Translate this wedding toast into Spanish

September 19, 2006 6:03 PM

ForAFriendFilter: Help me translate this wedding toast to Spanish and someone will bake me muffins.

A friend of a friend needs this translated for a wedding toast. Said friend has studied Spanish in college for three years but since most of the audience will be native speakers they want it to be as good as possible. Here's the text:

"With honor and respect for Monica, her immediate and extended family, and her ancestry, I wish to say this in Spanish. My wife and I are very proud to welcome Monica into the Startari family. She has already made an impact in all of our lives and I'm sure she'll continue to do so into the future. We want her to know that we really appreciate the patience she displayed and she waited for Jason to chase his life-long dream of playing baseball professionally. Though I bet she'll make him pay for it one way or another. Hey, I've been married for 29 years-- I know how it goes.

Also our daughters, Sherri and Lyndi, have asked me to welcome Monica to the family. They extend their love and good wishes as they look forward to the many exciting moments that she promises to share with us such as Karaoke and wearing the family pajamas at Chirstmas, dancing the night away at weddings and allowing our loving pets to climb all over her-- as long as she stays away from moonshine."


Thanks!

posted by saraswati to Writing & Language (20 answers total)

That's a hell of a thing to translate! :-) I'm not qualified enough to do it, but I know enough to know that a lot of that is going to be difficult to get across. Colloquial phrases are just about the hardest thing to get across in another language, and things like "made an impact" probably doesn't translate well in any sort of direct way.

Good luck with it, though!
posted by griffey at 6:46 PM on September 19, 2006

Response by poster: Friend says, "it doesn't have to be word for word, just so that the feeling is there. if something doesn't work it can be cut out."
posted by saraswati at 6:51 PM on September 19, 2006

Oh, that is a lovely thing to want to do. I can't help, but the gesture will be appreciated.
posted by sweetkid at 6:56 PM on September 19, 2006

I can't translate it, but it may help to note where the family in question is native to, since most Latin American countries have different slang terms for different phrases. Something said to, say, a Guatemalan family may mean nothing to someone from Colombia.
posted by Ufez Jones at 7:19 PM on September 19, 2006

Response by poster: Thanks Ufez, they're from Colombia.
posted by saraswati at 8:15 PM on September 19, 2006

Best answer:

"Con honor y respeto por Mónica, a su familia inmediata y extendida, y a sus ancestros, deseo decir esto en español. Mi esposa y yo estamos muy orgullosos de darle la bienvenida a Mónica a la familia Startari. Ella ya ha dejado una marca en nuestras vidas y estoy seguro que continuará haciéndolo en el futuro. Queremos hacerle saber que realmente apreciamos la paciencia que ha mostrado y que haya esperado a Jason mientras perseguía su sueño de toda su vida de jugar baseball profesionalmente. Sin embargo, apuesto que ella lo hará pagar por eso de una manera u otra. Hey, he estado casado por 29 años, sé como va el tema.

También nuestras hijas, Sherri y Lyndi, me han pedido darle la bienvenida a Mónica a la familia. Ellas extienden su amor y buenos deseos mientras miran con expectativa a los muchos momentos excitantes que ella promete compartir con nosotros, como Karaoke y vestir los pijamas de la familia en Navidad, bailando toda la noche en las bodas y permitiendo a nuestras amorosas mascotas saltar encima de ella; tanto como esté lejos de la luz de la luna."

posted by Memo at 8:30 PM on September 19, 2006

Best answer: The stuff you can leave out is in brackets.

[Con mucho honor y respéto para Mónica, su familia, y su cultura,] quisiera dar esta plática en español. Mi esposa y yo estamos muy orgullosos de recibir a Mónica en nuestra familia.

Ya nos ha impactado; estoy seguro que seguirá impactándonos por mucho más después. Queremos que sepa ella que la agradecimos de verdad por la paciencia que se ha mostrado [mientras esperaba a Jason para que él pudiera intentar de realizar su sueno de jugar beisbol profesional.]

[No obstante, puede ser que ella si encuentre formas de castigárselo. Tengo veinte y nueve anos de casado, yo se que asi es (maybe avoid the joke here—jokes tend to not translate well). ]

Nuestras hijas[, Sherri y Lyndi, también le da bienvenida a Mónica.] Esperan con gusto los buenos recuerdos que ella comparta con nosotros.
Cantando el Karaoke, llevándose los pijama navideña familiar, desvelándose bailando en las bodas, y dejando que se le monten los mascotas...

[con tal de que se quede alejada del licor (this will probably not translate well due to negative stereotypes about Hispanic people and alcohol abuse).]

Hope this helps.

P.S. I like blueberry muffins.
posted by mynameismandab at 8:53 PM on September 19, 2006

Memo, please be advised that "mascotas amorosas" means something like "romantic pets."
If you need to say "loving pets" the better term would be 'mascotas cariñosas."

But I would say the simpler, the better.
Besides, it seems to me that "loving" or "affectionate" is somewhat implied by the fact that the pets are climbing all over them.

Also, as any American knows, "moonshine" is not "la luz de la luna (literally, 'moonlight')," it is funny slang for liquor.

