It’s Giving Untranslatability!
Untranslatability in Queer Slang
All around the world, we absolutely adore watching RuPaul’s Drag Race. We get hooked on such a trendy show not just because of the incredible outfits, makeup, and hairdos, but also the participants’ charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent… Not to mention their unique way of speaking. We pick up catchy words and terms that make us feel like part of their community. However, this raises a question: can all this queerness be translated? Do we have exact equivalents in, let’s say, Spanish? Let’s find out!
Common Expressions
• To werk: to own the runway; to put in the effort to impress and stun.
• She ate: expressing admiration/praise when performing well. If someone “ate”, they did a speechless job picking an outfit or performing in whatever competition they may be part of.
• It’s giving: when somebody is embodying a mood, style or vibe. E.g.: if someone dances moving their hips, they’re “giving” Shakira.
• Sashay away: this is one of our favorites from RuPaul, it’s a reference from “Paris Is Burning”: this line is used when a queen is eliminated from the competition.
• To read: this means teasingly criticizing someone without mercy. When you “read” someone, you publicly call out their flaws.
• Serve: when someone is serving, they are being iconic – this means they look amazing, they may be wearing a groundbreaking outfit or they are simply outrageous by all good means.
How to Translate These into Spanish?
As translation professionals, it is our responsibility to find terms that closely match those in English. In our field, we are often asked whether every word can be translated exactly into another language. The truth is—spoiler alert—the answer is no. However, when it comes time to tackle a project, we dedicate significant effort to ensuring our translations are of the highest quality. We take great pride in exploring different approaches to translating cultural phenomena, such as our favorite show, RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Some Examples of Translations
If someone “ate”, we can translate it into Spanish as the fairly newly-coined equivalent: “devoró”.
• “Her outfit was stunning. She ate.” / “Su atuendo fue deslumbrante. Devoró.”
If someone says “sashay away”, in Spanish we would say “quedar eliminada” o “irse”.
• “Now, sashay away.” / “Ahora puedes irte.”
If we say someone looks “sickening”, we mean they look “fabulosa” in Spanish.
• “She is sickening tonight.” / “Ella está fabulosa esta noche.”
If someone “slays”, then they performed exceptionally well, which could be translated as “arrasar”.
• “She slayed this challenge.” / “Ella arrasó en este desafío.”
The untranslatability of certain queer terms from English to Spanish is often a result of the cultural and linguistic nuances that get lost in translation. While some terms seem straightforward to translate, like “serve” to “servir“, others are more complex. For instance, “werk” (a playful deformation of the word “work”) might be translated as “trabajó” or “se esforzó”, but this fails to capture the full cultural meaning and flair the term holds within queer communities. Similarly, a word like “read” could be translated as “leer” or “repasar”, yet neither truly conveys the sharp wit or playful critique embedded in its use by drag queens. Additionally, some terms are embedded in specific cultural contexts that do not always have parallels in Spanish-speaking societies. This results in either the adoption of English terms as loanwords or the creation of new expressions that attempt to capture the nuances of these identities, but may still fall short in representing the full spectrum of queer experiences.
Summing It Up
When dealing with slang or niche vocabulary, we can’t take anything for granted: research is fundamental. When we encounter untranslatability, we must draw on all our skills as linguists to complete the task accurately and effectively, offering additional context when a direct translation falls short. Language may be complex, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. We can simplify it through translation if we truly understand what we’re working with. In other words: we better werk.
