Quick Spanish Translation
June 17, 2009 3:17 PM Subscribe
Spanish Translation, por favor. My customer in Mexico with limited English is angry at me. Maybe I could appease her in the native tounge. Please translate the following into Spanish:
Hello Claudia,
Our warehouse has notified us that your order will ship by this Friday. Unfortunately, your order was delayed a couple of days because it arrived to the wrong fax machine. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you. (Gracias. Ha I know that one!)
If I was Claudia, this email would leave me even more annoyed at you, because it does not contain an apology.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 8:01 PM on June 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by pseudostrabismus at 8:01 PM on June 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
(Editing DrGirlfriend's suggestion for a more apologetic tone per pseudostrabismus's comment.)
"Hola Claudia,
Mil disculpas, pero su orden se retrasó por unos días porque llegó al numero de fax incorrecto.
Nuestro almacén nos ha notificado que su orden saldrá este viernes.
Por favor dejanos saber si tienes mas preguntas. Gracias."
Note that the "1000 sorries" is a simply a term of speech. The apology addresses the situation caused by the customer's mistake.
posted by SantosLHalper at 9:40 PM on June 17, 2009
"Hola Claudia,
Mil disculpas, pero su orden se retrasó por unos días porque llegó al numero de fax incorrecto.
Nuestro almacén nos ha notificado que su orden saldrá este viernes.
Por favor dejanos saber si tienes mas preguntas. Gracias."
Note that the "1000 sorries" is a simply a term of speech. The apology addresses the situation caused by the customer's mistake.
posted by SantosLHalper at 9:40 PM on June 17, 2009
Estimada Claudia,
Mil disculpas, pero su orden se retrasó por unos días porque llegó al número de fax incorrecto.
Nuestro almacén nos ha notificado que su orden saldrá este viernes.
Por favor háganos saber si tiene más preguntas. Gracias.
Added some accents, and changed from "dejanos" (literal mistranslation of "let us") tu "háganos", which is also in the "usted" form, consistent with "su orden". Same with "tiene". Changed from "Hola" to "Estimada", more formal and apologetic.
posted by signal at 10:06 PM on June 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
Mil disculpas, pero su orden se retrasó por unos días porque llegó al número de fax incorrecto.
Nuestro almacén nos ha notificado que su orden saldrá este viernes.
Por favor háganos saber si tiene más preguntas. Gracias.
Added some accents, and changed from "dejanos" (literal mistranslation of "let us") tu "háganos", which is also in the "usted" form, consistent with "su orden". Same with "tiene". Changed from "Hola" to "Estimada", more formal and apologetic.
posted by signal at 10:06 PM on June 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
A straight translation between cultures really does not work due to the fact that Mexicans use more deference and formality in their communications. A first name basis may fly in America but is poor practice south of the border. Any straight translation would be a trainwreck.
posted by JJ86 at 6:16 AM on June 18, 2009
posted by JJ86 at 6:16 AM on June 18, 2009
A straight translation between cultures really does not work due to the fact that Mexicans use more deference and formality in their communications. A first name basis may fly in America but is poor practice south of the border. Any straight translation would be a trainwreck.
Indeed. Given the content of your message and the international transaction (and not knowing more about the circumstances) you could come off sounding like a 419.
posted by GPF at 6:40 AM on June 18, 2009
Indeed. Given the content of your message and the international transaction (and not knowing more about the circumstances) you could come off sounding like a 419.
posted by GPF at 6:40 AM on June 18, 2009
I'm Mexican. signal's message is perfect, send it.
posted by clearlydemon at 10:59 AM on June 18, 2009
posted by clearlydemon at 10:59 AM on June 18, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
Nuestro almacén nos ha notificado que su orden saldrá este viernes. Desafortunadamente, su orden se retrasó por unos días porque llegó al numero de fax incorrecto. Por favor dejeme saber si tiene mas preguntas. Gracias.
posted by DrGirlfriend at 3:29 PM on June 17, 2009