How to nickname a murderer

I've been performing QC on two different detective series lately, one from Latin American Spanish into English, and the other from Castillian Spanish into English. One is a period piece, set several decades ago, while the other takes place in the modern day, with flashbacks.

I like the detectives in both series. They're smart. They ask the right questions. In their quest for justice, they don't back off when their supervisors order them to stand down. And since they're trying to catch serial killers, they give their quarry a nickname, usually based on quirks found at the crime scene.

Translating these names depends a lot on what has gone before. In the first series, we're already finishing Season Two, and we've got spreadsheets and Teams discussions to keep track of new characters, new clues, and new nicknames.

The second show has a smaller team, but I can reach out to the translator and project manager via email. I refer constantly to the previous four or five scripts to make sure the flashback dialogue stays consistent, and that I haven't missed any clues. The show includes Galician and Portuguese dialogue, which adds an extra layer of challenge.

Last night, I got stuck. A visiting detective from across the border had already nicknamed the suspect in Portuguese. The name of the predator he chose has two parts, although he only said the first, which his Spanish colleagues did not understand.

Here's the thing. The first part of the name is somewhat scientific, the second is more colloquial. The translator didn't want to use a (very colloquial) third option, so my English revision became a matter of register. Should I follow the character's abbreviated label, or use the term that audiences would more readily understand?

I went back and forth for about an hour. On the one hand, using the colloquial term would mean less friction for the audience. They could understand it and move on. But writers often plant the seeds for plot twists that depend on an earlier misunderstanding. I didn't want to unintentionally create a spoiler for a few episodes down the line.

What would you do?

I followed a rabbit hole down into the costal geography of Spain and Portugal and learned that while this predator is not native to Europe, its behavior is understood (and feared) on both sides of the Atlantic.

I decided to use the colloquial term in the dialogue, then started reviewing the onscreen text. Eureka! Vindication! The burn-ins actually include the colloquial term and dictionary variations, confirming my instincts. I was finally able to hit "Submit" on the file, knowing that another murderer had been aptly named.

One step closer to justice.

To your success,

Catharine

P.s. This is one of the reasons audiovisual translators don't charge by the word, lol.