La Piña de Muerte: Lost in Translation

By admin October 4, 2013 04:06

By Joe Ray

Several years ago, my friend Flaco, who was a Court Interpreter for many years, told a group of us the following story.

Flaco had some time to kill (no pun intended here) in between his cases in court, so he decided to sit in and observe the initial hearing in a particular murder trial. The accused was a Mexican national who spoke minimal English. His defense attorney was a man known for a little flamboyance and a little more ego to top it off with. The defendant entered a plea of not guilty, to which the judge reminded him that if convicted, he could receive the death penalty. The judge then asked if he understood this.

The attorney looked at his client and translated the judge’s statement to him in Spanish. Evidently, the attorney didn’t feel he would need a court interpreter to translate. He felt pretty good about himself and his abilities to speak a little above average Español. He could take care of this himself. Why spend the money on a professional translator?

He turned to his client and explained that if convicted, he could receive “la piña de muerte”. Upon hearing this, several Spanish speakers in attendance began laughing; nervously laughing, but laughing nonetheless. The defendant looked around nervously as the judge called for order. Once again, the judge asked if he understood this. The attorney repeated the same interpretation to his client. Similar response echoed from the courtroom, but with slightly less volume.

I can’t exactly recall how the hearing ended, it’s been a while since I first heard that story. Anyway, what the attorney had meant to tell his client was that if convicted, he could receive “la pena de muerte”. Penalty of Death, The Death Penalty. What he had told his client was that he could receive “the pineapple of death”.

La piña de muerte.

Pena…Piña, whatever. Close enough, right?

Neither of these sound very good.

I’ve used that story often and it always gets a good laugh (trust me, it’s much funnier in person). After laughing, people shake their heads in disbelief. Why? It’s not uncommon to see misinterpretations, or to hear about them. It’s always a shocker but to anyone who’s bilingual, we see it quite frequently. Not to this extreme, but we do see and hear about it.

I have no idea whatever became of that case, the attorney, etc. Nada.

If you’re going to require translations or interpretation, use a professional. Don’t attempt it yourself if you’re not, and don’t take these matters so lightly.

Additionally, if you’re going to translate a message, have a relatable context.

Joe Ray is Vice President of Multicultural Marketing at E.B. Lane, a full service marketing and advertising agency with offices in Phoenix and Denver.