Honest mistakes for an online translation service.
posted by mynameismandab at 9:13 PM on September 19, 2006

I'm a native speaker of spanish, so your assumption of me using an online translation service is wrong. ;)
posted by Memo at 9:20 PM on September 19, 2006

Must I guess where you might be from, Memo?
posted by mynameismandab at 9:30 PM on September 19, 2006

Of course not, you could click my nick and wonder yourself with the magic of what a MeFi profile contains. However, I understand how much work that would involve so don't worry, I'm from Chile.
posted by Memo at 9:33 PM on September 19, 2006

I would guess that Moonshine is the name of one of the pets.
posted by ludwig_van at 9:35 PM on September 19, 2006

Truce, Memo! No hay problema. No te quise ofender.
posted by mynameismandab at 9:40 PM on September 19, 2006

Native Spanish speaker here. They're both fine translations but I would agree with mynameismandab to take out those "jokes" - they don't come across well at ALL in translation, especially the liquor joke at the end.
posted by vacapinta at 11:09 PM on September 19, 2006

Best answer: "y dejando que se le monten los mascotas..."
Both translators here have been generous with their time and energy, and I like mynameismandab's one better, except for that last line. Hope there are no peninsular spanish speakers in the audience cos that just sounds crude, so maybe lose it?
IAAT but in the opposite direction Spanish into English and I would make a plea that you emphasize the ancestor part. It's unusual enough in the English original that I suspect there's a bit of a story behind it's inclusion so I would simply add to mynameismandb's traslation after su cultura the phrase "y sus antepasados" (if ancestros is more correct in Colombia, please let me know, my Spanish is Peninsular)

I also agree that the joke about the alcohol is a bit too much for a wedding. If they still want to end with a joke, I'm sure we could think of a good ending
How about something like this?
Nuestras hijas, Sherri y Lyndi, también le da bienvenida a Mónica. Esperan con gusto los buenos recuerdos que ella comparta con nosotros. Las costumbres cotidianas que fortalece a una familia como ....cantar el Karaoke, llevarse los pijama navideña familiar, desvelarse bailando en las bodas....
Desgraciadamente, tambien conoce nuestros vicios, como el Poker.... el.... y todavia quiere casarse con nuestro hijo

The bolded sections now read, those everyday things (customs) that strengthen a family... and goes on to mention the Karaoke, Christmas Jammies (Pyjamas), and dancing.
Next section starts, "Unfortunately she also knows our bad habits, like Poker... the.... and she still wants to marry our son!
(Put in whatever the family are willing to own up to)
If they insert bad habits that others know is peculiar to this family (putting up the Christmas Decorations in July!) it would work better.

I would also end with a toast, rather than just thanks, like Damas y Caballeros, un brindis para Monica as he is lifting his glass. Can the South American spanish speakers check that in case there is something far more suitable as a toast?

Un abrazo a todos, y mynameismandab "Vaya subjuntivos mujer!" Your subjunctives rock!
posted by Wilder at 2:38 AM on September 20, 2006

Best answer: Professional Spanish translator here. I'll second vacapinta here; both translations are fine in their own right, and you definitely should skip the liquor joke - you don't want to risk starting a family feud so early in the life of the couple.

I'd like to add that it would help if you could tell us what is the main country of origin of the Spanish members of the audience. As you may know, there are subtle but important differences between the Spanish spoken in Spain and in Latin America, as well as between different Latin American countries. Therefore, while both Memo and mynameismandab's translations are perfectly good, both would sound a bit strange to my ears, which are more used to European Spanish.

If you really want this to speak to the audience on a personal level, you may want to have this translated by someone from the same area they come from. I'll be more than happy to help if your guests hail from the old continent. If not, other members of this forum are more qualified to help than myself.
posted by doctorpiorno at 2:40 AM on September 20, 2006

Response by poster: Thanks to everyone, especially Memo and mynameismandab for their translations. It'll be Christmas morning when my friend wakes up and looks at the thread.

doctorpiorno: the family is from Colombia, but thank you.
posted by saraswati at 6:01 AM on September 20, 2006

Response by poster: err. LIKE Christmas morning, rather. She'll hopefully be waking up before December 25th
posted by saraswati at 6:04 AM on September 20, 2006

You've gotten great answers already, but I'd go with Memo's because it flows more naturally. vacapinta's right, though; the liquor joke doesn't translate well at all. So I'd lose that part. Also, I agree with changing amorosas mascotas to cariñosas mascotas or just mascotas.

If you decide to go with mynameismandab's suggestion, I'd recommend these changes:

[Con mucho honor y respéto para Mónica, su familia, y su cultura,] quisiera dar esta plática en español. Mi esposa y yo estamos muy orgullosos de recibir a Mónica en nuestra familia.

Ya nos ha impactado; estoy seguro que seguirá impactándonos por mucho más después tiempo más. Queremos que sepa ella que la agradecimos le agradecemos de verdad por la paciencia que se ha mostrado [mientras esperaba a Jason para que él pudiera intentar de realizar su sueño de jugar beisbol profesional.]

[No obstante, puede ser que ella si encuentre formas de castigárselo. Tengo veinte y nueve veintinueve años de casado, yo se que asi es (maybe avoid the joke here—jokes tend to not translate well). ]

Nuestras hijas[, Sherri y Lyndi, también le dan la bienvenida a Mónica.] Esperan con gusto los buenos recuerdos que ella comparta con nosotros.
Cantando el Karaoke, llevándose los usando la pijama navideña familiar, desvelándose bailando en las bodas, y dejando que se le monten los le salten encima las mascotas...

I am not a translator, but I am a native Spanish speaker (from México, not Colombia).

I hope this helps.
posted by Penks at 11:49 AM on September 20, 2006

Funny how many different options there are for word choices, it really does depend where you come from!

Thanks for the compliment, Wilder-- I love the subjuntivos.

I like your add-ons about the costumbres cotidianas and the brindis. And the comment about "...and she's Still wants to marry our son!" is a cute joke that is classic!

Great job everybody :)
posted by mynameismandab at 1:47 PM on September 20, 2006