Traductorado Público, Literario y
Científico-Técnico de Inglés
Translation from Spanish
to English
Profesor:
Douglas Andrew Town
Douglas Andrew Town
Translation from Spanish to English
1
Translation from Spanish to English
FOR MARISA
2
Translation from Spanish to English
Table of Contents
Preface
Part One: From Words to Text
1. Vocabulary in context
1.1
Las trufas - Isabel Allende
1.2
Vestir una sombra - Julio Cortázar
1.3
Emma Zunz – Jose Luis Borges
1.4
Estación de la mano- Julio Cortázar
 Translation commentary on Estación de la mano
2. Translating different meanings of “se”
2.1
La Regenta - Leopoldo Alas, ‘Clarín’,
2.2
Corazón tan blanco - Javier Marías
3. Tense, aspect and mood
3.1
Corazón tan blanco - Javier Marías
 Translation commentary on Corazón tan blanco
3.2
Continuidad de los parques - Julio Cortázar
 Literary commentary on Continuidad de los parques
4. Explaining cultural items
4.1
Two extracts from John Hooper’s The New Spaniards
 A Cult of Excess
 The Taming of ‘The Bulls’
4.2
Caballos en el Corazón - Alberto Catena
4.3
El Oro Verde Conquista al Mundo - Fidel Euterpe
4.4
El sistema español de mediación y arbitraje – Unión Europea
5. Clarifying the syntax
5.1
Rewriting expository prose in clear Spanish
 El debate sobre la reforma del Estado
5.2
Reducing “noise” in translation
 Doce lecciones sobre Europa – Pascal Fontaine
5.3
Rewriting narrative prose in English
6. Information flow within the paragraph
6.1
Los Músicos del Plata
6.2
English for Technical Writing - Ruth Munilla
6.3
Ingredients of a successful paragraph
6.4
Detailed argumentative paragraphs - Melissa Hilton
6.5
The 5-paragraph essay
6.6
Recognising Language Functions
7. Parallel Strucure and Contrast
7.1
Las matanzas de indígenas – Daniel Feierstein
7.2
Libro de Guisados (1529)
3
Translation from Spanish to English
7.3
7.4
Emprendedores innovadores - Alejandro Gómez
Asados y Parrillas – Alberto Vázquez Prego
8. Concreteness vs. Abstraction
8.1
Doce lecciones sobre Europa – Pascal Fontaine
8.2
Evolution of family textile consumption
9. Paragraph Division
9.1
Caballos en el Corazón - Alberto Catena
9.2
Original or translated? Two texts about the Oedipus complex
9.3
Discourse Features of Written Mexican Spanish –
María Rosario Montaño-Harmon
10. Reader centred prose
10.1 Reader centred vs. Writer centred prose
10.2 Restructuring and expanding the writer centred
text to make it reader centred
11.Pragmatic functions
11.1 LKM website - Commissives
11.2 LKM website - Reducing pragmatic “noise” in a badly written text
11.3 LKM website - Matching discourse and pragmatic functions
11.4 Té literario - Juan Ramón Ribeyro
 Politeness and modal verbs
12. Skopos
11.1
11.2
11.3
11.4
11.5
11.6
11.7
Córdoba
Hotel y Complejo Paihuen
Peter Pan – El Loco
Integrated Natural Resource Management
A Brief History of George Smiley – John Le Carré
Las Trufas - Isabel Allende
Fiebre Negra - Miguel Rosenzvit
Part Two. Annotated Passages for Translation
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Sobre la Ciudad
El Agro en la Argentina
Arte Español para el Exterior
Variación y Cambio en el Español
Las obras de Infraestructura
La Unión Permite Exportar
Entelman Peacemeakers
Part Three: Process and procedures
1.
2.
A Brief Summary of the Translation Process
More about Translation Procedures
4
Translation from Spanish to English
Preface
Argentinean translators have a long tradition of translating out of their native language
and demand for their services is growing steadily in all areas. Nevertheless, most training
programmes in Argentina still concentrate almost exclusively on legal, technical and
scientific translation. In contrast, other subject areas are dealt with less intensively and, on
the whole, there is little consensus about what to teach or how to teach it. This problem is
not exclusive to Argentina and has to do with differences in the subject matter and
professional status of different translation areas. Most specialised texts, such as contracts,
medical records and computer manuals, have clearly defined topics, purposes and readers
and so allow for systematic comparisons of layout, phraseology and terminology in the
source and target languages. Moreover, in areas such as law, medicine and technology,
where mistakes and ambiguities can lead to financial loss, injury or even death, courses are
expected to meet certain legal or professional standards.
In other areas of translation, however, a contrastive approach is more problematic.
Imagine that we wish to compare travel guides in Spanish and English. Now, the content
and style of a travel guide depends partly on its objectives – e.g. to provide information
about local landmarks and culture, to promote goods and services, to entertain the reader –
and partly on the age and socio-economic status of the target audience and the idiosyncrasies
of the author and/or publisher. But even if we collect a veritable corpus of guide books in
each language and classify them along these lines, it may still be difficult to match specific
texts about (say) Buenos Aires or Madrid with “equivalent” texts about London, New York
or Sydney. Despite the global tourist industry, each city is unique and, in any case, different
cultures inevitably make different assumptions about what is important, interesting, trendy
or sophisticated. Consequently, few translation schools are prepared to invest in research
into this or other areas of “general” translation, especially as there is no legal or professional
requirement to do so. Even so, this does not rule out a more systematic way of approaching
non-specialized translation than the trial and error method commonly used at present.
This book offers practice at undergraduate level in literary, general and semi-specialized
translation from Spanish into English. It is aimed at Spanish speakers with a good level of
English as a second language (Cambridge Advanced Certificate or higher) and is systematic
in that it integrates translation practice with translation and textual analysis, including
analysis of texts originally written in English. The tasks in Part One become increasingly
more complex as the focus shifts to larger units of language. The annotated passages for
translation in Part Two are similarly graded. In addition, I have included a number of
articles on Contrastive Rhetoric, extended paragraph writing and Technical Writing as well
as extended translation commentaries on various texts. The articles are intended to draw
attention to the rhetorical conventions of each language that work at the paragraph level and
beyond, while at least two of the commentaries focus mainly on problems at the sentence
level. There is also a literary analysis in Spanish on Julio Cortázar’s short story Continuidad
de los Parques.
Douglas Town
Buenos Aires, 2009
5
Translation from Spanish to English
Part One: From Words to Text
6
Translation from Spanish to English
1. Vocabulary in context
Task 1.1: Chose the most appropriate translation for the words and expressions
underlined. Give reasons for your choices.
Las trufas
Napoleón las comía antes de (1) enfrentarse con Josefina en las batallas (2) amorosas del
(3) dormitorio imperial, en las cuales, (4) no está de más decirlo, siempre (5) salía
derrotado... Los científicos — ¿cómo se les ocurren estos experimentos, digo yo?— han
descubierto que el olor del hongo activa una glándula en (6) el cerdo que produce las
mismas feromonas presentes en los seres humanos cuando son (7) golpeados por el amor.
Es un (8) olorcillo a (9) sudor con ajo que (10) recuerda el (11) metro de Nueva York.
Hace algunos años invité a cenar, (12 ) con intención de seducirlo, claro está, a un (13 )
escurridizo galán, cuya fama de buen cocinero (14) me obligaba a esmerarme con el menú.
Decidí que (15 ) una omelette de trufas (16) salpicada con una ( 17) nubecilla de caviar
rojo al servirla (el gris estaba lejos de mis posibilidades), constituía una (18) invitación
erótica obvia, (19 ) algo así como regalarle rosas rojas y el Kama Sutra. Busqué las trufas
(20 ) por cielo y tierra y cuando finalmente (21 ) di con ellas, mi modesto (22) presupuesto
(23) de inmigrante en tierra ajena (24 ) no alcanzó para comprarlas. El dependiente de la
tienda de delicatessen, un italiano (25) tan inmigrante como yo, me aconsejó (26 )
olvidarme de ellas.
From: Isabel Allende Afrodita (1997)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
a.
b.
c.
d.
confronting
clashing with
facing
meeting
a.
b.
c.
d.
affectionate
amorous
cute
loving
a.
b.
c.
d.
alcove
bedchamber
bedroom
dormitory
a. it is no exaggeration to sa
b. it is worth pointing out
c. needless to say
a. came out beaten
b. wound up defeated
c. was despondent
6.
7.
8.
9.
a.
b.
c.
d.
the pig
pigs
pork
swine
a.
b.
c.
d.
infatuated
lovesick
pining
smitten by love.
a.
b.
c.
d.
odor
reek
smell
tang
a.
b.
c.
d.
garlicky perspiration
sweat and garlic
garlic with sweat
sweaty, garlic-tinged
7
Translation from Spanish to English
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
a.
b.
c.
d.
recalls
is redolent of
remembers
reminds
a.
b.
c.
d.
metro
subway
tube
underground
18.
19.
20.
a.
b.
c.
d.
in an attempt to
with intent to
with intentions of
with the aim of
21.
a.
b.
c.
d.
an evasive beau
a shifty pretender
a slippery suitor
a wild heartthrob
22.
a. forced me to outdo myself
b. made me do my best
c. obliged me go to a lot of trouble
a. a truffle omelet
b. an omelet with truffle
c. an omelet with truffles
a.
b.
c.
d.
peppered with
showered with
splashed with
sprinkled with
a. a dusting of red caviar
b. a cloud of red caviar
c. a red caviar garnish
23.
24.
25.
26.
a.
b.
c.
d.
call
invitation
overture
summons
a.
b.
c.
d.
like
similar to
something akin to
something like
a.
b.
c.
d.
far and wide
high and low
in every nook and cranny
up and down
a.
b.
c.
d.
come up with some
located some
met them
stumbled across them
a.
b.
c.
d.
budget
finances
funds
salary
a.
b.
c.
d.
in a land not my own
on alien territory
in foreign parts
on a foreign shore
a. could not manage to
b. failed to
c. would not stretch far enough to
a. as much an immigrant as I
b. an immigrant like me
c. who has migrated like me
a. to forget the truffles
b. to forget them
c. to forget about them
8
Translation from Spanish to English
Task 1.2: Chose the most appropriate translation for the words and expressions
underlined. Give reasons for your choices.
Vestir una sombra
Julio Cortázar
Lo más difícil es (1) cercarla, (2) conocer su límite allí donde (3) se enlaza con la penumbra
(4) al borde de sí misma. Escogerla entre tantas otras, apartarla de la luz que toda sombra
respira sigilosa, peligrosamente.
Empezar entonces a vestirla (5) como distraído, sin moverse demasiado, sin asustarla o
disolverla: operación inicial donde (6) la nada (7) se agazapa en cada (8) gesto. La (9) ropa
interior, el transparente (10) corpiño, las (11) medias que dibujan un ascenso sedoso hacia
los muslos. Todo lo consentirá en su momentánea ignorancia, como si todavía creyera estar
jugando con otra sombra, pero bruscamente se inquietará cuando la falda (12) ciña su
cintura y sienta los dedos que abotonan la blusa entre los (13) senos, (14) rozando la (15)
garganta que (16) se alza hasta perderse en un oscuro (17) surtidor. (18) Rechazará el (19)
gesto de coronarla con la peluca de (20) flotante pelo rubio (¡ese halo tembloroso rodeando
un rostro inexistente!) y (21) habrá que (22) apresurarse a dibujar la boca con (23) la brasa
del cigarrillo, (24) deslizar sortijas y pulseras para darle esas manos con que resistirá
inciertamente mientras los labios (25) apenas nacidos murmuran el (26) plañido inmemorial
de quien (27) despierta al mundo. (28) Faltarán los ojos, que han de (29) brotar de las
lágrimas, la sombra por sí misma completándose para mejor (30) luchar, para (31) negarse.
Inútilmente conmovedora cuando el mismo impulso que la vistió, la misma sed de verla (32)
asomar perfecta del confuso espacio, la envuelva en su (33) juncal de caricias, comience a
desnudarla, a descubrir, por primera vez su forma que vanamente busca (34) cobijarse tras
manos y súplicas, cediendo lentamente a la caída entre un (35) brillar de anillos que rasgan
en el aire sus luciérnagas (36) húmedas.
1.
2.
3.
4.
a.
b.
c.
d.
enclose
encircle
fence
surround
a.
b.
c.
d.
fix
identify
know
meet
a.
b.
c.
d.
connects with
fades into
joins
links up with
a.
b.
c.
d.
along its edge
along its border
on its own border
on the edge of itself
5.
6.
7.
8.
a.
b.
c.
d.
absentmindedly
carelessly
casually
distractedly
a.
b.
c.
d.
nonexistence
nothing
nothingness
the void
a.
b.
c.
d.
cowers
crouches
squats
lies
a.
b.
c.
d.
gesture
gesticulation
motion
move
9
Translation from Spanish to English
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
a.
b.
c.
d.
inner garments
lingerie
under clothes
underwear
a.
b.
c.
d.
bodice
bra
brassiere
corset
a.
b.
c.
d.
leggings
pantyhose
socks
stockings
a.
b.
c.
d.
is tight around
clings to
encircles
girds
a.
b.
c.
d.
bosom
breasts
bust
chest
a.
b.
c.
d.
brushing
grazing
rubbing against
touching upon
a.
b.
c.
d.
gorge
gullet
neck
throat
a.
b.
c.
d.
goes up
mounts
rises
soars
a.
b.
c.
d.
flowing water
fountain
jet
pump
a.
b.
c.
d.
decline
reject
repel
turn down
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
a.
b.
c.
d.
gesture
gesticulation
motion
move
a.
b.
c.
d.
floating
flowing
long
streaming
a.
b.
c.
d.
it behooves you
it is necessary to
you have to
you must
a.
b.
c.
d.
hasten
hurry
rush
work quickly
a.
b.
c.
d.
cigarette embers,
cigarette ash
cinders
fag ends
a.
b.
c.
d.
glide
run
slide
slip on
a.
b.
c.
d.
infant
neonatal
newborn
newly formed
a.
b.
c.
d.
crying
howls
lament
weeping
a.
b.
c.
d.
is aroused by
awakens to
wakes up to
wises up to
a.
b.
c.
d.
it will need
will be needed
will be missing
will be necessary
10
Translation from Spanish to English
29.
30.
31.
32.
a.
b.
c.
d.
be made from
flow from
spring up from
well up in
a.
b.
c.
d.
battle
fight
resist
struggle
a.
b.
c.
d.
cancel itself out
deny itself
negate itself
repudiate itself
a.
b.
c.
d.
appear
born
lean out
take shape
33.
34.
35.
36.
a.
b.
c.
d.
reed bed
rush patch
thicket
undergrowth
a.
b.
c.
d.
conceal
protect
take shelter
take cover
a.
b.
c.
d.
flash
glare
glimmer
glint
a.
b.
c.
d.
damp
glittering
glistening
moist
11
Translation from Spanish to English
Task 1.3: Chose the most appropriate translation for the words and expressions
underlined. Give reasons for your choices.
Emma Zunz
El catorce de enero de 1922, Emma Zunz, (1) al volver de la (2) fábrica de tejidos Tarbuch
y Loewenthal, (3) halló (4) en el fondo del zaguán una carta, (5) fechada en el Brasil, por
la que aupo1 que su padre había muerto. La (6) engañaron, a primera vista, el sello y el
sobre; luego, (7) la inquietó la letra (8) desconocida. Nueve o diez líneas (9) borroneadas
querían (10) colmar la hoja; Emma leyó que el señor Maier había (11) ingerido por error una
fuerte dosis de veronal y había fallecido el tres del corriente en el hospital de Bagé.z Un
(12) compañero de pensión de su padre firmaba la (13) noticia, un tal Fein o Fain, de Río
Grande, que (14) no podía saber que se dirigía a la hija del muerto.
Emma (15) dejó caer el papel. Su primera impresión fue de (16) malestar en el vientre y
en las rodillas; luego de ciega culpa, de irrealidad, de frío, de temor; luego, quiso ya estar
en el día siguiente. Acto continuo comprendió que (17) esa voluntad era inútil porque la
muerte de su padre era lo único que había sucedido en el mundo, y seguiría sucediendo sin
fin. Recogió el papel y se fue a su cuarto. Furtivamente lo (18) guardó en un cajón, como si
de algún modo ya conociera los (19) hechos ulteriores. Ya había empezado a (20)
vislumbrarlos, tal vez; ya era (21) la que sería.
En la creciente oscuridad, Emma (22) lloró hasta el fin de aquel día el suicidio de
Manuel Maier, que en los (23) antiguos días felices fue Emanuel Zunz. Recordó veraneos
en una chacra, cerca de Gualeguay,* recordó (trató de recordar) a su madre, recordó la
casita de Lanús6 que les (24) remataron, recordó los amarillos losanges de una Ventana,
recordó el (25) auto de prisión, el (26) oprobio, recordó los (27) anónimos con el (28)
suelto sobre «el desfalco del cajero»,…
José Luis Borges Emma Zunz
1.
2.
3.
4.
a.
b.
c.
d.
on returning home
on getting home
when she returned home
when she was coming
a.
b.
c.
d.
cloth factory
clothes factory
fabric mill
textile mill
a.
b.
c.
d.
came across
discovered
encountered
found
a.
b.
c.
d.
along the hallway
at the back of the hall
at the rear of the entrance hall
in the entrance
5.
6.
7.
8.
a.
b.
c.
d.
dated
posted
postmarked
stamped
a.
b.
c.
d.
cheated
deceived
deluded
misled
a.
b.
c.
d.
disturbed her
made her restless
made her anxious
made her uneasy
a.
b.
c.
d.
mysterious
strange
unfamiliar
unknown
12
Translation from Spanish to English
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
a.
b.
c.
d.
grubby
illegible
scrawled
scribbled
a.
b.
c.
d.
complete
cram
fill up
fulfill
a.
b.
c.
d.
accidentally swallowed
erroneously consumed
mistakenly
taken by mistake
a.
b.
c.
d.
accommodation
boarding house friend
fellow pensioner
roommate
a.
b.
c.
d.
letter
news
notification
piece of news
a.
b.
c.
d.
may not have known
cannot have known
had no way of knowing
was unable to know
a.
b.
c.
d.
dropped the sheet of paper
dropped the piece of paper
let go of the letter
let the paper fall
a.
b.
c.
d.
a sick feeling in her bowels
a weak feeling in her stomach
discomfort in her abdomen
unease in her belly
a.
b.
c.
d.
the will was useless
that wish was futile
her willingness was useless
her wistfulness was pointless
a.
b.
c.
d.
hid
guarded
kept
put away
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
a.
b.
c.
d.
hidden events
later deeds
subsequent facts
ulterior actions
a.
b.
c.
d.
discern
glimpse
make out
suspect
a.
b.
c.
d.
the one
the person
the woman
who
a.
b.
c.
d.
cried
mourned
sobbed
wept
a.
b.
c.
d.
happy old days
old happy days
good old days
bygone days
a.
b.
c.
d.
had been auctioned for them
had been auctioned off
had been publicly auctioned
had been put up for auction
a.
b.
c.
d.
the committal for trial
the court sentence
the prison van
the warrant for arrest
a.
b.
c.
d.
the disgrace
the dishonor
the ignominy
the opprobrium
a.
b.
c.
d.
anonymous authors
poison pen letters
ransom notes
unsigned articles
a.
b.
c.
d.
loose change
short item
newspaper’s account
release
13
Translation from Spanish to English
Task 1.4: Below is an extract from Julio Cortázar’s (1967) short story ‘Estación de la
mano’ – a tale of the unexpected that achieves its effect by combining the ordinary with the
literary and ‘scientific’. First, underline the literary and ‘scientific’ elements in the ST. Then
decide which of the idiomatic translations in the TT are also ‘explicitations’. Finally, read
the notes beneath the text.
‘Estación de la mano’
‘The Time of the Hand’
Le puse nombres: me gustaba llamarla Dg,
porque era un nombre que sólo se dejaba
pensar. Incité su probable vanidad olvidando
anillos y brazaletes sobre las repisas, espiando
su actitud con secreta constancia. Alguna vez
creí que se adornaría con las joyas, pero ella
las estudiaba dando vueltas en torno y sin
tocarlas, a semejanza de una araña
desconfiada; y aunque un día llegó a ponerse
un anillo de amatista fue sólo por un instante,
y lo abandonó como si le quemara. Me
apresuré entonces a esconder las joyas en su
ausencia y desde entonces me pareció que
estaba más contenta.
I invented names for It: the one I liked best
was Dg, because this was a name one could
only think, but not say.1 I tried to arouse its
suspected 2 vanity by leaving rings and
bracelets lying around on the shelves, while in
secret I observed its reaction constantly.3 On
one occasion I thought It was about to put on 4
the jewels, but It turned out to be merely
examining them, circling round and round
without touching them, just like a wary
spider.5 Once It did actually venture to put on
an amethyst ring, though only for an instant,
discarding it immediately as if it were red hot.
6
After that, I quickly hid the jewels while It
was away, and from then on I had the
impression that It was much happier.
Así declinaron las estaciones, unas esbeltas y
otras con semanas teñidas de luces violetas,
sin que sus llamadas premiosas llegaran hasta
nuestro ámbito. Todas las tardes volvía la
mano, mojada con frecuencia por las lluvias
otoñales, y la veía tenderse de espaldas sobre
la alfombra, secarse prolijamente un dedo con
otro, a veces con menudos saltos de cosa
satisfecha. En los atardeceres de frío su
sombra se teñía de violeta. Yo encendía
entonces un brasero a mis pies y ella se
acurrucaba y apenas bullía, salvo para recibir,
displicente, un álbum con grabados o un ovillo
de lana que le gustaba anudar y retorcer. Era
incapaz, lo advertí pronto, de estarse largo rato
quieta. Un día encontró una artesa con arcilla y
se precipitó sobre ella; horas y horas modeló la
arcilla mientras yo, de espaldas, fingía no
preocuparme por su tarea. Naturalmente,
modeló una mano. La dejé secar y la puse
sobre el escritorio para probarle que su obra
me agradaba. Era un error: a Dg terminó por
molestarle la contemplación de ese
autorretrato rígido y algo convulso. Cuando lo
escondí, fingió por pudor no haberlo
advertido.
Thus 7 the seasons came and went, some
gracefully, others with flickering weeks, 8
without disturbing our cosy routine. Every
afternoon the hand would arrive, often wet
with the autumn rain, and I would see her 9
lying on her back on the carpet, meticulously
drying one finger with another, and giving
little shivers of apparent contentment.10 On
cold evenings her shadow would take on a
violet hue. Then I would light a brazier 11 at
my feet and she would cuddle up to it, only
stirring half heartedly 12 to accept an album of
pictures to leaf through, or a ball of wool
which she enjoyed twisting and tangling. She
was, as I soon learned, incapable of staying
still for long. One day she came across a
trough full of clay which she fell upon avidly;
for hours and hours she went on moulding the
clay while I, with my back to her, pretended
not to notice what she was doing.13 Not
unexpectedly, she had sculpted 14 a hand. I let
it dry and placed it on my desk to show that I
liked it. This turned out to be a mistake:
looking at 15 her rigid and somewhat distorted
self-portrait soon came to irritate her. When I
hid the object, 16 she tactfully pretended not to
have noticed.
14
Translation from Spanish to English
Mi interés se tornó bien pronto analítico.
Cansado de maravillarme, quise saber,
invariable y funesto fin de toda aventura.
Surgían las preguntas acerca de mi huésped:
¿Vegetaba, sentía, comprendía, amaba? Tendí
lazos, apronté experimentos. Había advertido
que la mano, aunque capaz de leer, jamás
escribía. Una tarde abrí la ventana y puse
sobre la mesa un lapicero, cuartillas en blanco
y cuando entró Dg me marché para no pesar
sobre su timidez. Por el ojo de la cerradura la
vi cumplir sus paseos habituales; luego,
vacilante, fue hasta el escritorio y tomó el
lapicero. Oí el arañar de la pluma, y después
de un tiempo ansioso entré en el estudio. En
diagonal y con letra perfilada, Dg había
escrito: Esta resolución anula todas las
anteriores hasta nueva orden. Jamás pude
lograr que volviese a escribir.
Julio Cortázar, Los relatos: 2, Juegos (Madrid:
Alianza, 1976, pp. 57–8),
Soon my interest in the hand became
analytical. Tired of treating it 17 as an object of
wonder, I now wanted to know, which 18
always spells the inevitable and fateful end to
all adventures. I was plagued by questions
about my strange guest. Did it grow? Could it
feel? Could it understand? Did it love? 19 I set
up tests and devised experiments. I had found
out that the hand could read, and yet never
wrote. One afternoon, I opened the window
and placed a pen and some blank sheets of
paper on the table, and when Dg came in I
withdrew so as not to disturb the timid
creature. Through the keyhole I observed it as
it did its usual rounds of the room; then,
hesitantly, it approached the desk and took up
the pen. I heard the scratching of the nib, and
after an uneasy wait I entered the study.
Diagonally across the page, penned in a neat
hand, it had written: ‘This resolution cancels
all previous ones until further notice.’20 I could
never induce it to write again.
Thinking Spanish Translation Teachers’
Handbook
1 The TT departs from literal translation by expanding the rendering of ‘un nombre que sólo se
dejaba pensar’ by adding ‘but not say’, without which the TT would be incomprehensible. In our
view, the alternatives ‘a name which can only be thought’ or ‘a name which one can only think’
are almost ungrammatical, and are certainly obscure: the point made in the ST (which is the
suitability of an unpronounceable name for an extraordinary creature) has to be made more
explicit in the TT if it is to be grasped.
2 The more literal meaning of ‘probable’ is inappropriate to the context: the point is not that the
creature’s vanity is objectively probable, but that the narrator thinks it might be vain.
3 The more literal ‘with secret constancy/persistence’ has been rejected as translationese. Our
solution involves substantial grammatical transposition: the adjective ‘secreta’ is transposed to
the adverbial complement ‘in secret’ and the noun ‘constancia’ to the adverb ‘constantly’.
4 The more literal rendering ‘adorn itself with’ is rejected as translationese: despite the resulting
translation loss (see, in particular, the connection between ‘se adornaría’ and ‘su probable
vanidad’) the more neutral and colourless ‘put on’ is preferable.
5 The aptness of the simile is not fully appreciated until the subsequent context reveals that Dg
is really a disembodied hand; it is all the more important to ensure that the image of the spiderlike movements is clearly conveyed in the TT.
6 Using the phrase ‘red hot’, besides being idiomatic in context, avoids the need for further
repetition of anaphoric ‘it’; had we not used ‘It’ for denoting Dg, this sentence would have
become both cumbersome and potentially confusing as a result of too many occurrences of ‘it’,
some referring to Dg and some to the amethyst ring.
7 The degree of ‘purple style’ in this sentence justifies the use of the more formal connective
‘thus’, in preference to a more colloquial alternative such as ‘So...’.
15
Translation from Spanish to English
8 The more literally exact ‘tinged/tinted with violet lights’, while retaining the ‘purple’ style of
the ST, is felt to be unidiomatic to the point of translationese. We feel that this phrase contrasts
(note the structure ‘unas …y otras’, and the difference in phrase length introduced by each) with
the previous one to convey the different speeds with which time appears to pass, and we aim to
combine this and the image of light in our solution to retain the literary flavour of the ST
without jeopardizing TL idiomaticity.
9 The shift to anaphoric ‘she’ signals a change in the narrator’s attitude to Dg during this period
of ‘cosy routine’ (see our strategic comments above).
10 In describing the details of Dg’s behaviour literal faithfulness to the ST is far less important
than finding plausible ways of recreating in the TT the appropriate visual images: implicitly, the
creature is described as behaving like a pet, but there is a reminder of its unusual nature in
‘secarse prolijamente un dedo con otro’. We considered a TL collocation like ‘little jumps of
joy’ but ruled this out on the grounds that ‘cosa satisfecha’ maintains the note of weirdness
prevalent in the passage.
11 The reference is to a small charcoal heater of the kind often used in Spanish and Latin
American households. The object itself is culturally alien to the Anglophone reader, and no
serious translation loss would have resulted from describing it simply as ‘a heater’; the cultural
strangeness of ‘a brazier’ injects a slight degree of exoticism into the TT, which helps to
distance the narrative from ordinary experience.
12 The choice of ‘half heartedly’ represents a literally inexact, but idiomatically justified and
contextually apt rendering of ‘displicente’.
13 There is a substantial grammatical transposition in this solution, in order to avoid unidiomatic
nominal constructions in the TT: formulations like ‘pretended not to be preoccupied with its
activity’ would constitute conspicuous translationese.
14 Tense causes a problem of detail in the TT: in the context, ‘sculpted’, ‘was sculpting’ and
‘had sculpted’ are all plausible alternatives. We chose ‘had sculpted’ in order to pick up the
narrative at the point when the sculpture was finished.
15 The grammatical transposition (in particular the avoidance of an abstract nominal
‘contemplation’) necessary for producing an idiomatic rendering further suggests that
‘contemplating’ is too formal and pedantic in the context: we chose to replace it by the more
neutral and colloquial ‘looking at’.
16 Although anaphoric ‘it’ could be used here, the TT becomes clearer and more felicitous
through the insertion of ‘the object’, in particular through the contextually apt collocative echo
of the cliché ‘the offending object’.
17 The shift to anaphoric ‘it’ signals yet another change in the narrator’s attitude to Dg: this time
to treating it as an object of scientific curiosity (see strategic comments).
18 With the aid of punctuation the TT can be correctly construed as meaning that the quest for
analytical knowledge invariably puts an end to the romance of adventure. This construal is not
immediately obvious in the ST, which, if the function of the comma after ‘saber’ is ignored, can
be easily misconstrued by interpreting ‘invariable y funesto fin de toda aventura’ as the
grammatical object of ‘saber’.
19 The variation between ‘did it’ and ‘could it’ is justified purely by reasons of collocational
felicity in English.
20 Communicative translation is appropriate here: the written message must read like a plausible
official memo in English, hence the use of bureaucratic jargon in our TT.
Thinking Spanish Translation Teachers’ Handbook
16
Translation from Spanish to English
2. Translating different meanings of “se”
1 [seguido de otro pronombre: sustituyendo a le]: ya se lo he dicho (a él) -- I’ve already
told him; (a ella) I’ve already told her; (a usted, ustedes) I’ve already told you; (a ellos) I’ve
already told them;
el vestido tenía cuello pero se lo quité -- the dress had a collar but I took it off
2 (en verbos pronominales): se queja de todo -- « él/ella » he/she complains about
everything; -- « usted » you complain about everything;
¿no se arrepienten? -- « ellos/ellas » aren’t they sorry?; -- « ustedes » aren’t you sorry?;
el barco se hundió -- the ship sank;
se cortó (refl) -- he cut himself; se cortó el dedo (refl) -- he cut his finger;
(por accidente, sin intención) se me cayó - - I dropped it, it slipped out of may hand; se me
rompió – I broke it, it broke
se hizo un vestido (refl) -- she made herself a dress;
se hizo un vestido (caus) -- she had a dress made;
no se hablan (recípr) -- they’re not on speaking terms, they’re not speaking to each other;
se lo comió todo (enf) -- he ate it all, he ate the whole thing
3 a (voz pasiva):
se oyeron unos gritos -- there were shouts;
se estudiarán sus propuestas -- your proposals will be studied;
se publicó el año pasado-- it was published last year;
se habla inglés -- English spoken here
b (impersonal):
aquí se está muy bien -- it’s very nice here; aquí se come muy bien – the food is very good
se iba poco al teatro --people didn’t go to the theater very much;
ya se ha llegado a un punto en que … --we’ve/they’ve now reached a point where …, a
point has now been reached where …;
véase el capítulo X -- see Chapter X;
se los acusa de subversión --they are accused of subversion;
se castigará a los culpables -- those responsible will be punished
c (en normas, instrucciones):
¿cómo se escribe tu nombre? -- how is your name spelled?, how do you spell your name?;
se pica la cebolla bien menuda -- chop the onion finely; sírvase bien frío -- serve chilled
d (reportaje) se dice que ganaron mucha plata… it is said that they made a lot of money
(formal); they are said to have made a lot of money (journalese); I’m told that they (have)
made a lot of money (informal)
17
Translation from Spanish to English
Task 2.1: Examine the uses of ‘se’ printed in bold in the ST and consider what their
contextual communicative effect is. Compare the ST with the TT
De los periódicos e ilustraciones se hacía
más uso; tanto que aquéllos desaparecían
casi todas las noches y los grabados de
mérito eran cuidadosamente arrancados.
Esta cuestión del hurto de periódicos era de
las difíciles que tenían que resolver las
juntas. ¿Qué se hacía? ¿Se les ponía grillete
a los papeles? Los socios arrancaban las
hojas o se llevaban papel y hierro. Se
resolvió última-mente dejar los periódicos
libres, pero ejercer una gran vigilancia. Era
inútil. Don Frutos Redondo, el más rico
americano, no podía dormirse sin leer en la
cama el Imparcial del Casino. Y no había de
trasladar su lecho al gabinete de lectura. Se
llevaba el periódico. Aquellos cinco
céntimos que ahorraba de esta manera, le
sabían a gloria. En cuanto al papel de cartas
que desaparecía también, y era más caro, se
tomó la resolución de dar un pliego, y
gracias, al socio que lo pedía con mucha
necesidad. El conserje había adquirido un
humor de alcalde de presidio en este trato.
Miraba a los socios que leían como a gente
de sospechosa probidad; les guardaba
escasas consideraciones. No siempre que se
le llamaba acudía, y solía negarse a mudar
las plumas oxidadas.
Leopoldo Alas, ‘Clarín’, La
Regenta, edited by Juan Oleza
(Madrid: Cátedra, 1991, vol. 1, pp.
327–8), Cátedra, 1991.
More use was made of newspapers and
illustrated magazines. So much so, that the
former disappeared almost every night and
any prints of merit were carefully torn out of
the latter. The theft of newspapers was one
of the difficult questions to be resolved at
meetings. What was to be done? Chain the
papers up? The members would tear the
pages out or carry off both newspaper and
chain. In the end, it was resolved to leave
the newspapers unfettered, but to exercise
the utmost vigilance. It was to no avail. Don
Frutos Redondo, the richest of the
Americans, could not sleep at night without
first reading the Club’s copy of El Imparcial
in bed. And he was not going to transfer his
bed to the reading room. He took the
newspaper away with him. The five
céntimos which he saved in this way
smacked to him of glory. With regard to the
writing-paper, which also kept disappearing,
and was more expensive, it was resolved to
give one sheet to any member who made an
urgent request for it—and he could consider
himself lucky to get even that. The porter
had acquired the attitude of a prison warder
in these dealings. He regarded members who
were fond of reading as people of dubious
probity, and treated them with scant respect.
He did not always come when he was called,
and he often refused to replace rusty nibs.
Translated by John Rutherford
(Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1984, p.
127), Penguin, 1984.
Contextual information
La Regenta, by Leopoldo Alas, ‘Clarín’, was first published in 1885. The novel is a satirical
exploration of the mores of a dilapidated provincial town. The ST extract is part of an
extended scene set in the Casino, which is the regular meeting place and club of the town
worthies. The TT below is an extract from the Penguin Classics translation of La Regenta by
John Rutherford (1984). Rutherford is a British academic whose area of speciality includes
the works of Alas. His translation has been very well reviewed.
18
Translation from Spanish to English
Task 2.2: Translate the following passage into English.
No he querido saber, pero he sabido que una de las niñas, cuando ya no era niña y no hacía
mucho que había regresado de su viaje de bodas, entró en el cuarto de baño, se puso frente
al espejo, se abrió la blusa, se quitó el sostén y se buscó el corazón con la punta de la
pistola de su propio padre, que estaba en el comedor con parte de la familia. Cuando se oyó
la detonación, el padre no se levantó en seguida, sino que se quedó durante algunos
segundos paralizado con la boca llena, sin atreverse a masticar ni a tragar; por fin se alzó y
corrió hacia el cuarto de baño. Cuando llegó allí lo único que se veía desde la puerta fue los
pies de la suicida. El padre se echó a gritar.
(Adapted from Marías, 1992)
Hervey, S.; Higgins, I. y Haywood L. M. (1995): Thinking Spanish Translation, Londres:
Routledge
19
Translation from Spanish to English
3. Tense, aspect and mood
Task 3.1: The following extract is the beginning of Javier Marías, Corazón tan blanco
translated by Margaret Jull Costa. The Spanish text has been aligned with the translation to
make analysis easier but, in fact, there are no gaps in the original ST. Underline any
translation of tense, aspect or mood that strikes you as interesting. When you have finished,
read the Notes below.
