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Glossary entry

Spanish term or phrase:

Nacionalidad Norteamericana

English translation:

United States nationality

Added to glossary by Robert Rutledge
Mar 11, 2021 17:16
3 yrs ago
80 viewers *
Spanish term

Nacionalidad Norteamericana

Spanish to English Law/Patents Law (general) Divorce
I am translating a Divorce Decree from Mexico and have been confronted with this term. The man whom it is describing is clearly from the USA, however, a literal translation of "North American Nationality" seems problematic, for North America is not a nation but a continent. On the other hand, if I say "United States Nationality" that wouldn't solve the problem either, seeing as "United States" could be interpreted as referring to the "United States of Mexico." Surely it wouldn't be just "American Nationality"?

And yes, "Nationality" has been capitalized in the source.
Proposed translations (English)
5 +8 United States nationality
4 +3 US citizenship
3 +3 American Nationality or US citizen
3 +2 American
4 +1 North American nationality

Discussion

Giovanni Rengifo Mar 12, 2021:
@Robert Could you please transcribe the paragraph where this term appears? It'd be very useful for deciding which option to use here.
John Rynne Mar 12, 2021:
Spanish confusion Here in Spain, writers often say "norteamericano" when they mean "estadounidense". Still, I would have expected better in a court document. My approach would be to say: "a North American (sic) national" or "of North American (sic) nationality". After all, nobody has a passport that says "North America" on the cover.
Toni Castano Mar 11, 2021:
@Robert Rutledge The sensibility and tact you show in the way you ask this question honour you. Kudoz for you.

Proposed translations

+8
6 mins
Selected

United States nationality

That's just how Spanish says "American".

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Note added at 7 mins (2021-03-11 17:23:19 GMT)
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And "United States" means "United States of America"- no one would mistake it for Mexico.
Peer comment(s):
agree Michele Fauble
1 min
agree Robert Carter
6 mins
agree A. & S. Witte
32 mins
agree Manuel Aburto
2 hrs
agree AllegroTrans : This is one of the rare occasions when I would add a translator's note given that the source term is so obviously wrong/misleading
4 hrs
agree Toni Castano : I don´t think "United States nationality" can be confused with "United States of Mexico". Your suggestion is, I believe, unmistakable.
4 hrs
agree Caroline Varella Gonsioroski
23 hrs
neutral Giovanni Rengifo : I'm still wondering why you didn't write "American" instead. Wouldn't it be simpler?
23 hrs
agree Benjamin Wilkes
3 days 17 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Hey, thanks for your help here! I decided to go with US nationality!"
+2
10 mins

American

American: refers to someone from the United States of America.
North American: refers to a person from North America. There are 23 countries that are part of North America.
In some parts of Latin America they called Americans "Norteamericano/na", but the correct word for Americans in Spanish is estadounidense.
Reference:

https://dle.rae.es/norteamericano

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/es-LA/dictionary/english/american

Peer comment(s):
neutral Juan Jacob : Well, only 3 countries in North America. And we don't all agree that American means somebody from the USA.
43 mins
agree Giovanni Rengifo : That's a very thorough explanation Nelly. Note: "....they call" instead of "they called".
1 hr
agree Adrian MM. : American doesn't rule out a dual US / Canadian national - not entirely unequivocal from the question.
5 hrs
neutral Caroline Varella Gonsioroski : There is an ethical issue here. Calling a USA citizen 'American' may not be the most correct option, since their country does not englobe the whole continent. Although it might be okay to say it, I would not put 'American' in a legal document.
23 hrs
agree AllegroTrans : It's OK but it's basically sloppy (but then so is the source term) and as Caroline says, it shouldn't be used in a legal document esp. if for use overseas
2 days 7 hrs
neutral Thomas Haller : Cambridge also says: of or relating to North or South America
2 days 19 hrs
disagree Joel Schaefer : I know any number of Argentines who would point out that American/americano means "of the Americas" and in any remotely Spanish-language context, I would agree with them. So I would specify United States here.
10 days
Something went wrong...
+3
12 mins

American Nationality or US citizen

I'm basing myself on the second definition of American on the Oxford dictionary. This term is controversial and it seems there isn't a non-controversial word. In American passports they place United States of America in nationality, whilst in other passports you can find Canadian or Portuguese underneath instead of the country's name. Hope I could help!
Reference:

https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/6342?redirectedFrom=American&

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonyms_for_the_United_States

Peer comment(s):
agree Orkoyen (X) : ...if you leave it at "US citizen" and drop the rest. It think that would cover the tri-country sensitivities.
37 mins
its always a tricky term ahah thank you :)
agree Giovanni Rengifo : I think you're absolutely right. I still wonder what the source says exactly, though. Both of your options are commonly used anyway.
1 hr
thank you! I've tried basing my answer on credible sources
agree Ruth Rubina : Yes.
7 hrs
thank you Ruth!
Something went wrong...
+3
1 hr

US citizenship

I'd wiete it this way, definetly. Its a clear reference to the same term.
Example sentence:

The author has US citizenship which allows him to vote in the US

Peer comment(s):
agree Emiliano Pantoja
41 mins
agree Edier Quintana
6 hrs
agree Marcelo González
1 day 6 hrs
Something went wrong...
+1
2 days 7 hrs

North American nationality

Of course I am not suggesting that we would write this first hand in English.
But there is an important issue here - this is in a legal document and a decision has to be made whether to repeat the mistake



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 days 7 hrs (2021-03-14 00:45:16 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Should you point out mistakes in the source text to the client ...
martineyeo.wordpress.com › 2013/10/08 › should-you-...
8 Oct 2013 — There's one question that translators often ask themselves: what do ... Most of the time, they are obvious mistakes such as incorrect spelling, ...


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 days 7 hrs (2021-03-14 00:47:41 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

wiki.proz.com › wiki › index.php › Handling_factual_...
21 Feb 2018 — At the other end of the spectrum, when translating publicity material any factual errors will reflect badly on the company that is publishing the material, so the translator has a duty of care to correct any gross, obvious errors. In such cases the corrections should be highlighted and reported to the client.
Missing: repeat ‎| Must include: repeat

Should you point out mistakes in the source text to the client ...
martineyeo.wordpress.com › 2013/10/08 › should-you-...
8 Oct 2013 — Some translators may fear the client's reaction and they may even worry ... Most of the time, they are obvious mistakes such as incorrect spelling, ... If I have any doubt about the use of a specific term in the source text, I ask my ...
Missing: repeat ‎| Must include: repeat

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 days 21 hrs (2021-03-14 15:11:56 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

https://www.proz.com/forum/prozcom_translator_coop/4615-shou...
Peer comment(s):
agree Thomas Haller : Repetir la barbaridad del texto de origen, todo lo demás son adivinanzas.
12 hrs
thanks
Something went wrong...
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