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  3. Law: Contract(s)

El/Los Prestatario/s se obliga/n

English translation: the borrower will

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Spanish term or phrase:El/Los Prestatario/s se obliga/n
English translation:the borrower will
Entered by: David Hasting

11:17 Aug 11, 2020
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Law/Patents - Law: Contract(s) / Bank loan agreement
Spanish term or phrase: El/Los Prestatario/s se obliga/n
I am translating a standard loan agreement that is full of examples of singular/plural nouns followed by singular/plural verbs, like the one above, and I would prefer not to translate them literally, and avoid sentences such as “The Borrower/s is/are”…., or “The Borrower/s waive/s his/their rights”.

Furthermore, I’d prefer to avoid gender-specific language such as his/her.

A workaround I am considering is to add a note or footnote the first time “Prestatario o Prestatarios” is mentioned, like this:
Borrower or Borrowers (hereinafter referred to individually or collectively as the "Borrowers")
and then always using plural nouns and verbs.

I would add that the Spanish original is far from perfect or consistent, as it constantly switches from upper case to lower case (El/Los Prestatario/s - el/los prestatario/s), or changes to “el o los prestatarios”, and other times only refers to “el prestatario” in singular. The same applies to the verbs, which quite often only appear in plural, despite following a singular/plural noun i.e. “El/Los Prestatario/s”…

How have other people tackled this issue?

Plus, which of these two options is preferrable: Borrower/s or Borrower(s)?

Cheers in advance
David Hasting
Spain
Local time: 14:06
the borrower will
Explanation:
If you adopt John's suggestion, your translation will look as messy as the original, and be as difficult to read.

You say the Spanish is very inconsistent, and it's obviously been written by someone who's not very good at drafting contracts.

I think this is an instance where you're justified in improving on the source text. I'm not a believer in 'garbage in, garbage out'.

I would adopt your suggested workaround, but I'd use the singular, not the plural, and say something like 'where this contract refers to "the borrower" and there is more than one borrower, it shall be understood to refer to them jointly and severally.'

This is a common practice in loan contracts.

I would also add a translator's note explaining why I've done this.


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Note added at 5 hrs (2020-08-11 16:37:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Another suggestion, which I've been doing more often in recent years, is to refer to "you" and "we" throughout.

This is what English contracts increasingly do, and it takes away the singular/plural, male/female problem. I've never had a complaint when I've done this - customers always understand why.
Selected response from:

philgoddard
United States
Grading comment
John, my client preferred your suggestion.. many thanks.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +3The Borrower(s) undertake
John Rynne
4the borrower will
philgoddard


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +3
The Borrower(s) undertake


Explanation:
Hi David. This is the best approach, in my opinion

John Rynne
Local time: 14:06
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 208
Notes to answerer
Asker: Hi John, long time no see... so you would always use the verbs in plural? and avoid gender-specific pronouns by always using "their"?

Asker: John, the client preferred your suggestion. Cheers


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  patinba
1 hr
  -> Yes, use plural verbs and "their"
agree  Luis M. Sosa
3 hrs
agree  neilmac
3 hrs
neutral  philgoddard: This doesn't work in my opinion, because it includes the ungrammatical possibility "the borrower undertake".
5 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
the borrower will


Explanation:
If you adopt John's suggestion, your translation will look as messy as the original, and be as difficult to read.

You say the Spanish is very inconsistent, and it's obviously been written by someone who's not very good at drafting contracts.

I think this is an instance where you're justified in improving on the source text. I'm not a believer in 'garbage in, garbage out'.

I would adopt your suggested workaround, but I'd use the singular, not the plural, and say something like 'where this contract refers to "the borrower" and there is more than one borrower, it shall be understood to refer to them jointly and severally.'

This is a common practice in loan contracts.

I would also add a translator's note explaining why I've done this.


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 hrs (2020-08-11 16:37:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Another suggestion, which I've been doing more often in recent years, is to refer to "you" and "we" throughout.

This is what English contracts increasingly do, and it takes away the singular/plural, male/female problem. I've never had a complaint when I've done this - customers always understand why.

philgoddard
United States
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 493
Grading comment
John, my client preferred your suggestion.. many thanks.
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



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