No he querido saber, pero he sabido que una
de las niñas, cuando ya no era niña y no
hacía mucho que había regresado de su viaje
de bodas, entró en el cuarto de baño, se puso
frente al espejo, se abrió la blusa, se quitó el
sostén y se buscó el corazón con la punta de
la pistola de su propio padre, que estaba en
el comedor con parte de la familia y tres
invitados. Cuando se oyó la detonación, unos
cinco minutos después de que la niña
hubiera abandonado la mesa, el padre no se
levantó en seguida, sino que se quedó
durante algunos segundos paralizado con la
boca llena, sin atreverse a masticar ni a
tragar ni menos aún a devolver el bocado al
plato; y cuando por fin se alzó y corrió hacia
el cuarto de baño, los que lo siguieron vieron
cómo mientras descubría el cuerpo
ensangrentado de su hija y se echaba las
manos a la cabeza iba pasando el bocado de
carne de un lado a otro de la boca, sin saber
todavía qué hacer con él.
Llevaba la
servilleta en la mano, y no la soltó hasta que
al cabo de un rato reparó en el sostén tirado
sobre el bidet, y entonces lo cubrió con el
paño que tenía a mano o tenía en la mano y
sus labios habían manchado, como si le diera
más vergüenza la visión de la prenda íntima
que la del cuerpo derribado y semidesnudo
con el que la prenda había estado en contacto
hasta hacía muy poco: el cuerpo sentado a la
mesa o alejándose por el pasillo o también
de pie. Antes, con gesto automático, el padre
había cerrado el grifo del lavabo, el del agua
fría, que estaba abierto con mucha presión.
La hija había estado llorando mientras se
ponía ante el espejo, se abría la blusa, se
quitaba el sostén y se buscaba el corazón,
porque, tendida en el suelo frío del cuarto de
baño enorme, tenía los ojos llenos de
lágrimas, que no se habían visto durante el
I DID NOT WANT to know but I have since
come to know that one of the girls, when
she wasn't a girl anymore and hadn't long
been back from her honeymoon, went into
the bathroom, stood in front of the mirror,
unbuttoned her blouse, took off her bra and
aimed her own father's gun at her heart, her
father at the time was in the dining room
with other members of the family and three
guests. When they heard the shot, some
five minutes after the gift had left the table,
her father didn't get up at once, but stayed
there for a few seconds, paralysed, his
mouth still full of food, not daring to chew or
swallow, far less to spit the food out on to
his plate; and when he finally did get up and
run to the bathroom, those who followed him
noticed that when he discovered the bloodspattered body of his daughter and clutched
his head in his hands, he kept passing the
mouthful of meat from one cheek to the
other, still not knowing what to do with it. He
was carrying his napkin in one hand and he
didn't let go of it until, after a few moments,
he noticed the bra that had been flung into
the bidet and he covered it with the one
piece of cloth that he had to hand or rather
in his hand and which his lips had sullied, as
if he were more ashamed of the sight of her
underwear than of her fallen, half-naked
body with which, until only a short time
before, the article of underwear had been in
contact: the same body that had been sitting
at the table, that had walked down the
corridor, that had stood there. Before that,
with an automatic gesture, the father had
turned off the tap in the basin, the cold tap,
which had been turned full on. His daughter
must have been crying when she stood
before the mirror, unbuttoned her blouse,
took off her bra and felt for her heart with the
gun, because, as she lay stretched out on
the cold floor of the huge bathroom, her
eyes were still full of tears, tears no one had
noticed during lunch and that could not
20
Translation from Spanish to English
almuerzo ni podían haber brotado después de
caer sin vida. En contra de su costumbre y de
la costumbre general, no había echado el
pestillo, lo que hizo pensar al padre (pero
brevemente y sin pensarlo apenas, en cuanto
tragó) que quizá su hija, mientras lloraba,
había estado esperando o deseando que
alguien abriera la puerta y le impidiera hacer
lo que había hecho, no por la fuerza sino con
su mera presencia, por la contemplación de
su desnudez en vida o con una mano en el
hombro. Pero nadie (excepto ella ahora, y
porque ya no era una niña) iba al cuarto de
baño durante el almuerzo. El pecho que no
había sufrido el impacto resultaba bien
visible, maternal y blanco y aún firme, y fue
hacia él hacia donde se dirigieron
instintivamente las primeras miradas, más
que nada para evitar dirigirse al otro, que ya
no existía o era sólo sangre. Hacía muchos
años que el padre no había visto ese pecho,
dejó de verlo cuando se transformó o
empezó a ser maternal, y por eso no sólo se
sintió espantado, sino también turbado. La
otra niña, la hermana, que sí lo había visto
cambiado en su adolescencia y quizá
después, fue la primera en tocarla, y con una
toalla (su propia toalla azul pálido, que era la
que tenía tendencia a coger) se puso a
secarle las lágrimas del rostro mezcladas con
sudor y con agua, ya que antes de que se
cerrara el grifo, el chorro había estado
rebotando contra la loza y habían caído gotas
sobre las mejillas, el pecho blanco y la falda
arrugada de su hermana en el suelo. También
quiso, apresuradamente, secarle la sangre
como si eso pudiera curarla, pero la toalla se
empapó al instante y quedó inservible para
su tarea, también se tiñó. En vez de dejarla
empaparse y cubrir el tórax con ella, la retiró
en seguida al verla tan roja (era su propia
toalla) y la dejó colgada sobre el borde de la
bañera, desde donde goteó. Hablaba, pero lo
único que acertaba a decir era el nombre de
su hermana, y a repetirlo. Uno de los
invitados no pudo evitar mirarse en el espejo
a distancia y atusarse el pelo un segundo, el
tiempo suficiente para notar que la sangre y
el agua (pero no el sudor) habían salpicado
la superficie y por tanto cualquier reflejo que
possibly have welled up once she'd fallen to
the floor dead. Contrary to her custom and
contrary to the general custom, she hadn't
bolted the door, which made her father think
(but only briefly and almost without thinking
it, as he finally managed to swallow) that
perhaps his daughter, while she was crying,
had been expecting, wanting someone to
open the door and to stop her doing what
she'd done, not by force, but by their mere
presence, by looking at her naked, living
body or by placing a hand on her shoulder.
But no one else (apart from her this time,
and because she was no longer a little girl)
went to the bathroom during lunch. The
breast that hadn't taken the full impact of the
blast was clearly visible, maternal and white
and still firm, and everyone instinctively
looked at that breast, more than anything in
order to avoid looking at the other, which no
longer existed or was now nothing but
blood. It had been many years since her
father had seen that breast, not since its
transformation, not since it began to be
maternal, and for that reason, he felt not
only frightened but troubled too. The other
girl, her sister, who had seen the changes
wrought by adolescence and possibly later
too, was the first to touch her, with a towel
(her own pale blue towel, which was the one
she usually picked up), with which she
began to wipe the tears from her sister's
face, tears mingled with sweat and water,
because before the tap had been turned off,
the jet of water had been splashing against
the basin and drops had fallen on to her
sister's face, her white breast, her crumpled
skirt, as she lay on the floor. She also made
hasty attempts to staunch the blood as if
that might make her sister better, but the
towel became immediately drenched and
useless, it too became tainted with blood.
Instead of leaving it to soak up more blood
and to cover her sister's chest, she withdrew
it when she saw how red the towel had
become (it was her own towel after all) and
left it draped over the edge of the bath and it
hung there dripping. She kept talking, but all
she could say, over and over, was her
sister's name. One of the guests couldn't
help glancing at himself in the mirror, from a
distance, and quickly smoothing his hair, it
was just a moment, but time enough for him
to notice that the mirror's surface was also
splashed with blood and water (but not with
21
Translation from Spanish to English
diera, incluido el suyo mientras se miró.
Estaba en el umbral, sin entrar, al igual que
los otros dos invitados, como si pese al
olvido de las reglas sociales en aquel
momento, consideraran que sólo los
miembros de la familia tenían derecho a
cruzarlo. Los tres asomaban la cabeza tan
sólo, el tronco inclinado como adultos
escuchando a niños, sin dar el paso adelante
por asco o respeto, quizá por asco, aunque
uno de ellos era médico (el que se vio en el
espejo) y lo normal habría sido que se
hubiera abierto paso con seguridad y hubiera
examinado el cuerpo de la hija, o al menos,
rodilla en tierra, le hubiera puesto en el
cuello dos dedos. No lo hizo, ni siquiera
cuando el padre, cada vez más pálido e
inestable, se volvió hacia él y, señalando el
cuerpo de su hija, le dijo “Doctor”, en tono
de imploración pero sin ningún énfasis, para
darle la espalda a continuación, sin esperar a
ver si el médico respondía a su llamamiento.
No sólo a él y a los otros les dio la espalda,
sino también a sus hijas, a la viva y a la que
no se atrevía a dar aún por muerta, y, con los
codos sobre el lavabo y las manos
sosteniendo la frente, empezó a vomitar
cuanto había comido, incluido el pedazo de
carne que acababa de tragarse sin masticar.
Su hijo, el hermano, que era bastante más
joven que las dos niñas, se acercó a él, pero a
modo de ayuda sólo logró asirle los faldones
de la chaqueta, como para sujetarlo y que no
se tambaleara con las arcadas, pero para
quienes lo vieron fue más bien un gesto que
buscaba amparo en el momento en que el
padre no se lo podía dar. Se oyó silbar un
poco. El chico de la tienda, que a veces se
retrasaba con el pedido hasta la hora de
comer y estaba descargando sus cajas
cuando sonó la detonación, asomó también
la cabeza silbando, como suelen hacer los
chicos al caminar, pero en seguida se
interrumpió (era de la misma edad que aquel
hijo menor), en cuanto vio unos zapatos de
tacón medio descalzados o que sólo se
habían desprendido de los talones y una
falda algo subida y manchada – unos muslos
sweat) as was anything reflected in it,
including his own face looking back at him.
He was standing on the threshold, like the
other two guests, not daring to go in, as if
despite the abandonment of all social
niceties, they considered that only members
of the family had the right to do so. The
three guests merely peered round the door,
leaning forwards slightly the way adults do
when they speak to children, not going any
further out of distaste or respect, possibly
out of distaste, despite the fact that one of
them (the one who'd looked at himself in the
mirror) was a doctor and the normal thing
would have been for him to step confidently
forward and examine the girl's body or, at
the very least, to kneel down and place two
fingers on the pulse in her neck. He didn't do
so, not even when the father, who was
growing ever paler and more distressed,
turned to him and, pointing to his daughter's
body, said "Doctor" in an imploring but
utterly unemphatic tone, immediately turning
his back on him again, without waiting to
see if the doctor would respond to his
appeal. He turned his back not only on him
and on the others but also on his daughters,
the one still alive and the one he still couldn't
bring himself to believe was dead and, with
his elbows resting on the edge of the sink
and his forehead cupped in his hands, he
began to vomit up everything he'd eaten
including the piece of meat he'd just
swallowed whole without even chewing it.
His son, the girls' brother, who was
considerably younger than the two
daughters, went over to him, but all he could
do to help was to seize the tails of his
father's jacket, as if to hold him down and
keep him steady as he retched, but to those
watching it seemed more as if he were
seeking help from his father at a time when
the latter couldn't give it to him. Someone
could be heard whistling quietly. The boy
from the shop — who sometimes didn't
deliver their order until lunchtime and who,
when the shot was first heard, had been
busily unpacking the boxes he'd brought —
also stuck his head round the door, still
whistling, the way boys often do as they
walk along, but he stopped at once (he was
the same age as the youngest son) when he
saw the pair of low-heeled shoes cast aside
or just half-off at the heel, the skirt hitched
up and stained with blood — her thighs
22
Translation from Spanish to English
manchados –, pues desde su posición era stained too — for from where he was
standing that was all he could see of the
cuanto de la hija caída se alcanzaba a ver.
Como no podía preguntar ni pasar, y nadie le
hacía caso y no sabía si tenía que llevarse
cascos de botellas vacíos, regresó a la cocina
silbando otra vez (pero ahora para disipar el
miedo o aliviar la impresión), suponiendo
que antes o después volvería a aparecer por
allí la doncella, quien normalmente le daba
las instrucciones y no se hallaba ahora en su
zona ni con los del pasillo, a diferencia de la
cocinera, que, como miembro adherido de la
familia, tenía un pie dentro del cuarto de
baño y otro fuera y se limpiaba las manos
con el delantal, o quizá se santiguaba con él.
La doncella, que en el momento del disparo
había soltado sobre la mesa de mármol del
office las fuentes vacías que acababa de
traer, y por eso lo había confundido con su
propio y simultáneo estrépito, había estado
colocando luego en una bandeja, con mucho
tiento y poca mano – mientras el chico
vaciaba sus cajas con ruido también –, la
tarta helada que le habían mandado comprar
aquella mañana por haber invitados; y una
vez lista y montada la tarta, y cuando hubo
calculado que en el comedor habrían
terminado el segundo plato, la había llevado
hasta allí y la había depositado sobre una
mesa en la que, para su desconcierto, aún
había restos de carne y cubiertos y servilletas
soltados de cualquier manera sobre el mantel
y ningún comensal (sólo había un plato
totalmente limpio, como si uno de ellos, la
hija mayor, hubiera comido más rápido y lo
hubiera rebañado además, o bien ni siquiera
se hubiera servido carne). ……
Se dio cuenta entonces de que, corno solía,
había cometido el error de llevar el postre
antes de retirar los platos y poner otros
nuevos, pero no se atrevió a recoger aquéllos
y amontonarlos por si los comensales
ausentes no los daban por finalizados y
querían reanudar (quizá debía haber traído
fruta también). Como tenía ordenado que no
anduviera por la casa durante las comidas y
fallen daughter. As he could neither ask
what had happened nor push his way past,
and since no one took any notice of him and
he had no way of finding out whether or not
there were any empties to be taken back, he
resumed his whistling (this time to dispel his
fear or to lessen the shock) and went back
into the kitchen, assuming that sooner or
later the maid would reappear, the one who
normally gave him his orders and who was
neither where she was supposed to be nor
with the others in the corridor, unlike the
cook, who, being an associate member of
the family, had one foot in the bathroom and
one foot out and was wiping her hands on
her apron or perhaps making the sign of the
cross. The maid who, at the precise moment
when the shot rang out, had been setting
down on the marble table in the scullery the
empty dishes she'd just brought through and
had thus confused the noise of the shot with
the clatter she herself was making, had
since been arranging on another dish, with
enormous care but little skill — the errand
boy meanwhile was making just as much
noise unpacking his boxes — the ice-cream
cake she'd been told to buy that morning
because there would be guests for lunch;
and once the cake was ready and duly
arrayed on the plate, and when she judged
that the people in the dining room would
have finished their second course, she'd
carried it through and placed it on the table
on which, much to her bewilderment, there
were still bits of meat on the plates and
knives and forks and napkins scattered
randomly about the tablecloth, and not a
single guest (there was only one absolutely
clean plate, as if one of them, the eldest
daughter, had eaten more quickly than the
others and had even wiped her plate dean,
or rather hadn't even served herself with any
meat). She realized then that, as usual,
she'd made the mistake of taking in the
dessert before she'd cleared the plates
away and laid new ones, but she didn't dare
collect the dirty ones and pile them up in
case the absent guests hadn't finished with
them and would want to resume their eating
(perhaps she should have brought in some
fruit as well). Since she had orders not to
wander about the house during mealtimes
and to restrict herself to running between
23
Translation from Spanish to English
se limitara a hacer sus recorridos entre la
cocina y el comedor para no importunar ni
distraer la atención, tampoco se atrevió a
unirse al murmullo del grupo agrupado a la
puerta del cuarto de baño por no sabía aún
qué motivo, sino que se quedó esperando, las
manos a la espalda y la espalda contra el
aparador, mirando con aprensión la tarta que
acababa de dejar en el centro de la mesa
desierta y preguntándose si no debería
devolverla a la nevera al instante, dado el
calor.
Javier Marías, Corazón tan blanco
the kitchen and the dining room so as not to
bother or distract anyone, she didn't dare
join in the murmured conversation of the
group gathered round the bathroom door,
why they were there she still didn't know,
and so she stood and waited, her hands
behind her back and her back against the
sideboard, looking anxiously at the cake
she'd just left in the centre of the abandoned
table and wondering if, given the heat, she
shouldn't instead return it immediately to the
fridge
A Heart so White by Javier
Marías translated by Margaret Jull
Costa
.
Notes on syntactical and discourse issues arising from the translation of the extract from
Corazón tan blanco (Please note that the line numbers do not coincide with the texts above.)
1-2. Length and complexity of sentences, and preference for hypotaxis or parataxis
The first part of the ST (lines 1-23, 298 words) consists of 4 sentences, each containing at
least one subordinate clause. The second part (ST23-38, 161 words) comprises one long
sentence containing a number of subordinate clauses. In each part, there is a pause that could
have been punctuated with a full stop but is instead marked by a semicolon followed by ‘y’
(ST9-10 and 27), indicating continuity of sense and intonation. After the brisk, stark matterof-factness of the series of coordinated clauses in the first sentence (‘entró..., se puso..., se
abrió..., se quitó... y se buscó’), the effect of the remainder of the novel’s lengthy opening
paragraph (including the four pages omitted from the ST) is to slow down the action
drastically, and meticulously highlight incongruous details of various characters’ reactions
to the gunshot. Syntactical structures are deliberately extended, delayed and elaborated to
produce the stylized slow-motion effect. This is particularly marked in the second section of
the ST, in which each of the main elements of the sentence (‘la doncella ... había estado
colocando ... la tarta helada ... la había llevado hasta allí y la había depositado sobre una
mesa ...’) is qualified and expanded to a degree that impatient readers may find irritating, yet
without at any point losing syntactical cohesion or logical cogency.
In general, the TT carefully matches the length and complexity of the sentences, using the
same punctuation as the ST except for slight variation in the use of commas. There is one
clear example of a hypotactic ST structure being replaced by a paratactic one in the TT: ‘se
buscó el corazón con la punta de la pistola de su propio padre, que estaba en el comedor’
(ST4-5) > ‘aimed her own father’s gun at her heart, her father at the time was in the dining
room’ (TT4-5). This asyndetic construction in place of a relative clause is a conspicuous
departure from a translation strategy generally based on closely reproducing the hypotactic
nature of the ST, and the repetition of ‘her father’ is rather clumsy. The transposition is an
understandable result of the change of word order produced by the idiomatic rendering of
the first clause, but it would be possible to arrange the sentence in such a way as to have ‘her
24
Translation from Spanish to English
father’ at the end of the main clause followed by a relative clause (‘who was in the dining
room’).
By reproducing the discourse structure of the ST so closely, the translator has risked
creating a style that is more likely to be regarded as contrived, over-formal or even awkward
by TL readers than the style of the ST would be perceived by SL readers. However, there
are places where the TT wisely sacrifices some of the density and concision of the ST in
order to achieve a more communicative flow by means of expansion: ‘el cuerpo sentado o
alejándose por el pasillo o también de pie’ (ST19-20) > ‘the same body that had been sitting
at the table, that had walked down the corridor, that had stood there’ (TT20-21); ‘su propio y
simultáneo estrépito’ (ST24) > ‘the clatter she herself was making’ (TT26); ‘por haber
invitados’ (ST27) > ‘because there would be guests for lunch’ (TT29-30). The overall
carefulness and formality of social register indicated by the sentence structuring is also
markedly offset by the use of contractions, introducing a more informal style suggestive of
oral discourse: ‘wasn’t a girl ... hadn’t long been ... didn’t let go ... she’d just brought ...
she’d been told ... she’d carried ... hadn’t even served.’ Not all the opportunities for
contraction are taken up, though: ‘I did not want to know but I have since come to know ...
there would be guests ... would have finished.’
3. Flexibility of word order
The ST provides no examples of manipulation of word order for emphatic or tonal effect. Its
tendency to keep to unsurprising subject-verb-object sequences contributes to the overall
effect of careful, dispassionate dissection of the suicide and its aftermath.
The translator’s decision to transpose ‘Cuando se oyó la detonación’ (ST6) into ‘When they
heard the shot’ (TT6) — rather than the more obvious passive (‘When the shot was heard’)
— has the virtue of retaining the same word order, in line with the general strategy of
imitating the sentence structures of the ST.
5. Positioning of adjectives
The ST is sparing in its use of adjectives, since the focus is primarily on the narration of
actions and reactions. Most of the adjectives used are doing a straightforward defining job
and are therefore postpositioned and unmarked: ‘prenda íntima’ (ST17), ‘gesto automático’
(ST20), ‘fuentes vacías’ (ST23). In contrast, the phrase ‘su propio y simultáneo estrépito’
(ST24) draws attention to itself because of the positioning of both adjectives before the noun
(rather than ‘su propio estrépito simultáneo’), an effect compounded by the number of
syllables in ‘simultáneo’ and the contrived juxtaposition of two esdrújula words. The TT
reproduces the sense accurately and fluently (though leaving the notion of simultaneity
implicit), but does so in a more idiomatically normal way, without conveying any of the
stylistic peculiarity of the ST construction.
6. Use of nouns as attributive adjectives
The TT contains two more or less obligatory transpositions of this kind: ‘mesa de mármol’
(ST22-3) > ‘marble table’ (TT24) and ‘tarta helada’ (ST26) > ‘ice-cream cake’
TT29). The expansion of ‘chico’ (ST26) into ‘errand boy’ (TT27-8) is justified not only on
the grounds of clarification but also because the availability of compound nouns of this kind
in English means that speakers are likely to specify barman, shop girl, chambermaid,
cleaning lady or delivery boy where Spanish speakers may use a vaguer one-word term such
as chico/a, mozo/a or doncella.
25
Translation from Spanish to English
9. Markers of possession
The first part of the ST features a number of phrases in which possession (especially of
clothing and parts of the body) is indicated without an explicit possessive adjective: ‘se
abrió la blusa, se quitó el sostén y se buscó el corazón’ (ST3-4); ‘el padre ... la boca ... al
plato’ (ST7-9), and so on. These are sensibly translated with possessive adjectives:
‘unbuttoned her blouse, took off her bra and aimed ... at her heart’ (TT4-5); ‘her father
... his mouth ... on to his plate’ (TT7-9). In the case of ‘la prenda íntima’ and ‘del cuerpo
derribado y semidesnudo con el que la prenda había estado en contacto’ (ST17), on the other
hand, it is not so obvious that the possessives used in the translation (TT18) are
desirable. Here, the impersonality of ‘the underwear’ and ‘the fallen, half-naked body’
might be more in keeping with the stylistic effect of distancing that is created at this point in
the ST (the body is increasingly being treated as an object dissociated from the personality
of the daughter).
10. Omission of subject pronouns
In one or two of the places in which the ST avoids ambiguity by specifying the subject of a
verb with a noun phrase (‘la niña hubiera abandonado’ ST6, ‘el padre había cerrado’ ST20),
it would be possible, and perhaps more elegant, to achieve the same objective in English
with subject pronouns (‘she ... he’).
13. Use of ethic datives
The more oblique or surprising ethic datives tend to occur in types of discourse that are
more colloquial or spontaneous than the tightly controlled literary language employed here
by Marías. The ethic datives that do appear in the ST perform the common function of
marking possession and are translated with possessive adjectives, as noted above (see
section 9): ‘se abrió la blusa, se quitó el sostén y se buscó el corazón’ (ST3-4); ‘se echaba
las manos a la cabeza’ (ST12).
15. Variation in the form of adverbs
In line with normal usage in English, the TT shows minimal variation in the form of
adverbs, in contrast to the ST: ‘por fin’ (ST10) > ‘finally’ (TT10); ‘de cualquier
manera’ (ST31) > ‘randomly’ (TT34); ‘totalmente limpio’ (ST32) > ‘absolutely clean’
(TT35); ‘más rápido’ (ST33) > ‘more quickly’ (TT36). ‘Con mucho tiento y poca
mano’ (ST25) could also have been rendered with two ‘-ly’ adverbs, but the choice of ‘with
enormous care but little skill’ (TT27) has the valuable, slightly exoticizing effect of echoing
a distinctive feature of the ST’s style.
16. Range of tenses available
The ST sets up a complex set of relationships between three different points in time: a
narrative present in relation to which ‘he sabido’ is a recent occurrence; the suicide and
its aftermath, narrated in the past; and events and situations before and after the gunshot,
referred to in the pluperfect. Consequently, the text uses an unusually wide range of tenses:
perfect, preterite, imperfect, imperfect subjunctive, conditional perfect, pluperfect,
pluperfect subjunctive, and even the past anterior. Some of these are
unproblematically matched by corresponding tenses in the TT, but there are two places in
the ST where nuances conveyed by specific tense forms are difficult to capture in the TL.
Firstly, the perfect tense in ‘No he querido saber, pero he sabido’ (ST1). This provides a
striking opening for the novel, generating a slightly unsettling sense of temporal uncertainty
or complexity from the outset. ‘No he querido’ is not the same as ‘no quise’ or ‘no quería’,
26
Translation from Spanish to English
both of which are clearly past and could both be translated with the form used in the TT, ‘I
did not want to know’. In both Spanish and English, the perfect implies a link to the present
time in which the utterance is made: ‘ha salido’ and ‘she’s gone out’ imply ‘she’s not here
now’. In Spain, the perfect is sometimes also used to refer to very recent events that would
not be expressed with a perfect in English: for example, asking someone who has just tasted
something ‘¿Te ha gustado?’ > ‘Did you like it?’ (in most of Latin America, people would
tend to ask ‘¿Te gustó?’ in the same situation). The translator has recognized that English
speakers, especially in North America, are less likely to say something like ‘I haven’t
wanted to know’ (except perhaps in expressions such as ‘I’ve never wanted to know’) than
Spaniards are to say ‘no he querido saber’, but has wisely retained the perfect tense in the
second clause and reinforced its effect by the addition of ‘since’. While the loss of aspectual
precision in ‘did not want to’ may be justified by the general vagueness of the English tense
system in comparison with Spanish, alternative renderings that retain more of the specificity
of the ST phrase would be worth considering (especially for a British readership), for
example: ‘I’ve been anxious not to know, but I’ve come to know all the same.’
The second instance of a tricky tense in the ST is ‘cuando hubo calculado que en el comedor
habrían terminado el segundo plato’ (ST28). Once again, Marías is very precise in his use of
tenses and this precision is lost in the TT: ‘when she judged that...’ (TT31). Within the
sequence of events expressed in the pluperfect, the past anterior indicates an action
immediately followed by another (‘la había llevado hasta allí’), suggesting a degree of
exactness in the maid’s calculations — she may be clumsy but she knows how long they
usually take to eat each course. More radical transposition may help to convey the effect in a
different way: ‘Having prepared the cake and laid it out on the dish, and having worked out
exactly when the diners would have finished the second course.’
17. Marking of perfective/imperfective aspect
The ST distinguishes clearly between perfective actions (‘se puso ... se abrió ... se quitó
... se buscó ... se oyó ... se alzó ... corrió’ are instantaneous, and ‘se quedó’ is continuous but
explicitly limited in duration) and imperfective ones (‘era ... hacía ... estaba ...
descubría ... se echaba ... llevaba’). The translator rightly makes the imperfective aspect of
‘llevaba’ explicit with a continuous verb form: ‘He was carrying his napkin in one hand’
(TT14). Although the two actions in ‘descubría el cuerpo ensangrentado de su
hija y se echaba las manos a la cabeza’ (ST11-12) do not last more than a few seconds, they
are also clearly imperfective, the aspect reinforced by the conjunction ‘mientras’ and the
continuity of the action going on in parallel to them (‘iba pasando’). The TT, however,
seems to suggest perfective aspect: ‘when he discovered the blood-spattered body of his
daughter and clutched his head in his hands’ (TT11-12), which is then contradicted by ‘he
kept passing’. The solution need not involve continuous forms (‘was discovering ... was
clutching’), which would overstate the imperfectivity; simply using ‘as’ instead of ‘when’
would be enough.
Another instance of the translator misjudging aspect occurs in the second section of the ST:
‘en el momento del disparo había soltado sobre la mesa de mármol del office las fuentes
vacías que acababa de traer’ (ST22-3) > ‘at the precise moment when the shot rang out, had
been setting down on the marble table in the scullery the empty dishes she’d just brought
through’ (TT23-5). As expressed in the ST, the two simultaneous events — the shot and the
dropping of the dishes — are most obviously understood as instantaneous. In the TT, the
action of setting down the dishes is presented as continuous activity (one dish at a time?) in
27
Translation from Spanish to English
the middle of which the shot rang out. A verb indicating a more abrupt event is required, and
there is no good reason to put it into a continuous form.
18. Use of continuous/progressive verb forms
Marías’s careful calculation of verbal aspect is also evident in the two examples of
continuous forms that occur in the ST. The construction ‘iba’ + gerund tends to indicate
reiteration or more extended duration than the simple imperfect tense or ‘estaba’ + gerund,
and sometimes suggests increasing intensity. Its use in ‘iba pasando el bocado de carne de
un lado a otro de la boca’ (ST12) is surprising in a sense, since the action described is of
relatively short duration. The effect is cinematic, as if showing in slow motion the seconds
during which the father reacts to seeing the body, and offering a close-up of his shocked
face with a bulge moving incongruously from one cheek to the other. The TT’s choice of ‘he
kept passing’ is therefore well judged, even though its impact has been undermined by the
preceding choice of tense, as noted above (see section 17).
The failure of cogency caused by translating ‘había soltado’ as ‘had been setting down’ is
exacerbated by the fact that this pluperfect, together with ‘había confundido’, ‘hubo
calculado’, ‘había llevado’ and ‘había depositado’, contrasts markedly with the continuity of
‘había estado colocando’ (ST24-5), the duration of which is underlined by the contrived
separation of the verb from its object (‘la tarta helada’). The TT’s rendering, ‘had since been
arranging’ (TT26-7), is appropriate but should contrast aspectually with the verb used to
translate ‘había soltado’. The contrast could be brought out even more by expansion: ‘had
then spent some time arranging.’
19. Awareness and use of the subjunctive mood
Since the pluperfect subjunctive is indistinguishable in English from the pluperfect
indicative, no translation problem arises from ‘hubiera abandonado la mesa’ (ST7) or from
‘hubiera comido ... lo hubiera rebañado ... ni siquiera se hubiera servido carne’ (ST33-4).
The only other subjunctive that appears in the ST, ‘como si le diera más vergüenza’ (ST16),
does pose a choice for the translator. The TT’s selection of the more careful, formal option
— ‘as if he were more ashamed’ (TT17) — is consistent with the strategy of replicating the
discourse structure of the ST.
20. Ways of expressing the passive voice
In line with normal patterns of usage in Spanish and English, the ST contains no examples
of the SP passive (ser + past participle), while the TT contains three passive constructions:
‘the bra that had been flung into the bidet’ (TT16); ‘which had been turned full on’ (TT223); ‘the ice-cream cake she’d been told to buy’ (TT29). None of these transpositions is
obligatory and more literal versions would be equally viable: ‘el sostén tirado sobre el bidet’
> ‘the bra tossed onto the bidet’; ‘que estaba abierto con mucha presión’ > ‘which was
turned full on’; ‘la tarta helada que le habían mandado comprar’ > ‘the ice-cream cake
they’d told her to buy’. ‘Cuando se oyó la detonación’ (ST6) could also have been
transposed into a passive construction. The decision not to do so (‘When they heard the
shot’ TT6) is clearly prompted by the mention of ‘other members of the family and three
guests’ in the previous sentence, yet it disregards the fact that Marías could have written
‘oyeron’ but decided instead to make the expression impersonal.
28
Translation from Spanish to English
22. Preference for phrasal verbs in English
Many of the phrasal verbs used in the TT appear in phrases in which there is no satisfactory
alternative: ‘didn’t get up ... had walked down the corridor ... had turned off the tap ... she’d
just brought through ... she’d carried it through.’ In a few cases, a nonphrasal alternative
would have been possible and would have indicated a more formal, literary register: ‘took
off her bra’ (TT4) > ‘removed her bra’; ‘spit the food out on to his plate’ (TT9) > ‘return the
food to his plate’; ‘the shot rang out’ (TT24) > ‘the shot sounded’. However, the TT has not
taken every available opportunity to introduce phrasal verbs, which could have been sed in
the following cases: ‘I did not want to know’ (TT1) > ‘find out’; ‘discovered the bloodspattered body’ (TT11) > ‘came across’; ‘covered it’ (TT16) > ‘covered it up’; ‘had since
been arranging’ (TT26-7) > ‘laying out’; ‘judged that the people in the dining room would
have finished’ (TT31) > ‘worked out’; ‘placed it on the table’ (TT32) > ‘put it down on the
table’.
From: Thinking Spanish Translation Teachers’ Handbook
29
Translation from Spanish to English
3.2. Análisis de texto
Julio Cortázar
Continuidad de los parques
Continuidad de los parques
The Continuity of Parks
Julio Cortázar
by Julio Cortázar
Había empezado a leer la novela unos días
antes. La abandonó por negocios urgentes,
volvió a abrirla cuando regresaba en tren a
la finca; se dejaba interesar lentamente por
la trama, por el dibujo de los personajes.
Esa tarde, después de escribir una carta a su
apoderado y discutir con el mayordomo
una cuestión de aparcerías volvió al libro
en la tranquilidad del estudio que miraba
hacia el parque de los robles. Arrellanado
en su sillón favorito de espaldas a la puerta
que lo hubiera molestado como una
irritante posibilidad de intrusiones, dejó
que su mano izquierda acariciara una y otra
vez el terciopelo verde y se puso a leer los
últimos capítulos. Su memoria retenía sin
esfuerzo los nombres y las imágenes de los
protagonistas; la ilusión novelesca lo ganó
casi en seguida. Gozaba del placer casi
perverso de irse desgajando línea a línea de
lo que lo rodeaba, y sentir a la vez que su
cabeza descansaba cómodamente en el
terciopelo del alto respaldo, que los
cigarrillos seguían al alcance de la mano,
que más allá de los ventanales danzaba el
aire del atardecer bajo los robles. Palabra a
palabra, absorbido por la sórdida
disyuntiva de los héroes, dejándose ir hacia
las imágenes que se concertaban y
adquirían color y movimiento, fue testigo
del último encuentro en la cabaña del
monte. Primero entraba la mujer, recelosa;
ahora llegaba el amante, lastimada la cara
por el chicotazo de una rama.
Admirablemente restallaba ella la sangre
con sus besos, pero él rechazaba las
caricias, no había venido para repetir las
ceremonias de una pasión secreta,
protegida por un mundo de hojas secas y
senderos furtivos. El puñal se entibiaba
HE HAD BEGUN TO READ THE NOVEL
a few days before. He had put it aside
because of some urgent business, opened it
again on his way back to the estate by train;
he allowed himself a slowly growing interest
in the plot, in the drawing of characters. That
afternoon, after writing a letter to his agent
and discussing with the manager of his estate
a matter of joint ownership, he returned to the
book in the tranquility of his study which
looked out upon the park with its oaks.
Sprawled in his favorite armchair, with his
back to the door, which would otherwise
have bothered him as an irritating possibility
for intrusions, he let his left hand caress once
and again the green velvet upholstery and set
to reading the final chapters. Without effort
his memory retained the names and images of
the protagonists; the illusion took hold of him
almost at once. He tasted the almost perverse
pleasure of disengaging himself line by line
from all that surrounded him, and feeling at
the same time that his head was relaxing
comfortably against the green velvet of the
armchair with its high back, that the
cigarettes were still within reach of his hand,
that beyond the great windows the afternoon
air danced under the oak trees in the park.
Word by word, immersed in the sordid
dilemma of the hero and heroine, letting
himself go toward where the images came
together and took on color and movement, he
was witness to the final encounter in the
mountain cabin. The woman arrived first,
apprehensive; now the lover came in, his face
cut by the backlash of a branch. Admirably
she stanched the blood with her kisses, but he
rebuffed her caresses, he had not come to
repeat the ceremonies of a secret passion,
protected by a world of dry leaves and furtive
30
Translation from Spanish to English
contra su pecho, y debajo latía la libertad
agazapada. Un diálogo anhelante corría por
las páginas como un arroyo de serpientes, y
se sentía que todo estaba decidido desde
siempre. Hasta esas caricias que enredaban
el cuerpo del amante como queriendo
retenerlo y disuadirlo, dibujaban
abominablemente la figura de otro cuerpo
que era necesario destruir. Nada había sido
olvidado: coartadas, azares, posibles
errores. A partir de esa hora cada instante
tenía su empleo minuciosamente atribuido.
