Converting a translation from European to Mexican Spanish

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AML
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Converting a translation from European to Mexican Spanish

Postby AML » Wed Nov 14, 2018 4:52 pm

This question is intended for the Spanish speakers among us.

Say you wanted to convert a European Spanish novel into Mexican Spanish, or vice versa. Assume it's a novel with lots of dialog for the sake of this post.
1. Would it be as simple as changing some vocabulary, verb endings (vosotros/ustedes, for example), and idioms? Or do you imagine most sentences would need to be fully restructured?
2. Would you think it's easier to convert a Mexican text into European Spanish, or vice versa? Or doesn't it matter?

EDIT:
The characters are speaking localized Spanish. Pretend it's Harry Potter, and the publisher wants one version where they speak like Spaniards and a second version where they speak like Mexicans. Actually, that publisher did make the American and British English versions slightly different (used local terms, changed spelling ,etc).
Last edited by AML on Wed Nov 14, 2018 5:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Converting a translation from European to Mexican Spanish

Postby zenmonkey » Wed Nov 14, 2018 5:09 pm

But is it necessary? Most literate Mexicans can read European Spanish.
Are the characters such that they make more sense speaking in a localised Spanish?

1) Probably doesn't require fully restructuring - unless it was written in quite a specific register or slang.
2) Not sure it matters?

It's really impossible to judge without a sample.
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Re: Converting a translation from European to Mexican Spanish

Postby AML » Wed Nov 14, 2018 5:48 pm

zenmonkey wrote:But is it necessary? Most literate Mexicans can read European Spanish.
Are the characters such that they make more sense speaking in a localised Spanish?
It's really impossible to judge without a sample.


Yes, the characters are speaking localized Spanish.

Pretend it's Harry Potter, and the publisher wants one version where they speak like Spaniards and a second version where they speak like Mexicans. Actually, that publisher did make the American and British English versions slightly different (used local terms, changed spelling ,etc).

I hope that helps you or others better answer the question.
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Re: Converting a translation from European to Mexican Spanish

Postby Speakeasy » Wed Nov 14, 2018 7:14 pm

I agree with zenmonkey; that is, this is a distinction without a difference. Yes, I am quite aware that different versions of print and recorded media exist, for the same basic product, in the four great colonial languages (English, French, Portuguese, Spanish). However, in my experience, a native speaker would, under normal conditions, experience no noticeable difficulties understanding either version even when taking into account a few minor local differences in vocabulary and usage. I suspect that these types of products have more to do with marketing than they do with genuine linguistic differences. Then again, if the market, writ large, can convince the suppliers that there is money to be made by selling superficially different versions of the same product, then the suppliers will be pleased to comply and to book the profits.

As to the delineation of the different versions, it would take a local native speaker to rework the original texts; that is, someone who is quite attuned to the subtleties of register, culture, et cetera. Furthermore, a decision would have be reached as to "what degree of difference" should be injected into the “translated” version. I have encountered numerous cases in French-to-Québécois and Québécois-to-French “translations” where the purported differences were meaningless. I have also encountered cases where the reworked versions are examples of the translator having “forcé la note” with the clear intention of creating the illusion of large differences which do not, in fact, exist.

Finally, and not that it matters all that much, I would point out that the Harry Potter series originated in English, not in the Spanish of Spain. So then, a Mexican version based on a Spanish version would be a translation of a translation, which is a rather doubtful exercise in itself. An entirely new translation from English-to-Mexican would surely produce large differences from the English-to-Spanish version; however, these would have more to do with the choices made by the translator than any inherent differences between the Spanish of Spanish and the Spanish of Mexico.

EDITED:
Additional pontificating. Typos.
Last edited by Speakeasy on Wed Nov 14, 2018 8:31 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Converting a translation from European to Mexican Spanish

Postby arthaey » Wed Nov 14, 2018 7:30 pm

Setting the book aspect aside entirely, I wonder if the question is actually: Can you tell that a conversation is betweeen two Mexicans vs two Spaniards, without any accent info or colloquial slang to "give it away"?
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Re: Converting a translation from European to Mexican Spanish

Postby AML » Wed Nov 14, 2018 7:48 pm

arthaey wrote:Setting the book aspect aside entirely, I wonder if the question is actually: Can you tell that a conversation is betweeen two Mexicans vs two Spaniards, without any accent info or colloquial slang to "give it away"?


Yes that is almost the same question (except for speaking, not reading). Vosotros/Ustedes conjugation will give it away, as would specific vocabulary (same as British/American issue). So at the very least, these two issues would be something to change in a Mexican vs. European book.
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Re: Converting a translation from European to Mexican Spanish

Postby zenmonkey » Wed Nov 14, 2018 9:21 pm

AML wrote:
zenmonkey wrote:But is it necessary? Most literate Mexicans can read European Spanish.
Are the characters such that they make more sense speaking in a localised Spanish?
It's really impossible to judge without a sample.


Yes, the characters are speaking localized Spanish.

Pretend it's Harry Potter, and the publisher wants one version where they speak like Spaniards and a second version where they speak like Mexicans. Actually, that publisher did make the American and British English versions slightly different (used local terms, changed spelling ,etc).

I hope that helps you or others better answer the question.


So if it's supposed to be like Harry Potter then it's a minor adaptation.
Take a look at https://tinwhiskers.net/harry-potter-in ... nslations/

It's a bit of grammar and a bit of vocabulary and that's it - if the original translation avoided colloquialisms.
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Re: Converting a translation from European to Mexican Spanish

Postby Djedida » Sun Dec 02, 2018 4:30 am

(1) Yes, it would be just as easy to change some vocabulary, idioms, and verb usage. Sometimes even vocabulary that is shared might be changed, because while the words are the same, the intent or something may be different. Depending on how well the publishers are though, if they both Latin and European editions are being translated from a source text, the translations might be vastly different, because translation is more of trying to preserve the feel or author's voice rather than direct word to word translation. Other translators might just translate to Latin Spanish, then adapt the same translation with European grammar for international release.

(2) Vice versa, with two regional Spanish texts its just as easy to replace one word with another most times.

Although the two forms are mutually intelligible for the most part, you should see how fierce some of the audiences get when European Spanish subs are mislabeled as Latino Spanish subs or vice versa on Youtube.
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