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Glossary entry

Spanish term or phrase:

Hija de mil puta.

English translation:

You damn. fucking bitch.

Added to glossary by Barbara Cochran, MFA
Jul 13, 2022 05:12
1 yr ago
80 viewers *
Spanish term

Hija de mil puta.

Spanish to English Other General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Hello, I'm trying to find the close term in English for "hija de mil puta." So far I've come up with "motherfucker" and "fucking bitch." I'm correcting a translation and that translator translated it as "daughter of a thousand whores." This is a transcript and translation for a court trial. The dialect in Spanish is Argentine and the target language is American English.

Also, if a translator is making a transcript of an audio recording for court, then translating it into target language, should the translator translate it word for word?

Here is the part of the transcription with the term I'm asking about.

"Andáte a la reverenda mierda. Andáte a Seattle. Hija de mil puta. ¿Cómo me vas a mandar esa foto? Sos una mierda de persona. Otra hija de mil puta que hizo lo mismo, mentirosa de mierda. "
Proposed translations (English)
4 +5 You damn. fucking bitch.
4 daughter of a whore a thousand times over
4 son of a thousand whores.
4 You fucking whorebaby
4 Son of a fucking bitch
Change log

Jul 27, 2022 09:05: Barbara Cochran, MFA Created KOG entry

Discussion

AllegroTrans Jul 16, 2022:
Judge (addressing Counsel again): Are you in all seriousness telling the court that the Spanish word for one thousand, by some mysterious metamorphosis, can be transformed into an Anglo Saxon expletive?
Counsel: actually we don't know your Honour.... emmm...
Judge: Well I know that one thousand equals one thousand
Judge: I do not wish to unnecessarily increase the costs in this case but I am minded to have the translator called as a witness
Counsel: We understand the translator to live on the other side of the Atlantic your Honour, so there will be a considerable costs burden
Barbara Cochran, MFA Jul 14, 2022:
Hijo de/Hija de Even if the speaker is talking to a woman, he could say something like "Damn! Son of a bitch!", using the expression as nothing more than what in, at least American English is a general, very commonly used expletive, at least in situations when someone is confronted by an exasperating situation. But since the word "hija" and not "hijo" is used, I tend to believe the comment is a direct verbal attack on a female individual.
philgoddard Jul 14, 2022:
But there **is** an expletive I assume (and Spanish native speakers will correct me if I'm wrong) that "mil" makes the difference and justifies the addition of "fucking". I believe "hijo de puta" is the exact equivalent of "son of a bitch", which is not very offensive.
AllegroTrans Jul 14, 2022:
A salutary warning: possible scenario... Judge (addressing Counsel): where was this translation obtained from?
Counsel: we believe it is from a translation agency your Honour
Judge: even with my basic knowledge of Spanish it is obvious that the translator has inserted expletives that do not appear in the Spanish version. Can you explain that to the Court?
Counsel: emmm....
Judge: I am minded to adjourn the case, to order a new translation and to make whoever translated this transcript aware of the Court's displeasure....
Natalie Laruccia (asker) Jul 13, 2022:
"El sustantivo original en español (p***) debe ser con "s" al final, porque "mil" es plural." In response to this comment. Yes it technically should be in plural, but they don't stay it in plural in Argentina. They say it in singular and in the audio recording it was said in singular, not plural.
Arantxa Garcia-Gonzalez Jul 13, 2022:
I would say that “Fucking bitch” conveys the same strength and tone as the Spanish swearing. I would also avoid the literal translation.
AllegroTrans Jul 13, 2022:
Could spend all day Looking at idiomatic expressions, local variations etc. BUT, this is for a court and it isn't the translator's job to interpret what the person meant. Leave that to the lawyers to argue. In my view the only correct translation is a literal one.
neilmac Jul 13, 2022:
Maybe the "C" word? Because "daughter of a thousand whores" sounds like something from an old Sinbad movie... I might consider "effing C-word"...
Wilsonn Perez Reyes Jul 13, 2022:
El sustantivo original en español (p***) debe ser con "s" al final, porque "mil" es plural.
Maria Mastruzzo Jul 13, 2022:
I am from Argentina, and I believe "fucking bitch" is the same register.
Also, I agree that a literal translation, like the one you mentioned, won't be appropriate at all.
philgoddard Jul 13, 2022:
This uses "fucking" http://www.spanishdict.com/translate/hijo de mil putas
philgoddard Jul 13, 2022:
If "hija de mil putas" is the same register as "motherfucker" or "fucking bitch", and I'm not qualified to judge, either of those translations would do fine.

Even if it's a court transcript, it shouldn't sound silly, which a literal translation does.

Proposed translations

+5
5 hrs
Selected

You damn. fucking bitch.