El doble repaso despiadado se interrumpía
apenas para que una mano acariciara una
mejilla. Empezaba a anochecer.
Sin mirarse ya, atados rígidamente a la
tarea que los esperaba, se separaron en la
puerta de la cabaña. Ella debía seguir por la
senda que iba al norte. Desde la senda
opuesta él se volvió un instante para verla
correr con el pelo suelto. Corrió a su vez,
parapetándose en los árboles y los setos,
hasta distinguir en la bruma malva del
crepúsculo la alameda que llevaba a la
casa. Los perros no debían ladrar, y no
ladraron. El mayordomo no estaría a esa
hora, y no estaba. Subió los tres peldaños
del porche y entró. Desde la sangre
galopando en sus oídos le llegaban las
palabras de la mujer: primero una sala azul,
después una galería, una escalera
alfombrada. En lo alto, dos puertas. Nadie
en la primera habitación, nadie en la
segunda. La puerta del salón, y entonces el
puñal en la mano. la luz de los ventanales,
el alto respaldo de un sillón de terciopelo
verde, la cabeza del hombre en el sillón
leyendo una novela.
paths through the forest. The dagger warmed
itself against his chest, and underneath
pounded liberty, ready to spring. A lustful,
yearning dialogue raced down the pages like
a rivulet of snakes, and one felt it had all
been decided from eternity. Even those
caresses which writhed about the lover's
body, as though wishing to keep him there, to
dissuade him from it, sketched abominably
the figure of that other body it was necessary
to destroy. Nothing had been forgotten:
alibis, unforeseen hazards, possible mistakes.
From this hour on, each instant had its use
minutely assigned. The cold-blooded, double
re-examination of the details was barely
interrupted for a hand to caress a cheek. It
was beginning to get dark.
Without looking at each other now, rigidly
fixed upon the task which awaited them, they
separated at the cabin door. She was to
follow the trail that led north. On the path
leading in the opposite direction, he turned
for a moment to watch her running with her
hair let loose. He ran in turn, crouching
among the trees and hedges until he could
distinguish in the yellowish fog of dusk the
avenue of trees leading up to the house. The
dogs were not supposed to bark, and they did
not bark. The estate manager would not be
there at this hour, and he was not. He went up
the three porch steps and entered. Through
the blood galloping in his ears came the
woman's words: first a blue parlor, then a
gallery, then a carpeted stairway. At the top,
two doors. No one in the first bedroom, no
one in the second. The door of the salon, and
then the knife in his hand, the light from the
great windows, the high back of an armchair
covered in green velvet, the head of the man
in the chair reading a novel.
Translation: David Page
He aquí un cuento que trata sobre una novela. A la manera cervantina, en un juego de
espejos, asistimos al milagro de la lectura: este hombre del que nada sabemos, que se
sumerge en el relato de un adulterio criminal, no es otro que nosotros mismos. Con él
entramos en la historia, nos abandonamos a la intriga y despertamos bruscamente en esa
sorpresa final donde ficción y realidad se confunden.
31
Translation from Spanish to English
Así pues, ¿de qué habla nuestro cuento? Habla de la pasión de leer y de la
fascinación y la magia de la literatura. Pero también de la borrosa frontera del mundo que
creemos real y el que suponemos ficticio. ¿Dónde empieza el uno y acaba el otro? ¿Qué es
la vida y qué es el sueño? Definitivamente, la vida se parece a la literatura; peligrosamente,
añadiremos, si pensamos en el desenlace del relato de Cortázar. El título de este cuento con
trampa alude a esa otra continuidad entre vida y literatura de la que, quijotescamente, todos
estamos hechos. Y nos remite al infinito: detrás de nuestro sillón alguien respira
entrecortadamente. No es nuevo este mecanismo literario del libro dentro del libro –mejor,
en este caso, del lector dentro del lector–. A la manera de Unamuno, recordaremos que
somos el sueño de otro y que vivimos nuestra «novela» sólo hasta que dejemos de ser
soñados (o leídos).
Pero la continuidad adquiere, además, una configuración literaria bien precisa. Este
cuento brevísimo, condensado, adopta una estructura circular: su final nos devuelve brusca e
inesperadamente al principio. Regresamos a la novela de la que habíamos partido, de la que
había arrancado el relato. Ella es la verdadera protagonista, quedando el personaje reducido
a una presencia anónima, una cabeza que asoma tras su respaldo de terciopelo, una mirada
perdida en los robles del parque. El ventanal es la pantalla en la que, sin saberlo, nuestro
lector asiste a su propia historia, como esa otra «pantalla» constituida por la página en que
se demora, inconsciente de estar dando una ligera tregua a su suerte. Realidad o ficción (lo
mismo da) uniformadas por un mismo otoño, un mismo crepúsculo.
Estamos,
pues,
ante un personaje sin nombre del que comienza a hablarnos el cuento desde la primera línea.
Y su condición de lector es lo único que –de momento– parece importar. El pretérito
pluscuamperfecto nos conduce de golpe, sin embargo, a la intriga, creando un espacio
narrativo lleno de misterio:
Había empezado a leer la novela unos días antes
Se inaugura un breve período que nos informa de las vicisitudes del proceso de
lectura, a la vez que de la impaciencia que se suscita por el libro, como medio de evasión de
una realidad prosaica:
(l. 1) La abandonó. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . por negocios urgentes
(l. 1) Volvió a abrirla. . . . . . . . . . . .cuando regresaba en tren a la finca
En esta primera parte del relato, que funciona a modo de introducción de la acción
propiamente dicha, observamos el predominio de las perífrasis verbales de infinitivo –
empezar a leer, volver a abrir –, así como la presencia de términos que recalcan la duración
–el adverbio lentamente, el verbo dejaba en imperfecto–. Estamos ante un «tiempo de
espera», una espera casi ansiosa, retardada hasta la llegada a la finca. El personaje se
abandona poco a poco a la lectura, y resalta su carácter pasivo frente a la actividad que
irradia la novela:
por la trama
Se dejaba interesar lentamente
por el dibujo de los personajes
Ya en la casa, una vez concluidas sus obligaciones, se dedica a la lectura. Y el verbo
es, significativamente, volver, es decir, regresar; el acto de leer ingresa al protagonista en
otro espacio:
32
Translation from Spanish to English
después de escribir –una carta– a su apoderado y
Esa tarde
de discutir –un asunto de aparcerías– con su mayordomo
volvió al libro en la tranquilidad del estudio que miraba al parque de los robles.
El relato de Cortázar se demora entonces en la descripción del acto de la lectura, un
placer casi perverso: aparcadas las tareas cotidianas, «de espaldas a la puerta que lo hubiera
molestado como una irritante posibilidad de intrusiones», nuestro hombre se entrega a su
novela.
La escasa acción que hasta este momento contenía el cuento, una acción hecha de
negocios, cartas y aparcerías, se detiene en un acto de escritura inusitado: no se nos narra lo
que lee el personaje, sino cómo lo lee. Y con la acción desaparece, también, el protagonismo
de este lector, definitivamente convertido en una persona pasiva, un filtro más entre nosotros
(los auténticos lectores) y su libro. Arrellanado (l. 4) en su sillón favorito –obsérvese el
valor pasivo del participio– el personaje es ahora la mano que acaricia el terciopelo verde, la
memoria que retiene imágenes y nombres. Y la verdadera protagonista es, claro está, la
novela:
(l. 8) la ilusión novelesca lo ganó casi en seguida
La descripción de este acto íntimo y solitario que supone la lectura se plantea como
un doble abandono, al libro y a la comodidad física que lo rodea. Esta dualidad, ya insinuada
en las dos sinécdoques anteriores –su mano y su memoria– uniforma en un solo placer una
situación teñida de sensualidad:
(l. 8-9) Gozaba del placer casi perverso de irse desgajando línea a línea de lo que le
rodeaba
(TACTO)
que su cabeza descansaba cómodamente...
(GUSTO-OLFATO). .(de) sentir
que los cigarrillos seguían al alcance de la mano...
(VISTA-OIDO)
que más allá de los ventanales danzaba el aire...
Instalado en una aparente seguridad frente al mundo que lo rodea, el lector se separa de la
realidad progresivamente. Este paulatino proceso de evasión se nos transmite por medio de
la repetición de palabras –una y otra, línea a línea, palabra a palabra–, los paralelismos
sintácticos y las enumeraciones. Hasta que, poco a poco, sobre esa descripción deleitosa se
impone, finalmente, la ficción novelesca:
absorbido por la sórdida disyuntiva de los héroes
palabra a palabra
dejándose ir hacia las imágenes que se concertaban y adquirían
color y movimiento
fue testigo del último encuentro en la cabaña del bosque
33
Translation from Spanish to English
El cambio verbal del pretérito imperfecto (descripción) al perfecto simple (acción) es
más que significativo.
Pero lo más llamativo es cómo se expresa el final de esa transición de la realidad a la
ficción: el personaje, introducido ya del todo en su novela, ha olvidado que está leyendo. Y
a medida que se sumerge en la historia nosotros nos sumergimos con él. Se duplica así la
fascinación de un relato en el que el protagonista es nuestra propia imagen, nuestro reflejo.
De modo que olvidamos con él todo lo anterior –el tren, la finca, el parque de los robles, la
propia novela– y nos interesamos sólo por la «sórdida disyuntiva de los héroes».
Entramos, pues, sin transición (no hay punto y aparte) en la tercera parte del relato,
contada como si ocurriera ante nuestros ojos. El pretérito tiene aquí, misteriosamente, toda
la fuerza de un presente –ahora llegaba el amante (l. 13) –; pero nos recuerda que estamos
leyendo una lectura, es decir, que no leemos la novela directamente, sino que recibimos la
impresión del personaje que la lee(8). Asistimos al encuentro amoroso en la cabaña del
monte; se trata de una cita criminal, en donde el amor y la muerte configuran dos campos
semánticos contrapuestos:
los besos y caricias ............. la sangre
la libertad ........................ el puñal
el cuerpo del amante ........ ese otro cuerpo que es necesario destruir
La terrible disyuntiva de los dos amantes se refleja en la estructura binaria de muchas
de las frases del texto (construcciones coordinadas copulativas y adversativas). La vigencia
del momento se apodera de la propia escritura y las palabras, de pronto, parecen cobrar vida:
(l. 18) Un diálogo anhelante corría por las páginas como un arroyo de serpientes, y
se sentía que todo estaba decidido desde siempre.
Ésta es, sin duda, la parte más dramática del texto, y tal vez por ello, la más poética.
La metáfora, el símil y la prosopopeya animan una escena donde todos los elementos
adquieren la vida que los personajes van a arrebatar: bajo el puñal latía la libertad
agazapada, el diálogo corría por las páginas, las caricias, como queriendo retener y
disuadir al cuerpo amado dibujaban la figura de otro cuerpo. Los amantes mismos
desaparecen como sujetos sintácticos, víctimas a su vez de una fatalidad inevitable; la
formulación en voz pasiva de sus planes –nada había sido olvidado– crea, de repente, una
terrible distancia entre ellos y sus propósitos. Nuevamente, la sinécdoque los representa: si
el lector era esa mano que acariciaba el terciopelo de su sillón, ellos son una mano que
acaricia una mejilla.
Con la llegada de la noche se precipita el relato hacia su desenlace, cobrando
movimiento. Es significativo que sea este el único punto y aparte del texto; una pausa
trágica, cargada de premoniciones, que no separa, como sería previsible, dos planos
narrativos diferentes, sino que sirve para acentuar la tensión dramática. En este punto y
aparte coincidimos de pronto lectores y lector, ya completamente olvidada la circunstancia
inicial de que habíamos partido. Los personajes recuperan el protagonismo de la acción, a
medida que ésta se acelera; el narrador insiste en la fatalidad que los arrastra – atados
rígidamente a la tarea que los esperaba –. Si el fragmento anterior tenía toda la emoción de
la mejor literatura, éste reviste sin duda un tono cinematográfico: la imagen de la cabellera
al viento, la bruma malva del crepúsculo. La gradación de los verbos de movimiento –
corrió, subió – queda interrumpida por la mención de esos designios fatales que se cumplen
puntualmente:
34
Translation from Spanish to English
Los perros no debían ladrar, y no ladraron.
El mayordomo no estaría a esa hora, y no estaba.
Y a partir de este momento –no podemos levantar ya la mirada de la página–
presenciamos, como proyectadas por una cámara subjetiva, las imágenes que recoge la
retina del amante, mientras recuerda las palabras de la mujer.
La violencia estalla antes de tiempo en esa sangre galopando en sus oídos (l. 29),
expresión metafórica del pulso acelerado y del miedo. Después, sólo silencio, frases
nominales muy breves, donde la acción se desintegra sustituida por la presencia terrible de
los espacios sucesivos –una sala azul, una galería, una escalera alfombrada, dos puertas–.
Subimos nosotros también esos peldaños y nos asomamos a esas habitaciones vacías, que la
anáfora del texto parece hacer más grandes:
Nadie en la primera habitación
nadie en la segunda.
Tras la tercera puerta –y entonces... – nos esperan las últimas sinécdoques del texto:
el puñal en la mano
la luz de los ventanales
el alto respaldo de un sillón de terciopelo verde
la cabeza del hombre leyendo una novela
Este desenlace fragmentario, donde ha desaparecido del todo la acción, funciona
como el montaje rapidísimo de una serie de planos cinematográficos, que sustituye el
esperado efecto de la violencia –el asesinato– por un inesperado efecto sorpresa (9).
Volvemos a la novela con que habíamos empezado, al lector anónimo que la leía, al estudio
que da al parque de los robles. Porque, como en el cuento de Borges (10) (y este cuento
tiene también mucho de borgiano), es el espacio de la fatalidad, un laberinto que conduce a
la muerte. La evasión, finalmente, no es tal: el protagonista no puede evitar su destino, ni
nosotros –narradores implícitos que cooperamos con nuestra inocencia de lectores–
podemos escapar de la trampa que el cuento nos tiende.
Guía para el comentario de texto
Tema
La fascinación de la lectura, capaz de crear un mundo autónomo dotado de realidad
propia, hasta el punto de que se pueden confundir los límites entre vida y literatura.
Estructura
El texto adopta una estructura circular, pues su desenlace nos conduce a la escena
inicial de la que partía el relato –un hombre leyendo una novela–. Con esta circularidad se
representa la continuidad entre realidad y ficción a la que alude el título del cuento.
Por otra parte, podemos distinguir en el texto dos partes, correspondientes a dos
relatos, el segundo de los cuales está incluido en el primero:
1.º: Un hombre lee una novela. Se describe el acto de la lectura en sí: sus
preliminares, su ritual.
35
Translation from Spanish to English
2.º: Argumento de la novela: dos amantes preparan un crimen, que resulta ser el
asesinato del lector del primer relato.
Claves del texto
•
Lo primero que hay que destacar es, obviamente, la circularidad del relato, desde su
primera frase –Había empezado a leer la novela unos días antes – hasta la última –(...) la
cabeza del hombre en el sillón leyendo una novela–. El cuento adquiere la disposición de
una trampa tendida a los lectores (similar a la tendida al lector de la novela).
•
Es necesario el anonimato del personaje, que comienza su peripecia sin presentación
previa, para que sea mayor la identificación de los lectores con él. Además, este comienzo
abrupto de la narración (que tanto nos recuerda al romancero viejo), responde a la propia
naturaleza del género cuento: brevedad y condensación, pero también cierto carácter
poemático.
•
La oposición vida / literatura, realidad / ficción es fundamental en el relato:
negocios, carta y aparcerías son sustituidos por la ilusión novelesca. Se nos cuenta un acto
de evasión; «dar la espalda» a la puerta (posibles intrusiones) es dar la espalda a la realidad.
•
En estrecha relación con lo anterior, recordaremos que estamos ante un
«metarrelato», es decir, una narración sobre la lectura de otra narración. El acto de leer se
describe con deleite en lo que tiene de sensualidad, comodidad y abandono –un placer casi
perverso– por medio de formas no personales del verbo: irse desgajando, absorbido,
dejándose ir.
•
Destaca el carácter visual del relato novelesco, que convierte al lector en testigo.
Desde el principio se habla de imágenes –las imágenes que se concertaban y adquirían
color y movimiento –. Ya hemos comentado el valor cinematográfico del texto, sobre todo al
llegar a su desenlace: la sucesión de «campos vacíos» que recorre la mirada del asesino, el
rápido montaje de primeros planos que escamotea la aparición sorprendente de la víctima.
•
Es significativa la adecuación de los tiempos verbales a la narración. Así, las
perífrasis de infinitivo del principio subrayan el aspecto incoativo de las acciones –empezar
a leer, ponerse a leer, dejarse interesar, dejarse ir–; los pretéritos imperfectos se utilizan
para la descripción de los preparativos en la cabaña; y el pretérito perfecto simple, en el
desenlace, acelera la acción criminal.
En este cuento vemos una de las características principales de Julio Cortázar: la
combinación de imaginación y realidad, que convierte sus historias en aventuras con un
desenlace inesperado. El propio autor reconoce no hacer diferencia entre lo real y lo
fantástico; para él lo fantástico procede siempre de lo cotidiano. Este aspecto de su obra ha
de relacionarse con esa tendencia de la literatura hispanoamericana que conocemos como
«realismo mágico» (Borges, Rulfo, Carpentier, García Márquez...).
Por otra parte, en Continuidad de los parques se refleja la capacidad de Cortázar
para plasmar lo poético al margen del verso. No olvidemos que este escritor es, ante todo, un
maestro del cuento y que lo que define a este género, frente al carácter abierto de la novela,
es su forma cerrada, su economía narrativa. El cuento tiene mucho que ver con el poema.
Editorial Santillana
36
Translation from Spanish to English
4. Explaining cultural items
Task 4.1: Read the following extracts from John Hooper’s The New Spaniards and list
the strategies and techniques the author uses to explain the vocabulary related to coffee and
bullfighting. Hint: remember to look at comparison and contrast with other items.
CHAPTER 14
A Cult of Excess
Depending on your point of view, coffee-drinking may be considered a pleasure, a
necessity, a bad habit or a health risk. In Spain it comes close to being an art form.
There are so many ways of imbibing it that it can take some considerable time to
explain to a waiter exactly how you want it served.
You can have it solo (black), cortado (with just a drop of milk) or con leche (white).
Each of the three varieties can be served with single or double measures of coffee, in
either a glass or a cup. The strength can be varied by asking for your coffee to be corto
de cafe (short on coffee) or largo de agua (long on water), a solo largo de agua being
known as an americano. In the case of cafe con leche, you must decide between a large,
medium or small cup or glass, with corresponding amounts of milk added to bring it up
to the brim. And with cafe cortado, you have the choice of either hot or cold milk. By
my reckoning, that makes for seventy-two basic permutations, though it could be
argued that a single largo de agua is the same as the corresponding double, corto de
cafe.
It does not stop there. There are the various forms of instant coffee — universally
known as Nescafe, even if of another brand -and of cafe descafeinado (decaffeinated
coffee). Both can be mixed with either milk or water or both. Then there is cafe helado,
which is chilled black coffee served with crushed ice and a straw, and not to be
confused with cafe con hielo which consists of hot black coffee in a cup served together
with a glass full of ice cubes. Finally — I think — there are the alcohol-laced variations.
A carajillo (a cafe solo with a shot of Spanish brandy) is usually, though not always,
partially burnt off before serving and customarily, though not always, served in a glass.
There are at least two more elaborate regional varieties of flavoured coffee – Catalan
creimat and Galician queimada – which are prepared with locally made aguardiente,
coffee beans, sugar and spice. Add to these at least half-a-dozen imported liquorenhanced brews — Irish coffee is immensely popular in Spain — and you have
almost twenty further ways in which coffee can be ingested.
Ignorant of these subtleties, the newcomer to Spain is most likely to be struck by
the sheer strength of the stuff. A lot of visitors to Madrid find they cannot sleep
for the first few nights and put it down, quaintly, to the altitude. In fact, they have
very likely taken in as much nerve-jangling, sense-awakening caffeine on their
first day in Spain as they would normally ingest in a week or more back home.
Most of the coffee served in bars and restaurants comes from Colombia. But
simply roasting and grinding one of the world's stronger varieties and serving it in
generous measures is not enough to satisfy the Spaniards' requirement for
something that enables them to remain alert while getting up early, staying up late
37
Translation from Spanish to English
and often drinking significant quantities of alcohol in between. The coffee you
will normally be served in Spain is known as torrefacto, which has been double
roasted and finely ground until it is the gastronomic equivalent of Semtex. Every
so often, coffee industry representatives will urge their compatriots to switch to
something that is easier on the nerves and softer on the palate, but their pleas never
seem to make any difference.
The Spaniards' addiction to torrefacto is all of a piece with a nation in which there is
very little that is bland, gentle or reassuringly soft. So is the way in which they use
the word descafeinado in a wider, and universally pejorative, sense to mean
'watered-down', 'artificial' or 'bloodless'
CHAPTER 25
The Taming of “The Bulls”
(...)
What is demonstrably the case is that democracy has so far done much more good than
harm to the cause of bullfighting. It was not long before Spain's local politicians worked
out that one way to improve their chances of re-election was to invest ratepayers' money in
making a success of the town or village fiesta. Since, in most parts of the country,
bullfights are traditional at festival time, one of the easiest ways to do this is to increase
the quantity, or more rarely the quality, of the corridas. At a national level, democracy has
brought to power a Socialist administration which is unquestionably one of the most protaurine ever to have governed Spain. A number of the PSOE's leading members - like the
Prime Minister himself- are from bullfighting's heartland of Andalusia.
For several years after coming to power, he and his ministers nevertheless seemed
content with a policy of benign neglect. But the appointment of Jose Luis Corcuera as
Interior Minister in 1988 handed responsibility for 'the bulls' to a lifelong aficionado. The
degree of his complicity with the aims of the bullfighting lobby was apparent in an
interview he gave to an Andalusian paper two years later. Reforms, he said, needed to be
carried out 'with speed, but without making too much noise, because it would not be a
good idea if the echoes were to reach those inside and outside Spain who .are openly
against the fiesta'. He has since provided it with an entirely new legal framework.
Corcuera's 1991 Ley de Espectaculos Taurinos was, remarkably, the first law ever to be
enacted by a Spanish parliament to deal exclusively with bullfighting. It defined it as a
'cultural tradition', thereby strengthening the hand of those who seek to identify
bullfighting with patriotism. It provided much-needed statutory backing for penalties
imposed by the authorities for infringements of the rules. And it paved the way for the
introduction of an updated rule-book, or reglamento, to replace the one which had been in
force since 1962. The new reglamento took effect soon after the start of the 1992 season,
and at once set off a raging controversy.
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about it, in view of mounting pressure from outside for
the abolition of bullfighting, was that its authors should not have seen fit to include more
than a nod in the direction of animal rights. The conditions in which bulls are transported
were improved. But reports at the time suggested that this was to make sure they reached
38
Translation from Spanish to English
the ring in a satisfactory condition rather than to save them from unnecessary suffering.
The first stage of the corrida, in which the bull is lanced by mounted picadores, was
modified — but not with any evident intention of reducing the cruelty involved.
This has long been the most hotly debated phase of the fight. One reason is that,
whatever changes are made, they lead either to more punishment for the bull or to greater
risk for the horses. In the old days, when the picador had a more or less ordinary and
unprotected mount, it was the norm for horses to be gored, and to be stumbling over their
own entrails by the time they left the ring. Half-a-dozen or more were usually killed every
afternoon. To reduce the amount of gore, it was decided in 1928 to equip the horses with a
mattress-like covering known as a peto. At first, it was quite light and covered only the
belly and flanks. But it soon grew in size and weight to the point at which it was impeding
the horse's mobility. In the meantime, and in order to make things easier and safer for
themselves, the picadores gradually ensured that their mounts became progressively heavier
and stronger, to the point at which they were using virtual - if not actual - carthorses.
Sitting atop these equine tanks, the picadores were in a position to mete out severe
punishment to the bull, while the matadores, who were just as keen to limit the risks they
were going to have to run in the second and third stages of the fight, often encouraged them
to do so.
Corcuera's reglamento tried to redress the balance. It made the lance-head smaller, set a
maximum weight for the peto of 30 kilos, banned carthorses and reduced the top weight for
a picador's mount from 900 to 650 kilos. The first corrida held under the new rules took
place in Seville on May Day, 1992, and there was keen interest to see what effect the new
rules would have. The first bull, after lifting one of the picador's horses into the air and
dropping its rider on to the sand, ended the opening phase only slightly weaker than when
it began. As the banderillero Manolo Montoliii raised his arms over the bull's head to thrust
the darts into his back, the bull drove his horns through his chest, splitting his heart and
killing him almost instantly. The picadores and banderilleros blamed the new regulations
and immediately called a strike which, if it had been allowed to continue, would have
forced the cancellation of that were being bred than was necessary, the ganaderos •were in
no position to put up a fight. The post-war bulls, although small and young, had at least
been fiery. Those of the sixties became progressively more docile and by the seventies some
were actually falling over in the ring before the fight had run its normal course. Although
that is less common nowadays, predictable, 'collaborative' bulls have become the accepted
norm.
John Hooper The New Spaniards Penguin Books, 1995
Task 4.2: Read the following extract from Alberto Catena’s Caballos en el Corazón – El
Hipódromo de San Isidro - and list the strategies and techniques the translator uses to
explain the cultural references. What happens to Charles I of England - and why?
39
Translation from Spanish to English
En la Argentina, como se sabe,
las carreras de caballos son una pasión
democrática y multirracial: los
aborígenes probaban sus cabalgaduras,
que tomaron de los que los
conquistadores dejaron escapar, en
competencias de velocidad y de
resistencia. El gaucho no fue menos:
basta recordar que Martin Fierro tenia
un moro que le rindió grandes
ganancias: "Con el gane en Ayacucho/mas plata que agua bendita", escribió
Hernández. Ese tipo de carrera,
llamada "cuadreras" porque la
distancia a recorrer era de dos o tres
cuadras, ha perdurado y en la llanura
argentina, se sigue practicando con
entusiasmo. Convoca a centenares de
personas quienes, desde luego,
apuestan su dinero a las patas de uno u
otro animal. Pero es insuficiente. Lo
que el verdadero aficionado quiere es
un lugar especial, una suerte de
"catedral del hipismo". Ese sitio existe
y se llama Hipódromo de San Isidro, y
según los conocedores es uno de los
circos hípicos mas hermosos de todos
cuantos hay en el mundo.
Inaugurado el 8 de diciembre de
1935, en un predio de 148 hectáreas,
tiene una pista de césped, y pertenece
al Jockey Club, entidad fundada por El
Gringo Carlos Pellegrini, un político
de raza en el buen sentido de la
palabra.
In Argentina, as everyone
knows, horse-racing is a democratic
and multi-racial passion: Native tribes
long ago tested their mounts, gleaned
from the strays left behind by the
Conquistadors, in competitions of
speed and endurance. And the mixedrace gauchos were no less equestrian.
Jose Hernandez's immortal Martin
Fierro, in one passage of the epic
poem that bears his name, mentions a
dark horse that he once owned: "With
him in Ayacucho I made more money
than holy water...," recalls the fictional
gaucho.
The type of races referred to
here were known as "cuadreras"
(literally, "block-races"), because they
ere two or three blocks long. They are
still run enthusiastically in the
Argentine plains today. And they draw
crowds of hundreds of spectators, who
place bets on the animals of their
choice.
But these races are simply not
enough for the true aficionado, who
wants a special place to watch is races,
a sort of equestrian "cathedral". In
Argentina, such a place exists. It is
called the San Isidro Hippodrome.
And those in the know say that it is
one of the most beautiful racetracks in
the world. Inaugurated on December
8, 1935, on 148 hectares of grounds, it
has a grass track, which belongs to the
Jockey Club, an institution founded by
Carlos "El Gringo" Pellegrini, a
thoroughbred politician in the best
sense of the term.
40
Translation from Spanish to English
De hecho, el Jockey Club es una
de las entidades más importantes de la
Argentina. Entre sus socios iniciales
hubo dueños de estancias, quienes
manifestaron su intención de mejorar
la raza equina. Ellos compraron las
tierras, comisionaron a expertos para
que trazaran la pista, que mide 2.783
metros, y para que parquizaran el
sector circundante.
En los días en que se disputan
premios llamados clásicos, como el
"Carlos Pellegrini", instituido en 1941
como homenaje al fundador del Club,
las
cómodas tribunas albergan a
alrededor de cien mil fervorosos
"burreros", como se los llama en jerga
a los aficionados al deporte de Carlos I
El Sin Cabeza. Aunque, en rigor de
verdad, no todos van a ver como los
pura sangre tratan de consagrarse:
como ocurre con el Derby de Epsom,
en Inglaterra, muchas señoritas y
señoras que rivalizan en belleza y
elegancia también se hacen presentes.
Indeed, the Jockey Club is one
of the foremost institutions in
Argentina. Its earliest members
included estancia owners, whose
manifest intention was to improve the
quality of local equestrian bloodlines.
They were the ones who bought the
land for the Hippodrome and
commissioned the experts to lay out its
2,783-meter track and landscape the
surrounding area.
On the days when classic races
are run, like the "Carlos Pellegrini"
(instituted in 1941 in honor of the
Club's founder), the comfortable
grandstands host crowds of over
100,000
fervent
burreros,
as
local slang refers to fans of the sport
of Charles "The Headless". But of
course, not everybody goes to the
races to see how the thoroughbreds
perform on the turf beneath the stands.
Just as occurs at the Epsom Derby,
San Isidro's classics bring out myriad
dames and damsels, who come to rival
one another in beauty and elegance.
Aquí, un apartado: ¿para quién o
quiénes lucen esas señoritas y señoras
pieles doradas y sedosas y vestidos de
los mejores modistos del mundo? La
pregunta no es extemporánea, porque
cualquiera que haya ido a las carreras
no como observador imparcial, sino
como aficionado, habrá advertido que
el "burrero" (con un comportamiento
casi misógino) desaparece luego de la
competencia, ignora olímpicamente la
presencia femenina, no la celebra, y
solo tiene ojos para el caballo que (eso
cree) ganará la competencia.
Here an aside is in order: Just
whom do these lovely ladies turn out
to impress with their smooth golden
complexions and attire designed by
the world’s finest designers? This is
no idle, extemporaneous question.
Anyone who has been to the races, not
as an impartial observer, but as a
knowledgeable aficionado, will note
that the burrero (in behavior somewhat
akin to misogyny) vanishes as soon as
the race is done. He totally ignores
feminine presence, fails to celebrate it,
and has eyes only for the horse that
(he is certain) will win.
Alberto Catena ”Caballos en el
corazón” Argentime, 1998
Translation: Dan Newland
41
Translation from Spanish to English
Task 4.3: A common example of ‘literary journalism’ that may require 'studies of special
subjects' are feature articles in Sunday supplements and airline magazines. The latter are
nearly always published with an English translation. Argentime: the Argentine Review is a
lavishly illustrated glossy magazine for tourists and visitors to Argentina that contains
articles on Argentine culture and business.
Below is the beginning of an article on the importance of yerba mate as an Argentine export
commodity. The English version of the title and the introductory paragraph contains 56
words more than the original Spanish. Note that the translator has divided the text into three
separate paragraphs in English to make the information more digestible. What techniques has
he used to explicate the cultural artifacts, customs and pre-suppositions implicit in the
original.
EL ORO VERDE CONQUISTA AL
MUNDO
GREEN GOLD WINS WORLD
MARKETS
El mate va y viene. La rueda puede ser
familiar o de campo, al aire libre o bajo
techo, con una o dos calabazas, y hasta
puede ser el compañero diario de un
solitario personaje, que en cualquier
madrugada entibia su cuerpo con el calor
que le da b infusión... una costumbre
rioplatense clavada entre las más fuertes,
que no se perderá jamás.
The mate makes the rounds. The circle can
be a family circle or a country style one. It
can be in the open air or indoors, with one
gourd or two. Or the mate can even be the
daily companion of a solitary person, who,
on any given morning, warms up his or her
body with this infusion... a deep-rooted
River Plate custom that is as strong now as
ever.
"... y fue el mate de mano en mano como el
calumet de la paz", relataba Rubén Darío en
su "En Canto a la Argentina". Esta infusión
medicinal, similar al té, tiene un origen
ancestral. Fue presentada al mundo por los
indios guaraníes de Sudamérica, y hoy se
consume principalmente en Argentina,
Uruguay, Paraguay y el sur de Brasil. Con
fuerte arraigo y carácter rioplatense, esta
bebida ha generado las más diversas
interpretaciones sociológicas y culturales. Al
igual que el británico le de las cinco, el mate
guarda una tradición casi religiosa. El mate
se comparte, se toma en grupo, en familia,
con amigos o en el trabajo.
"... And the mate went from hand to hand
like a peace pipe..." So wrote Rubén Darío
in his Canto a la Argentina (Ode To
Argentina). This medicinal infusion, a green
tea, is of ancestral origin. It was presented to
the world by the Guaraní natives of South
America and is today consumed principally
in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and
southern Brazil. A deeply rooted and
characteristic custom in the River Plate
region, this drink has generated a whole
series of sociological and cultural
interpretations. As in the case of the British
5 o'clock tea, the mate tradition is practically
a religious ritual.
42
Translation from Spanish to English
La ronda del mate, como se denomina el
momento durante el cual se toma, sin dudas,
genera un hecho social singular. Los más
adeptos describen esta tradición como un
ritual de amistad. Siempre se utiliza sólo un
mate y una bombilla para todos. El cebador
es quien calienta la pava o posee un termo, y
quien invita a la mateada; es decir sirve o
ceba cada mate, y así se asegura que tanto la
yerba como el agua no pierdan temperatura.
Esta ceremonia se repite in-definidamente,
como un vicio natural y saludable, todos los
días a cualquier hora. El mate se prepara con
las hojas secas —y sin pedúnculos— de la
hierba perenne llamada Ilex paraguarensis, o
comúnmente yerba mate. Su nombre deriva
de la voz indígena quichua matí, que alude a
Lagenaria
vulgaris,
la
calabaza
tradicionalmente usada como recipiente para
tomar la infusión.
The mate is usually shared, drunk in a
group, in family, with friends, on the job.
The round of mate, as this group
consumption is called, generates a singular
social event. The drink's greatest exponents
refer to it as "the friendship ritual". The
same mate (gourd) and metal straw known
as a bombilla is used by everyone in the
round. The cebador is the person who heats
the teakettle or supplies a thermos full of hot
water and invites the rest of the group to
take part in the mateada. The cebador
serves each mate in turn to the people in the
round and makes sure the yerba (the green
tea placed in the gourd, over which the hot
water is poured) and the water maintains the
proper temperature. This ritual can go on
indefinitely, a sort of natural and healthy
vice, to be enjoyed every day at any time.
Mate is prepared using the dried leaves —
without peduncles— of the herb known as
Ilex paraguarensis, or simply yerba mate.
The common name comes from the native
Quechua term matí, given to the gourd
(Lagenaria vulgaris), traditionally used as
the receptacle from which the infusión is
drunk through the bombilla.
321 palabras
377 words
Autor: Fidel Euterpe
Translation: Dan Newland
43
Translation from Spanish to English
Task 4.4: Translation style: source-culture or target-culture oriented?
El sistema español de mediación y
arbitraje
The Spanish system of mediation and
arbitration
Existe una “Jurisdicción del Orden Social”
formada por tribunales de jueces
profesionales que se ocupa de la resolución
de los conflictos individuales y colectivos de
trabajo. Estos tribunales tienen un ámbito de
competencias propio distinto del civil, y un
procedimiento también propio y distinto del
civil.
A system of labour tribunals (Jurisdiccion del
Orden Social) comprises courts of
professional judges that resolve individual
and collective labour disputes. These courts
have an area of competence and procedure
that are different from those of civil law.
Antes de llegar a la Jurisdicción Social
habrán sido posibles dos oportunidades para
la conciliación. La primera, ante las
Unidades Territoriales de Mediación,
Arbitraje y Conciliación dependientes de las
Administraciones Públicas, compuestas por
funcionarios. Si ésta fracasa, la segunda
oportunidad se da el mismo día del juicio
público ante el juez de lo social. En este
caso, es el propio juez el que intenta la
conciliación, lo que hace que ésta sea una
curiosa mezcla de conciliación y mediación.
