Why is it that when you ask for a Spanish translation you get so many different answers?

For example, if I ask Yahoo! Answers Community how I say a sentence in Spanish I get all sorts of different answers from people...surely they should all be the same?Why is it that when you ask for a Spanish translation you get so many different answers?
First of all, many people think they can speak Spanish because they took it for a little while or they use a dictionary or a translator which can only translate literally and out of context. Secondly, there is usually more than one way to say something (in English, Spanish, and every other language). And thirdly, Spanish is the second most spoken native language in the world (after Mandarin Chinese), and it's very widely spoken (largely in Europe, South America, North America, and the Caribbean, and small Spanish-speaking communities in other regions), so there are loads of dialect differences. For example, in Spain "peach juice" is "zumo de melocotón" and in Latin America it's "jugo de durazno."
1) Spanish like any other language offers more than one way of saying something. Think of the English "what is your name?", "what are you called?" "what do they call you?" OR "How are you?"

"how are things with you?" "What's up?" "How are you doing?"

2) Spanish like English permits varying degrees of formality and/or friendliness, and of politeness..No one talks the same way to their boss, their priest, their parent, their lover, their pet dog, or to a panhandler.

3) There are differences in usage between the social classes, and between the generations (teenagers versus the middle aged, etc.)

4) Spanish is spoken in about 20 different countries. Each has its own preferences in style and vocabulary.(think of British versus North American or Australian English).

5) Some answers are just plain wrong!Why is it that when you ask for a Spanish translation you get so many different answers?
Because there are nuances of differences between words and there is not always an exact fit between one language and another.



I will give an example by giving an the text the first few of the last letter Marie Antoinette wrote with a literal translation and the translation I provided for a college class and then a professional translation of the same.



In French: Ce 16 octobre, à quatre heures et demie du matin



C'est à vous, ma soeur,que j'écris pour la dernière fois. Je viens d'être condamnée, non pas à une morte honteuse -- elle ne l'est que pour les criminels, mais à aller rejoindre votre frère. Comme lui innocente j'espère montrer la même fermeté que lui dans ses derniers moments.



Hyperliteral transiation: This 16 October, at four hours and half of the morning



This is at you. my sister, that I write for the last time.I come of to be condemned, no not at a death shameful -- she not it is that for the criminals, but at to go to rejoin your brother. Likewise him innocent I hope to show the self firmness that him in his last moments.



My translation: October 16, 4:30 A.M.



It is to you, my sister, that I right fort he final time. I have just been condemned, not to a shameful death -- that is only for criminals -- but to go rejoin your brother. Innocent as he, I hope to show the same firmness in my last moments.



Professional tranlation:



16 October, half past four o'clock in the morning



My sister, it is you to whom I write for the last time. I just have been condemned not to a scandalous death,for such is only for criminals,but to go and rejoin your brother. Innocent like him I hope to show the same resolve in my last moments.



The hyperliteral translation -- which is what you would get if you looked up every single word in a dictionary -- does not account for several elements of French grammar. ne ... que is always translated as "only". Venir de + infinitive is used to indicate the immediate past and is usually translated as "just have" or "have just".



The differences in our translations is that he doesn't interupt the thought "It is to you that I write" with "my sister." This was a stylistic choice on the part of the translator, as was to repeat the same word. Thus he uses "last" and "final" for dernier. It is also stylistically better not to run a bunch of infinitives together. So he translates "aller rejoindre" as "to go AND rejoin" rather than "to go TO rejoin". I dropped the second "to" for this reason.



Another difference is that I translated fermeté as "firmness". The professional translator translated it as "resolve" because it better captured the nuance of the word.



Spanish would be the same way.



Hope this helps.Why is it that when you ask for a Spanish translation you get so many different answers?
Many people use the dictionary and think their answer is right, or don′t even bother to check it. Apart from that, some things can be said in many different ways, not to mention the fact that people from different countries don′t use the same vocabulary, but that happens with other languages as well (English, French, etc.) For example, I use the verb "coger" a lot and it is COMPLETELY fine here in Spain, but don′t even think about saying it in Mexico because it has a different meaning.
Because in Spain there are different regions like the counties in England. The only difference is that each one has their own language so it gives different ones. Some or more a like than others, Your best bet is to stay away and work it out yourself using a Spanish dictionary as long as you know tenses and how to change the infinitive.
Some people translate more literally than others. There are also synonyms which could change the sentence, maybe syntax or word order/sentence structure. Also, you have to take into account all the people that use translators just to get some points. =)
There are many words one can use to convey the same meaning. Moreover, if you write a computer program to translate Russian into English, the phrase "time flies like an arrow" comes out "clock insects enjoy a weapon".
No they should not all be the same, because there are probably hundreds of different Spanish dialects, and they all differ.
Many different countries speak they own version of spanish.
There are a lot of crazy people on here. They probably said summat rude like "grandma licked my balls and I liked it"