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I just watched the will scene translated in Spanish (both Latin American and Spain's version) for the first time to see what they did to translate it and, to be fair, I usually don't like to watch shows in a language that isn't the one I got used to (English, in this case) and the voices kind of take me aback a little but I pushed through it and came with the conclusion that there's an important phrasing that none of them respected: After Buck starts interrupting Eddie every time he mentions his own death, he starts playing around the term, not saying it directly, like "if I didn't make it", until he has to repeat the "it's in my will if I die" just to emphasize it and then they play around the phrasing again with the "if it came to that"

The Spanish version doesn't mention a will when he repeats himself (which I think is important because that phrase is meant to be as straight forward as it can) although it does a better job on dancing around the death implications better than the latin american one (idk how to explain it but that version sounds silly, like a comedy, probably it's a me thing tho)

Let me write this down bc I don't think people notice this enough so let's analyze it part by part:

(Fair warning: This is under MY opinion, idk shit about any of the translation process, I'm just bilingual, and it's ok to disagree with me but bare with me)

"You might have noticed that I almost died... again" doesn't change.

"I got a lot of close calls, this one wasn't even my closest one" changes a little but only because of slang, the spirit is the same (and +1 points to the Spanish version this part for making it feel more like friends taking instead of actors talking, although they have the advantage of having to translate to only one county with the same slang but idc)

Up until now most of the changes that are made are because of slang, they change the words I would use but not the actual meaning so it's fine but then:

"It got me thinking: What would happen to Christopher if I hadn't" is what Eddie says because he knows Buck doesn't want to think about his death, that they are not prepared to be so harsh about it, and the Spanish version does say it like that (+1 points for Spain); the Latin American version (as well as the Brazilian one, I think), however, translated it as "if I hadn't survived"

Then, when Eddie says "So, some day, if I didn't make it" the two (or three, I can't find the Brazilian one but the subtitles put it that way too) versions translated it as "I didn't survive" again

Now, the part of "Christopher would be taken care of... By you" is driving me insane because the Latin American version translated it as "Christopher would be under guardianship... Your guardianship" (which I might like even more than the original a little bit if I'm being honest, +1 points for LATAM), the Brazilian one (again, subtitles only, idk about the actual voices) can't be translated back to English without losing the suspense because it would be "Christopher would be your responsibility" but in the "yours" is grammatically placed at the end so that's like a cheat that keeps it like the original and then we have the Spanish one (and jfk what tf did they do there) that decided to go with "So someone takes care of Christopher. That would be you" idk what it is but I really hate it, it doesn't feel like he is leaving the blank or just adding a word to change the meaning completely, is a total addon and I just hate it

"It's in my will if I die you become Christopher's legal guardian" stays the same in Latin American and the Spanish one says "If I die you are Christopher's legal guardian" and I feel like, if you need to cut some parts because the dialog doesn't fit or whatever it is, I would have taken away the "if I die" part instead of the mention of the will because, if you are following someone's will then it's kind of obvious that they died, there's no need to clarify he died idk idc (and up until now they were winning but +1 to LATAM here)

"And how does that even work? Don't you need my consent?" stays almost the same but I'm petty and I like that the Spanish version kept the word 'consent' and Buck doesn't finish the first question, interrupting himself with the second one, while Latin America went with 'approval' (+1 points for Spain)

"My attorney said you could refuse" stays the same in both and then "But you know I wouldn't" "I know you wouldn't" changes because Latin America decided to change Eddie's part to "yes, I know" and I dislike it for two reasons: the original feels like a deeper knowing of each other, like he knows him so well that he even knows what he is about to say and he repeats it even while Buck hadn't finishing saying it, it feels more pure for me; this might be the dumbest reasoning I will ever use but it reminds me to a generic response on an Adam Sandler movie that uses childish comedy that takes me off the loop with the seriousness of the situation (is it dumb to give Spain points for that? Maybe, but I'll do it anyway)

"After Shanon left they all tried to get me to give Christopher to them" also changed, Latin America added a little bit of spice by saying "they tried to blackmail/extort me" (and God damnit I love that +1 for LATAM) but Spain went with "After Shannon died they wanted me to give them Christopher" like if they only started then, when in reality the worst part of this problem started when Eddie left El Paso so it just feels wrong to put it like that, like forgetting the whole 'dragging Christopher down with him' and that just won't do. (The Brazilian version is a true neutral that says "After Shannon everyone wanted Christopher with them")

"It's not what I wanted then, it's not what I want now", luckily, stays the same (minus slang, but there's a reason why there are two versions to begin with, the translation stays the same anyway)

"If it came to that... Wouldn't they fight for him?" Doesn't change.

"I don't know. Maybe. Probably" only feels different because of the voice actor, I really love Ryan's voice and it's hard to listen to the voices that are higher pitched than his so this part doesn't sound the same even tho it is.

"But no one would ever fight for my son as hard as you. That is what I want for him" doesn't change much either.

"You said you did this last year, why are you just telling me now?" ends up failing in both translations because of the 'just' alone although the Spanish one is quite a mess tbh because it goes "Why did you tell me that you did it, why are you telling me now" (I literally have no comments apart from wtf and why) while the Latin American has "And if you did it last year, why are you telling me now?" which is good at the beginning but I feel like the just really adds a weight to it that I would have loved there (but, tbf, this is a +1 points for LATAM moment)

"Because, Evan, you came in here the other day and you said you thought that it would have been better that it would have been you who got shot. You act like you are expendable... But you are wrong" is ALMOST the same except for the ending that has me without words because while it's the same I think the Latin American version changed things (Brazil also kept it like the original), yet again, to add a little bit more spice because, at the end, instead of pointing out that he thinks wrong, they went with "but you are not". Does it mean the same, at the end? Maybe, but it feels more like a reassurance than a correction, like a reminder that he is not expendable instead of wanting to let him know that he is thinking less of himself IDK (Argue with the wall here, +1 points for LATAM)

I swear I shouldn't get so passionate about this but I think it's really important and having two different versions of Spanish translations has always been a funny war between Spain and Latin America so I'm really used to comparing versions

(So with a sweet 5 against 4 points, LATAM wins this one; Brazil not participating only bc I couldn't find the audio and the subtitles are often different, the only reason why I added it was to emphasize things)

Anyway, thanks for coming to my Ted talk

#bilingual icks #Eddie's Will #im so not normal about this #911 #9-1-1 #911 fandom #eddie diaz #evan buckley #9 1 1 #buddie #translations #spanish #bilingual problems #911 season 4 #911 04x14