However, before disputes reach these labour
tribunals, there are two opportunities for
conciliation. The first opportunity is offered
by the Regional Mediation, Conciliation and
Arbitration Units that are staffed by civil
servants. If this fails, the second opportunity
is given on the same day as the public
hearing before the judge specialising in
labour law. The judge attempts mediation,
which means that an interesting mixture of
conciliation and mediation is involved.
La decisión administrativa se adopta después
de un periodo de consultas entre la dirección
de la empresa y los representantes de los
trabajadores. En este sentido, puede
afirmarse que esta vía también incorpora
elementos de mediación para la resolución
de conflictos. También interviene con sus
informes la Inspección de Trabajo. Pero si
no hay acuerdo en el periodo de consultas, la
resolución final la toma la Administración
Laboral.
The administrative decision is adopted after
a period of consultation between the
company management and the workers'
representatives, and this channel therefore
also incorporates elements of mediation for
resolving disputes. The Labour Inspectorate
also takes part by drawing up reports.
However, if there is no agreement in the
consultation period then the final ruling is
made by the Labour Administration.
44
Translation from Spanish to English
La competencia de los órganos paritarios se
refiere a conflictos colectivos de trabajo, y
también a algunos conflictos individuales de
carácter plural. Tanto los acuerdos
alcanzados a través de la conciliación y
mediación, como los laudos arbitrales
producen excepción de cosa juzgada. Ello
quiere decir que, quien concluye sus
actuaciones ante un órgano paritario no
puede luego acudir a la jurisdicción social, y
viceversa. La opción de acudir a una u otra
vía es de los interesados. Naturalmente, hay
materias cuya competencia está reservada a
la Jurisdicción Social, como, por ejemplo,
litigios sobre Seguridad Social.
The competence of all these joint institutions
covers collective labour disputes and certain
individual disputes where more than one
worker is involved. Both the agreements
reached through conciliation and mediation
and the findings of the arbitrators produce
defence of res judicata. This means that a
person concluding his or her action with a
joint institution cannot then present it to a
labour tribunal, and vice versa. The
interested parties may choose either one
channel or the other. However, there are
matters for which competence is reserved for
the labour tribunals, such as social security
litigation.
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/1997/05/feature/es9705107f.htm
45
Translation from Spanish to English
5. Clarifying the syntax
Non-literary texts Spanish often contain long chains of nominalizations (verbal nouns),
gerunds and passives that can produce nonsense when translated literally into English. Read
the following advice from a Uruguayan teacher of Spanish, on how to write effectively in
Spanish:
---------------------------------Algunas claves para escribir textos ágiles y claros *
Prof. Marcos Medina Vaio,
1. El papel de los verbos conjugados
«Los verbos forman el motor de nuestros textos. Con el verbo sujetaremos al lector
mejor que con cualquier otra parte de la frase, porque el verbo transmite la película que
intentamos contar. El verbo es la acción, y lo demás, el decorado». 1
En efecto, las frases con muchos sustantivos y pocos verbos conjugados son más pesadas, más
difíciles de comprender, menos atractivas. Esta baja proporción de verbos es lo que se conoce
como estilo nominal, muy común en la escritura académica.
Los textos en estilo verbal, en cambio, con abundantes verbos conjugados, son más ágiles,
captan mejor la atención del lector, se comprenden más rápidamente y resultan más fáciles de
recordar.
A menudo, la compra de los derechos por
parte de los grandes estudios conlleva la
no distribución del original en Estados
Unidos.
(22 palabras, 5 sustantivos, 1 verbo)
Se manifestó contrario al estímulo del
aprendizaje de un único método de
investigación periodística, a causa de la
existencia de una técnica personal,
determinada por el estilo individual de
trabajo.
(30 palabras, 8 sustantivos, 1 verbo)
A menudo, cuando los grandes estudios
compran los derechos de un original,
éste no se distribuye en Estados Unidos.
(19 palabras, 3 sustantivos, 2 verbos)
Se manifestó contrario a que se aprenda
un único método de investigación
periodística, porque cada cual tiene una
técnica personal que está determinada por
el estilo individual de trabajo.
(29 palabras, 5 sustantivos, 4 verbos)
No se pretende que nos pongamos a contar los verbos y los sustantivos cuando escribimos,
pero sí que aprendamos a identificar las formulaciones nominales y a sustituirlas por otras
más verbales.
*
Estas notas se basan en: Daniel Cassany: La cocina de la escritura, Anagrama, Barcelona, 1995, y
Álex Grijelmo: El estilo del periodista, Taurus, Madrid, 1997.
1
Grijelmo: o. cit., p. 181.
46
Translation from Spanish to English
2. Si los verbos son fuertes, mejor
Cuando hablamos de la elección de palabras (véase el repartido 7.a), nos referimos, entre otras
cosas, a los verbos débiles. Conviene recordar de qué se trata.
Los verbos débiles son aquellos que necesitan de otras palabras para ser comprensibles. Es el
caso típico de ser y estar, pero también de haber, hacer, dar, tener, poder, encontrarse…
Siempre es preferible reemplazarlos por verbos de significado pleno.
• estar
conocimiento
en
 conocer, saber, enterarse,
averiguar…
• poner
conocimiento
en
 informar, advertir, comunicar,
anunciar…
• dar a publicidad
 difundir, divulgar, publicar,
trasmitir…
• hacer llegar
El gobierno es el director de la
política monetaria y el inspector
de las instituciones financieras.
 entregar, enviar, remitir…
El gobierno dirige la política monetaria e
inspecciona las instituciones financieras.
Las palabras largas hacen las
frases cargadas y complicadas y
pueden hacer que el lector se fastidie.
Las palabras largas cargan y complican las
frases y pueden fastidiar al lector.
3. Voz activa y voz pasiva
Veamos las siguientes oraciones.
1.
2.
3.
Canal XYZ trasmitió todos los partidos del Mundial.
En esta oración el verbo (trasmitió) está en voz activa.
Todos los partidos del Mundial fueron trasmitidos por el canal XYZ.
En
este caso el verbo está en voz pasiva directa (también llamada pasiva con ser).
Todos los partidos del Mundial se trasmitieron por el canal XYZ.
En esta oración el verbo está en voz pasiva refleja (también llamada pasiva con se).
En inglés, en francés, en alemán, la voz pasiva se usa muchísimo, pero en español muchas veces
no suena natural. Cuando nos damos cuenta de que el texto que estamos leyendo es una
traducción y no sabemos por qué, es muy probable que las voces pasivas se hayan traducido
literalmente.
Se han difundido varios rumores
sobre la vida privada de los
políticos por parte de la prensa.
La prensa ha difundido varios rumores
sobre la vida privada de los políticos.
Ese libro, El niño republicano, que
usted ha publicado, fue leído por mí
con un sentimiento de honda
ternura.
Leí ese libro, El niño republicano, que
usted ha publicado, con un sentimiento
de honda ternura.
Ese libro, El niño republicano, que
usted ha publicado, lo leí con un
sentimiento de honda ternura.
En nuestro lenguaje común, la pasiva refleja (con se) se usa muchísimo más que la directa
(con ser).
47
Translation from Spanish to English
4. Las negaciones oscurecen
Cuesta más entender las frases con negaciones, especialmente si tienen más de una.
Ignoraba que los cajeros automáticos no
pudieran dar billetes de cincuenta pesos.
Creía que los cajeros automáticos
podían dar billetes de cincuenta pesos.
5. Los gerundios pesan
La abundancia de gerundios, aunque sean correctos, carga la frase y le imprime un tono formal y
solemne.
Me pidió permiso para citar en la
conferencia los resultados de mis
investigaciones, asegurándome que
sólo los comentaría oralmente y que no
pasaría ninguna fotocopia, y
comprometiéndose a mencionar mi
autoría exclusiva.
Me pidió permiso para citar en la
conferencia los resultados de mis
investigaciones. Aseguró que sólo los
comentará oralmente y no pasará
ninguna fotocopia, y se comprometió a
mencionar mi autoría exclusiva.
6. Que aparezca el protagonista
Cada oración tiene un sujeto gramatical, pero también un protagonista. Si sujeto y protagonista
coinciden, la oración ganará transparencia.
El categórico rechazo con que la
Asociación de Trabajadores Postales
recibió las propuestas de
coparticipación formuladas por el
secretario general del sindicato,
Augusto Farías, tuvo como
consecuencia la renuncia de éste a
dicho cargo en el día de ayer.
Augusto Farías renunció ayer como
secretario general de la Asociación de
Trabajadores Postales, a causa del
categórico rechazo con que el sindicato
recibió sus propuestas de
coparticipación.
Prof. Marcos Medina Vaio
Task 5.1: Rewrite the following Spanish text in clear Spanish
Dando por sentado que el debate sobre la reforma del Estado presenta en su esencia
raíces ideológicas inocultables —y que, por cierto, no es nociva la manifestación de las
mismas—, se hace necesario atender hoy a aquellas percepciones orientadas no tanto
por lo ideológico como por lo político y lo estratégico. El Estado, como poderosa
palanca de acción social colectiva, no puede dejar de asumir su irrenunciable papel en
la conducción, correspondiéndole la promoción de las pautas del desarrollo y la
creación de las condiciones para que el conjunto de la sociedad sea alcanzado
equitativamente por éste. En la historia puede observarse la imposibilidad de una
distribución solidaria de los bienes sociales si esta tarea es dejada en manos de un
mercado para acceder al cual los individuos y los grupos sociales no están en iguales
condiciones. Pero tampoco puede nadie dejar hoy de admitir que un ancho campo de
maniobra debe ser puesto en manos de la iniciativa privada, con una dinámica
articulada, en lo esencial, con los fines definidos por la propia sociedad.
48
Translation from Spanish to English
Possible solution
El debate sobre la reforma del Estado tiene raíces ideológicas evidentes (y es
saludable que ellas se pongan de manifiesto). Pero hoy interesa analizar las
motivaciones políticas y estratégicas más que los supuestos ideológicos. El Estado es
una poderosa palanca de acción social colectiva. Debe ser un gestor que promueva el
desarrollo y cree las condiciones para que éste beneficie a toda la sociedad. La historia
muestra que, cuando el mercado es el único que distribuye los bienes y riquezas
sociales, éstos no se reparten de manera equitativa. La razón es que los individuos y los
grupos no acceden al mercado en iguales condiciones. Pero al mismo tiempo es
necesario que la iniciativa privada tenga un ancho espacio de acción, y que su dinámica
se articule, en lo esencial, con los fines de la propia sociedad.
It is true that there are still some tricky phrases and expressions to translate – but these are
much easier to handle once the syntax is clear. An acceptable (if not brilliant) translation
might read as follows:
Clearly, the debate on the reform of the State has ideological roots (and it is healthy
that these should be brought out into the open). But today our purpose is to examine the
political and strategic reasons for reform rather than the underlying ideological positions.
The State has a powerful influence on collective social action. It must act as a manager,
promoting development and creating conditions so that this benefits society as a whole.
History shows that when the market alone distributes social goods and wealth, they are not
distributed fairly. The reason is that individuals and groups do not enter the market on equal
terms. But at the same time it is necessary for private initiative to have a relatively free hand
if it is to meet the changing needs of society.
49
Translation from Spanish to English
Task 5.2: Analyse the different ways in which the English version manages to reduce
“noise” in the Spanish version of the text below.
Innovación tecnológica
Technological innovation
Convencida de que el futuro de Europa
reside en la capacidad de los europeos de
ocupar el nivel que les corresponde en la
carrera tecnológica, la Comunidad europea
evaluó desde el principio en su justa medida
el efecto movilizador y el valor, en términos
de inversión para el futuro, de la
investigación común. En 1958 se puso en
marcha, junto a la CEE, la CEEA o
Euratom, dedicada a la explotación en
común de la energía atómica para uso civil.
La Comunidad dispone de su propio centro
de investigación, el Centro Común de
Investigación (CCI), compuesto por nueve
institutos repartidos entre cuatro lugares:
Ispra (Italia), Karlsruhe (Alemania), Petten
(Países Bajos) y Geel (Bélgica).
The founders of the European Union rightly
saw that Europe’s future prosperity would
depend on its ability to remain a world
leader in technology. They saw the
advantages to be gained from doing joint
European research. So, in 1958, alongside
the EEC, they set up Euratom – the
European Atomic Energy Community. Its
aim was to enable the member states to
jointly exploit nuclear energy for peaceful
purposes. It was given its own Joint
Research Centre (JRC) consisting of nine
research institutes spread among four sites:
Ispra (Italy), Karlsruhe (Germany), Petten
(the Netherlands) and Geel (Belgium).
Pero la aceleración de la carrera por la
innovación ha hecho preciso ir más allá y
provocar la mayor interrelación posible de
científicos,
descompartimentando
las
investigaciones,
multiplicando
las
aplicaciones industriales y superando las
rigideces administrativas y los bloqueos
financieros. La intervención comunitaria ha
querido ser complementaria de las políticas
nacionales, favoreciendo los proyectos que
agrupan a varios laboratorios de distintos
Estados miembros. Tal intervención
estimula los esfuerzos realizados tanto en el
campo de la investigación fundamental, tal
como la fusión termonuclear controlada,
fuente de energía potencialmente inagotable
para el siglo XXI [programa JET (Joint
European Torus)], como en las industrias
más estratégicas, amenazadas en el plano
industrial, tales como la electrónica y la
informática.
But as scientific and technological
innovation gathered pace, European research
had to diversify, bringing together as wide a
variety of scientists and research workers as
possible. The EU had to find new ways of
funding their work and new industrial
applications for their discoveries.
Doce lecciones sobre Europa
por Pascal Fontaine
Translator: EU
Joint research at EU level is designed to
complement national research programmes.
It focuses on projects that bring together a
number of laboratories in different EU
countries. It supports fundamental research
in fields such as controlled thermonuclear
fusion (a potentially inexhaustible source of
energy for the 21st century) through the
Joint European Torus (JET) programme. It
also encourages research and technological
development (RTD) in key industries such
as electronics and computers, which face
stiff competition from outside Europe.
50
Translation from Spanish to English
Task 5.3: In order to translate well, you need to develop a feel for the ways in which
ideas can be expressed in the TL. Rewrite the passages below using participle constructions,
appositives, verb tenses, conjunctions and relative pronouns, etc. to join some of the
sentences.
Passage 1
It was four days after these curious incidents. A funeral started from Canterville
Chase. The hearse was drawn by a black horse. It carried on its head a great tuft of
ostrich-plumes. The leaden coffin was covered by a rich purple pall. On it was
embroidered in gold the Canterville coat-of-arms. By the side of the hearse and the
coaches walked the servants. They carried lighted torches. These made the whole
procession wonderfully impressive. Lord Canterville had come up specially from
Wales. He was the chief mourner. He sat in the first carriage along with little
Virginia. In the last carriage came Mrs Umney. She had been frightened by the ghost
for more than fifty years of her life. She had a right to see the last of him.
Passage 2
It had been a long, rainy winter. The woman and her husband were tired of their
small apartment. They decided to drive to a seedy part of town. They were searching
for excitement. The couple were cruising slowly down a side street. They were
looking for some local nightlife. They heard music. It was coming from a small bar
on the corner. They left their car. Some stray cats started fighting in a side alley. The
couple walked into the bar. They sat down at the bar. Nobody bothered to look up. A
tired-looking woman was languidly smoking her cigarette at one end of the bar. She
was expertly blowing out smoke rings. The bartender was wiping down the counter.
He was softly whistling to himself. Four men were hunched over a table in the back
corner. They were enjoying a friendly game of cards. A sad Billie Holiday tune was
playing softly from an old jukebox. The song was over. The room went silent. a man
in the back stood suddenly. He threw his cards down on the table. He cursed loudly.
He began to reach into his pocket. The couple looked at each other anxiously. They
hurriedly backed out the door.
51
Translation from Spanish to English
POSSIBLE ANSWERS:
Passage 1
Four days after these curious incidents, a funeral started from Canterville Chase. The
hearse was drawn by a black horse which carried a great tuft of ostrich-plumes on its
head. The leaden coffin was covered by a rich purple pall on which was embroidered
in gold the Canterville coat-of-arms. By the side of the hearse and the coaches
walked the servants who carried lighted torches, making the whole procession
wonderfully impressive. Lord Canterville, the chief mourner who had come up
specially from Wales, sat in the first carriage along with little Virginia. In the last
carriage came Mrs Umney. As she had been frightened by the ghost for more than
fifty years of her life, she had a right to see the last of him.
Passage 2
After a long, rainy winter, the woman and her husband had become tired of their
small apartment, so they decided to drive to a seedy part of town in search of
excitement. The couple had been cruising slowly down a side street, looking for
some local nightlife, when they heard music coming from a small bar on the corner.
They had just left their car when some stray cats started fighting in a side alley.
When the couple walked in and sat down at the bar, nobody bothered to look up. At
one end of the bar, a tired-looking woman was languidly smoking her cigarette and
expertly blowing out smoke rings. The bartender was wiping down the counter and
softly whistling to himself. Hunched over a table in the back corner, four men were
enjoying a friendly game of cards. A sad Billie Holiday tune had been playing softly
from an old jukebox, but once the song was over, the room went silent. Suddenly, a
man in the back stood and threw his cards down on the table, cursing loudly. When
he began to reach into his pocket, the couple looked at each other anxiously and then
hurriedly backed out the door.
52
Translation from Spanish to English
6. Information flow within the paragraph
There are two basic ways of sequencing information in English paragraphs:
(1) Constant Pattern – in which the Theme of one sentence is the same as the Theme of the
previous sentence (e.g. My family …. We … My family…. We….) – or a predictable aspect of
that theme - (My family … My parents … My sisters …. Our dog …);
(2) Linear Pattern – in which the Rheme of the previous sentence becomes the Theme of the
new sentence. Notice how the same information cannot be the Rheme of both sentences
Linear Pattern:
Incoherent:
I was born in Glasgow. Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland.
I was born in Glasgow. The largest city in Scotland is Glasgow.
Task 6.1: Analyse the information flow (constant and linear patterns in the ST and the TT
below.
MÚSICOS DEL PLATA
MÚSICOS DEL PLATA
Fabio Mazzitell - flauta
Rolando D’Hellemmes - clarinete
Oscar Bazá - fagot
Lucrecia Massoni - piano
Fabio Mazzitelli – flute
Rolando D'Hellemmes – clarinet
Oscar Bazán – bassoon
Lucrecia Massoni - piano
Los Músicos del Plata han formado un
nuevo grupo de música de cámara, original,
ya que no existe en el país una formación de
tres instrumentos de viento y piano, con el
agregado de la riqueza de música que
pueden presentar, dado que incluyen en su
repertorio dúos de todos los instrumentos
con el piano, tríos de diversa formación con
y sin piano y cuartetos tanto de
compositores consagrados en el exterior,
como en nuestro país.
Los Músicos del Plata (The River Plate
Musicians) are a new chamber music group,
and the only ensemble of three wind
instruments and piano currently existing in
Argentina. Their repertoire contains a wide
range of compositions by well-known
composers,
including
Argentinean
composers: duos for flute, clarinet or
bassoon and piano, various trios with and
without piano and quartets.
Integran el conjunto profesores de extensa y
ponderada trayectoria como intérpretes
solistas y de música de cámara, siendo los
vientos solistas de sus respectivos
instrumentos en la Orquesta Estable del
Teatro Colón.
All the members of the ensemble are
respected musicians and teachers, with
extensive careers as soloists and chamber
musicians. The wind soloists belong to the
Permanent Orchestra of the Colón Theatre.
Se abre así, la expectativa de acceder a un
repertorio traducido por intérpretes que
garantizan fidelidad a géneros y autores,
compromiso en la tarea que emprenden y
respeto por el público.
Los Músicos del Plata have won the acclaim
of critics and audiences alike through their
commitment to the highest level of
interpretation, which respects both genres
and composers
Translation: Douglas Town
53
Translation from Spanish to English
6.2. English for Technical Writing
Ruth Munilla LehighCarbon Community College, Pennsylvania.
Writers of English for Science and Technology (EST) often simply edit for grammar and
syntax, overlooking issues of coherence, topical structure, and organization--issues which
are important in helping the reader to comprehend highly technical texts. Recent research in
discourse analysis provides EST teachers with principles that they and their students can use
in revising technical texts for coherence. Writers can build coherence by (a) locating
information within the text in places where readers can find it easily, and (b) clearly
indicating to the readers relative importance of given information. The following principles
from research on coherence and discourse analysis have proven useful to our students as
they write and revise their technical and scientific texts.
Principle # 1: Within each sentence, order information so that old or given information
comes before new or unknown information, to provide a context for the new information
(Weissburg, 1984). With this principle, important new information is presented in stress
positions in the sentence, e.g., at the end of the sentence instead of the beginning, and in
main clauses instead of subordinate clauses or modifying phrases (Gopen & Swan, 1990).
For this first example, consider what works well in the following sentences:
Original:
A straight line is the shortest distance between two points. This principle, however, is not
always true at rush hour in downtown Tokyo, when you're trying to get from your hotel to
the restaurant down the street.
Analysis: The underlined clause in the second sentence refers us back to the (old)
information in the first sentence, and prepares us for the new information in the second half
of the sentence. If we rearrange the information in the second sentence, the reader has to
wade through several chunks of new information before the relationship between the two
sentences is revealed:
Weak Revision:
A straight line is the shortest distance between two points. However, when you're trying to
get from your hotel to the restaurant down the street at rush hour in downtown Tokyo, this
principle is not always true.
When the information being communicated is highly technical, the ordering of given and
new information is important. For another example of what happens when this principle is
flouted, consider the following, taken from a paper on steel fabrication:
54
Translation from Spanish to English
Original:
In addition to the factors discussed in the previous sections, the dynamic behavior of the
flattened plate in relation with its position in the leveler is also another important factor in
determining the final flatness.
Analysis: The reader has to wade through the long phrase about the flattened plate's
dynamic behavior before realizing that it is being presented as an additional factor (the
context for this information). Revise by switching the predicate nominative to the subject
position.
Strong Revision:
In addition to the factors discussed in the previous sections, another important factor in
determining the final flatness is the dynamic behavior of the flattened plate in relation to its
position in the leveler.
In long paragraphs of such sentences, full of new ideas and technical concepts, the ordering
of given and new information can make or break the reader's comprehension.
Principle #2: Place subjects and verbs close to each other (Gopen & Swan, 1990). Readers
identify the subject of a sentence and look for the verb that goes with it. Since short-term
memory is limited, we may forget the subject of the sentence before we get to the verb. And,
since we are focusing on the verb, we may skip intervening information until we reach the
verb. So, if writers include important information between subjects and their verbs, readers
may miss that information looking for the verb, or perceive that information as less
important. Consider the following example:
Original:
The present state of the theoretical basis of adsorption dynamics of multicomponent mixture
with account for thermal effects accompanying adsorption is presented.
Analysis: By the time the reader gets to the verb "is presented", the subject "present state. .
." may have been forgotten. Inversion (moving the verb nearer the subject) also invokes
Principle 1 as the given, context information is placed at the beginning and the new, most
important information ("with account for thermal effects accompanying adsorption") is
moved to the end of the sentence, in a stress position.
Revised:
Presented here is the current theoretical basis of adsorption dynamics of multicomponent
mixture with account for thermal effects accompanying adsorption.
Principle #3: From sentence to sentence, order topics logically, usually placing the main
topic of discussion in the subject position (Huckin & Olsen, 1991). This principle comes
into play mainly at the paragraph level, and is important in signaling the relative importance
of information. Since we unconsciously assign the most importance to main clause
information, we focus on the subject as the main topic under discussion. When a new topic
is introduced in the subject position, we understand that the focus has shifted away from the
55
Translation from Spanish to English
topic of the previous sentence. Confusion can occur when the writer intends to remain
focused on one topic, but sends conflicting signals by switching topics in the subject
positions of sentences, as shown below:
Original:
(1) A technological Incubator was created in _____, Brazil, in 1986. (2) Local observation
and interviews with owners and employees of the incubating companies were conducted
during a period of one month in order to establish the characteristics and the shared services
available. (3) One of the companies, Company A, which after incubating for six years, was at
the stage of leaving the Incubator, was analyzed in more detail and two of its customers were
asked to evaluate the potential of Company A's main product, a data logging system, within
the now-open Brazilian market.
Analysis: Several principles are flouted in the example above; for example, subjects and
verbs are disjointed in sentence 2, and important information is buried in subordinate clauses
at the beginning of sentence 3. Yet there is another problem for the reader, the focus of the
paragraph jumps from the Incubator, to the interviews, to the companies themselves. Careful
revision can create a more logical flow of topics from general to specific: from the
Incubator, to its companies, to a subset of the companies, and finally to one company and its
customers.
Revised:
(1)A technological Incubator was created in _______, Brazil, in 1986. (2) Owners and
employees of the incubating companies were interviewed and observed during a one-month
period in order to establish the characteristics and shared services available. (3) One of the
companies was analyzed in more detail. (4) Company A was ready to leave the incubator
after incubating for 6 years. (8) Two of its customers were asked to evaluate the potential of
Company A's main product, a data logging system, within the now-open Brazilian market.
Principle #4: To guide readers through lists, use parallel forms both within and between
sentences where appropriate (Huckin & Olsen, 1991). If we teach students to edit for
mistakes in parallel forms this may result in ungrammatical sentences. Sometimes, however,
even grammatical sentences can be made more comprehensible through the use of parallel
forms:
Original:
Most companies surveyed considered that more support from the government is necessary,
even after leaving the Incubator. As an alternative, the period for which the company could
stay in the Incubator should be extended from 8-10 years.
Analysis: Because the two alternatives are buried in two sentences of differing structures,
the contrast relationship is not readily apparent. The relationship can be highlighted by
combining the sentences and framing the two alternatives as "for"-prepositional phrases
modifying the noun "need." Of course, in doing so Principle 3 is also invoked, as the
companies now remain clearly the main topic of discussion.
56
Translation from Spanish to English
Revised:
Most companies surveyed saw a need either for continued government support even after
the company leaves the Incubator, or for an increase in the number of years a company can
remain in the Incubator, from the 9 years currently allowed to 10 years.
Conclusion
We have found that these principles of coherence are much more readily grasped when
presented in the context of the texts our students read and write daily. We put examples
(good and bad) of the principles in action on an overhead projector, and discuss them as a
class. Our students report that they now regularly consider issues of coherence when
drafting and revising their technical texts, and view grammar not as an end in itself but
rather as a strategy for writing coherently and effectively.
Bibliography
Connor, U., & Johns, A. M. (Eds.). (1990). Coherence in writing: Research and pedagogical
perspectives. Alexandria, VA: TESOL.
Gopen G. D. & Swan, J. A. (1990). The science of scientific writing. American Scientist, 78,
550-558.
Huckin, T. N., & Olsen, L. A. (1991). Technical writing and professional communication
for nonnative speakers of English (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Weissburg, R. C. (1984). Given and new: Paragraph development models for scientific
English. TESOL Quarterly, 18, 485-500.
Article copyright © 1998 by the author.
Document URL: http://www.jaltpublications.org/tlt/files/98/nov/sh_munilla.html
Last modified: October 1, 199
57
Translation from Spanish to English
6.3 - INGREDIENTS OF A SUCCESSFUL PARAGRAPH
Writing a successful paragraph is a lot like creating a sandwich! You need all the right
ingredients: The top bun, a variety of fillings, and a bottom bun. Make sure you have all the
ingredients to make a delicious, complete, and satisfying sandwich:



A Clear Focus (the top bun),
Ample Development (a variety of fillings), and
Coherence (the bottom bun).
1. THE FIRST INGREDIENT: A CLEAR FOCUS
A Clear Focus is like the top bun of your sandwich and starts with a Topic Sentence.
The Topic Sentence has two parts: Subject and Focus
Subject: What is your main topic?
Focus: What specific comment are you making about that subject?
EXAMPLES
1. Learning a first language is a remarkable achievement because it takes place with
little or no formal teaching.
 Subject: Learning a first language
 Focus: It takes place with little or no formal teaching.
2. Television sitcoms have been criticised for reinforcing stereotypical gender roles.
 Subject: Television sitcoms
 Focus: Reinforcement of stereotypical gender roles.
2. THE SECOND INGREDIENT: AMPLE DEVELOPMENT
A paragraph’s development consists of a variety of ingredients. It is like the filling of your
sandwich. The more development you have, the more interesting and satisfying your
paragraph will be. Each Ingredient works to develop the focus.
Some ways you can develop your paragraph are:
 Restatement for emphasis
 Give evidence
 Give examples
 Define your terms
 Explain in more detail
 Ask Who? Why? When?
 Narrate and Describe
 Ask When? Where? How?
58
Translation from Spanish to English
BRAINSTORM:
TV sitcoms have been criticised for reinforcing stereotypical gender roles.
Should you restate for emphasis?
What evidence might you give?
o A quote from an authority source?
o A fact?
o Some statistics?
o Findings from a research study?
o Personal experience?
o An analogy?
What examples might you give?
o Friends?
o Home Improvement?
o The Cosby Show?
What terms need to be defined?
o Stereotypes?
o Gender roles?
Should you explain something in more detail?
o Who is criticising?
o What has been the reaction of the criticism?
Ask Who? When? Why?
o Who does this affect?
o When did this stereotyping begin?
o Why is this an issue?
Narrate and Describe
o Could you tell the plot of an episode?
o Could you describe a typical character’s behaviour?
Ask What? Where? How?
o What is the cause of this?
o Where do these ideas come from?
o How are audiences affected?
Of course, you wouldn’t develop ALL these ideas in one paragraph, but this should show
you the great range of options for providing ample development for any paragraph you are
writing.
59
Translation from Spanish to English
EXAMPLE
TV sitcoms have been criticised for reinforcing stereotypical gender roles.
RESTATE: Men and women are portrayed according to outdated notions of
appropriate work and home roles in sitcoms.
EVIDENCE: High status occupations are held by men. Low status occupations,
usually service work like nursing, childcare, and teaching, are held by women
(Dohrmann, 1998).
EXAMPLE: The characters on the sitcom Friends demonstrate stereotypes.
EVIDENCE: 87% of the time, males are portrayed as incompetent in traditional
female roles of housekeeping and childcare.
NARRATE AND DESCRIBE: One episode of Home Improvement…
3. THE THIRD INGREDIENT: COHERENCE
Coherence is the bottom bun of your sandwich. Without the bottom bun, your sandwich
would not stay together in a neat package. With coherence, all the ingredients of your
paragraph are held together. .
Coherence helps your ideas “flow,” and provides a clear connection from one sentence to
the next. Coherence strategies help you link your ideas throughout your paragraph, so that
all your “flavours” blend. These strategies help your reader see how all your ideas fit
together in a smooth, logical way.
WAYS TO BUILD COHERENCE
a. Transitions
b. Repeating Key Words and Synonyms
c. Pronouns
d. Given-to-New Patterns
A. TRANSITIONS
Transitions are bridges between words and ideas. Some standard transitions are:






To Show Addition: and, also, besides, further, furthermore, in addition, next, first,
second…
To Give Examples: for example, for instance, to illustrate, in fact…
To Compare: also, in the same manner, similarly, likewise…
To Contrast: but, however, on the other hand, in contrast, nevertheless, on the
contrary, yet, although…
To Show Time: after, as, before, next, during, later, finally, meanwhile, then, when,
while, immediately…
To Show Place or Direction: above, below, beyond, farther on, nearby, opposite,
close, to the left/right…
60
Translation from Spanish to English


To Indicate Logical Relationship/Result: if, so, therefore, consequently, thus, as a
result, for this reason, since…
To Summarize or Conclude: in other words, in short, in summary, in conclusion, to
sum up, therefore…
B. REPETITION
You can also create another kind of transition by repeating key terms and using
synonyms.
C. PRONOUNS
Finally, you can create a third kind of transition by using pronouns to refer to a previously
stated idea: “this,” “these,” “that,” and “those.”
EXAMPLE
No doubt you have seen Hollywood films about World War I or II. A stock character
in most of these films is the German officer who has a welted scar on his cheek.
This scar is not merely a Hollywood ploy to mark a villain, but is calculated to
identify a member of a student fencing cult popular in pre- World War II Germany.
As a result, a prominent duelling scar came to symbolise courage and prestige.
Indeed, this duelling scar created what we might today call a macho image in the
movies. Even now, a facial mark such as the German duelling scar may be
considered an attractive emblem of masculine strength or an indication of an
adventurous life. Consider, for example, the scared chin of Harrison Ford, the
romantic hero in the Star Wars and Indiana Jones adventure films.
This example demonstrates all three of these transitional techniques: standard transitions
like “as a result,” “for example,” and “indeed; repeated words and synonyms like
“Hollywood,” “films,” and “movies,” “scars” and “facial marks,” “courage and prestige,”
“macho image,” “masculine strength,” and “hero;” and finally, pronouns like “these” and
“this.” As you can see by this example, many, many instances of transitions work together to
create a smooth connection between the ideas expressed in this paragraph.
Compare it to this version:
No doubt you have seen films about World War I or II. A stock character is the
German officer who has a welted scar on his cheek. It’s not merely a ploy to mark a
villain, but is calculated to identify a member of a student fencing cult. It came to
symbolise courage and prestige. It created what we might today call a macho image.
It may be considered an attractive emblem of masculine strength or an indication of
an adventurous life. Consider Harrison Ford in Star Wars and Indiana Jones.
This version doesn’t have a clear connection between ideas. It reads a little stilted and jerky;
it doesn’t “flow.” This paragraph lacks coherence.
61
Translation from Spanish to English
D. GIVEN-TO-NEW PATTERNS
Another way to build coherence is with Given-to-New Patterns.
Following a “Given-to-New” pattern, each sentence moves from previously “given”
information to “new” information. Here’s an example to show this movement:
The human brain has two cerebral hemispheres, the left and the right.
(given in previous sentence) →→→ (new information)
These two hemisheres
are connected by bundles of nerve fibres.
(given) →→→→→→→→→→→→ (new)
The largest of these bundles
is the corpus collosum.
(given) →→→→→→→→→→→ (new)
This corpus collosum ........................has over 250 million nerve fibres.
(given) →→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→ (new)
However, even when these nerve fibres .........are severed, patients can still function
in society.
(given) →→→→→→→→→→→→ (new)
Each side of the severed brain...........continues to exchange information by an
interhemispheric freeway.
As you can see, what was “new” in one sentence becomes “given” in the next. This givento-new pattern links ideas and propels your thinking forward.
EXAMPLE
Let’s look at the TV sitcom example above and find ways to include elements of cohesion:
transitions, repeated words and synonyms, pronouns, and Given -to- New patterns.
Topic Sentence: TV sitcoms have been criticised for reinforcing stereotypical gender roles.
Original 1: Men and women are portrayed according to outdated notions of appropriate
work and home roles in sitcoms.
Revision: These TV shows generally portray men and women according to outdated
notions of appropriate work and home roles.
Original 2: High status occupations are held by men. Low status occupations, usually
service work like nursing, childcare, and teaching, are held by women (Dohrmann, 1998).
Revision: According to Dohrmann, (1998), high status occupations are held by men.
Low status occupations, usually service work like nursing, childcare, and teaching,
are held by women.
62
Translation from Spanish to English
Original 3: The characters on the sitcom Friends have jobs that demonstrate stereotypes.
The women…
Revision: For example, the jobs held by Friends characters demonstrate these
stereotypes.…
Original 4: 87% of the time, males are portrayed as incompetent in traditional female roles
of housekeeping and childcare.
Revision: In addition, TV males in traditional female roles of housekeeping and
childcare are portrayed as incompetent.
Original 5: One episode of Home Improvement…
Revision: To illustrate, one episode of Home Improvement…
Put it all together:
TV sitcoms have been criticised for reinforcing stereotypical gender roles. These
TV shows generally portray men and women according to outdated notions of
appropriate work and home roles. According to Dohrmann, (1998), high status
occupations are held by men. Low status occupations, usually service work like
nursing, childcare, and teaching, are held by women. For example, the jobs held by
Friends characters. The women’s jobs are… The men’s jobs are… In addition, TV
males in traditional female roles of housekeeping and childcare are portrayed as
incompetent. To illustrate, one episode of Home Improvement…
Notice the standard transitions: “According to…” “For example…” “In addition…” and “To
illustrate…” Also see the repeated key words and use of synonyms: TV sitcoms, TV shows,
Friends, Home Improvement; work, jobs, occupations, roles; stereotypical outdated notions,
traditional. Notice the pronoun at work: these. And finally, see how the sentences move
from Given-to-New.
