Script translation and dialects

Q:  How important is the “you” issue in translation?

There are quite a number of ways that dialect impacts a translation.  By “translation” at this moment, we mean just the words themselves, not the accent of the voice talent.  The first impact, is the way of saying “you”.  In most languages, there is an informal “you” and a formal “you”.  Native English speakers have trouble imagining how this could be a problem, because we only have one “you”.  So,  try to think of “old English”.  Once upon a time, a well-brought up person addressed an adult - or a stranger - as “Sir” or “Ma’am”.  If you were polite, you said “Yes, sir” or “Yes, ma’am”.  So, we once had a formal version of “you”  (sir, madame) and those words were an indication of respect.  Failure to use sir or madame, showed disrespect for person to whom you were speaking.  In English, this respectful tone was lost during the liberating ’60s and ’70s, but still exists worldwide in many countries - but not all countries.  In countries with “Sir”, it is considered impertinent and disrespectful to address someone without the “sir” or “ma’am” unless you are truly close friends or colleagues.  In the non-Sir countries, you sound stuffy and snooty if you DO address them as “sir” - just as it would sound silly if someone called you sir or ma’am 100 times in one conversation.  The main problem with this whole scenario is that there is no way to completely win - there is no one mode of address that is perfect for everyone in some languages, Spanish included.  If you use the “tu” form (informal), you are bound to irritate and bother the “sir” people.  But if you use “Usted” (formal), you are virtually saying to one element of your viewers that this translation was not made for them.  Because there is no way to completely “win”, find out who is your audience and do your best to please as many as possible.  If the vast majority of your audience is from Mexico or Spain or Miami, use “tu”. Otherwise, use “Usted”.  If your target is extremely educated people or wealthy people, “Usted” - the formal - is usually more appropriate - why?  Because most people address the president or Yves Saint Laurent or similar people of stature as “sir” - een in today’s society - perhaps out of respect for their wealth or position. If the majority will not be a “vast majority”, but rather a “simple majority”, we suggest that you err on the side of caution, and use “Usted”.

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