, a mother is asking her daughter if she feels safe with the main character. It's important to me that it be in Spanish because 1) she is under stress, and 2) she is speaking a different language partly as a safety measure to obscure what she and her daughter are talking about.

These are the types of nuances that I think someone fluent in Spanish might be able to help me address. The last thing I want is for a reader to be pulled out of the story because they are thinking, "What a dummy this author is. There's no way she would say that in that situation!"

 

[MillieDynamite]

As I said, I have only a passing knowledge of Mexican Spanish. I doubt that anyone would complain, however you use it. But, there may be a translator that can go from English to any national Spanish language. You'd have to search for it. But I doubt many of us authors have a working knowledge of specific dialects of languages.

I understand what you're saying, but let me give you a few examples of what I mean.

1. Would it sound odd for a 15-year-old girl to call her grandfather abuelito rather than abuelo? From what I've read, the diminutive is a sign of affection and not something that only younger children would use, so I'm assuming it's fine.

2. When telling a grandparent you love them, would you say Te amo or Te quiero? I've read that in some countries, Te amo is used almost exclusively in a romantic context. I've also read it's perfectly fine to use Te amo for family. Which usage is more common in Ecuador?

3. How would one say "Are you okay?" if you are trying to check if someone is in danger or feeling unsafe? My web research tells me Are you okay? is ¿Estás bien?. But is that really what you would say in a tense moment? Here's the sentence in question:

She shot me a wary look. Her right hand clutched what looked to be a can of pepper spray. She strode to Katie’s side. “<i>¿Estás bien?</i>”

In this case, a mother is asking her daughter if she feels safe with the main character. It's important to me that it be in Spanish because 1) she is under stress, and 2) she is speaking a different language partly as a safety measure to obscure what she and her daughter are talking about.

These are the types of nuances that I think someone fluent in Spanish might be able to help me address. The last thing I want is for a reader to be pulled out of the story because they are thinking, "What a dummy this author is. There's no way she would say that in that situation!"

 

[ThatNewGuy]

But I doubt many of us authors have a working knowledge of specific dialects of languages.

I posted a thread asking for advice from wheat farmers and received PM responses from three people. So my faith in the power of crowdsourcing through the AH remains unshaken.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Good luck. I just use Google Translate for my foreign languages. Even with Mary, @theWollstonecraftWoman, being fluent in Yiddish, French, German, and several other languages, I just use the app for it. Don't want her to get a big head about how important she is.

I posted a thread asking for advice from wheat farmers and received PM responses from three people. So my faith in the power of crowdsourcing through the AH remains unshaken.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

The situation is that my female character does not speak Spanish but she is turned on when my male character speaks Spanish to her, so he says a couple of naughty lines in Spanish to her which she can not understand but she enjoys it all the same. So I can't just say "he said, 'blanety-blank blank' in Spanish."

I have the scene and I have the dialogue taken from google translate and it's probably fine but I just don't 100% trust google translate especially with naughty phrases.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Ah, do a search on Central American naughty Spanish flirting. See if that turns a few phrases.

Eres el postre perfecto para una cena romántica. "You are the perfect dessert for a romantic dinner."

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

Ah, do a search on Central American naughty Spanish flirting. See if that turns a few phrases.

Eres el postre perfecto para una cena romántica. "You are the perfect dessert for a romantic dinner."

The problem with using American English and translating it to Spanish is men and women don't flirt the same in French, German, Italian, and, I'm sure, Spanish as we do in English. And men don't flirt the same way with a woman they have a real interest in as opposed to trying to jump their bones.

Google Translates just changes words and sentence structure, not necessarily to the same words an Ecuadorian man would use to seduce a woman.

Oddly, flirting in German often sounds as hard-edged as arguing does. Gutural languages are harsh. Latin-based languages are sexy. At least Italian is.

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

Le français est la langue de l'amour.

 

[SimonDoom]

An additional consideration is it sounds like your story is in English from an English-speaking person's point of view, so it's going to be read overwhelmingly by English speakers, so you'll have a bit more latitude with your Spanish dialogue than you would otherwise. I agree with you that you should use Spanish if part of the point is you want to convey that character A is turned on by character B's Spanish and you're telling it from character A's POV. Suggestion: Keep it simple and keep it to a few phrases. That will convey the effect you want. Your male character, I take it, will speak English too.

I think Spanish is a very sexy language, so it sounds like a good idea to me.

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

I also like the idea. I wish I spoke Spanish. Maybe that'll be my next project. Or, maybe not! I think five languages is enough to handle for me.

 

[Cali_Love]

There are 14 different languages spoken in Spain and only one of them is Spanish. In the south they speak Andalusian.

My daughter was well fluent in Spanish, four years AP in high school, two college semesters of it as well, born and raised in Cali not far from the Mexican border. She went off to Spain for a year in an interesting program where she’d teach, including teaching English to children. She drew Barcelona. They don’t speak Spanish there, they speak Catalan, which is not even close. Poor kid had to learn a new language from scratch. Good thing she’s smart.

We visited and then vacationed by driving 2000 km throughout the country with her, city to city. In many places she was no help communicating with the locals. Who knew?

Just FYI as you seem to weigh big on authenticity.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Mi niña judía, mi amiga no aprenden más idiomas extranjeros. No necesitas más desorden en tu mente.

I also like the idea. I wish I spoke Spanish. Maybe that'll be my next project. Or, maybe not! I think five languages is enough to handle for me.

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

Mi niña judía, mi amiga no aprenden más idiomas extranjeros. No necesitas más desorden en tu mente.

Okay, Millie, I'm looking up what you said. Somehow, not sure it's a compliment.

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

Ha, Ha, @MillieDynamite very funny. NOT! My mind isn't cluttered!