REMEMBER THE “RHETORICAL SANDWICH”
1. CLEAR FOCUS
2. AMPLE DEVELOPMENT
3. COHERENCE
Adapted from a handout from the Massey University Writing Centre
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
Task 6.4: The approach to paragraph writing outlined below is typical of that taught for
in high schools and universities in the United States. Read the example and definitions and
then analyse the paragraph on euthanasia using the same definitions. Note that the
“euthanasia paragraph” is different from the “Anne Frank paragraph” in that it has bridging
sentences and one of the commentaries is missing (which?). Also, the euthanasia examples
contain no quotes. Apart from that, the approach is identical.
63
Translation from Spanish to English
Detailed Paragraph – Structure and Description
The difference between a basic paragraph and a “detailed paragraph” is that the latter
contains much more detail and support. The outline below shows the different types of
sentences to be used and their typical structure:
•
•
Topic/Reason Sentence (tied to a major point -- or reason given -- in the thesis
statement)
o Support #1 – broadly explains your first reason and connects to thesis
 Detail / Example – provides evidence from the text to prove your
support is true (be sure to introduce the quote!)
• Commentary – comments on and explains importance of the
detail (explains why you chose the quote you’re using—why it
is important to the essay)
• Commentary 2 – optional, additional comments relating back
to reason #1
o Transitional or bridging sentence (optional)
o Support #2 – broadly explains your first reason and connects to thesis
 Detail / Example – provides evidence from the text to prove your
support is true (be sure to introduce the quote!)
• Commentary – comments on and explains importance of the
detail (explains why you chose the quote you’re using—why it
is important to the essay)
• Commentary 2 – optional comments relating back to reason
#1 and transitioning into the next paragraph
o Optional Support #3 and related detail/commentary
Conclusion (or clincher) sentence – only necessary in a stand-alone paragraph
EXAMPLE:
(This paragraph is one “chunk” taken from an essay on The Diary of Anne Frank.)
Topic/Reason Mr. Van Daan’s pessimistic attitude is one of his most annoying
traits. Support #1 His negativity is apparent in the scene where he asks his wife what is
being served for dinner. Detail / Example She answers her husband by saying, “Beans,”
and Mr. Van Daan complains, “Not again” (361). Commentary Instead of being grateful
for the food that Miep and the Frank family work so hard to provide, he shows only
disappointment and disgust. Commentary 2 People are rationing food during war-time, and
Miep risks her life daily trying to buy food on the Black Market, yet Mr. Van Daan thinks of
nothing but his own appetite. Support #2 Another example of Mr. Van Daan’s gloomy
outlook is when he speaks to the bewildered Mr. Dussel upon his sudden arrival in the
Annex. Detail / Example Mr. Van Daan asks Dussel, “Did Mr. Kraler warn you that you
won’t get much to eat here? You can imagine . . . and now you make eight” (369).
Commentary In this situation, Mr. Van Daan’s reaction is the exact opposite of the warm
hospitality that Mr. Frank shows his guest. Commentary 2 Instead of thinking of the
importance of saving another life, he thinks only of the difficulties created by adding
another refugee to the hiding place. Conclusion It is no wonder that Anne Frank writes
such scathing comments in her diary about the ill-mannered Mr. Van Daan.
Adapted from Melissa Hilton 2004
64
Translation from Spanish to English
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
Euthanasia (paragraph for analysis)
Euthanasia must remain illegal because legalizing it could lead to its abuse. Being very
needy and vulnerable, terminally ill patients are easily manipulated by family members and
the medical community. Desiring to be free from the trouble of having to care for the patient
and maybe expecting to receive an inheritance, a family member might do nothing to
dissuade a terminally ill patient from committing assisted suicide. The chances of something
like this happening are drastically reduced if euthanasia remains illegal. Family members are
not the only ones who could abuse euthanasia. The medical community could also abuse it
to solve problems caused by limited budget. This is what happened in England recently
when hospital administrators were facing tight funding and very high demand for hospital
beds. To deal with this crisis, they allowed only limited care to patients whose chances of
recovery were doubtful. Doctors and nurses were instructed to give fatal doses of pain
killers, withhold food or treatment, and refuse to resuscitate these patients without their or
their family's consent. Because it is virtually impossible to ensure that euthanasia would not
be abused, it must remain illegal.
Task 6.5: There is a logical-rhetorical mistake in each of the three body paragraphs of this
typically American “five-paragraph essay” on capital punishment below. What is the
mistake in each case? (Note: the introduction and the conclusion have no mistakes.)
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
In Support of the Death Penalty
Introduction
(Hook) One afternoon in 1994, Megan Kanka, a little girl of 7, was riding her bicycle
outside her home in New Jersey when a neighbor asked her if she wanted to see his new
puppy. He then took her into his home, raped her, and strangled her with a belt. The man, a
twice-convicted sex-offender called Jesse Timmendequas, was sentenced to death in 1997.
(Arguments) For gruesome murders like this, the death penalty is the only appropriate
punishment. Justice is served only when the death penalty is given to a criminal who has
cruelly taken the life of another person. Besides, there is no doubt that by executing those
who murder innocent victims in cold blood, society can prevent future murders. Also, the
appeals system that is in place today for defendants in death penalty cases and the
availability of advanced forensic technology and DNA analysis have dramatically reduced
the possibility of executing the innocent by mistake. (Thesis) Therefore, society should
continue to apply the ultimate punishment to deal with the most heinous crime.
Body Paragraph 1
Capital punishment is not the way to maintain the balance of justice. This balance is
disturbed whenever a criminal takes the life of another person, and it can be restored only if
the same is done to the killer as he has done to his victim. Moreover, the loved ones of the
victim get closure to their suffering when the cause of their pain is removed. For a crime as
vicious as murder, the death penalty is the only fitting retribution. As Robert Macy, District
Attorney of Oklahoma City put it, allowing predators who murder the innocent to live out
65
Translation from Spanish to English
the rest of their lives "in some prison with three meals a day, clean sheets, cable TV, family
visits and endless appeals" is just unfair. There are some individuals that forfeit their right to
life by the sheer evilness of their actions. They deserve to die.
Body Paragraph 2
No other punishment deters future murders as the death penalty does because people fear
death more than anything else. As Professor Ernest van den Haage, professor of
jurisprudence at Fordham University, argues, people especially fear "death deliberately
inflicted by law and scheduled by the courts." Throughout history, there have been a variety
of methods used for carrying out the death penalty, such as the gas chamber, the electric
chair, and more recently the lethal injection. Society should make use of this fear and apply
the death penalty in order to prevent murder. There have been some inconclusive studies
which claim that the fear of being given the death penalty has no deterrent effect on murder.
However, even if there is some truth to these studies, it is because the death sentence is
rarely given, and even when it is, the actual execution is carried out too late to be a lesson
for potential murderers. Only if a punishment is swift does it serve as a powerful deterrent.
Even if one has doubts about preventing future murders by means of the death penalty, one
cannot deny the simple fact that a killer that is killed will never kill again.
Body Paragraph 3
Opponents of the death penalty argue that innocent people might be killed by mistake.
However, advances in technology and the close review of death penalty cases by appellate
courts have made that fear unwarranted. Mistakes made in relation to court procedures,
evidence and witness testimony are very likely to be discovered by a higher court that
handles the appeal. Furthermore, advances in forensic technology, particularly DNA testing,
have provided law enforcement agencies of today with foolproof crime-solving methods.
Therefore, while a handful of innocent people may mistakenly be executed each year, most
of those who receive the death penalty are indeed guilty and deserving of the ultimate
punishment.
Conclusion
(Summary of the arguments) To sum up, a society that is faced with the terrible reality of
senseless murders should make use of the death penalty to remove dangerous killers from its
midst. By executing those who kill, society teaches a lesson to potential murderers and
preserves the balance of justice. Besides, killing the killer of an innocent victim lessens the
pain of the victim's family and relatives. Fortunately, we live in a time when a meticulously
organized criminal justice system and advanced crime-solving technology have made the
possibility of errors almost non-existent. (Restatement of the thesis) Therefore, we should
use the death penalty to punish murderers.
Source: Queensborough Community College, City University of New York
66
Translation from Spanish to English
Task 6.6: Obviously, not all English paragraphs follow the format that you studied in
Task 6.4. Below are some typical ways of organising paragraphs in non-literary, academic
texts. See if you can you match the functional headings below with the textual extracts
(some of the texts have more than one function):
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
comparing and contrasting
describing cause and effect
writing about the past
describing a process
describing and commenting on non-verbal data
defining
classifying
exemplifying
a) Function:
.
No adolescent or adult has the same experiences as young children enjoy. Younger learners
in an informal second language learning environment are allowed to be silent until they are
ready to speak, while older learners are often forced to speak - to meet the requirements of a
classroom or to carry out everyday tasks such as shopping, medical visits, or job interviews.
Young children in informal settings are usually exposed to the second language for many
hours every day. Older learners, especially students in language classrooms, are more likely
to receive only limited exposure to the second language.
From: Lightbrown, P. and Spada, N. (1993) How Languages are Learned OUP, Oxford.
b) Function:
.
The precipitated gutta percha is dried to constant weight in a desiccator. The chloroforminsoluble precipitate is washed with acetone and dried to constant weight. The dried residue
is then washed with hydrochloric acid, separating the insoluble heavy metal salts (mainly
barium sulphate) from the soluble zinc oxide. The insoluble salts are washed with distilled
water and acetone and dried to constant weight. The percentage of zinc oxide is then
calculated on the difference between the original known weight, and the sum of the
measured weights of gutta percha, waxes/resins, and heavy metal salts.
From: University of Manchester PhD Thesis (Department of Dentistry)
c) Function:
.
Table 1 sets out data for sixty-four countries on exports as a percentage of investment and
government expenditures respectively and together. Countries (chosen on the basis of
availability of the relevant figures) were separated into large and small with a population (of
10 million) as the dividing line. They were then subdivided into developed and
underdeveloped, more on a basis of what is generally regarded as their status than on the
simple criterion of per capita income. What emerges from this table is that the importance of
exports relative to investment and government expenditure is significantly related to the size
of the nations but not particularly to whether they are developed or underdeveloped.
From: McBean, A.I. (1966) "The short term consequences of export instability"
in I. Livmgstone (ed) Economic Policy for Development, Penguin, Harmondsworth.
67
Translation from Spanish to English
d) Function:
.
By extension of meaning is meant the widening of a word's signification until it covers much
more than the idea originally conveyed. The tendency is sometimes called generalisation.
The word lovely, for example, means primarily worthy to be loved and great means large in
size, the opposite of small. But today the school girl's lovely and the average man's great
have no such meaning. A box of candy or a chair may be lovely, and anything from a ball
game to the weather may be great. When a college student says that he found a certain book
great, it is more likely that his statement has nothing to do with the value of the book judged
as a work of art but simply means that he thoroughly enjoyed it.
From: Baugh, A.C. & Cable, T. (1978) A History of the English Language, Routledge London.
e) Function:
.
A minority group is any body of persons with a sense of cohesion who, taken together,
constitute less than one half the population of an entity. In practice, we are considering
national minorities, that is, minorities in sovereign states or otherwise autonomous polities
('entities') that see themselves as discrete and primary social groups. Minorities theoretically
may include political factions, social and economic classes, religious communities, either
sex, age groups, occupational groups, language or racial groups, and many more. Generally,
we tend to think of minority groups as religious, racial, or linguistic communities.
From Mclaunn, R.D. "Minorities and politics in the Middle East: an introduction",
in R. Mclaunn (ed) Political Role of Minority Groups, London.
f) Function:
.
To test the reliability of the data, it was cross-checked by collecting information in and
about several situations and institutions simultaneously. Comparative data was obtained, and
this data resulted in the elimination of that which was seldom observed or recorded. He also
used two informants, plus group discussion, to check the reliability of the data collected
during fieldwork. Finally, he indexed the raw data, which revealed the central concerns of
both alcoholics and agents of social control.
From: McCann, M.H. (1988) "Responses to Drug and alcohol related problems in Dublin",
Unpublished M.Phil, thesis (Centre for Adult and Higher Education, University of Manchester).
g) Function:
.
Ambient temperature has also been shown to affect lung function. When investigating the
effects of various environmental factors on children's lung function, Kagawa and Toyama
demonstrated that ambient temperature highly affected respiratory function tests (Kagawa
and Toyama, 1975). An increase in temperature was related to an increase in airway
resistance. One explanation for their findings might relate to the effects of ozone which
correlates highly with air temperature. In our study change in air temperature confounded
the relationship between FVC (Forced vital capacity) and change in NO2 but was not
significant itself. No effect of O3 on FVC was observed when the analysis was performed
for those 217 children where O3 measurements were available.
From: Fnscher et al. (1993) "The effects of ambient NO2 on lung function in primary children",
Environmenta Research, 62: 179-188.
68
Translation from Spanish to English
h) Function:
..
It should be remembered that before Britain attempted to curb opiate use it was once the
major trader of such drugs. Between 1839 and 1856 the Royal Navy used to force the opium
trade upon the Chinese in spite of clear awareness of the harm caused by the use of this
drug. In 1916 measures were introduced to control the trafficking of cocaine, mainly by
prostitutes and servicemen. The Defence of the Realm Act (1916) was strengthened by the
Dangerous Drugs Act (1920) which extended controls to cover all drugs dealt with by the
First International Opium Convention, 1912. Between the two world wars drug misuse
appeared to decline, except for limited opium trafficking.
From: Plant, M.A. (1987) Drugs in Perspective, Hodder & Stroughton, London.
i) Function:
.
The Iranian population - estimated at about eight-million at the end of the nineteenth century
- was divided into a Shiite majority; a significant Sunni minority of tribal Kurds. Arabs,
Baluchis, and Turkomans; and small urban concentrations of non-Muslims, such as
Armenians, Assyrians, Jews, Zoroastrians, Bahais, and Azalis. Moreover, the Shiite majority
itself was fragmented into smaller groups, especially into Nimati and Haydari factions and
into the Mutashari, Shaykhi, and Karimkhani sects, especially in the nineteenth century.
From: Uyar, M. (1990) "The analysis of the concept of sovereignty and the position
of the Ukuna in both constitutions of Iran (1906-1979)",
Unpublished M.Phil thesis (Middle Eastern Studies, Manchester).
69
Translation from Spanish to English
7. Parallel Structure and Contrast
Parallel structure means using the same pattern of words to show that two or more ideas have
the same level of importance. This can happen at the word, phrase, or clause level. The usual
way to join parallel structures is with the use of coordinating conjunctions such as "and" or "or."
In non-literary texts, headings in a table of contents should all be parallel. subheadings should
be parallel. Items in a list should always be parallel. Ideas being compared or contrasted should
be parallel. Instructions should be parallel. Compound elements in a sentence should be
parallel. And so on. Remember that Spanish often prefers “variety” and “elegant variation” – i.e.
non-parallel forms – as well as non-linear patterns of information.
Words and Phrases
With the -ing form (gerund) of words:
Parallel
Mary likes hiking, swimming, and bicycling.
With infinitive phrases:
Parallel
Mary likes to hike, to swim, and to ride a bicycle.
OR
Parallel
Mary likes to hike, swim, and ride a bicycle.
(Note: You can use "to" before all the verbs in a sentence or only before the first one.)
Do not mix forms.
Example 1
Not Parallel:
Mary likes hiking, swimming, and to ride a bicycle.
Parallel:
Mary likes hiking, swimming, and riding a bicycle.
Example 2
Not Parallel:
The production manager was asked to write his report quickly, accurately, and in a
detailed manner.
Parallel:
The production manager was asked to write his report quickly, accurately, and
thoroughly.
70
Translation from Spanish to English
Example 3
Not Parallel:
The teacher said that he was a poor student because he waited until the last minute to
study for the exam, completed his lab problems in a careless manner, and his
motivation was low.
Parallel:
The teacher said that he was a poor student because he waited until the last minute to
study for the exam, completed his lab problems in a careless manner, and lacked
motivation.
Clauses
A parallel structure that begins with clauses must keep on with clauses. Changing to another
pattern or changing the voice of the verb (from active to passive or vice versa) will break the
parallelism.
Example 1
Not Parallel:
The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, that they should not eat
too much, and to do some warm-up exercises before the game.
Parallel:
The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, that they should not eat
too much, and that they should do some warm-up exercises before the game.
— or —
Parallel:
The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, not eat too much, and do
some warm-up exercises before the game.
Example 2
Not Parallel:
The salesman expected that he would present his product at the meeting, that there
would be time for him to show his slide presentation, and that questions would be
asked by prospective buyers. (passive)
Parallel:
The salesman expected that he would present his product at the meeting, that there
would be time for him to show his slide presentation, and that prospective buyers
would ask him questions.
Lists after a Colon
Be sure to keep all the elements in a list in the same form.
71
Translation from Spanish to English
Example 1
Not Parallel:
The dictionary can be used for these purposes: to find word meanings, pronunciations,
correct spellings, and looking up irregular verbs.
Parallel:
The dictionary can be used for these purposes: to find word meanings, pronunciations,
correct spellings, and irregular verbs.
Parallel Structure in Professional Writing
Example: how to list your work experience in a CV or résumé:
Incorrect:
• Prepared weekly field payroll
• Material purchasing, expediting, and
returning
• Recording OSHA regulated
documentation
• Change orders
• Maintained hard copies of field
documentation
Correct:
• Prepared weekly field payroll
• Handled material purchasing, expediting,
and returning
• Recorded OSHA regulated documentation
• Processed change orders
• Maintained hard copies of field
documentation
72
Translation from Spanish to English
Task 7.1: English likes lists to follow a clearly recognizable order – alphabetical,
ascending, descending, chronological, etc. This applies to anything from sections to
paragraphs to items in a list. Read the extract below and account for the changes. Note
also the use of parallel structure in the English version.
Las matanzas de indígenas continuaron en
la región durante el siglo XX, tanto como
parte de la extensión de las fronteras como
de las políticas de empresas que, con el
aval estatal, avanzaron sobre zonas
históricamente ocupadas por grupos
indígenas. Los casos más relevantes de
estas políticas durante el siglo XX puede
encontrarse en diversas regiones de la
Amazonia brasileña, en el caso de los
indios aché y otros grupos en el Paraguay,
el hostigamiento permanente a las
poblaciones mapuches en el sur de Chile o
de Argentina, o a los grupos wichí, toba y
otros en el norte argentino y en Paraguay
o los reiterados acciones de acciones
paramilitares frente a grupos indígenas en
el sur y el occidente mexicano, así como
en numerosos países de América Central.
In fact, during the 20th century, the
indigenous populations of Latin America
were often slaughtered by private
companies. In order to open up new
territories, the national governments of the
region gave companies a free hand in areas
historically occupied by indigenous
groups. Territories where this policy was
applied during the 20th century include
Southern and Western Mexico, where
indigenous groups were repeatedly
attacked by paramilitary forces; various
parts of the Amazon forest in Brazil;
Eastern Paraguay, where the Ache Indians
and other groups were enslaved or starved
to death; Southern Paraguay and Northern
Argentina; where the Tufas, Wichís, and
other groups were annihilated; Southern
Chile and Argentina; where the Mapuches
were permanently harassed; and numerous
parts of Central America.
Daniel Feierstein National Security
Doctrine in Latin America Oxford
University Press
Translation: Douglas Town
73
Translation from Spanish to English
Task 7.2: Below is a literal translation from el Libro de Guisados (1529), followed
by a modern English version. Explain how the text has been rewritten to make it
more accessible to modern cooks.
Original Text (in English):
Apple Dish (Pomada)
Take apples which should be sour and sweet, and quarter each of them; and peel them,
and remove the core; and then put them in cold water, and if they are very sour give
them a boil; and then take peeled almonds and grind them well; and put the apples in
the mortar and grind them together with the almonds very vigorously; and when they
are well-ground, blend it all with good hen's broth and strain it all through a woolen
cloth; and put everything in the pot where it must cook; and take ginger which is fine,
peel off the skin until it is white, and make of it little pieces the size of half a finger;
and put them to soak the night before in good rosewater until the morning; then take
whole cinnamon, and tie it with a thread together with cloves and scald them with hot
broth and when the cloves and the cinnamon are scalded, put the pot on the fire with
the apples; and put a good quantity of sugar in it, and when it is more than half cooked,
take the soaked ginger and cloves and cinnamon; and put them all in the pot, and if it
does not taste enough of ginger, put in a little which is ground until the sauce tastes of
ginger; and when it is cooked you will cast the rosewater in the pot; and prepare dishes;
on top of them cast sugar, and cinnamon if you wish.
Modern English Rewrite:
5 each Apples, medium,
2 tsp Cloves, whole
Granny Smith & Red Delicious
3 Cinnamon sticks
2 cups Almonds, whole plain
2 tsp Ginger, powdered
3” pc. Ginger, fresh
½ cup Dark brown sugar
2 oz. Rosewater
1 tsp Cinnamon, powdered
17oz. Chicken broth
Peel fresh ginger and mince; soak overnight in rosewater. Peel, core, and quarter apples.
Put apples in pot and cover with water. Boil until not quite soft. Drain and mash with a
potato masher. Blanche almonds and remove peels. Grind almonds finely in food
processor. Add apples to almonds and pulse in food processor, adding chicken broth
slowly. Drain fresh ginger from rosewater. Put minced ginger, whole cloves, and broken
up whole cinnamon sticks into a cup. Cover with hot chicken broth, let steep. Sieve and
remove cloves and cinnamon. Add minced ginger and broth to food processor. Blend all
together until smooth. Add sugar (if desired). Add powdered ginger (to taste). Finish
with powdered cinnamon.
Serve warm or cold.
74
Translation from Spanish to English
Task 7.3: Read the extract below and account for the changes. Note the paragraph
division and the use of parallel structure and contrast in the English version.
Esta organización cerrada, cuya razón de ser
eran las invasiones “bárbaras” que se sucedían
en Europa desde la caída del Imperio Romano
de Occidente, y en la ausencia de una autoridad
central efectiva, empieza a desaparecer
lentamente a comienzos del siglo XI debido a
los cuatro cambios mencionados al comienzo
de este apartado, poniendo en marcha una serie
de modificaciones que darían lugar a una
nueva estructura política, social y económica al
cabo de un par de siglos. Es importante
destacar que el impacto de dichos
acontecimiento fue dispar en el continente
europeo, concentrándose su mayor influencia
en el Norte de Italia, Centro de Francia, los
Países Bajos y algunas ciudades sobre la costa
del Mar Báltico. Estas regiones se destacaron
por su ubicación geográfica y el acceso al mar.
Si trazamos un eje norte-sur, veremos que
desde el Báltico al Mediterráneo se conformará
la ruta del intercambio entre la Europa
septentrional y el Mediterráneo, puerta de
entrada de las mercancías del Lejano Oriente.
A lo largo de este eje norte-sur, la zona central
de Francia se convirtió en una región de
intercambio natural, gracias al establecimiento
de ferias. Fue precisamente en estas ciudades
y ferias comerciales donde se vio una mayor
influencia de las actividades de los mercaderes
Alejandro Gómez Emprendedores
innovadores como agentes de la
civilización: desde una perspectiva
histórica
This closed form of organization
resulting from the “barbarian”
invasions that swept across Europe
after the fall of the Western Roman
Empire and from the absence of
effective central government, slowly
started to disappear in the early 11th
century. After a couple of centuries it
had been replaced by a new political,
social and economic structure arising
from the four changes mentioned at
the beginning of this section.
However, it is worth emphasizing that
change was uneven, with the north of
Italy, the center of France, the
Netherlands and some cities on the
Baltic coast evolving much more
quickly than the rest of continental
Europe because of their geographical
position and access to the sea.
Running from north to south, the trade
route between the Baltic and the
Mediterranean with its ports of entry
for merchandise from the far East,
passed through the central area of
France, which became a trading
region thanks to its fairs. It was the
rise of these towns and trade fairs that
gave greater power to the merchant
class.
Translated by Douglas Town
Journal for Business Ethics
75
Translation from Spanish to English
Task 7.4 Translate the following text into English. Note that the text will be clearer
if you divide the main paragraph into two: (1) preparation of the meat; and (2) cooking.
Asados y parrillas
De toda la cocina argentina, los asados 1 han sido siempre las preparaciones 1
más comentadas, tal vez porque en esta materia 1 viene a tener 2 muy pocos límites 3. 4
Hoy los asados se hacen de cortes selectos de carnes tiernas, así como de una
parte de las achuras 5. Las carnes seleccionadas 6 por sus cualidades de sabor 7 y su
condición de tiernas 7 van al fuego 8 sin preparaciones previas, salvo las condiciones
indispensables de limpieza y frescura 9, y tal vez un poco de 10 sazón que se limita las
más de las veces a un poco de 10 sal, que algunos puristas omiten. Toda la técnica del
asado gira en tomo a 11 la preparación 12 de la parrilla, el cuidado de las brasas 12 para
que den un calor uniforme y sin llama y la vigilancia de las carnes que se pondrán a
asar, primero de un lado y luego del otro, 13 hasta que estén cocinadas en el punto 14
preferido. La carne asada en la Argentina se prefiere cocinada 15 y jugosa; la semicocida
o semicruda 15 no es de gusto corriente. Las achuras 5 se prefieren siempre muy
cocinadas 15 y tostadas 16. Para algunas carnes como la de cerdo, que siempre se asa
muy bien, y para algunos cortes de vaca no tan tiernos, son corrientes los adobos, en los
que se las deja descansar 17 desde un par de horas hasta toda la noche al fresco. Las
carnes de caza y otras de sabores fuertes son también corrientemente adobadas.
Notes
1. What is the relationship between: “los asados… las preparaciones… esta materia….”
2. What is the subject of “viene a tener”? Look at the examples from The Oxford Spanish
Dictionary below. What does “viene a” mean here
venir A + INF:
 esto viene a confirmar mis sospechas - this serves to confirm my suspicions, this
confirms my suspicions;
 vendrá a tener unos 30 años - she must be about 30;
 el precio viene a ser el mismo - the price works out (about) the same, they’re around the
same price
3. A literal translation might give the idea that Argentineans eat vast quantities of meat!
4. A brief description of the grill itself would be useful
5. “Offal” may need explaining when used for the first time
6. “sabor” is a noun and “tiernas” is an adjective. English would use a parallel structure here
(NB: cualidades de … condición de .... are redundant)
7. We have already established that these are “cortes selectos”...
8. Not literally, I hope!
9. “frescura” is not a “preparación”. You can clean meat but you cannot make it fresh again.
10. A literal translation of this repetition would be clumsy
11. “Technique” is the wrong word.
12. This is the same idea – unless we include cleaning the grill beforehand. “Preparation” (on its
own) will mean nothing to an English-speaker.
13. “first on one side and then on the other” would sound childish or patronising
14. Note some common culinary expressions with “punto”
 el arroz está en su punto - the rice is just right;
 la carne estaba en su punto - the meat was done to a turn
15. Use the appropriate culinary expressions in English
16. “Toasted” is only used with bread, buns, etc.
17. “son corrientes los adobos, en los que se las deja descansar “… “son también corrientemente
adobadas” is unnecessarily repetitious. Use a parallel construction.
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Translation from Spanish to English
Task 7.5 Comparison (including parallel structure) and contrast are two sides of the
same coin. Apart from arranging them in chronological order, we can also contrast the
different processes to make them more memorable. How has this technique been used in
the translation below?
Asados y parrillas
Roasts and grills
De toda la cocina argentina, los asados
han sido siempre las preparaciones más
comentadas, tal vez porque en esta materia
viene a tener muy pocos límites.
Hoy los asados se hacen de cortes selectos
de carnes tiernas, así como de una parte de
las achuras. Las carnes seleccionadas por sus
cualidades de sabor y su condición de
tiernas van al luego sin preparaciones
previas, salvo las condiciones indispensables
de limpieza y frescura, y tal vez un poco de
sazón que se limita las más de las veces a un
poco de sal, que algunos puristas omiten.
Toda la técnica del asado gira en tomo a la
preparación de la parrilla, el cuidado de las
brasas para que den un calor uniforme y sin
llama y la vigilancia de las carnes que se
pondrán a asar, primero de un lado y luego
del otro, hasta que estén cocinadas en el
punto preferido. La carne asada en la
Argentina se prefiere cocinada y jugosa; la
semicocida o semicruda no es de gusto
corriente. Las achuras se prefieren siempre
muy cocinadas y tostadas. Para algunas
carnes como la de cerdo, que siempre se asa
muy bien, y para algunos cortes de vaca no
tan tiernos, son corrientes los adobos, en los
que se las deja descansar desde un par de
horas hasta toda la noche al fresco. Las
carnes de caza y otras de sabores fuertes son
también corrientemente adobadas.
No Argentine dish has been more talked
about than the asado, perhaps because this
typical charcoal or wood fired grill has
almost unlimited possibilities.
Nowadays, tender cuts of selected (choice)
beef are used for most asados, as well as a
variety of entrails and other tidbits. Besides
the obvious condition that the meat should be
fresh and clean, the best beef usually goes
on the grill with no further preparation than a
little seasoning – usually just a sprinkling of
salt - and even this is frowned on by
traditionalists. On the other hand, when pork
or tougher cuts of beef are used, these may
be marinated for anything from a couple of
hours to a whole night in the fresh air.
Game and other strong-tasting meats are
also prepared in the same way.
However, the secret of a good asado
normally lies in the way the meat is actually
grilled or roasted. Care must be taken that
the embers give off an even heat without
flames and that the different cuts of meat
are cooked evenly on both sides to the
required taste. In Argentina, most people
expect all grilled or roast meat to be well
cooked and juicy. Rare or half cooked beef,
for example, is not popular. The offal is
cooked in the same way and served crisp
and brown on the outside.
Translation: Douglas Town
77
Translation from Spanish to English
8. Concreteness vs. Abstraction
English is a notoriously blunt language. Simple and direct language does not make you
seem less learned or elegant in English: it makes you seem more credible. On the other
hand, too much abstract language (“fog”) sounds like verbiage to English speakers.
Thus, from an English-speaker’s perspective, Spanish non-literary texts often make
things unnecessarily complicated.
Task 8.1: In what ways is the English version of this text simpler and more concrete
than the Spanish version?
La UE propugna una concepción
humanista y progresista del hombre, que
no debe simplemente padecer los efectos
de la globalización y los cambios
tecnológicos, sino que ha de asumir una
posición central en dicha revolución,
controlándola y encauzándola. Las simples
fuerzas del mercado o la acción unilateral
de un país no bastan para satisfacer las
necesidades de los ciudadanos.
The EU wants to promote human values
and social progress. Europeans see
globalisation and technological change
revolutionising the world, and they want
people everywhere to be masters – not
victims – of this process of change.
People’s needs cannot be met simply by
market forces or by the unilateral action of
one country.
La UE es portadora de un mensaje y un
modelo de sociedad a los que la gran
mayoría de sus ciudadanos se adhiere. Los
derechos humanos, la solidaridad social, la
libertad de empresa, la distribución
equitativa de los frutos del crecimiento, el
derecho a un medio ambiente protegido, el
respecto de la diversidad cultural,
lingüística y religiosa y una síntesis
armoniosa de tradición y progreso
constituyen el auténtico patrimonio de
valores de los europeos. (…)
So the EU stands for a view of humanity
and a model of society that the vast
majority of its citizens support. Europeans
cherish their rich heritage of values that
includes a belief in human rights, social
solidarity, free enterprise, a fair sharing of
the fruits of economic growth, the right to
a protected environment, respect for
cultural, linguistic and religious diversity
and a harmonious yoking of tradition and
progress. (…)
Estos tratados han creado entre los
Estados miembros unos estrechos vínculos
jurídicos. La Unión Europea genera por sí
misma una legislación que se aplica
directamente a los ciudadanos europeos y
crea unos derechos específicos en favor de
éstos.
These treaties have forged very strong
legal ties between the EU’s member states.
European Union laws directly affect EU
citizens and give them very specific rights.
78
Translation from Spanish to English
Limitada en su primera realización a la
apertura del mercado común del carbón y
del acero entre los seis Estados fundadores
(Bélgica, República Federal de Alemania,
Francia, Italia, Luxemburgo y Países
Bajos), la Comunidad ha sido ante todo
una empresa de paz, puesto que consiguió
asociar en un conjunto institucional regido
por el principio de igualdad a los
vencedores y a los vencidos de la última
guerra intraeuropea.
The first step in European integration was
taken when six countries (Belgium, the
Federal Republic of Germany, France,
Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands)
set up a common market in coal and steel.
The aim, in the aftermath of the Second
World War, was to secure peace between
Europe’s victorious and vanquished
nations It brought them together as equals,
cooperating within shared institutions.
Doce lecciones sobre Europa
por Pascal Fontaine
Translation: E.U
Task 8.2: The following text shows what happens when a translator fails to clarify
concepts and remains too close to the patterning of the source text. What, for example,
is “the high weight of foodstuffs” (lines 4-5) supposed to mean? And what does “its”
(line 5) refer to? Bearing these points in mind, suggest ways in which the translation
could be improved.
Evolution of family textile consumption
Source text - Spanish
En principio, parece difícil imaginar que la
población castellana pudiera dedicar una parte
creciente de sus ingresos hacia el consumo de
bienes textiles dado el elevado peso de los
alimentos y la dieta relativamente insuficiente
durante los siglos XVIII y XIX. Sin embargo, los
primeros resultados globales sobre el consumo
de textiles -plasmados en el cuadro 1- apuntan a
que tanto en cifras absolutas como en términos
relativos se produjo, entre 1750 y 1840, un
aumento continuado en el stock de textiles.
Recordemos, asimismo, que aunque
desconocemos con exactitud el gasto anual
(flujo) en los textiles, sí podemos intuir que el
ritmo de reposición en este tipo de bienes fue
mucho más acusado que en otros bienes
duraderos o semiduraderos, lo cual significa que
el consumo final de los textiles fue obviamente
mucho más elevado de lo que se refleja en dicho
cuadro. Más pormenorizadamente, se observa un
significativo aumento en el número de piezas
textiles por familia, las cuales pasan de 48
unidades a mediados del siglo XVIII a 67 en
Translation - English
At first, it is difficult to imagine that the
population of Castile could spend a
growing part of its income on consumption
of textile goods, given the high weight of
foodstuffs and its relatively inadequate diet
during the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries. However, the first overall results
for textile consumption – as shown in
figure 1 – point to there being a continued
growth in textiles stock, both in absolute
numbers and in relative terms between
1750 and 1840. We shouldn’t forget that
although we do not know annual
expenditure (flow) exactly for textiles, we
can, however, deduce that the rate of
replacement for this type of goods was
much more pronounced than for other
durable or semi-durable goods, which
means that final consumption for textiles
was obviously much higher than shows up
in this figure. To be more specific, we can
see a significant growth in the number of
textile items per family, going up from 48
79
Translation from Spanish to English
1830-40. Según observamos en dicho cuadro, el
grupo textil que mayor crecimiento experimentó
entre 1750 y 1840 fue el vestido y calzado que
pasó de 22 piezas por familia a 34. Dentro de la
indumentaria personal los artículos textiles que
mayor aumento tuvieron fueron las prendas
interiores y los pañuelos. Las prendas exteriores,
la partida más importante y numerosa, presentan
un crecimiento relativamente moderado en 183040 e incluso disminuyen en los núcleos rurales.
