I had a great experience at the play La caída de Rafael Trujillo by Carmen Rivera. I was able to observe a very interesting translation throughout the play. The play was in Spanish and the English translation was projected on a monitor screen. As a native Dominican, I am able to say that the Spanish used by the actors had the typical mannerisms of the country (Dominican Republic), but the English translation projected on the monitor was aimed at the American culture and, therefore, it wasn’t a literal translation.
It is my personal opinion that some of the language used by the authors were sayings and words that only a native Dominican would understand easily. So it makes sense that the translation was modified in order to engage other cultures. Below is my observation of some translations made in the play that seemed interesting to me:
| WHAT WAS SAID | LITERAL TRANSLATION | PLAY WRITER’S TRANSLATION |
| Chismes de callejón | Alley way’s gossips | This is garbage! |
| Me cegaste con tu inteligencia | You blinded me with your intelligence | You blinded me |
| Acabo de prender una vela | I just lit up a candle | I just prayed |
| De macizada coincidencia | Too much coincidence | Too close for comfort |
| Y con las sanciones la economía se está viniendo abajo… | And with the sanctions the economy is crashing down… | And with your economy spiraling out of control… |
| Plepla | Talking non-sense | Talking |
Estoy de acuerdo contigo Belen. Fue solo después de la primera mitad cuando comencé a tomar notas sobre la traducción y pude apreciar muchas diferencias.