As most translators, I prefer to work directly with the author. Although that is almost never possible, it really improves the quality of the translation. Here's an example of a recent work:
An artist asked me to translated "Baby, I'm yours." for an art project.
1. Do you need to translate this? It is likely to be understood by almost everyone...
Yes, the author wants to translate this.
2. What's the target language? Brazilian Portuguese, or European Portuguese?
In Brazilian Portuguese, the usage of English words is allowed very frequently. In addition, "yours" could be easily translated to "de você" and the issues below would be avoided.
But the author wants this to be translated into European PT.
3. Do you really want to say "baby", or could you say "love"? Or could you just say, "I'm yours."
Baby = bebé in European PT is not often used during romantic conversations. Since this is only one sentence and there will be not context, we need to be very clear.
The author understood the problem, and prefers to use "love" instead. I note the possible ambiguity of the sentence. You could be referring to someone or to the feeling of love. This ambiguity is in essence similar to what could also happen in English.
The authors understood this possibility, and even likes that ambiguity.
4. Now, the final options are:
Amor, eu sou teu. ( a man saying)
Amor, eu sou tua ( a woman saying)
or , a slightly more formal,
Amor, eu pertenço-te! ( I love, I belong to you). This avoids the reference to a gender.
5. The author prefers:
Amor, eu sou tua.
6. Do you need to emphasize "I [Eu]"? You can simply omit it in PT.
The author prefers to keep "Eu"
An artist asked me to translated "Baby, I'm yours." for an art project.
1. Do you need to translate this? It is likely to be understood by almost everyone...
Yes, the author wants to translate this.
2. What's the target language? Brazilian Portuguese, or European Portuguese?
In Brazilian Portuguese, the usage of English words is allowed very frequently. In addition, "yours" could be easily translated to "de você" and the issues below would be avoided.
But the author wants this to be translated into European PT.
3. Do you really want to say "baby", or could you say "love"? Or could you just say, "I'm yours."
Baby = bebé in European PT is not often used during romantic conversations. Since this is only one sentence and there will be not context, we need to be very clear.
The author understood the problem, and prefers to use "love" instead. I note the possible ambiguity of the sentence. You could be referring to someone or to the feeling of love. This ambiguity is in essence similar to what could also happen in English.
The authors understood this possibility, and even likes that ambiguity.
4. Now, the final options are:
Amor, eu sou teu. ( a man saying)
Amor, eu sou tua ( a woman saying)
or , a slightly more formal,
Amor, eu pertenço-te! ( I love, I belong to you). This avoids the reference to a gender.
5. The author prefers:
Amor, eu sou tua.
6. Do you need to emphasize "I [Eu]"? You can simply omit it in PT.
The author prefers to keep "Eu"