Sorprendentemente, destaca la poca presencia de
calzado y la paulatina disminución de los
complementos del vestir -sombreros, corbatas,
guantes, etc.- cuando, por ejemplo, el sombrero
chambergo o el de ala ancha, amén de otros
tocados muy populares como las monteras, los
sombreros de paja de centeno y las gorras,
estuvieron presentes en casi todos los rincones de
España hasta muy entrado el siglo XIX. Por lo
que respecta al calzado, tal vez fuera la parte de
la indumentaria más reacia a dejarse influir por
las modas, de ahí que las polainas y los calzados
como las abarcas, las alpargatas y las madreñas o
zuecos de madera fueran dando paso muy
lentamente a los zapatos, botas o botines en los
inventarios post-mortem. Con respecto a las
piezas de cama, éstas aumentan, entre 1750 y
1840, de 18 a 24 unidades por inventario postmortem. Más en concreto, sobresale el
incremento de los juegos de sábanas -en estrecha
relación con la formación de las dotes
femeninas-, el aumento de los colchones -más
acentuado en la ciudad que en los ámbitos
rurales, al mismo tiempo que disminuyen los
jergones- y de las colchas. Por lo que se refiere a
las almohadas, cobertores y mantas y cubiertas
de cama se mantienen en cifras muy similares
entre 1750 y 1840. Disminuyen, sin embargo, los
cabezales y persiste la poca presencia de pajeros,
reducidos casi única y exclusivamente a los
núcleos rurales. Finalmente, en cuanto a los otros
grupos textiles -ropa blanca del hogar y cortinaspresentan un crecimiento moderado poco
perceptible.
at the middle of the eighteenth century to
67 in 1830-40. As we can see in this figure,
the textile group which grew most between
1750 and 1840 was clothing and footwear,
which went from 22 pieces per family to
34. Within the category of personal
clothing, the textile articles which
increased most were underclothes and
handkerchiefs. Outer garments, the most
important and numerous sections, show a
relatively moderate growth rate in 1830-40
and even fell in rural nuclei. Surprisingly
enough, footwear does not have a high
place, and accessories show a gradual fall –
hats, ties, gloves etc – when, for example,
the wide- or narrow- brimmed hat, not to
mention all the other popular forms of
headwear such as the montera, rye-straw
hats, and bonnets, were common in almost
every last corner of Spain well into the
nineteenth century. When it comes to
footwear, this was possibly the area of
attire least liable to influence by fashions,
so that gaiters and footwear such as
sandals, espadrilles and wooden clogs gave
way very slowly to shoes, boots or ankle
boots in probate inventories. Bed linen
increased between 1750 and 1840, from 18
items to 24 per probate inventory. More
specifically, the increase in sets of sheets is
particularly noticeable, - closely related to
the composition of female trousseaux -,
along with the increase in mattresses, more noticeable in the city than in rural
areas, at the same time as the drop in
palliasses – and in counterpanes. With
regard to pillows, bedspreads and blankets
and bedcovers, figures are very similar
between 1750 and 1840. However, there is
a reduction in the number of bolsters, and
numbers of people working in this way
with straw are scant, virtually only found
in rural nuclei. Finally, with regard to other
textile groups – white household linen and
curtains – there is a barely perceptible
moderate growth.
Translator “Native in English”
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Translation from Spanish to English
9. Paragraph Division
Task 9.1: Explain the criteria used by the translator to turn these two paragraphs in
the ST into three paragraphs in the TT.
En la Argentina, como se sabe, las
In Argentina, as everyone knows, horsecarreras de caballos son una pasión
racing is a democratic and multi-racial
democrática y multirracial: los
passion. Native tribes long ago tested their
aborígenes probaban sus cabalgaduras, mounts, gleaned from the strays left behind
que tomaron de los que los
by the Conquistadors, in competitions of
conquistadores dejaron escapar, en
speed and endurance. And the mixed-race
competencias de velocidad y de
gauchos were no less equestrian. Jose
resistencia. El gaucho no fue menos:
Hernandez's immortal Martin Fierro, in one
basta recordar que Martin Fierro tenia passage of the epic poem that bears his name,
un moro que le rindió grandes
mentions a dark horse that he once owned:
ganancias: "Con el gane en Ayacucho- "With him in Ayacucho I made more money
/mas plata que agua bendita", escribió than holy water...," recalls the fictional
Hernández. Ese tipo de carrera, llamada gaucho.
"cuadreras" porque la distancia a
recorrer era de dos o tres cuadras, ha
perdurado y en la llanura argentina, se
sigue practicando con entusiasmo.
The type of races referred to here were known
Convoca a centenares de personas
as "cuadreras” (literally, "block-races"),
quienes, desde luego, apuestan su
because they were two or three blocks long.
dinero a las patas de uno u otro animal. They are still run enthusiastically in the
Pero es insuficiente. Lo que el
Argentine plains today. And they draw
verdadero aficionado quiere es un lugar crowds of hundreds of spectators, who place
especial, una suerte de "catedral del
bets on the animals of their choice.
hipismo". Ese sitio existe y se llama
Hipódromo de San Isidro, y según los But these races are simply not enough for the
conocedores es uno de los circos
true aficionado, who wants a special place to
hípicos mas hermosos de todos cuantos watch his races, a sort of equestrian
hay en el mundo.
"cathedral". In Argentina, such a place exists.
It is called the San Isidro Hippodrome. And
those in the know say that it is one of the
most beautiful racetracks in the world.
Inaugurado el 8 de diciembre de 1935, Inaugurated on December 8, 1935, on 148
en un predio de 148 hectáreas, tiene
hectares of grounds, it has a grass track,
una pista de césped, y pertenece al
which belongs to the Jockey Club, an
Jockey Club, entidad fundada por El
institution founded by Carlos "El Gringo"
Gringo Carlos Pellegrini, un político de Pellegrini, a thoroughbred politician in the
raza en el buen sentido de la palabra. best sense of the term.
Alberto Catena ”Caballos en el
corazón” Argentime, 1998
Translation: Dan Newland
Task 9.2:
English paragraphs typically begin with a fairly short ‘topic’ sentence,
which summarises the main idea of the paragraph. This idea is then developed through a
81
Translation from Spanish to English
series of explanations and/or examples. Re-read the texts for Tasks 5.2, 6.1 6.2 and 7.1.
Explain the relationships between each “topic” sentences and the rest of the paragraph.
Task 9.3: Read the two extracts below. They are both from introductory texts on
psychoanalysis and they both introduce the topic of the Oedipus complex. One of them
is by a Spanish writer and the other is a translation of an English text. Which is which and why? Both texts are in Peninsular Spanish.
Text A
El complejo de Edipo es el fenómeno central de la organización sexual infantil y por ello el
fenómeno decisivo en la constitución del sujeto. Este fenómeno sucumbe a la represión,
dando paso a un periodo de latencia que culmina en la pubertad.
La Castración es la causa estructural determinante para el desencadenamiento de la
represión.
La historia individual va a marcar y caracterizar diferentes posibilidades de terminación del
Complejo de Edipo, pudiendo hablarse de Edipo simple y completo, positivo y negativo en
base a la actividad afectiva hacia el padre y la madre por parte del niño y esto es debido a la
bisexualidad constitucional del individuo y la disposición triangular del proceso.
Nos dice Freud, obraremos acertadamente aceptando en general y sobre todo en los
neuróticos, la existencia de un complejo de Edipo completo, es decir tanto el niño como la
niña, aman y rivalizan con el padre y la madre.
El Psicoanálisis descubre el ingente papel que desempeña en la vida anímica del hombre el
Complejo de Edipo, ya que es la correlación psíquica de dos hechos biológicos
fundamentales:
a) de la prolongada dependencia infantil de los hombres.
b) de la peculiar y singular forma en que su vida sexual alcanza a cierta edad (2—6 anos)
una primera culminación, pasando luego por un periodo de latencia que se renueva en la
pubertad.
Text B
Recordemos que en el Capítulo 2 afirmábamos que Freud creía que la sexualidad (el instinto sexual) era innata. Sin embargo, creía que la preferencia por un género concreto surge
durante el estadio fálico del desarrollo psicosexual, cuando los niños comienzan a emular al
progenitor del mismo sexo y a identificarse con él. En concreto, Freud afirmaba que el niño
de 3 a 6 años internaliza los atributos y las conductas masculinos cuando se ve obligado a
identificarse con su padre para poder renunciar a su deseo incestuoso por la madre, lo que
disminuye la ansiedad de la castración y, por tanto, resuelve su complejo de Edipo. Freud
creía que la tipificación por el género era más difícil para una niña pequeña, que carece de
pene, ya que se siente castrada y no experimenta un miedo tremendo que la obligue a
identificarse con su madre y a resolver su complejo de Electra. Entonces, ¿por qué
desarrolla la niña una preferencia por el papel femenino? Freud ofrecía varias sugerencias;
una de ellas era que el objeto del afecto de la niña, su padre, probablemente alentaba su
conducta femenina, acto que incrementa el atractivo de la madre, que sirve de modelo de
feminidad para la niña. Así que, al tratar de agradar al padre (o de prepararse para la
relación con otros hombres, después de reconocer la imposibilidad de poseer a su padre), la
niña se sentiría motivada para incorporar los atributos femeninos de la madre y, al final, se
producía la tipificación por el género (Freud, 1924/1961 a).
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Translation from Spanish to English
Task 9.4: Now read the (edited) article below on Contrastive Rhetoric to understand
how these differences begin at secondary school.
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
Discourse Features of Written Mexican Spanish: Current Research in
Contrastive Rhetoric and Its Implications
María Rosario Montaño-Harmon
California State University, Fullerton
1. Introduction
In the instruction of composition skills in both English and Spanish, teachers need to
address language features at the text level, not just at the sentence level. Many times
students may master the vocabulary and the grammar of a language and still be unable to
produce acceptable compositions because of problems due to conflicting discourse patterns
-that is, the organization and development of text via the logical arrangement of ideas.
This paper will analyze discourse features of compositions written in Spanish by
secondary school students in Mexico, will draw comparisons with those written in English
by Anglo-American students in the United States, and will discuss the implications of the
results of this research for teaching and evaluating composition skills in Spanish language
programs.
Past Studies in Contrastive Rhetoric of Discourse Patterns
Past studies of discourse patterns in written texts in various languages indicate that the
logical development of text varies depending on the native language of the writer. Kaplan
(1980: 416) states there are a number of different paragraph orders available in any
language, but that there is a clear preference for one particular order, at least as far as
expository prose is concerned. Part of the learning of a target language is the mastering of
its logical system, and this is expressed in the discourse pattern of texts written by native
speakers of that language.
The discourse pattern of English seems to be what has been studied most, since studies
tend to compare English with some other language. Studies of the rhetorical patterns of
various languages contrasted to English have been reported in the Annual Review of Applied
Linguistics, 1982 (Kaplan 1983). These languages include American Indian languages,
German, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, and Marathi. These studies in contrastive
rhetoric indicate that in English an expository paragraph follows a sequence that is
predominantly linear in its development, using a deductive or an inductive pattern, and
that the discourse pattern in other languages may be different. The discourse pattern for
Asian languages, for example, tends to be circular -what Kaplan (1972: 46) has called an
approach by indirection. Paragraph development in Semitic languages is based on a
complex series of parallel constructions. The development of the paragraph in the Romance
languages exhibits a much greater freedom to introduce extraneous material in complex
digressions from the central idea (Kaplan 1966: 61) as depicted in the following diagrams:
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Translation from Spanish to English
Fig. 3 Discourse patterns in various languages (Kaplan, 1966)
Most studies contrasting Spanish and English contrast the languages at the
phonological, syntactic and lexical level, such as the research done by Stockwell and
Bowen (1965), Stockwell, Bowen, and Martin (1965), Nash (1977), Valdés and Teschner
(1978), and Saville and Troike (1971). Three studies contrasting rhetorical patterns in
Puerto Rican Spanish and English have been reported by Santiago (1970), Strei (1971), and
Santana-Seda (1974).
These three studies show striking differences in the organization of written discourse in
the texts written in Puerto Rican Spanish and in English. The studies show that the
compositions in Puerto Rican Spanish had significantly higher proportions of coordinate
structures, nonsequential sentences, additive constructions, and one- and two-sentence
paragraphs (Kaplan 1976).
Studies of Mexican Spanish
Because Mexicans are the largest group of Spanish speakers in the world, a study of
the discourse features of written Mexican Spanish is needed. This research could contribute
to the understanding of how native speakers of Mexican Spanish organize their expository
writing and to the application of this understanding to the development of literacy skills in
Spanish language programs.
Until the present study (Montaño-Harmon 1988), no contrastive rhetoric studies of
texts written in Mexican Spanish had been reported in the literature. However, other sources
of information on Mexican Spanish at the text level exist, such as textbooks on EnglishSpanish translation work; textbooks used in Mexico to teach language arts at the secondary
school level; and books on social interaction patterns in Mexico, particularly those sections
commenting on the use of language.
Vásquez-Ayora (1977), in a textbook for professional translators, contrasts Spanish
and English at the textual level by commenting on the order of sentences in the
paragraph, on the relationship between sentences, and on the overall complexity of the
text in Spanish due to sentence length and an overly elegant language style. He states that
each language has its own textual organization and that, in a paragraph in Spanish,
flexible order is possible -even desirable. Paragraph development in Spanish rejects an
abrupt start to the text, preferring to lead the reader through an introductory phase -an
anticipatory stage- before signaling the topic. Furthermore, a rigid order of ideas in the
development of the paragraph in Spanish will produce a monotonous effect in the text. Even
though an «intersentential grammar» has not been developed in Spanish, Vásquez-Ayora
states that the flexible order possible in a sentence in Spanish carries over to the
paragraph level. Sentences in a paragraph in Spanish have a greater degree of freedom as
to their order than they do in English, just as the syntactical elements of a sentence in
Spanish have an extraordinary flexibility within the sentence. In commenting on the
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Translation from Spanish to English
relationship between sentences, Vásquez-Ayora states that Spanish tends to have longer
sentences than does English, with more subordination within the sentence itself and
between two separate sentences. These levels of subordination, in combination with the
flowery lexical items accepted for the elegant, formal style in composition in Spanish,
produce complicated sentences which are difficult to translate into English without
breaking the ideas down into separate sentences. Overall, then, compared to the linear
standard in English, the paragraph in Spanish will have a round-about development, further
complicated by flowery language and information tagged on by means of commas or que in
subordinate clauses.
The features in compositions written in Spanish discussed above are apparent in
textbooks used in Mexico to teach redacción, defined as the art of expressing ideas in
writing in a coherent manner (Domínguez 1976:17). Of 25 textbooks reviewed in order to
see if a specific pattern of development is taught to secundaria students, only two books
presented any type of pattern for paragraph organization. However, these textbooks, by
Martínez Lira (1980) and Alegría and Rodríguez (1977), are considered supplemental texts,
not core textbooks for secundaria.
All of the textbooks reviewed emphasize effective communication based on eloquence
achieved through work in:
1)
2)
3)
4)
vocabulary building by using synonyms, antonyms, paraphrasing, and derivations;
writing practice focusing on tone, style, and vocabulary based on written models
from literary figures;
practice in elaborating a given idea in writing in various ways as one attempts to
develop the theme in greater depth;
work on correct grammar and mechanics at the sentence level.
The two textbooks mentioned above which presented paragraph organization and
development did so by employing general rhetorical patterns as models, for example
chronological order, contrast-comparison, narration, and description. Neither book
presented one preferred discourse pattern for a paragraph nor did either present
enumeration as means to develop a paragraph. Finally, in none of the 25 Mexican
textbooks reviewed was there any mention that deviations from the central idea were
to be avoided.
According to Riding (1986:16), deviations from a main topic due to elaboration are
expected in the Mexican’s ceremonious code of behavior and in his/her formality of
language for social interaction. Excessive frankness or directness is considered rude and
oven substantive discussions must be preceded by deviations into small talk about family or
political gossip.
In addition to the deviations, Riding comments on the formality in the language used
by Mexicans in day-to-day relationships. Ornate phrases are used unconsciously and
children are taught this form of language as part of their social skills at home and in school.
They are taught to play with the flexibility of the Spanish language, where meanings are
tucked between lines, in repetitions for emphasis, and in pauses. Riding states that in
these endless linguistic contortions, the Mexican’s fascination with detail and obsession
with nuance are constantly satisfied (1986:19). All of these features were present in texts
written by students in Mexico which were collected and analyzed as part of the present
research on the discourse features of Mexican Spanish, ESL English (Mexican students),
Chicano English (Mexican-American/Chicano students), and Anglo-American English.
85
Translation from Spanish to English
(.......)
Findings of the Research
Comparisons of the discourse features in the texts in five areas were made, and in all
five the texts in Mexican Spanish differed from the compositions in American English at an
extremely high level of statistical significance. The findings in each of these five areas of
comparison are presented in turn in the following tables, with a summary table at the
conclusion.
As Table 1 below shows, the compositions written in Mexican Spanish were longer
overall than those written in English. The texts in Mexican Spanish had fewer sentences in
number, with the sentences being longer. Many times a whole paragraph, denoted by the
writer by indenting, consisted of only one sentence. The longest sentence in the study was a
sentence written in Mexican Spanish which consisted of 78 words; the shortest sentence, a
three-word statement, was written in English by many of the Anglo-American students.
In addition to being longer, the sentences in Mexican Spanish tended to be run-on
sentences. The Mexican students wrote many run-on constructions linked with y or with no
conjunction or punctuation to mark a separation of sentences. In contrast, Anglo-American
students relied on simple sentences consisting of subject-verb complement constructions
and on short complex sentences, usually with because subordinate clauses. These
differences are summarized in Table 2.
Lexical cohesion is the unity achieved in a text by the use of vocabulary items to tie
together the ideas presented. A striking difference in the students’ compositions must be
noted. The students in Mexico relied heavily on the use of synonyms to unify their
compositions, a skill that is emphasized and taught explicitly in the schools in Mexico.
Their basic strategy was to state an idea, place a comma, and then repeat the same idea
using a synonym, the same word, or a semantically related word (collocation) to create a
build-up effect. This building on an idea was emphasized many times via the use of
hyperbole.
Thus, the result was a repetition of the same idea several times within a run-on
sentence, each repetition becoming more fancy or formal. In English, on the other hand, the
Anglo-American students depended on lexical chains via the repetition of the same word or
on collocations to link their ideas. These differences are presented in Table 3.
Another means to unify a text is through syntactic cohesion, the use of certain
grammatical constructions, which are listed in Table 4. The Mexican students unified their
compositions by using conjunctions, especially additive conjunctions (y) and causal
conjunctions (porque) as noted in Table 4. Both Mexican students and Anglo-American
students used grammatical references extensively, particularly personal references by the
use of personal pronouns, perhaps because the topic of the compositions was a personal
opinion on their own education. These personal pronouns tended to refer to persons or ideas
stated previously in the texts (anaphoric reference).
Significant differences were noted in the compositions in the logical relationships
between one idea and the subsequent idea, as shown in Table 5. The sum of these logical
relationships between ideas in a text will be the discourse pattern for the composition. The
rhetorical pattern used most often by the Anglo-American students was enumeration, the
use of connectors such as first, second, then, and finally to denote a chronological order, a
86
Translation from Spanish to English
spatial order, or the order of importance of the ideas. In fact, all of the Anglo-American
students used these connectors at some point in their compositions as the overall
organizational feature of their texts. This might be due to the fact that this rhetorical pattern
is taught explicitly and extensively in the public schools in the United States.
In contrast, this logical relationship was not used in any of the compositions in
Mexican Spanish. The .06 figure noted under this discourse feature under Mexican Spanish
in Table 5 was one student using the word primero once to begin his composition. The
compositions in Mexican Spanish tended to be organized via additive relationships. Once
the writers had expressed their main idea or opinion in a topic sentence, they proceeded to
add ideas to that statement (additive relationships) or to explain their reasons for their
statements (explicative relationships).
The compositions in Mexican Spanish also had many more deviations in their logical
development -that is, complete breaks in the connection between one idea and the next.
These deviations were conscious deviations, which are part of the discourse pattern of
Mexican Spanish; for the writer was aware that he/she had gone off the topic and would
often use transitional words or phrases to return to the previous idea before the deviation, as
in the example below:
Pero me he salido del tema. Volvamos a lo que había dicho antes...
The Anglo-American students did not have as many deviations as the Mexican
students, and their deviations in English tended to be unconscious deviations, unrelated
information included in free association without any transitional word or phrase.
(.......)
The differences expressed in all of these statistics are best seen in examples of the
texts themselves. The following two examples are typical compositions, representative
of their respective groups. Both of these examples appear as the students wrote them,
including errors.
Example 1: Mexican Student in Mexico
1 Sinceramente, la instrucción, la enseñanza que he
2 recibido ha sido positivamente, porque no
3 solamente he tenido buenos maestros, sino que
4 también hay que ver el entusiasmo de uno mismo,
5 el anhelo de recibir esa educación que con el
6 tiempo florece y dá sus frutos.
7 Esos frutos que dá una satisfaccion infinita, pues
8 con la ayuda que he recibido de mis maestros y
9 padres para seguir preparándome he de llegar a
10 triunfar.
11 Creo, además, que la instrucción, la preparación
12 que he recibido hasta hoy, la reconozco porque me
13 doy cuenta que he tenido cambios no solo en mi
14 educación, sino también en mi persona, en la forma
15 de hablar, de actuar y de pensar, por ejemplo: ya
16 puedo dar opiniones aceptables, relacionarme con
87
Translation from Spanish to English
17 las demás gentes, establecer una conversación de
18 provecho y otros cambios mas.
19 No niego que, hubo o hay ocasiones que esa
20 instrucción, esa preparación ha sido no con muy
21 buenos ejemplos, pero a mí no me interesa
22 aprender los malos ejemplos, sino seguir lo que me
23 va a ser un bien. Lo que se necesita es un poco de
24 empeño por parte del alumno tanto como de parte
25 de los maestros. Tal vez más recursos, más ayuda,
26 más apoyo del gobierno.
Summary of the Discourse Features of Written Mexican Spanish
For the purposes of this discussion, the discourse features in Mexican Spanish were
significantly different from those in Anglo-American English, exhibiting many of the
features discussed in the three studies of Puerto Rican Spanish, in the comments for
translators by Vásquez-Ayora (1977), in the content of the redacción texts in Mexico, and
in the comments on the use of language in social interaction in Mexico by Riding (1986).
The compositions written by the Mexican students in Mexico were longer than those
of the other three groups of students. The average sentence length was much longer also.
The texts contained many run-on sentences, since the accepted sentence construction in
Mexican Spanish is to state an idea, to follow this idea with a comma, and to restate the
same idea using synonyms for emphasis, clarification, or stylistic purposes, as can be seen
in line 1 (la instrucción, la enseñanza), line 11 (la instrucción, la preparación), and lines
19-20 (esa instrucción, esa preparación) in Example 1. There is also much repetition, via
synonyms, in additive and explicative relationships. The result was a series of complicated
compound-complex constructions which were tied together with commas in run-on
sentences.
The flowery, poetic language and the flexible sentence structures used in written
Mexican Spanish contributed to the complexity of the texts. Mexican students used
extremely formal words and elaborate phrases, such as those found in lines S-6 (el anhelo
de recibir esa educación que con el tiempo florece y da sus frutos). Many times the formal
words and elaborate phrases were used in sentences where we find hyperbaton -the use, for
emphasis or for stylistic purposes, of word order other than the expected or usual one, as in
lines 11-12 (Creo, además, que la instrucción, la preparación que he recibido hasta hoy, la
reconozco...). The flowery language, the unusual word order in sentences, and the use of
few conversational markers all contributed to the formal tone of the compositions, very
different from oral, informal Mexican Spanish used for casual social interaction.
The Mexican Spanish texts relied on additive, explicative, or resultative
relationships between ideas and showed an absence of enumeration in their
organizational patterns. There were digressions in the texts, but these appeared to be
conscious deviations accepted in the discourse pattern in Spanish, for the writer often
mentioned that he/she had gotten off the topic and used a transitional word or phrase to
return to the main idea to be developed. All of these features contributed to a fancy,
flowery, formal, and complicated presentation of the ideas in the compositions -a
presentation totally different from that of the linear, deductive, enumerative compositions
written by Anglo-American students, as seen in Example 2.
88
Translation from Spanish to English
Example 2: Anglo-American Student in the United States
1 If I could change my school I would make these
2 changes. First I would put in some lockers. I would
3 put lockers in so I don’t have to carry my books
4 around with me. Next I would allow students to
5 bring radios to school. Some people like to do their
6 work listening to music. Then I will have three
7 classes every day. That way the students won’t
8 have as much homework to do. The next change is
9 to have shorter days. I would have shorter days
10 because students would go to school more. After
11 that I would change school’s time. That way the
12 students won’t have to wake up so early. Then I
13 would buy new books for the school. That way the
14 students could do their work better. Next I will
15 change the name of the school. I would change the
16 name because I don’t think the people that named
17 the schools knew what they were doing. The very
18 last change I would make is that their would be no
19 dress code. I think people should dress the way
20 they want to dress. With all of these changes,
21 students would come to school more and they
22 would be happier in school and learn more.
Summary of the Discourse Features of Written Anglo-American English
Although they may have a low level of writing proficiency at the sentence level, at
the text level the Anglo-American students demonstrated an ability to organize their
compositions into the accepted linear, deductive pattern of standard American English. In
the organization and development of their compositions, the Anglo-American students
relied heavily on enumeration as seen in lines 2 (First), 4 (Next), 6 (Then), 8 (The next
change), 10-11 (After that), 12 (Then), 14 (Next), and 15-18 (The very last change) in
Example 2. Their texts tended to be short, much shorter than those in Mexican Spanish.
They also used short sentences, much shorter than those written by the students in Mexico,
usually consisting of a subject-verb-complement construction. The Anglo-American
students used simple vocabulary, few synonyms, and no flowery language. Their texts
also contained significantly fewer deviations than those written in Mexican Spanish. .
(.......)
This article has been abridged for reasons of space and emphasis has been added. You
can find the complete article and bibliography at: http://www.cervantesvirtual.com
89
Translation from Spanish to English
10. Reader centred prose
Task 10.1: Lip service is often paid to “making the TT more communicative” – but in
practice this usually means saying more than the author does which, in turn, means that
the translator must know more than is stated in the ST. Compare the following texts:
Teoría Psicoanalítica de Freud
Recordemos que en el Capítulo 2 1 afirmábamos que Freud creía que 2 la
sexualidad (el instinto sexual) 3 era innata. Sin embargo, creía que la preferencia
por un género concreto 4 surge durante el estadio fálico del desarrollo
psicosexual 5, cuando los niños comienzan a emular al progenitor del mismo sexo
y a identificarse con él 6. En concreto, Freud afirmaba que el niño de 3 a 6 años
internaliza los atributos y las conductas masculinos cuando se ve obligado a
identificarse con su padre para poder renunciar a su deseo incestuoso por la
madre 7, lo que disminuye la ansiedad de la castración y, por tanto, resuelve su
complejo de Edipo. Freud creía que la tipificación por el género era más difícil
para una niña pequeña, que carece de pene, ya que se siente castrada y no
experimenta un miedo tremendo que la obligue a identificarse con su madre y a
resolver su complejo de Electra. 8 Entonces, ¿por qué desarrolla la niña una
preferencia por el papel femenino? 9 Freud ofrecía varias sugerencias; 10 una de
ellas era que el objeto del afecto de la niña, su padre, probablemente 10 alentaba
su conducta femenina, acto que incrementa el atractivo de la madre, que sirve de
modelo de feminidad para la niña. Así que, al tratar de agradar al padre (o de
prepararse para la relación con otros hombres, después de reconocer la imposibilidad de poseer a su padre), la niña se sentiría motivada para incorporar los
atributos femeninos de la madre y, al final, se producía la tipificación por el
género (Freud, 1924/1961 a). 11
Schaffer, David R. (2002) Desarrollo Social de la Personalidad.
Madrid. Internacional Thomson Editores (p.268)
.
1. Cross-referencing and recapitulation:
2. Distinction between the authors’ and Freud’s beliefs:
3. Definition
4. Classification
5. Contrast between innate and development
6. Definition (of phallic stage)
7. Explanation (boys)
8. Contrast (girls)
9. Problem
10. Explanation (girls) – again, distinguishing between the author’s position and Freud’s
beliefs
11. Reference is precise
90
Translation from Spanish to English
Diagram of Schaffer’s text
Sexuality
Innate drive
Boys: Oedipus complex
Learned
preferences
Girls: Electra complex
Behavior discouraged by father
→ Castration anxiety
→ Identification with father
Behavior encouraged by father
→ Mother becomes more attractive
→ Identification with mother
Other explanations of the Electra
complex
91
Translation from Spanish to English
Complejo de Edipo y Operación de Castración
El complejo de Edipo 1 es el fenómeno central de la organización sexual infantil 1
y por ello el fenómeno decisivo en la constitución del sujeto 2. Este fenómeno
sucumbe a la represión, 3 dando paso a un periodo de latencia que culmina en la
pubertad.
La Castración es la causa estructural 3 determinante para el desencadenamiento
de la represión. 4
La historia individual va a marcar y caracterizar diferentes posibilidades de
terminación del Complejo de Edipo, pudiendo hablarse de Edipo simple y
completo, positivo y negativo 3 en base a la actividad afectiva hacia el padre y la
madre por parte del niño 5 y esto es debido a la bisexualidad constitucional 3 del
individuo y la disposición triangular del proceso 3.
Nos dice Freud 2, obraremos acertadamente aceptando en general y sobre todo en
los neuróticos, la existencia de un complejo de Edipo completo, es decir tanto el
niño como la niña, aman y rivalizan con el padre y la madre 7.
El Psicoanálisis descubre el ingente papel que desempeña en la vida anímica del
hombre 5 el Complejo de Edipo, ya que es la correlación psíquica de dos hechos
biológicos fundamentales:
a) de la prolongada dependencia infantil de los hombres.
b) de la peculiar y singular forma en que su vida sexual alcanza a cierta edad
(2—6 anos) una primera culminación, pasando luego por un periodo de latencia
que se renueva en la pubertad. 8
Fernández Del Ganso, Carlos (2001) Psicoanálisis para médicos.
Madrid: Editorial Grupo Cero: Colección Extensión Universitaria. (p.53)
1. Not defined
2. Confuses theory with facts. “Nos dice Freud” – half way through the text implies
that everything that gone before is factual whereas, in fact, it is a theory. (Notice
the TITLE of Schaffer’s text!)
3. Not explained.
4. Vague concept: Sounds to a non-specialist as if the child is really castrated. One
sentence paragraphs, of which there are several in this passage, allow for no
explanation or development of ideas.
5. Over-generalized concept. Does this include girls?
6. Reference is vague. Where does Freud say this?
7. Vague concept: Which parent does each sex compete with? Same -sex parent?
Opposite – sex parent? Both parents?
8. Partial repetition of the second sentence.
Note: It is impossible to make a diagram of this text
92
Translation from Spanish to English
Summary of the features of the two texts
Schaffer
Typical of most American authors
1. Reader-centred prose
Fernández Del Ganso
Typical of many Spanish authors
1. Writer-centred prose
•
Takes the reader into consideration –
this is a text for psychology students
who may know NOTHING about
psychoanalysis.
•
Does NOT take the reader into
consideration – this is a text for medical
doctors who may know NOTHING
about psychoanalysis.
•
Writer’s attitude: “I will help you to
understand”
•
Writer’s attitude: “If you don’t
understand, that is YOUR problem”
•
Defines and explains difficult concepts.
Avoids unnecessary jargon.
•
Concepts are often vague (“causa
estructural”, etc.). Uses jargon without
defining it.
•
Contrasts ideas to make them absolutely
clear (see diagram below)
•
Vagueness → confusion (parents of
different sexes; boys & girls; normal
people & neurotics; types of Oedipus
complex)
2. Linear structure
2. Digressive structure.
•
•
Hierarchy of ideas (see diagram below)
Develops ideas
•
•
•
Chronological order at paragraph level
•
•
Says things once
•
Easily transformed into study notes
3. Emphasis on logic and evidence
•
•
•
Use of questions to highlight difficulties
(¿por qué desarrolla la niña una
preferencia por el papel femenino?) and
logical connectors (y, por
tanto,…Entonces) to make reasoning
explicit.
Distinguishes theory and fact
Recognizes alternative explanations (i.e.
for Electra complex)
4. Easy to translate
•
•
Jumps from one idea to another
Each paragraph consists of ONE
sentence
Chronological order at sentence level
only
Semi-repetition – it is not clear when he
is saying something new and when he is
repeating an idea.
Difficult to summarize
3. Emphasis on authority
•
One-sentence paragraphs; few
connectors between sentences
•
•
Confuses theory and fact
Dogmatic – no alternative explanations
are offered
4. Cannot be translated without more
background knowledge
93
Translation from Spanish to English
Restructuring and Explicating the Text
Task 10.2: Read the ST again and number the corresponding segments of the TT. Then
analyse the structure of each paragraph of the TT and the relationship between the two
paragraphs. What additional information has been added?
Complejo de Edipo y Operación de Castración
(1) El complejo de Edipo es el fenómeno central
de la organización sexual infantil y por ello (2)
el fenómeno decisivo en la constitución del
sujeto. (3) Este fenómeno sucumbe a la
represión, dando paso a un periodo de latencia
que culmina en la pubertad.
(4) La Castración es la causa estructural
determinante para el desencadenamiento de la
represión.
(5) La historia individual va a marcar y
caracterizar diferentes posibilidades de
terminación del Complejo de Edipo, pudiendo
hablarse de Edipo simple y completo, positivo y
negativo en base a la actividad afectiva hacia el
padre y la madre por parte del niño (6) y esto es
debido a la bisexualidad constitucional del
individuo y la disposición triangular del proceso.
(7) Nos dice Freud, obraremos acertadamente
aceptando en general y sobre todo en los
neuróticos, la existencia de un complejo de
Edipo completo, es decir (8) tanto el niño como
la niña, aman y rivalizan con el padre y la madre.
(9) El Psicoanálisis descubre (10) el ingente
papel que desempeña en la vida anímica del
hombre el Complejo de Edipo, ya que es (11) la
correlación psíquica de dos hechos biológicos
fundamentales:
a) de la prolongada dependencia infantil de los
hombres.
b) de la peculiar y singular forma en que su vida
sexual alcanza a cierta edad (2—6 anos) una
primera culminación, (12) pasando luego por un
periodo de latencia que se renueva en la
pubertad.
The Oedipus Complex and the Results of
Castration Anxiety
( ) The development of the human psyche is
conditioned by two fundamental biological facts:
a) the extended period of childhood and infantile
dependency in the human species; and b) the
emergence of sexual feelings between the age of
two and six years. ( ) Psychoanalysis shows that
( ) although both boys and girls are
constitutionally bisexual, ( ) the Oedipus
complex plays a decisive role in the central
phenomenon of infantile sexual organization. ( )
The resolution of the Oedipus complex, which
can be simple, complete, positive or negative,
depending on the nature of the child’s triangular
relationship with its father and mother, also
determines ( ) the structure of adult personality.
However, ( ) according to Freud, it can be
assumed that in most people -including the
majority of neurotics – ( ) adult personality is
the result of a complete Oedipus complex. This
complex is twofold, positive and negative, ( )
and is due to the bisexuality originally present in
children: ( ) that is to say, a boy has not merely
an ambivalent attitude towards his father and an
affectionate attitude towards his mother, but at
the same time behaves like a girl and displays an
affectionate feminine attitude to his father and a
corresponding hostility and jealousy towards his
mother. The same is also true of girls. ( ) The
conflict is resolved when Castration anxiety - the
boy fears losing his penis as a punishment for his
hostility while the girl believes and eventually
accepts that she has lost hers for the same reason
- forces the child to repress its sexual feelings.
( ) This gives way to a period of latency before
sexual feelings reemerge at puberty.
Translation: Douglas Town
94
Translation from Spanish to English
11. Pragmatic functions
Pragmatics: The use of language in social contexts (for example, knowing what to say,
how to say it and when to say it). In linguistics, the study of the choices of language
persons make in social interaction and of the effects of these choices on others (Crystal,
1987).
Speech Acts: the use of language to perform some act. A speech act can be seen in at
least three different ways:
1. Locutionary Act: The act of producing an utterance itself
2. Illocutionary Act: The intended effect of the utterance (also called the
utterance’s “illocutionary force”) Ex.: to persuade, to inform, to deny, to
request, to give permission, to thank, etc.
3. Perlocutionary Act: The actual effect of the utterance on an addressee, the
response it evokes (also called the utterance’s “perlocutionary force”) Ex.:
persuaded, informed, angered, confused, etc. - Or - answered the question,
closed the window, etc.
Speech acts are distinguished primarily by their illocutionary type, such as asserting,
requesting, promising and apologizing, which in turn are distinguished by the type of
attitude expressed. The perlocutionary act is a matter of trying to get the hearer to form
some correlative attitude and in some cases to act in a certain way. For example, a
statement expresses a belief and normally has the further purpose of getting the
addressee form the same belief.
