Hija de mil puta.

English translation: You damn. fucking bitch.

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Spanish term or phrase:Hija de mil puta.
English translation:You damn. fucking bitch.
Entered by: Barbara Cochran, MFA

05:12 Jul 13, 2022
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Spanish term or phrase: Hija de mil puta.
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. "
Natalie Laruccia
United States
You damn. fucking bitch.
Explanation:
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.

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Note added at 1 day 8 hrs (2022-07-14 14:08:38 GMT)
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I just thought of another possibility, which I believe to be a valid option, also: "F you, you damn bitch."
Selected response from:

Barbara Cochran, MFA
United States
Local time: 14:15
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +5You damn. fucking bitch.
Barbara Cochran, MFA
4daughter of a whore a thousand times over
Adrian MM.
4son of a thousand whores.
Neil Ashby
4You fucking whorebaby
Jo Macdonald
4Son of a fucking bitch
Silvia Gillespie


Discussion entries: 12





  

Answers


2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
hija de mil puta
daughter of a whore a thousand times over


Explanation:
> 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
    Reference: http://context.reverso.net/traduccion/ingles-espanol/a+braze...
Adrian MM.
Austria
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 15
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
son of a thousand whores.


Explanation:
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"!

Neil Ashby
Spain
Local time: 20:15
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
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.
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
You fucking whorebaby


Explanation:
"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

Jo Macdonald
Spain
Local time: 20:15
Native speaker of: English

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
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
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +5
You damn. fucking bitch.


Explanation:
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."

Barbara Cochran, MFA
United States
Local time: 14:15
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 52
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
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.
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2 days 10 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Son of a fucking bitch


Explanation:
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.

Silvia Gillespie
United States
Local time: 14:15
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
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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