Spanish term
United States
24 years of experience in many countries
Native in: Spanish 
Works in: English to Spanish, Spanish to English, English to French, and 6 more.
Hermano
It's the translation of the transcription of a Latin American Spanish phone conversation.
Is correct to translate it as Brother or Buddy?
It's the translation of the transcription of a Latin American Spanish phone conversation.
Here is the full paragraph and the context:
Pero Jose necesito que me ayudes con esto. Esto se esta volviendo un problema hermano.
Dejame tratar de arreglarlo.
| 4 +7 | bro |
Darius Saczuk
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| 4 +2 | my brother/ brother |
Pablo Julián Davis
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| 4 | brother/bro/man |
Nathan Carroll
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| 3 | Buddy/dude/man. |
Florencio Alonso
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Feb 6, 2014 10:22: Yvonne Gallagher changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"
Non-PRO (3): Carol Gullidge, Jane Martin, Yvonne Gallagher
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Proposed translations
United States
The Slanguage Buff
Native in: Polish (Variant: Standard-Poland) , English (Variant: US)
Works in: Polish to English, Spanish to English, English, and 4 more.
bro
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Note added at 11 hrs (2014-02-06 12:54:04 GMT)
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"BRO" actually is not an abbreviation, but, as Noni pointed out correctly, a word in its own right. It coveys a high degree of intimacy. I hear it practically every day. I generally agree with Juan Pablo's comments, but to me "bro" suits the context perfectly.
| Darius, Thanks for your help but we should leave just the abbreviation and not the full name Brother? In Legal transcriptions they are very strict. |
| Thanks Dariusz. |
Uruguay
Certif. Translator + Telecom Engineer
Native in: Spanish 
Works in: English to Spanish, Spanish, Spanish to English
Buddy/dude/man.
| Muchas gracias Florencio. Saludos. |
United States
Meaning for meaning
Native in: English
Works in: English to Spanish, English to Papiamento, Spanish to English, and 1 more.
brother/bro/man
| Thanks Nathan. |
La palabra justa/The right word
Native in: Spanish , English
Works in: Spanish to English, English to Spanish, Portuguese to Spanish, and 1 more.
my brother/ brother
www.flickr.com/photos/cold_mountain_photography/2733509314/ : "...It's alright my brother, I'll keep you dry. Newer Older. My kids a couple of years ago in the beautiful mountain village of Soglio in the ..."
arcticmonkeysus.com › ... › Arctic Monkeys › Arctic Monkeys › Tumblr : "You said it brother. If anyone knows this guy, give him an award for me. That's just the right thing to do. no, I dunno what..."
books.google.com/books?isbn=1452047715 : Annie V. Prewitt. "That's right my brother without a doubt. Before long you'll be rolling in Franklin's and there won't be any stopping you, the sky
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Note added at 4 hrs (2014-02-06 06:47:46 GMT)
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Sometimes 'brother' is rendered as 'brotha', which means to convey an r-less, or r-dropping (in more technical linguist-lingo, it's 'non-rhotic') accent:
www.tweettunnel.com/ACheaib : "22 NovAli Cheaib @ACheaib @luckynocharms7you know that's right my brotha!Details. 20 : 50. Reply | Retweet | Favorite ..."
https://twitter.com/Lloydbanks/status/27519884697 : "Oct 16, 2010 - @LamboAnt I don't know brotha, but I'm gonna work my ass off till we find out. Reply; Retweet Retweeted; Delete; Favorite..."
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Note added at 5 hrs (2014-02-06 06:58:49 GMT)
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I definitely don't recommend the 'brotha' spelling for this translation, just wanted to make reference to it and include some examples.
About 'bro', seems to me it isn't the right call, has too many different connotations that can get in the way of rendering this particular 'hermano' effectively. Among the connotations it has acquired is a college-boy, drinking-buddy, immature-male one. (I'm not saying the connotation is always accurate or fair, but it's there.) It has a kind of lightness about it, a frivolity. There is the whole 'bromance', 'brocab' running joke.
blog.dictionary.com/brocab is a tongue-in-cheek glossary of terms, and its author says "Personally i don't use the word bro however what right do we have to judge them."
And there's this, from GQ magazine: http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/comment/articles/2013-07/16/sto... : "It's Time To Stop Using the Word 'Bro'. ... It used to be that you would rarely hear the word bro. It was an affectation used exclusively by stoners, visiting Yanks (or wannabe Yanks - "sup, brah!") and guys who wore bandannas to the gym. But lately, the word bro is everywhere - and it has to stop. / It all started fairly innocuously, with the rise of the "bromance", a term which has squeezed its way into pop-culture on the back of films like I Love You, Man and Pineapple Express. (This isn't entirely Judd Apatow's fault - I blame cover line-hungry magazine writers like myself, too.) / Then these kind of portmanteaux (portmanbro?) started appearing everywhere, and more men started to be labelled as bros. Pepsi Max started running ads about "Bromitment." In America, a sexual health group launched an initiative called "Bro-Choice". Perhaps the most ridiculous was American brand Powerful Yoghurt, which sells specifically male-targeted "Brogurt". Sites like Gawker began asking "Who Is the Biggest Bro in the Presidential Race?" ..."
Whereas Spanish 'hermano' is very much a mainstream term, with no such connotations. It is a straightforward word, with some seriousness and dignity to it.
Not saying one word is 'better' than the other, just which one is the best translation of the term 'hermano' in the passage given!
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Note added at 15 hrs (2014-02-06 17:27:55 GMT)
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https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3263262/34/True-Strength : "brother, we've got a problem," he said worriedly. "Easy, Al," Ed cautioned. "Even if they can't understand us, Alphonse and Edward can't be ..."
http://blogs.cjonline.com/index.php?entry=5737 : "You'd like to be ... be more supportive. But brother, it's getting tough to do..."
| Thanks. |
| agree |
Yvonne Gallagher
: in this context
6 hrs
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Thanks, Gallagy.
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| agree |
James A. Walsh
: 100% agree about "bro" vs. "brother" in this instance.
6 hrs
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Thanks James, glad to be on the same wavelength.
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