Kent Bach and Michael Harnish * have developed a detailed taxonomy in which each
type of illocutionary act is individuated by the type of attitude expressed. Here are some
examples of each type:
Constatives: affirming, alleging, announcing, answering, attributing, claiming,
classifying, concurring, confirming, conjecturing, denying, disagreeing,
disclosing, disputing, identifying, informing, insisting, predicting, ranking,
reporting, stating, stipulating
Directives: advising, admonishing, asking, begging, dismissing, excusing,
forbidding, instructing, ordering, permitting, requesting, requiring, suggesting,
urging, warning
Commissives: agreeing, guaranteeing, inviting, offering, promising, swearing,
volunteering
Acknowledgments: apologizing, condoling, congratulating, greeting, thanking,
accepting (acknowledging an acknowledgment)
* Bach, K. and R. M. Harnish (1979), Linguistic Commuication and Speech Acts, Cambridge,
Mass.: MIT Press. (Combines elements of Austin's taxonomy and Grice's theory of conversation
into a systematic account of the roles of the speaker's communicative intention and the hearer's
inference in literal, nonliteral and indirect uses of sentences to perform speech acts.)
95
Translation from Spanish to English
Task 11.1 What Commisives can you identify in the text below? What is wrong with
the translation apart from the grammatical and lexical errors?
SPANISH ORIGINAL
Nuevos negocios
LKM se encuentra en la permanente búsqueda de alianzas estratégicas para continuar
con su desarrollo sostenido, tanto en Argentina como en el resto del mundo y
fundamentalmente América Latina.
Nuestro estilo de gestión y nuestro conocimiento de los mercados, nos permite ofrecer
un amplio abanico de posibilidades de negocios.
Estamos siempre dispuestos a escuchar propuestas de asociaciones estratégicas,
representaciones, colaboraciones tanto comerciales como científicas y todo aquello que
nos permita seguir creciendo dentro de mercados amplios o de nicho.
Parte de nuestro éxito se debe a nuestra gran flexibilidad para adaptarnos a cada negocio
y situación particular y a la amplitud de criterio que tenemos para analizar todas las
posibilidades que se presentan a diario.
Estamos abiertos para ofrecer nuestro know how y recibir nuevas propuestas de
negocios y analizar con rapidez la posibilidad de desarrollar los mismos.
"ENGLISH" MIRROR PAGE
New Business
LKM has always been on a permanent search for strategic alliances in order to continue
working on sustained development, both in Argentina and all over the world; most
essentially in Latin America.
Our management style as well as our experience on the markets, enables us to offer a
wide range of business possibilities.
We are always well-disposed to listen to proposals tending to create new strategic
business partnerships, representations, cooperation both commercial and scientific and
everything related to those business issues that allow us to keep on growing up into
broad or niche (recessive) markets.
Our success is partly due to our capacity to adapt ourselves to each particular situation
and our broad course of action and criteria when thinking over all the possibilities
coming up day after day.
Our mind is widely opened not only to offer our "know how" and to listen to new
business proposals, but also to quickly analyze any possibilities of carrying them out.
Do not turn over until you have finished the task
96
Translation from Spanish to English
Task 11.2: Try to correct the parts underlined.
"ENGLISH" MIRROR PAGE VERSION
LKM has always been on a permanent search for strategic alliances in order to
continue working on sustained development, both in Argentina and all over the world;
most essentially in Latin America.
Our management style (1) as well as our experience on the markets, enables us to offer
a wide range of business possibilities.
We are always well-disposed to listen to proposals tending to create new strategic
business partnerships, representations, cooperation both commercial and scientific and
everything related to those business issues that allow us to keep on growing up into
both broad and niche (recessive).
Our success is (1) partly due to our capacity to adapt ourselves to each particular
situation and our broad course of action and criteria when thinking over all the
possibilities coming up day after day (2)
Our mind is widely opened not only to offer our "know how" and to listen to new
business proposals, but also to quickly analyze any possibilities (3) of carrying them out
1. This is meant to persuade.
2. Clarify
3. Is this the last step in the process?
Do not turn over until you have finished the task
97
Translation from Spanish to English
CLEARER VERSION
LKM welcomes strategic alliances in its search for sustained development, both in
Argentina and the rest of the world, especially in Latin America.
Our company structure and commercial experience enable us to offer a wide range of
business opportunities.
We are always pleased to consider proposals for strategic business partnerships,
representations and commercial and scientific cooperation that will allow us to grow in
both broad and niche markets, .
Our success has been partly due to our ability to apply broad criteria and to adapt to new
situations while not losing sight of our long-term objectives.
We are prepared not only to listen to new business proposals with an open mind but also
to analyze their potential quickly and, where appropriate, to offer our "know how".
Task 11.3: Before you continue reading, try to reorder the information above in the
following way:
(a) Pragmatic functions:
Inviting -> offering -> promising -> reassuring
(b) Discourse pattern:
Topic sentence -> development of topic sentence through progressive focusing (i.e.
ideas become more and more specific) -> conclusion
Do not turn over until you have finished the task
98
Translation from Spanish to English
3. SEQUENCING IDEAS AND FUNCTIONS
LKM welcomes strategic alliances in its search for sustained development.
(TOPIC SENTENCE = INVITING)
We are always pleased to consider proposals for strategic business partnerships,
representations, and commercial and scientific cooperation that will allow us to
grow in both broad and niche markets in Argentina and the rest of the
world, especially in Latin America.
(DEVELOPMENT OF EACH CONCEPT = OFFERING)
We are prepared not only to listen to new business proposals with an open mind but
also to analyze them quickly and, where appropriate, to offer our "know how".
(FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THE FIRST CONCEPT = PROMISING)
Our company structure and commercial experience enable us to offer a wide range of
business opportunities. Our success has been partly due to our ability to apply
broad criteria and adapt to new situations while not losing sight of our long-term
objectives.
(CONCLUSION: = REASSURING: GUARANTEEING EFFICIENCY & SUCCESS)
99
Translation from Spanish to English
Task 11.4: An important topic in Pragmatics is politeness. In the extract from a short
story below, Adelinda has invited her niece Sofía and two rather pretentious friends,
doña Zarela and doña Rosalba, to tea with a famous writer. Analyse the way in which
each of the women tries to ‘manage’ the situation through various speech acts. In
which ways is the TT more or less direct and more or less polite than the ST? What
are the functions of the different modal verbs in the TT?
TE LITERARIO
- ¿No te parecería bien poner un poco
de música? — preguntó doña Zarela -.
Algo de Vivaldi, por ejemplo. Yo diría
que sus libros tienen algo de vivaldiano . .
- Dejemos la música para más tarde dijo doña Rosalba -. Será mejor que
veamos qué le podemos preguntar. Yo,
por ejemplo, tengo ya dos o tres cosas
que me interesaría saber. Las tengo aquí,
apuntadas en mi carnet.5
- ¡Ah, no! - protestó Sofía -. ¡Nada
de preguntas! Dejémoslo mejor que
hable, que no se sienta acosado. ¿No
te parece, tía?
- Ya veremos. Podemos
preguntarle algo, claro, pero que no
parezca un interrogatorio.
- Y a propósito, Adelinda, ¿para qué
demonios has invitado a los Noriega? dijo doña Zarela..
- Yo puedo invitar a quien quiera, ¿no?
- Hubieras invitado a los Ganoza, son
gente más fina. Los Noriega son
insoportables, sobre todo él. Se va a
poner a hablar idioteces y seguramente
le va a traer el libro ese que publicó
hace años, para que le dé su opinión y a
lo mejor hasta para que le escriba un
artículo. ¿No publicó un libro Gastón?
- Un libro no, una especie de separata
con un poema épico, algo sobre Túpac
Amaru, me parece - dijo Adelinda.
- Yo estoy de acuerdo con Zarela dijo doña Rosalba -. A los Noriega, ¡zas!
los hubiera borrado. Gastón se pone a
veces pesado, pero ella es una huachafa:7
se da aires de gran señora . . .
- No vamos ahora a empezar a rajar dijo Adelinda -. ¿Me acompañas a la
cocina, Sofía? Y ustedes no se muevan.
A LITERARY TEA PARTY
'Shouldn't we put on some music,
Adelinda?' Doña Zarela asked. 'Perhaps some
Vivaldi. There's something very Vivaldi about
his work.'
'Let's save the music for later,' said Doña
Rosalba. 'What we ought to do now is decide
what we are going to ask him. Now, I've
several things I'd like to find out. I've jotted
them down here in my notebook.'
'Oh no,' Sofía protested. 'No questions for
goodness' sake! Let's just allow him to talk;
we don't want him to feel he's being grilled.
Do we, Auntie?'
'Let's see how it turns out. Of course, we
could always ask him the odd question, but
we don't want it to seem like an
interrogation.'
'By the way, Adelinda,' said Doña Zarela,
'why on earth have you invited the Noriegas?'
'Surely I can invite whoever I like.'
'You should have asked the Ganozas
instead; they're much more comme il faut. The
Noriegas are ghastly people, especially him.
He'll just talk drivel, and I bet he brings along
that book of his he published years ago and
asks Alberto Fontarabia what he thinks of it;
who knows, he might even try to get him to
write something about it. Gastón did publish a
book, didn't he?'
'Not a book, a sort of pamphlet together
with an epic poem; something about Túpac
Amaru, I seem to remember,' replied
Adelinda.
'I agree with Zarela,' said Doña Rosalba,
'you should have struck the Noriegas oíf
your list just like that! Gastón can be a bore,
but as for her, she's so pretentious and puts
on such dreadful airs . . .'
'Let's not start running people down,' said
Adelinda. 'Could you give me a hand in the
100
Translation from Spanish to English
Si tocan la puerta me avisan para hacerlo
pasar.
Adelinda y Sofía entraron a la cocina.
kitchen, Sofía? Don't you move, you two. Just
let me know if he rings so I can let him in.'
Adelinda and Sofía disappeared into the
kitchen.
'I don't know either the Noriegas or the
- Yo no conozco a los Noriega ni a los
Ganozas, but those two out there . . .'
Ganoza, pero este par de señoras ...
'Now, Sofía, don't you start as well. . .
- Por favor, Sofía, no vas a empezar tú
Rosalba is a very cultured woman, she's a
también . . . Rosalba es una mujer muy
member of the Book Circle like me, and she
culta, está abonada al Club del Libro,
never misses a talk at the Alliance Francaise.
como yo, y no sepierde una conferencia
As for Zarela, well, she may not be all that
en la Alianza Francesa. Y Zarela no será
bright, but. . .'
muy inteligente, pero . . .
'I know, you're going to tell me that they're
- Ya sé, me dirás que son amigas del
your old school-friends or something, but
colegio o qué sé yo, pero a Alberto
Alberto Fontarabia will think he's ended up in
Fontarabia le va a parecer entrar a un
some sort of museum . . . You, though, Auntie
museo. . . Tú en cambio, ¿te lo puedo
... I hope you don't mind my saying so, but you
decir? estás guapísima. . . Es el peinado,
tal vez, y además tu vestido . . . Dime, tía, look wonderful . . . It must be your hair-do,
¿dónde conociste a Fontarabia? Porque él and that dress . . . Where did you meet
Fontarabia, Auntie? Because he's a lot younger
es mucho menor . . .
'You have a look at the sandwiches to check
- Por favor, mira si los sánduches no se
they haven't dried out, and FU see if the
han secado. Yo voy a ver si el queque ya
sponge is ready yet.'
está.
'Is that what you're going to give him for
- ¿Esto es lo que vas a servir?
tea?'
'Herminia has gone out to get some cakes as
- Herminia ha ido por unos pasteles. . .
¿Decías? Sí, Alberto es mucho más joven, well . . . What were you saying? Oh yes, of
course, Alberto is a lot younger than me. I
claro. Yo lo conocí cuando era un niño.
knew him when he was just a child. I was
Yo estaba casada con Boby, éramos
married to Bobby and we were neighbours of
vecinos de los Fontarabia. Luego nos
the Fontarabias. Then we moved away, Bobby
mudamos. Boby murió, Alberto se fue a
died, Alberto went to Europe, and I didn't see
Europa y lo dejé de ver durante años .. .
Hasta que en uno de sus viajes a Lima dio him for years . . . Until he gave a lecture on
una conferencia y fui a verlo. Al final me one of his trips back to Lima and I went along.
Afterwards I went up to talk to him; he was
acerqué a él, estuvo muy cariñoso, me
very sweet and signed one of his books for me.
dedicó uno de sus libros. Hasta ahora me
I can still remember what he wrote: "To my
acuerdo de lo que puso: 'Para Adelinda,
unforgettable neighbour Adelinda." '
mi inolvidable vecina'.
'Is the sponge ready? Well, let's go back into
- ¿El queque ya está? Vamos entonces a la
the
living-room, then. We don't want
sala. No vaya a ser que llegue el escritor y
Fontarabia to arrive and for his "unforgettable
no lo reciba su 'inolvidable vecina'.
neighbour" not to be there to greet him.'
- Espera. Quería preguntarte algo. ¿Crees
Just a moment. I wanted to ask you something.
que puedo enseñarle mis poemas?
Do you think I should ask him to have a look at
my poems?'
'Of course, Auntie; they're so beautiful!
- Pero, claro, tía, ¡si son lindos! Son tan
They're really romantic. I’m sure he'll love
románticos. Estoy segura que le van a
gustar. Sobre todo los dedicados a Boby . . them, Especially the ones about Bobby . . .'
- Pero, ¿qué van a decir Zarela y Rosalba? 'But what will Zarela and Rosalba say?'
'What does that matter? They can say whatever
- ¿Y a ti qué te importa? Ellas pueden
101
Translation from Spanish to English
decir lo que quieran. Lo importante es que
los lea Fontarabia.
- Tienes razón. Ya veré. Pon una servilleta
húmeda sobre los sánduches. Voy a
calentar de una vez el agua para el té.
Apenas regresaron al living, Rosalba las
emparó.
- Hay una cosa que te has olvidado,
Adelinda, tú que prevés todo: ¡una cámara
de fotos! Zarela tiene razón. No nos
vamos a ir de aquí si no tenemos una foto
con el escritor. No me lo perdonaría
nunca.
Juan Ramón Ribeyro: Te literario
they like. The important thing is that
Fontarabia gets to read them.'
'Yes, you're right. Well, FU see. Put a damp
cloth over the sandwiches, and I really will boil
the water for that tea.'
They had no sooner gone back into the livingroom than Rosalba pounced.
'Although you are so organized, Adelinda,
there's something you've forgotten: a camera!
Zarela's right; we can't possibly leave this
house without having a photo taken with the
writer. I’d never forgive myself.
Translation: Clive Griffin
New Penguin Parallel Text
Short Stories in Spanish
102
Translation from Spanish to English
12. Skopos
Task 12.1: According to Roland Freihoff, tourist brochures contain a roughly equal
mix of expressive, informative and operative elements. Read the following extract from
a tourist information leaflet. What expressive or persuasive elements can you find?
What would you change – if anything – to make the text more interesting for a foreign
tourist? Do not look at the English translation below until you have finished the task.
*************************
Córdoba
La provincia de Córdoba está situada en el centro del territorio continental de la
República Argentina. Ocupa el quinto lugar por extensión entre los 23 estados
provinciales, con una superficie de 168.854 km2; y el tercero en población, con
2.915.336 habitantes. La ciudad de Córdoba, capital de la provincia, es la segunda del
país, con 1.233.886 personas.
La provincia se caracteriza por poseer dos grandes regiones territoriales. Una, es una
dilatada región montañosa compuesta por tres cordones, espacio que da origen a una
zona turística de 60.000 km2, que se extiende como un abanico, con centro en la ciudad
de Córdoba, hacia el norte, el oeste y el sur. La otra, presenta el aspecto de una gran
llanura, cuyas planicies se dedican a la agricultura y a la ganadería.
Su economía básica -de muy buen nivel- se sustenta en las explotaciones agropecuarias,
en el turismo y en un avanzado desarrollo industrial, minero y comercial. Existen
además numerosas actividades económicas, que por su aporte, le permiten ocupar un
significativo lugar de la economía nacional, por lo que Córdoba se alinea como la
segunda provincia en la generación de la renta nacional
*************************
Task 12.2: Now compare the original with the English translation below. Are the
additions and omissions justified in your opinion?
*************************
103
Translation from Spanish to English
Córdoba
Cordoba
La provincia de Córdoba está situada en
el centro del territorio continental de la
República Argentina. Ocupa el quinto
lugar por extensión entre los 23 estados
provinciales, con una superficie de
168.854 km2; y el tercero en población,
con 2.915.336 habitantes. La ciudad de
Córdoba, capital de la provincia, es la
segunda del país, con 1.233.886
personas.
Situated in the heartland of Argentina,
Cordoba has an area of 168.854 square
kilometres and a population of 2.915.336.
Of the country’s 23 federal states, or
provinces as they are known, it is the fifth
in size and the third in number of
inhabitants. The capital of the province
bears the same name and is Argentina’s
second biggest city with 1.233.886
inhabitants.
La provincia se caracteriza por poseer dos
grandes regiones territoriales. Una, es una
dilatada región montañosa compuesta por
tres cordones, espacio que da origen a una
zona turística de 60.000 km2, que se
extiende como un abanico, con centro en
la ciudad de Córdoba, hacia el norte, el
oeste y el sur. La otra, presenta el aspecto
de una gran llanura, cuyas planicies se
dedican a la agricultura y a la ganadería.
The province is divided into two large and
distinctive regions. The first of these is
made up of three long mountain ranges
stretching north, west and south from the
city of Cordoba to form a huge holiday
resort area of some 60.000 Km. The
second, extending eastwards, is a vast
fertile prairie devoted to agriculture and
cattle raising. Tourism and farming
together with a variety of modern
industrial,
mining
and
commercial
Su economía básica -de muy buen nivel- activities make Cordoba the second richest
se sustenta en las explotaciones province in terms of GDP.
agropecuarias, en el turismo y en un
avanzado desarrollo industrial, minero y
145 words
comercial. Existen además numerosas
Translation: Douglas Town
actividades económicas, que por su
aporte,
le
permiten
ocupar
un
significativo lugar de la economía
nacional, por lo que Córdoba se alinea
como la segunda provincia en la
generación de la renta nacional
191 palabras
*************************
Task 12.3: What expressive or persuasive elements can you find in the following
tourist brochure? How are these elements emphasized in the translation?
*************************
104
Translation from Spanish to English
Hotel y Complejo Paihuen
EL COMPLEJO
Paihuen - Villa de Montaña es un Complejo
vacacional ubicado a 4 km. de San Martín
de los Andes, sobre la ruta de los 7 lagos.
Cuenta con 33 cabañas de piedra y madera,
su restaurant y club house Caleuche, un
Wine Bar y La Aldea, una agencia de
turismo propia, exclusiva para sus
huéspedes. Todo ello distribuido en 3,5
hectárteas de un añejo bosque de robles, con
vista franca al lago Lácar y en el corazón
del Parque Nacional Lanín.
Paihuen está sumando y desarrollando
nuevos espacios y servicios más allá de la
hotelería tradicional, enmarcados en el
espacio del arte y la gastronomía y
orientados a satisfacer y sorprender a sus
huéspedes: ciclos de conciertos de música
de cámara, muestras permanentes de
pintura, bodegas invitadas, menú de 4
pasos,
degustaciones
de
vinos
seleccionados, son algunas de las
propuestas.
Paihuen Hotel Resort
THE RESORT
Spread over eight and a half acres of ancient
oak forest in the heart of Lanín National
Park and overlooking the magnificent Lácar
lake, the holiday resort of Paihuen – Villa
de Montaña lies on the Seven Lakes route
only two and a half miles from San Martín
de los Andes. The resort, which features 33
stone and wood cabins, the Caleuche
restaurant and club house, a wine bar and
La Aldea, an exclusive tourist agency for
guests, offers a unique range of activities
focusing on art and gastronomy. Cycles of
chamber music, permanent exhibitions of
paintings, presentations by leading wineries,
tasting of selected wines and a four-course
gourmet dining experience are just a few of
the activities that Paihuen has designed to
surprise and satisfy its guests.
Each year since 1994 Paihuen has been
distinguished with the Gold Crown Resort
award,
the
maximum
international
distinction granted by RCI, the biggest
vacation exchange company worldwide.
This distinction emphasizes the high quality
of all the services provided and is based on
surveys among guests who have stayed at
our Resort.
Desde 1994, cada año Paihuen ha sido
distinguido como Complejo Gold Crown,
máxima distinción internacional otorgada
por RCI, la cadena de intercambios más
grande del mundo. Esta mención destaca la
calidad de servicio en todas sus prestaciones CABINS
y se basa en encuestas dirigidas a los
huéspedes que se han alojado en el Paihuen offers accommodation in 33 stone
and wood cabins, all of which have large
Complejo.
panoramic windows and are designed to
strike a perfect balance between comfort
CABAÑAS
and rustic simplicity. All the traditional
Paihuen cuenta con 33 cabañas de piedra, hotel services are provided to guarantee the
madera y grandes ventanales; todas ellas well-being of those who wish to enjoy the
fueron pensadas con el equilibrio justo para good life in the midst of the forest,
brindar confort en un ambiente rústico. including a daily housekeeping service, a
Ofrece todos los servicios de la hotelería sauna, a tennis court, an outdoor swimming
tradicional, para garantizar el bienestar de pool (in summer), a Jacuzzi and airport
quienes deciden disfrutar de la buena vida transfers.
en medio del bosque: servicio de mucamas
diario, sauna, cancha de tenis, piscina
Translation: Douglas Town
(verano), jacuzzi y traslados al aeropuerto.
105
Translation from Spanish to English
Task 12.4: André Lefèvere (in Bassnett-McGuire, 1980: 81-82) noted seven methods
adopted by English translators in translating Catullus's poems:
1. Literal translation - or word-for-word translation. This method results in unnatural
phrase and sentence structures.
2. Verse-to-prose translation – produces the most accurate versions but beauty is lost.
3. Free verse translation can produce accurate equivalents in the TL but rhyme and
meter tend to be ignored.
4. Phonemic translation - attempts to transfer the original sounds but some meaning is
lost.
5. Metrical translation - attempts to transfer the original meter. However, each
language has its own prosodic system and this method distorts meaning and
structure.
6. Rhymed translation is physically appropriate but tends to be semantically
inappropriate.
7. Interpretation has two types: version and imitation. A version of a poem in the TL
will be exactly the same semantically, but quite different physically. An imitation is
a different poem with the same title, topic, and starting point as the original poem.
Below is a translation of the song “Peter Pan” by the Spanish group El Canto Del Loco.
The translation was commissioned by a young Spanish musician that has no problems in
understanding the original lyrics but wanted a “singable" version of this song in
English. This was her skopos or commission. The notes beneath the text are my original
feedback to the client.
Bearing in mind that none of the methods that Lafevere mentions is perfect, what is the
trade-off between sounds, rhyme, meter, structure and meaning? Are any parts of the
translation clearer or more obscure than the original? Is the TT a version or an
imitation?
Peter Pan
Peter Pan
Un día llega a mí la calma
Mi Peter Pan hoy amenaza
Aquí hay poco que hacer
Me siento como en otra plaza
En la de estar solito en casa
Será culpa de tu piel
Será que me habré hecho mayor
Que algo nuevo ha tocado este botón
Para que Peter se largue
Y tal vez viva ahora mejor
Más a gusto y mas tranquilo en mi interior
Que Campanilla te cuide y te guarde
A veces gritas desde el cielo
Queriendo destrozar mi calma
Vas persiguiendo como un trueno
Para darme ese relámpago azul
One day maybe I won’t care
If my Peter Pan’s no longer there
Today there’s not much I can do
I feel as if I’d come home
As if I will never be alone
Could it be because I’m touching you? (1)
Could it be that now I am a man
That something new already began
And Peter Pan and I are through? (2)
Maybe I’ll have a better life
If my mind can leave behind this strife (3)
Hope Tinker will protect and look after you.
Sometimes you call to me from the sky
Trying to destroy my peace of mind
Like a great storm cloud behind me you fly (4)
And with a flash of blue lightning leave me
blind
106
Translation from Spanish to English
Ahora me gritas desde el cielo
Pero te encuentras con mi alma
Conmigo ya no intentes nada
Parece que el amor me calma, me calma
Now I hear you calling me again
But this time I answer from my soul
Don’t try it – you no longer cause me pain
It seems that love at last has calmed me and
I’m whole
Si te llevas mi niñez, llévate la parte que
me sobra a mí
Si te marchas, viviré con la paz que
necesito
Y tanto ansié
If you take my childhood now, take away the
part that used to make me bleed
If you leave now, I will have the peace of mind
I really need
And longed to find
Mas un buen día junto a mí
Parecía que quería quedarse aquí
No había manera de echarle
Si Peter no se quiere ir
La soledad después querrá vivir en mí
La vida tiene sus fases, sus fases
For not so very long ago
It seemed there was no way he’d ever go
I thought I’d be forever in his bind
If Peter doesn’t want to leave
Loneliness will return again and make me
grieve
Life goes through stages, through stages of this
kind
A veces gritas desde el cielo
Queriendo destrozar mi calma
Vas persiguiendo como un trueno
Para darme ese relámpago azul
Sometimes you call to me from the sky
Trying to destroy my peace of mind
Like a great storm cloud behind me you fly
And with a flash of blue lightning leave me
blind
Ahora me gritas desde el cielo
Pero te encuentras con mi alma
Conmigo ya no intentes nada
Parece que el amor me calma
Now I hear you calling me again
But this time I answer from my soul
Don’t try it – you no longer cause me pain
It seems that love at last has calmed me and
I’m whole
A veces gritas desde el cielo
Queriendo destrozar mi calma
Vas persiguiendo como un trueno
Para darme ese relámpago azul
Sometimes you call to me from the sky
Trying to destroy my peace of mind
Like a great storm cloud behind me you fly
And with a flash of blue lightning leave me
blind
Ahora me gritas desde el cielo
Pero te encuentras con mi alma
Conmigo ya no intentes nada
Parece que el amor me calma, me calma
Now I hear you calling me again
But this time I answer from my soul
Don’t try it – you no longer cause me pain
It seems that love at last has calmed me and
I’m whole
107
Translation from Spanish to English
Cuando te marches creceré
Recorriendo tantas partes que olvidé
Y hubo mi tiempo ya lo ves
Tengo paz y es el momento de crecer
Si te marchas viviré
Con la paz que necesito y tanto ansié
When you leave then I will grow
Exploring parts of me I have ceased to know
Parts of me forgotten long ago
I am in peace and now is the time to grow
If you leave now, I will have the peace of mind
I really need and longed to find
Espero que no vuelva más
Que se quede tranquilito como está
Que él ya tuvo bastante
Fue tiempo para no olvidar
La zona mala quiere ahora descansar
Que campanilla te cuide... y te guarde
I hope he’ll go and not return
Now is my time to live in peace and learn
He’s already had his turn
It was a time to remember
But now the bad part’s just a dying ember (5)
Hope Tinker will protect and look after you
Translation: Douglas Town
(1) “Tu piel” es un tópico en español, que no funciona en inglés. ¡Una traducción literal
daría a entender que la ha despellejado!
(2) Literalmente: “Y Peter Pan y yo hemos acabado”. Hago este cambio – igual que
“I’m touching you” - sobre todo por la rima: “do - you – through” pero creo que no
cambia mucho el sentido.
(3) “Strife” significa lucha o conflicto. Cambio la idea para guardar la rima y porque
“happier and more at peace with myself” resultaría algo lerdo.
(4) Agrego “great” para conservar el mismo número de sílabas”. En inglés los truenos
no “dan” relámpagos, sino que los acompañan.
(5) Lo de ember (rescoldo, brasa – algo que se apaga) se aparta un poco del originalpero no se me ocurre otra imagen (o rima) mejor.
*************************
108
Translation from Spanish to English
Task 12.5: In the following example, part of an academic paper has been re-written
as a charity appeal. Analyze the differences in purpose, audience and register. How do
these affect the information that is foregrounded and backgrounded and the writer’s
attitude towards the people in each case?
Integrated Natural Resource
Management: an Option for Improving
the Livelihood of Farmers
Proper management of natural resources is
the basis for improving the livelihood of
human beings. Currently, human beings
either do not understand that natural
resources should be utilized appropriately
or ignore their importance and prioritize
daily profit earning that causes the
degradation of natural resources.
Farmers in Tilili, Gojjam region of
Ethiopia have the first type of problem in
that they do not understand that natural
resource degradation is affecting their
lives. Because of high population growth,
the size of the land per family is
decreasing; deforestation for fuel wood
and crop cultivation purposes is
increasing, resulting in high soil erosion,
reduced biodiversity and low productivity.
As a result, farmers are nowadays facing a
food security problem. Youngsters are
migrating to other places to search for job
opportunities.
Therefore, an integrated natural resource
management approach (inclusion of
temperate fruit trees, improved varieties of
field crops, improved cattle breeding for
dairy farm management, reforestation and
soil erosion control measures) is the best
alternative option for sustaining farmers in
the Tilili area by improving the natural
resource base and ensuring food security.
The Problem in Ethiopia and Why It is
Urgent
Life in Tilili, Gojjam, was never easy for
smallholder farm families. Even in good
years, it required the dawn-to-dusk work
of all members of the family - fathers,
mothers, children, grandparents - to fill
everyone's stomachs year round. But now
conditions are worsening day by day.
Because of the high population growth,
farm sizes are shrinking, as are the
surrounding forests, since families need
the wood for cooking and fanning. This in
turn has increased soil erosion and
diminished biodiversity - so now the
smaller farms are also producing less per
hectare. People in the area have lost their
food security, and young people are
leaving to find work elsewhere, and to
send home remittances. The Tilili
smallholder faming sector is in crisis.
To address peoples' chronic hunger, and to
retain the farm families livelihoods, this
project proposes to introduce temperate
fruit tree cultivation, which will add a new
source of both food and income and to
encourage farmers to grow improved
varieties of field crops. Each family will
have access to improved cattle breeds to
keep for dairy products. At the regional
level, the project will work with the
community to implement various soil
erosion
control
measures
through
reforestation. The entire project will be
implemented using an integrated natural
resources management approach.
Rewrite: Douglas Town
109
Translation from Spanish to English
*************************
Task 12.6: Graded readers are a familiar type of intralingual translation for many
EFL learners. What criteria were used (1) to abridge and (2) to simplify the book
chapter below?
*************************
A Brief
History
of
George
Smiley
When Lady Ann
Sercomb married
George Smiley
towards the end
of the war she
described him to
her
astonished
Mayfair friends
as breathtakingly
ordinary. When
she left him two
years later in
favour
of
a
Cuban
motor
racing driver, she
announced
enigmatically
that if she hadn't
left him then, she
never could have
done;
and
Viscount Sawley
made a special
journey to his
club to observe
that the cat was
out of the bag.
A short history of George Smiley
When Lady Ann Sercomb married George Smiley, towards the end of the
Second World War, she told her fashionable friends that he was "so ordinary
that it was impossible to believe it". ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Short, fat and quiet, Smiley, in his expensive, badly-made clothes which were
always too big for him, looked like the frog in a fairy story who is waiting for
the kiss of a beautiful princess. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When she left him, two years later, and went to live with a Cuban racing driver,
she told her friends that if she hadn't left him then, she never would have been
able to; she admitted to herself that if she could have only one man in her life,
that man would be Smiley, and she was glad, now, that she had shown this by
marrying him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------This
remark, ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------which enjoyed a When she left him, a part of Smiley died for ever.
brief season as a
mot, can only be
understood
by
those who knew
110
Translation from Spanish to English
Smiley. Short, fat
and of a quiet
disposition,
he
appeared
to
spend a lot of
money on really
bad
clothes,
which
hung
about his squat
frame like skin
on a shrunken
toad. Sawley, in
fact, declared at
the wedding that
"Sercomb
was
mated
to
a
bullfrog in a
sou'wester." And
Smiley, unaware
of
this
description, had
waddled down
the
aisle
in
search of the kiss
that would turn
him into a Prince.
The part of him that remained alive was his profession, which was that of
Intelligence officer. He enjoyed it; he liked both the people he worked with and
the opportunity to explore the mysteries of human behaviour.
When he had been a student at Oxford, he had dreamed of staying there, and
working on seventeenth-century German poets. But one of his university
teachers, who knew him better, persuaded him to ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------apply for a job with
an organisation he had never heard of. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Gradually it became clear that they were
offering him a job in the British Intelligence Service. He asked for time to think.
No one mentioned money.
Was he rich or
poor, peasant or
priest?
Where
had she got him
from?
The
incongruity
of
the match was
emphasised by
Lady
Ann's
undoubted
beauty,
its
mystery
stimulated by the
disproportion
between the man
and his bride. But
gossip must see
its characters in
black and white,
equip them with
sins and motives
easily conveyed His first job, after his training courses, was pleasant; in Germany for two years,
in the shorthand teaching English at a university. --------------------------------------------------------111
Translation from Spanish to English
of conversation.
And so Smiley,
without school,
parents, regiment
or trade, without
wealth
or
poverty, travelled
without labels in
the guard's van of
the
social
express, and soon
became
lost
luggage,
destined, when
the divorce had
come and gone,
to
remain
unclaimed on the
dusty shelf of
yesterday's news.
When Lady Ann
followed her star
to Cuba, she gave
some thought to
Smiley.
With
grudging
admiration she
admitted
to
herself that if
there were an
only man in her
life,
Smiley
would be he. She
was gratified in
retrospect
that
she
had
demonstrated this
by
holy
matrimony.
The effect of
Lady
Ann's
departure upon
her
former
husband did not
interest society
which indeed is
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Each summer he brought
some of his German students back to England, having already sent secret
messages to say which he thought were most likely to agree to work as agents
for the British Intelligence Service. He never knew whether these students
became agents, or whether they were ever asked to. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------He had never found it easy to come close to
others; now he kept them more than ever at a distance.
There was a terrible night in 1937 when Smiley stood at his window and
watched hundreds of students throw their books into the great fire they had
made in the courtyard below. He saw the cruel laughter on their faces. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- and hated them, glad that he knew his enemies.
In 1939 he was in Sweden as the agent for a Swiss arms manufacturer, -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------and he spent the next four years travelling between Switzerland, Germany
112
Translation from Spanish to English
unconcerned
with
the
aftermath
of
sensation. Yet it
would
be
interesting
to
know
what
Sawley and his
flock might have
made of Smiley's
reactíon; of that
fleshy,
bespectacled face
puckered
in
energetic
concentration as
he read so deeply
among the lesser
German
poets,
the chubby wet
hands clenched
beneath
the
tumbling sleeves.
But
Sawley
profited by the
occasion with the
merest of shrugs
by
remarking
partir c'est courir
une peu, and he
appeared to be
unaware
that
though Lady Ann
just ran away, a
little of George
Smiley
had
indeed died.
That part of
Smiley
which
survived was as
incongruous to
his appearance as
love, or a taste
for unrecognised
poets: it was his
profession, which
was
that
of
intelligence
officer. It was a
and Sweden. He had never known that it was possible to be afraid for so long; ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------new lines appeared on his face. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------In time his network of spies grew. In 1943 he was
sent back to England from Sweden. In less than six months he wanted more than
anything else to return, but they would not let him go.
"You're finished as an agent," said Steed-Asprey, the head of his department.
"Train new men, have a holiday. Get married, or something." Smiley asked
Steed-Asprey's secretary, Lady Ann Sercomb, to marry him.
The war was over. They paid him and dismissed him, and he went to live in
Oxford with his beautiful wife, to do some work on seventeenth-century
German poets. But two years later Lady Ann was in Cuba with her racing
driver, and secret information given by a young employee of the Russian
Embassy in Ottawa meant that men with Smiley's experience were needed
again.
The job was new, and the information was mysterious enough to be interesting.
But younger men were entering the Intelligence Service. It became clear to
Smiley that he was never going to be given a more important job, that he had
been put to one side and forgotten. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Only Maston remained, and
Maston was different.
Maston had joined the Intelligence Service during the Second World War. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------He had expensive suits and silver ties and a smooth manner; ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------he increased his power politely and moved apologetically to even larger offices
and made sure that all the praise for the successes of his department went to him
alone.