If you consult some of the online glossaries, you will find that the most common translation is "son of a bitch" (but I've eliminated "son" in favor of the generic "you", or "fucking son of a bitch". Some of the other responses offered seem to be far too literal.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 8 hrs (2022-07-14 14:08:38 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I just thought of another possibility, which I believe to be a valid option, also: "F you, you damn bitch."
Peer comment(s):
disagree AllegroTrans : Literal is essential here - it's a court document//obviously yes, but it's not the translator's call when dealing with a court document; let the lawyers argue about that
2 mins
No way.! Get real...The expression is obviously part of someone's foul-mouthed verbiage.
agree philgoddard : Disagree with Allegro.
1 hr
Thank you, phil.
agree ormiston : Surely the vulgar and insulting tone should be conveyed. The 'mil' is for angry emphasis, nothing numerical really. And the 'damn' is unnecessary imho
3 hrs
Thank you, ormiston. Yes, "mil" reflects, for me, the idea that the speaker has been pushed over the brink, by the words or actions of another./OK, as long as the speaker forced the first syllable of the "f" word out of his mouth in an explosive manner.
agree Sergio Kot : Definitely. With a comma.
4 hrs
Thanks, Sergio.
agree Giovanni Rengifo : I think "fucking bitch" suffices here. No need to add other words. In any event, I strongly disagree with those who stand in favor of literal translations here.
7 hrs
Thanks, Giovanni./OK, as long as the speaker forced the first syllable of the "f" word out of his mouth in an explosive manner.
agree Marina56 : ok
8 hrs
Thank you, Marina.
agree Adoración Bodoque Martínez
11 hrs
Gracias, Adoración.
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
2 hrs
Spanish term (edited): hija de mil puta

daughter of a whore a thousand times over

> even in these gender-conscious days, motherfucker seems incongruous for una 'hija'.

Also, judges in English-speaking court (cf. the slanging match in the recent 'Wagatha Christie' footballers' wives > Vardy vs. Rooney case in the London High Court and, otherwise, English criminal court justices who may be 'descended from a long line of bachelors':

Come on - Tell the court what s/he said!') routinely insist on a literal, 'inappropriate' translation with no punches pulled, such a describing the 'puta' as a 'brazen hussy' (BrE or IrE) or a 'streetwalker'.

My Italian acquaintances tell me that the hijo & hija turns of phrase of 'hijo/a de la más puta madre que te parió' transliterate almost identically into Italian.

Reference:

http://www.wikiwords.org/dictionary/term/626864/2907248

http://context.reverso.net/traduccion/ingles-espanol/a+brazen+hussy

Something went wrong...
2 hrs

son of a thousand whores.

A court transcription should be as literal as possible, just like a sworn translation. Besides there's nothing wrong with "son of a thousand whores", it's perfectly understood even though three might be more idiomatic expressions.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2022-07-13 07:54:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Sorry "daughter of a thousand whores"!
Peer comment(s):
agree AllegroTrans : Daughter; Agree with your logic; there may be more idiomatic terms but it is, as you say, for or a court and should be 100% literal
17 mins
Thanks
agree Mónica Hanlan
3 hrs
Thanks
neutral philgoddard : Nobody talks like this in 2022.
4 hrs
As noted in my explanation. It's literal because it's a transcription for a court.
disagree Giovanni Rengifo : I believe there's no need to use a literal translation here.
10 hrs
A sworn translation or transcription in this case should be literal -period-, that's the reasoning behind it.
disagree celiacp : Agree with Rengifo
219 days
Court transcripts should be 100% literal, it's THE SINGLE MOST obvious text that should be 100% literal. Some are just petty and want to disagree for nonlinguist reasons.I can't believe you've looked for an answer to disagree with cos' of another Q.
Something went wrong...
3 hrs

You fucking whorebaby

"Mil" is not literally a girl with a thousand mothers, but an attempt to make hija de puta even more offensive, as in "you fucking piece of shit" instead of "you piece of shit".

In old English for a male this would be whoreson
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/whoreson

If this is a court transcript it's important to express the offending nature of the original "Hija de mil puta.(s)" towards women and children to show this person's offensive/demeaning attitude towards women and this woman in particular.

See:
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=whorebaby
Peer comment(s):
disagree AllegroTrans : You could find a hundred ways to say this if it was for a novel or a news article BUT it's for a court and there is is only one right way imo - a literal translation//of no importance, let the lawyers argue about Sinbad
1 hr
This person is being very offensive/aggressive to a woman he probably knows. The authorities need to know that. He is not being amusing or quoting a Sinbad film.
agree philgoddard : I disagree with Allegro. By his logic, "Andáte a la reverenda mierda" should be "go to the revered shit" and "sos una mierda de persona" is " you are a shit of person".
3 hrs
Something went wrong...
2 days 10 hrs

Son of a fucking bitch

In the United States one would normally just say "son of a bitch" but in this case it appears that more emphasis is needed. The word "fucking" works well here.
Peer comment(s):
disagree AllegroTrans : It doesn't matter what they say in the USA, this is a translation for a court and it isn't the translator's call to "emphasise" it - a literal translation is essential. If there is a meaning beyond the literal words, then let the lawyers argue about that
4 hrs
agree Osvaldo Tonello : The emphasis is correct. Silvia is reproducing in English what already exists in the original quote. Lawyers are not language experts, you must help them decide on the legal matter, the linguistic matter must be solved for them already.
18 hrs
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