The men in power then liked him because he came from the same world as they
did; they liked to deal with a man who could reduce all colours to grey, who
showed that he felt that the people he had to deal with, and the things he had to
do, were really rather low-class.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
113
Translation from Spanish to English
profession
he ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------enjoyed,
and ------------------------------------------------------------------- Officially, he was the
which mercifully Ministers' Adviser on Intelligence.
provided
him
with colleagues
equally obscure
in character and
origin. It also
provided
him
with what he had
once loved best
in life: academic
excursions into
the mystery of
human
behaviour,
disciplined by the
practical
application of his
own deductions.
Some time in the
twenties
when
And that is why George Smiley was sitting in the back of a London taxi at two
Smiley
had
o'clock on the morning of Wednesday, January 4th, on his way to Cambridge
emerged from his
Circus.
unimpressive
school
and
Abridged and simplified by Gwenyth Roberts, Longman 1979.
lumbered
blinking into the
murky cloisters
of
his
unimpressive
Oxford College,
he had dreamed
of Fellowships
and
a
life
devoted to the
literary
obscurities
of
seventeenthcentury
Germany. But his
own tutor, who
knew
Smiley
better,
guided
him wisely away
from the honours
that
would
undoubtedly
have been his.
114
Translation from Spanish to English
On a sweet July
morning in 1928,
a puzzled and
rather
pink
Smiley had sat
before
an
interviewing
board of the
Overseas
Committee for
Academic
Research,
an
organisation of
which he had
unaccountably
never
heard.
Jebedee
(his
tutor) had been
oddly
vague
about
the
introduction:
"Give
these
people a try,
Smiley,
they
might have you
and they pay
badly enough to
guarantee
you
decent
company." But
Smiley
was
annoyed and said
so. It worried
him that Jebedee,
usually
so
precise, was so
evasive. In a
slight huff he
agreed
to
postpone
his
reply to All Souls
until he had seen
Jebedee's
"mysterious
people."
He
wasn't
introduced to the
Board, but he
knew half of its
115
Translation from Spanish to English
members
by
sight. There was
Fielding,
the
French
mediaevalist
from Cambridge,
Sparke from the
School
of
Oriental
Languages, and
Steed-Asprey
who had been
dining at High
Table the night
Smiley had been
Jebedee's guest.
He had to admit
he
was
impressed. For
Fielding to leave
his rooms, let
alone Cambridge,
was in itself a
miracle.
Afterwards
Smiley always
thought of that
interview as a fan
dance;
a
calculated
progression
of
disclosures, each
revealing
different parts of
a
mysterious
entity.
Finally
Steed-Asprey,
who seemed to
be
Chairman,
removed the last
veil, and the truth
stood before him
in all its dazzling
nakedness.
He
was
being
offered a post in
what, for want of
a better name,
Steed-Asprey
blushingly
116
Translation from Spanish to English
described as the
Secret Service.
Smiley had asked
for time to think.
They gave him a
week. No one
mentioned
money.
That night he
stayed in London
at
somewhere
rather good and
took himself to
the theatre. He
felt
strangely
light-headed and
this worried him.
He knew very
well that he
would accept that
he could have
done so at the
interview. It was
only
an
instinctive
caution,
and
perhaps
a
pardonable desire
to
play
the
coquette
with
Fielding, which
prevented
him
from doing so.
Following
his
affirmation came
training:
anonymous
country houses,
anonymous
instructors,
a
good deal of
travel
and,
looming
ever
larger,
the
fantastic prospect
of
working
117
Translation from Spanish to English
completely alone.
His
first
operational
posting
was
relatively
pleasant: a twoyear appointment
as
"englischer
Dozent" at a
provincial
German
University:
lectures on Keats
and vacations in
Bavarian hunting
lodges
with
groups of earnest
and
solemnly
promiscuous
German students.
Towards the end
of each long
vacation
he
brought some of
them back to
England, having
already
earmarked
the
likely ones and
conveyed
his
recommendations
by
clandestine
means to an
address in Bonn;
during the entire
two years he had
no
idea
of
whether
his
recommendations
had
been
accepted
or
ignored. He had
no means of
knowing
even
whether
his
candidates were
approached.
Indeed he had no
means
of
118
Translation from Spanish to English
knowing whether
his
messages
ever
reached
their destination;
and he had no
contact with the
Department
while in England.
His emotions in
performing this
work
were
mixed,
and
irreconcilable. It
intrigued him to
evaluate from a
detached position
what he had
learnt to describe
as "the agent
potential" of a
human being; to
devise minuscule
tests of character
and
behaviour
which
could
inform him of the
qualities of a
candidate. This
part of him was
bloodless
and
inhuman—
Smiley in this
role was the
international
mercenary of his
trade, amoral and
without motive
beyond that of
personal
gratification.
Conversely
it
saddened him to
witness
in
himself
the
gradual death of
natural pleasure.
Always
withdrawn,
he
119
Translation from Spanish to English
now
found
himself shrinking
from
the
temptations
of
friendship
and
human loyalty;
he
guarded
himself
warily
from
spontaneous
reaction. By the
strength of his
intellect,
he
forced himself to
observe
humanity
with
clinical
objectivity, and
because he was
neither immortal
nor infallible he
hated and feared
the falseness of
his life.
But Smiley was a
sentimental man
and the long
exile
strengthened his
deep love of
England. He fed
hungrily
on
memories
of
Oxford;
its
beauty,
its
rational ease and
the
mature
slowness of its
judgements. He
dreamt
of
windswept
autumn holidays
at
Hartland
Quay, of long
trudges over the
Cornish
cliffs,
his face smooth
120
Translation from Spanish to English
and hot against
the sea wind.
This was his
other secret life,
and he grew to
hate the bawdy
intrusion of the
new Germany,
the stamping and
shouting
of
uniformed
students,
the
scarred, arrogant
faces and their
cheapjack
answers.
He
resented, too, the
way in which the
Faculty
had
tampered
with
his subject—his
beloved German
literature.
And
there had been a
night, a terrible
night
in
the
winter of 1937
when Smiley had
stood
at
his
window
and
watched a great
bonfire in the
university court:
round it stood
hundreds
of
students,
their
faces
exultant
and glistening in
the dancing light.
And into the
pagan fire they
threw books in
their hundreds.
He knew whose
books they were:
Thomas Mann,
Heine, Lessing
and a host of
others.
And
Smiley, his damp
121
Translation from Spanish to English
hand
cupped
round the end of
his
cigarette,
watching
and
hating, triumphed
that he knew his
enemy.
Nineteen thirtynine saw him in
Sweden,
the
accredited agent
of a well-known
Swiss small-arms
manufacturer, his
association with
the
firm
conveniently
backdated.
Conveniently,
too,
his
appearance had
somehow altered,
for Smiley had
discovered
in
himself a talent
for
the
part
which
went
beyond
the
rudimentary
change to his hair
and the addition
of
a
small
moustache. For
four years he had
played the part,
travelling back
and
forth
between
Switzerland,
Germany
and
Sweden. He had
never guessed it
was possible to
be frightened for
so
long.
He
developed
a
nervous irritation
in his left eye
which remained
122
Translation from Spanish to English
with him fifteen
years later; the
strain
etched
lines
on
his
fleshy cheeks and
brow. He learnt
what it was never
to sleep, never to
relax, to feel at
any time of day
or night
the
restless beating
of his own heart,
to know the
extremes
of
solitude and selfpity, the sudden
unreasoning
desire
for
a
woman,
for
drink,
for
exercise, for any
drug to take
away the tension
of his life.
Against
this
background he
conducted
his
authentic
commerce
and
his work as a
spy. With the
progress of time
the
network
grew, and other
countries
repaired
their
lack of foresight
and preparation.
In 1943 he was
recalled. Within
six weeks he wss
yearning
to
return, but they
never let him go:
"You're
finished," SteedAsprey
said:
123
Translation from Spanish to English
"train new men,
take time off. Get
married
or
something.
Unwind."
Smiley proposed
to Steed-Asprey's
secretary,
the
Lady
Ann
Sercomb.
The war was
over. They paid
him off, and he
took his beautíful
wife to Oxford to
devote himself to
the obscurities of
seventeenthcentury
Germany.
But
two years later
Lady Ann was in
Cuba, and the
revelations of a
young Russian
cypher-clerk in
Ottawa
had
created a new
demand for men
of
Smiley's
experience.
The job was new,
the threat elusive
and at first he
enjoyed it. But
younger
men
were coming in,
perhaps
with
fresher
minds.
Smiley was no
materiai
for
promotion and it
dawned on him
gradually that he
had
entered
middle
age
without
ever
124
Translation from Spanish to English
being young, and
that he was—in
the
nicest
possible way—
on the shelf.
Things changed.
Steed-Asprey
was gone, fled
from the new
world to India, in
search of another
civilisation.
Jebedee
was
dead. He had
boarded a train at
Lille in 1941
with his radio
operator, a young
Belgian,
and
neither had been
heard of again.
Fielding
was
wedded to a new
thesis
on
Roland—only
Maston
remained,
Maston
the
career man, the
war-time recruit,
the
Ministers'
Adviser
on
Intelligence; "the
first
man,"
Jebedee had said,
"to play power
tennis
at
Wimbledon:' The
NATO alliance,
and the desperate
measures
contemplated by
the Americans,
altered the whole
nature
of
Smiley's Service.
Gone for ever
were the days of
Steed-Asprey,
125
Translation from Spanish to English
when as like as
not you took
your orders over
a glass of port in
his rooms at
Magdalen;
the
inspired
amateurism of a
handful of highly
qualified, underpaid men had
given way to the
efficiency,
bureaucracy and
intrigue of a
large
Government
department—
effectively at the
mercy of Maston,
with
his
expensive clothes
and
his
knighthood, his
distinguished
grey hair and
silver coloured
ties;
Maston,
who
even
remembered his
secretary's
birthday, whose
manners were a
by-word among
the ladies of the
registry; Maston,
apologetically
extending
his
empire
and
regretfully
moving to even
larger
offices;
Maston, holding
smart
houseparties at
Henley
and
feeding on the
successes of his
subordinates.
126
Translation from Spanish to English
They had brought
him in during the
war,
the
professional civil
servant from an
orthodox
department,
a
man to handle
paper
and
integrate
the
brilliance of his
staff with the
cumbersome
machine
of
bureaucracy. It
comforted
the
Great to deal
with a man they
knew, a man who
could reduce any
colour to grey,
who knew his
masters
and
could
walk
among
them.
And he did it so
well. They liked
his
diffidence
when
he
apologised
for
the company he
kept,
his
insincerity when
he defended the
vagaries of his
subordinates, his
flexibility when
formulating new
commitments.
Nor did he let go
the advantages of
a
cloak
and
dagger
man
malgré
lui,
wearing the cloak
for his masters
and preserving
the dagger for his
servants.
Ostensibly, his
127
Translation from Spanish to English
position was an
odd one. He was
not the nominal
Head of Service,
but the Ministers'
Adviser
on
Intelligence, and
Steed-Asprey
had
described
him for all time
as the Head
Eunuch.
This was a new
world for Smiley:
the brilliantly lit
corridors,
the
smart
young
men. He felt
pedestrian
and
old-fashioned,
homesick for the
dilapidated
terrace house in
Knightsbridge
where it had all
begun.
His
appearance
seemed to reflect
this discomfort in
a
kind
of
physical
recession which
made him more
hunched
and
frog-like
than
ever. He blinked
more,
and
acquired
the
nickname
of
"Mole." But his
débutante
secretary adored
him, and referred
to him invariably
as "My darling
teddy-bear."
Smiley was now
too old to go
128
Translation from Spanish to English
abroad. Maston
had made that
clear: "Anyway,
my dear fellow,
as like as not
you're
blown
after
all
the
ferreting about in
the war. Better
stick at home, old
man, and keep
the home fires
burning.
Which goes some
way
to
explaining why
George Smiley
sat in the back of
a London taxi at
two o'clock on
the morning of
Wednesday, 4th
January, on his
way
to
Cambridge
Circus.
Chap
ter I from
John
Le
Carré: Call
for
the
Dead.
(1961)
New York:
Popular
Library, pp.
7-15
Task 12.7: Read the following extract from Isabel Allende’s Afrodita (Aphrodite).
How does the translation “blend” the style of the novel and that of a conventional
cookery book in the recipe and serving instructions at the end of the extract?
Napoleón las comía antes de enfrentarse
con Josefina en las batallas amorosas del
Napoleon ate truffles before meeting
Josephine in their amorous battles in the
129
Translation from Spanish to English
dormitorio imperial, en las cuales, no está
de más decirlo, siempre salía derrotado...
Los científicos — ¿cómo se les ocurren
estos experimentos, digo yo?— han
descubierto que el olor del hongo activa
una glándula en el cerdo que produce las
mismas feromonas presentes en los seres
humanos cuando son golpeados por el
amor. Es un olorcillo a sudor con ajo que
recuerda el metro de Nueva York.
imperial bedchamber, in which it is no
exaggeration to say, he always wound up
defeated. Scientists - however do they
come up with these experiments, I
wonder? - have discovered that the scent
of the truffle activates a gland in the pig
that produces the same pheromones
present in humans when they are smitten
by love. It is a sweaty, garlic-tinged odor
that reminds me of the New York subway.
Hace algunos años invité a cenar, con
intención de seducirlo, claro está, a un
escurridizo galán, cuya fama de buen
cocinero me obligaba a esmerarme con el
menú. Decidí que una omelette de trufas
salpicada con una nubecilla de caviar rojo
al servirla (el gris estaba lejos de mis
posibilidades), constituía una invitación
erótica obvia, algo así como regalarle
rosas rojas y el Kama Sutra. Busqué las
trufas por cielo y tierra y cuando finalmente di con ellas, mi modesto
presupuesto de inmigrante en tierra ajena
no alcanzó para comprarlas. El
dependiente de la tienda de delicatessen,
un italiano tan inmigrante como yo, me
aconsejó olvidarme de ellas.
Some years ago, I invited to dinner - with
intentions of seduction, naturally - an
evasive beau whose reputation as a good
cook forced me to outdo myself with the
menu. I decided that a truffle omelet
sprinkled with a dusting of red caviar at
serving time (the gray was beyond my
possibilities) constituted an obvious erotic
overture, something akin to giving him
red roses and the Kama-sutra. I searched
high and low for truffles, and when finally
I located some, my modest salary in a land
not my own would not stretch far enough
to buy them. The clerk in the delicatessen,
an Italian as much an immigrant as I,
counseled me to forget the truffles.
— ¿Para qué no lleva callampas, en vez?
—preguntó, mientras yo miraba
desamparada esos fragmentos negruzcos
como caca de conejo, que a mis ojos
brillaban como diamantes.
“Why don't you use mushrooms instead?”
he asked as I disconsolately gazed at those
little bits black as rabbit droppings, which
to my eyes shone like diamonds.
—No es lo mismo, las trufas son
afrodisíacas.
“It isn't the same. Truffles are
aphrodisiacs.”
— ¿Son qué?
“They're what?”
“Sensual,” I said, to avoid going into
detail.
—Sensuales —dije, para no entrar en
detalles.
Debo haberme ruborizado, porque el
hombre salió de detrás del mostrador y se
me acercó con una sonrisa extraña.
Imaginaba, supongo, que yo era una
ninfómana dispuesta a frotarme las zonas
erógenas con sus trufas.
I must have blushed, because the man
came out from behind the showcase and
approached me with a strange smile. He
imagined, I suppose, that I was a
nymphomaniac hoping to rub my
erogenous zones with his truffles.
—Románticas —murmuré cada vez más
130
Translation from Spanish to English
colorada.
—¡Ah! ¿Para un hombre? ¿Su novio, su
marido?
—Bueno, sí...
Al punto la sonrisa perdió el sarcasmo y
se tornó cómplice; volvió tras el
mostrador y produjo un frasco pequeño,
como de perfume.
—Olio d' oliva aromatizato al tartufo
bianco —anunció en el tono de quien saca
un as de la manga—. Aceite de oliva con
olor a trufas —aclaró.
Y enseguida puso en una bolsa de plástico
unas cuantas aceitunas negras, con la
indicación de lavarlas bien para quitarles
el sabor, picarlas en trocitos y marinarlas
un par de horas en el aceite trufado.
— ¡Tan romántico como las trufas y
mucho más barato! —me aseguró.
Así lo hice. La omelette quedó perfecta y
cuando el exquisito galán detectó el
inconfundible olorcillo y preguntó
sorprendido si aquellos pedazos oscuros
eran trufas y dónde diablos las había
conseguido, hice un gesto vago que él
interpretó como coquetería. Devoró la
omelette mirándome de soslayo con una
expresión turbia, que entonces me pareció
irresistible, pero ahora, vista con el
desprendimiento de la edad, me resulta
más bien cómica. Me alegra haberle dado
aceitunas. Su reputación de galán era tan
exagerada como la de las trufas.
Y como estamos hablando de aceite de
oliva trufado, ha llegado el momento de
ofrecer mi receta de emergencias. Desde
que cumplí diecinueve años he estado
casada cada día de mi vida, excepto tres
meses de parranda entre un divorcio y el
segundo marido. Eso significa que he teni-
“Romantic,” I murmured, blushing redder
and redder.
“Ah! For a man? Your sweetheart? Your
husband?”
“Well, yes...”
At that instant his smile lost its sarcastic
twist and turned complicitous: He stepped
behind the counter and produced a small
bottle, like a perfume vial.
“Olio d'oliva aromatizado al tartufo
bianco,” he announced in a tone of
someone pulling an ace out of his sleeve.
“Olive oil with the scent of white
truffles,” he clarified.
And immediately he slipped a few black
olives into a plastic bag, with the direction
to wash them carefully to remove the
flavor, chop them into small pieces, and
marinate them a couple of hours in the
truffle-scented oil.
“As romantic as truffles and much
cheaper!” he assured me.
I did as he said. The omelet was perfect,
and when my exquisite beau detected the
unmistakable fragrance and asked with
surprise whether those inky fragments
were indeed truffles and, if so, where the
hell I'd found them, I made a vague
gesture that he interpreted as flirtatious.
He devoured the omelet, constantly
casting sideways glances dark with
perplexity, an expression that at the time I
found irresistible but in fact, seen with the
detachment of age, was closer to being
comic. I'm really glad I gave him olives.
His reputation as a beau was as
exaggerated as that of truffles.
And since we are talking about “truffled”
olive oil, the moment has come for me to
share my “emergency recipe.” Since the
age of nineteen, I have been married every
day of my life except for three months of
playing around between a divorce and a
131
Translation from Spanish to English
do aproximadamente 16.425 ocasiones de
sacar de tino a algún hombre. La creación
de esta sopa no es cosa del azar, sino de la
necesidad. Es un afrodisíaco
prácticamente infalible, que preparo
después de alguna pelea fuerte, como una
bandera de tregua que me permite hacer
las paces sin humillarme demasiado. A mi
contrincante le basta olerla para entender
el mensaje.
second marriage. That means that I have
had approximately 16,425 occasions to
drive some man mad. The creation of this
soup was a matter not of chance, but of
necessity. It is a practically infallible
aphrodisiac that I always fix after some
terrible fight, a flag of truce that allows
me to make peace without humiliating
myself too greatly. My opponent has only
to smell it to understand the message.
SOPA DE LA RECONCILIACIÓN
Ingredientes
RECONCILIATION SOUP
Ingredients for two lovers
2 tazas de caldo (carne, pollo o verdura)
1 taza de champiñones frescos
1/2
cup chopped Portobello mushrooms (if
dried, 1/4 cup)
1/2 taza de callampas portobello picadas
(o 1/4 taza secas)
1/2
1/2 taza de callampas porcini picadas (o
1/4 taza secas)
1 cup fresh brown mushrooms
cup chopped porcini mushrooms (if
dried, 1/4 cup)
1 diente de ajo
1 clove garlic
3 cucharadas de aceite de oliva
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cucharada de aceite de oliva trufado
2 cups stock (beef, chicken, or vegetable)
1/4 taza de oporto
1/4
2 cucharadas de crema agria
1 tablespoon truffled olive oil
Sal y pimienta
Salt and pepper
cup port
2 tablespoons sour cream
Preparación
Si no encuentro callampas frescas y debo
recurrir a las secas, las remojo en media
taza de un buen vino tinto hasta que se
esponjen alegremente, mientras me bebo
el resto del vino con toda calma. Luego
pico el ajo por el puro gusto de olerme los
Preparation
If you can't find fresh mushrooms and
must use the dried ones, soak them in 1/2
cup of good red wine until they spring up
happily; in the meantime, while they're
132
Translation from Spanish to English
dedos, porque igual podría usarlo entero, y
lo frío junto a las callampas y
champiñones en el aceite de oliva,
revolviendo con fervor por unos cuantos
minutos, no los he contado, pero digamos
cinco. Agrego el caldo, el oporto y el
aceite de oliva trufado, no todo, dejo un
par de gotas para ponerme detrás de las
orejas, no olvidemos que es afrodisíaco.
Aliño con sal y pimienta, y cocino a fuego
suave con la olla tapada hasta que las
callampas se ablanden y la casa huela a
paraíso.
Al final lo trituro en la licuadora; esto es
lo menos poético del cocinamiento, pero
inevitable. Debe quedar con una textura
algo gruesa, como de lodo, con un
perfume que hace salivar y llama a otras
secreciones del cuerpo y del alma. Me
coloco mi mejor vestido, me pinto las
uñas de rojo y sirvo la sopa decorada con
crema agria en platos calientes.
soaking, I calmly drink the remainder of
the wine. Then I mince the garlic clove for
the pure pleasure of smelling my fingers,
because I could just as easily use it whole,
and then sauté it with all the mushrooms
in the olive oil, stirring vigorously for a
few minutes -I've never counted, but let's
say 5. I add the stock, the port, and the
truffled olive oil -not quite all of it, I leave
a couple of drops to dab behind my ears;
let's not forget, it's aphrodisiac. I season
with salt and pepper, and cook over low
heat with the lid on until the mushrooms
are soft and the house smells like Heaven.
The last step is to process it in the blender;
this is the least poetic part of the
preparation but unavoidable. The soup
should end up with a slightly thick
texture, like mud, and with a perfume that
makes you salivate and awakens other
secretions of body and soul. I put on my
best dress, paint my fingernails red, and
serve the soup, in warmed bowls,
841 palabras garnished with a dollop of sour cream.
Editorial Sudamericana. 1997
898 words
Translation: Margaret Sayers Published by
Harper Collins 1997
133
Translation from Spanish to English
Task 12.8: Translation style: source-culture or target-culture oriented?








subject matter;
content: including connotation and cohesion;
presuppositions: real-world factors of the communicative situation presumed to
be known to the participants;
composition: including microstructure and macrostructure;
non-verbal elements: illustrations, italics, etc.;
lexic: including dialect, register and specific terminology;
sentence structure;
suprasegmental features: including stress, rhythm and 'stylistic punctuation'.
*************************
1820
Ni el retumbado paso de seis bueyes, ni el
crujir de toda la carreta, ni el griterío de
cuanto muchacho tuviera algo para vender
en esa agitada tarde de Buenos Aires, pudo
disimular el insulto que, insistente y
monocorde, bajaba desde los altos de
Beltrán. El carretero se puso en puntas de
pie y estiró el cuello para espiar. Pero del
balcón no asomaban más que cuatro
palabras.
–Puta que te parió, puta que te parió, puta
que te parió...
A pesar de la franca segunda persona, el
doctor Reihan no se daba por aludido y
seguía pidiéndole a la joven señora, con voz
tierna, pero firme, que pujara otro poco. Su
ayudante, en cambio, apostado en la
ventana, sintiendo quizá el pudor que su jefe
no sentía, se inclinó hacia la calle para ver,
como si de veras cayeran, dónde caían las
palabras. No vio más, sin embargo, que unas
cuantas cabezas cubiertas por empanadas,
ropas o sombreros, y una carreta
persiguiendo al sol.
1820
Neither the rumbling tread of half a dozen
oxen, nor the cart creaking at every joint not even the clamor of the street boys
peddling their wares that bustling Buenos
Aires afternoon - could drown the coarse
cries that drifted from the top floor of the
Beltran family’s sprawling colonial
mansion. Standing on tiptoe, the carter
craned towards the balcony, but whoever
kept screaming those five words again and
again was nowhere in sight.
”You son of a bitch. You son of a bitch.
You son of a bitch ...”
Although the “you” obviously referred to
himself, Doctor Reihe paid no attention and
continued asking the young lady, firmly but
gently, to push just one more time. In
contrast, his assistant had positioned himself
next to the window and, perhaps out of a
sense of shame that his superior obviously
lacked, peered down into the street as if to
see where her words were landing. But all he
saw were passers-by with pies, bundles of
clothes or hats on their heads, and a cart
chasing the sun.
134
Translation from Spanish to English
A ambos lados de la cama, dos niñas negras
sostenían una manta cubriendo las piernas de
la señora de Beltrán, quien, de a ratos,
cerraba las rodillas hasta casi juntarlas,
queriendo aplastar el dolor. Repitió ese
gesto, respiró hondo para sostener su insulto,
y cuando separó de nuevo las piernas, el
doctor Reihan se puso en cuclillas, y miró
los progresos por debajo de la manta: ahí
estaba la cabeza de la criatura, palpitante y
sangrienta, como el corazón de una vaca
recién carneada.
Two black servant girls, one on each side of
the bed, held a blanket over Mrs. Beltran’s
legs. Every now and then, she would press
her knees almost together in an attempt to
stifle the pain; and each time she did so, she
would take a deep breath before letting out
another stream of insults. When she parted
her legs again, Dr. Reihe would squat and
observe what was happening beneath the
blanket: there was the baby’s head,
throbbing and bloody, like the heart of a
freshly slaughtered cow.
–Vamos, señora, vamos que ya viene –dijo ”Come on, Ma’am. It’s nearly there", said
el médico.
the physician.
”Come on, Missy”, said one of the black
–Vamos, amita –alentó también una de las girls encouragingly.
negras.
”Don’t stop now, Raquel”, chimed in
Ludovica, Mrs. Beltran’s lady companion.
–Dale, Raquel –se sumó Ludovica, dama de
compañía de la señora de Beltrán, que no Already middle-aged, Ludovica seemed to
obstante su edad adulta, parecía carecer de have no idea of how to help a woman in
toda experiencia reproductiva, cosa que labor. This had become obvious to Dr. Reihe
había quedado de manifiesto hacía un rato, a little earlier when she suggested giving
cuando le sugirió al doctor Reihan dear Raquel some home-made laxative syrup
suministrarle a Raquelita un infalible jarabe which, she said, never failed.
laxante de preparación casera. Con Unappreciatively and even rather gruffly, the
ingratitud, con algo de rudeza incluso, el physician had sent her off to sit in a corner,
doctor la había mandado a sentarse al rincón, where she had remained until now in silence.
en donde, hasta recién, se había mantenido
en silencio.
The assistant came back with a wet cloth and
El ayudante se acercó con un paño pressed it to Mrs. Beltran’s forehead. She
empapado y lo apretó contra la frente de la looked at him, a little more reassured, but
señora. Ella, algo aliviada, lo miró sin dejar continued her cussing. Then suddenly, her
de putear, y de pronto, como si le hubieran eyes glazed over as if her bowels had been
arrebatado las entrañas, con los ojos ripped out and, without missing a single
desenfocados, y aunque sin variar una sola letter of the five words she had never
letra, aumentó el volumen de las cuatro stopped uttering, she repeated once again
palabras hasta llevarlas a un grito with a deafening shriek. But the baby did not
ensordecedor que sin embargo no dio a luz.
come.
135
Translation from Spanish to English
Las venas de su cara casi infantil, siempre
fresca, ahora parecían el mapa de un delta.
Sus manos se aferraron a las manos de las
niñas con violencia. La manta cayó y
contorneó la media esfera de su panza. El
doctor la descubrió en seguida. La cabecita
seguía allí.
Raquelita respiró profundamente y pareció
calmarse. Miró uno a uno a todos los
presentes, preguntándose cuál de ellos
podría ayudarla a vencer el dolor y la
impotencia. Hubiera querido que don Arturo
Beltrán, su esposo, estuviera allí. Pero él
hacía negocios en el puerto, lejos de las
vicisitudes del parto.
507 palabras
The veins on her normally bright, almost
childlike face stood out like the map of some
delta. Her hands gripped the girls’ hands
violently. The blanket sagged, outlining her
round, bulging belly. The physician lifted it
away at once. The little head was still there.
Raquel drew a deep breath and seemed to
calm down. She looked at everyone in the
room one by one, wondering which of them
could help her conquer her pain and feelings
of helplessness. She wished Don Arturo
Beltran, her husband, could be there. But he
was doing business down at the port,
oblivious to the perils of childbirth.
536 words
Translation: Douglas Town
Miguel Rosenzvit: Fiebre Negra.
Novela Planeta.2008
*************************
136
Translation from Spanish to English
Part Two. Annotated Passages for Translation
137
Translation from Spanish to English
1. Sobre la región
La ciudad de Buenos Aires ocupa unos 200 km2, apenas un poco más que el Principado
de Liechtenstein, pero con una población (3.000.000) 1 igual a la del Uruguay. Con 2
sus alrededores, la ciudad 3 roza los 10 millones de personas (un tercio de los habitantes
del país)1, y el tejido urbano 4 se extiende por unos 70 Km. en su eje ribereño.5 La
ciudad goza le un clima templado, signado 6 por la humedad del vasto Río de la Plata.
El aeropuerto internacional de Ezeiza está conectado con los7 cinco continentes. Al
Aeroparque de la ciudad llegan vuelos de cabotaje 8 interno y de algunos países
limítrofes. Naves de ultramar 9 de todo el mundo arriban al puerto local, de dónde
también parten aliscafos y el vapor de la Carrera al Uruguay10. El ferrocarril comunica
Buenos Aires con casi todos los rincones del territorio nacional y con Bolivia, mientras
a la Terminal de Ómnibus de Retiro llegan coches procedentes del Uruguay, Brasil,
Chile y Paraguay, además de las ciudades más importantes del país.
Si se 11 quiere conocer la ciudad de los folletos turísticos, alcanzarán unos pocos días.
Pero para entender la Buenos Aires de Borges, habrá11 que vivir la ciudad algo más
que un tiempo. Buenos Aires ofrece posibilidades de alojamiento, comida y transporte
para todos los gustos y bolsillos. Desde unos pocos dólares, hasta varios centenares si
se11 opta por la suite más cara de la ciudad, remise con chofer y comida en los sitios
más exclusivos 12.
Para 13 caminar por las calles de Borges, entre la gente más psicoanalizada del planeta;
para ver un partido de polo o de pato 14 y sentir cómo la ciudad se transforma a la hora
de un clásico15 Boca-River; para comprar cuero, libros y antigüedades. Para hartarse de
churrasco 16 y probar algunos de los más baratos y mejores vinos de la tierra; para
escuchar a Roberto Goyeneche cantando Sur, paredón y después...17 Para discutir
cualquier cosa 18 con un porteño 19; para oír decir che, papusa, oí 20; para dejarse
seducir 21 por las porteñas 19.
Viajar Hoy, 2004
Notes
The passage comes from a fairly conservative tourist guide concentrating mainly on
history and city walks.
1. Bracketing these figures would be strange in English as English tends to emphasize
contrasts. Note, too, that Argentina has a population of around 37,000,000 and not
30,000,000, as the author implies.
2. Implied conditional – consider using if + a verb.
3. Choose a subject that links with the new information in the previous sentence (the numbers)
rather than the given information (Buenos Aires).
4. Analyze what “tejido urbano” really means. Words like “fabric” or “tissue” would be
meaningless.
5. “Eje” is a cliché in Spanish: “axis” would be much too technical.
6. Try to explain the idea in terms of human perception. Note, too, the implicit contrast
between “clima templado” and “humedad”.
7. Emphasize the idea that no continent is omitted.
8. In a country like Argentina, these are not necessarily “short-haul” flights.
9. Refers to their function, not where they come from (which is stated next).
138
Translation from Spanish to English
10. This information was also out of date in 2004.
11. “One” would be too stiff and formal; “you” is possible but lowers the tone a little.
12. This sort of elliptical sentence (i.e. with no main clause) does not work in English.
Restructure the paragraph.
13. You will need to add a subject and an action before translating “para caminar” (the
purpose).
14. Decide whether pato needs an explanation or a comment.
15. Choose a term which implies local rivalry rather than history.
16. Translate the connotations of “churrasco” rather than the exact type of steak
17. Cultural problem: explain rather than simply translating.
18. The idea is that porteños are quick-witted and cosmopolitan.
19. The contrast between the masculine and feminine forms of porteño would be missed by
English readers; but be careful not to give the idea that only the men are worth speaking to.
20. One solution would be to omit the Spanish phrase and explain the idea (e.g. They come to
enjoy the city’s slang immortalized in its songs). In fact, visitors are highly unlikely to hear
this phrase nowadays unless they are interested in tango.
21. Avoid any suggestion of “sexual tourism”.
2. El Agro en la Argentina
E1 agricultor 1 argentino merece, sin lugar a dudas2, el título de supercampeón1 de la
producción. En sólo once años la superficie cultivada 3 pasó de 19,72 millones de
hectáreas a 27,50 millones, mientras que la producción de granos y algodón trepó de
41,67 millones de toneladas a prácticamente 70 millones. En otras palabras, la
superficie 3 se expandió el 40 %, mientras que la producción lo hizo 4 en un 67 %, lo
que significa un aumento de la productividad de la tierra y no sólo un corrimiento de la
frontera 3 agropecuaria 5, con una cosecha cuyo valor supera los 10.000 millones de
dólares.
Lo que sucedió no fue un milagro 6. Cuando en 1992 el ex presidente Carlos Saúl
Menem levantó las llamadas retenciones 7, que son los impuestos más fáciles de cobrar,
el hombre de campo comprendió que tenía por delante una gran oportunidad para
progresar. Entonces incorporó a su trabajo un paquete tecnológico integrado por mejores semillas híbridas y transgénicas, fertilizantes de nitrógeno, fósforo y potasio 8, hizo más y mejores rotaciones de cultivos 8, pidió el asesoramiento de los técnicos, incorporó la informática y encaró la actividad con mayor profesionalidad. Y un dato 9
más: las materias primas del sector agropecuario y la industria de la alimentación obtienen cincuenta centavos de dólar por cada dólar que se exporta.
Soja y girasol
La complementación de la producción de la materia prima con su proceso de industrialización ofrece en el complejo productivo de aceite de soja y girasol una referencia
mundial. Con 2,2 millones de hectáreas sembradas de girasol y 12,5 millones de soja se
supera la mitad de toda el área sembrada del país, lo que permite una producción 10 de
seis millones de toneladas de aceite comestible, de los cuales se exporta el 90 %, con un
ingreso algo superior a 2.000 millones de dólares por año.
No todo está a la vista 6. El crecimiento del sector agropecuario ha provocado un efecto
muy positivo en otras áreas. En los últimos diez años se han invertido en plantas
petroquímicas elaboradoras de materias primas para productos agrícolas cerca de 1.000
139
Translation from Spanish to English
millones de dólares. El caso más paradigmático 11 es el de Profertil, la fábrica de
fertilizantes nitrogenados construida en Bahía Blanca, con una inversión cercana a los
700 millones de dólares. Produce más de un millón de toneladas de fertilizantes por año,
y es una de las más grandes del mundo. A ello hay que sumarles 12 inversiones en
puertos, rutas, dragados de ríos, maquinaria agrícola, plantas productoras de herbicidas
y "fábricas" de semillas.
A fines de la década de 1990 el sector agropecuario y el agroindustrial ocuparon a 5,7
millones de personas, una cantidad 13 que significa que cuatro de cada diez personas de
la población económicamente activa podía trabajar gracias al sector.
Argentime, 2003
Notes
Although published in a prestigious bi-monthly magazine, this article would not be out
of place on the financial pages of daily newspaper. Try not to make the style obscure or
repetitive.
1. The plural is more natural in English for generalizations
2. Avoid “no doubt”, which means exactly the opposite of what it says.
3. Try to find an equivalent mixture of technical and non-technical vocabulary.
4. “Did so” would be too weak
5. “Agricultural border” is a technical term used in agribusiness.
6. Mark the contrast more strongly in English.
7. Note that the concept has to be explained even to the Argentinean reader.
8. How could you relate these ideas in terms of method and goal?
9. This is a consequence of what has gone before, rather than “un dato más”.
10. “Making it possible to produce” would be misleading. These are real, not potential figures
11. “Paradigmatic” is much too technical.
12. “To this must be added” would be an over-translation.
13. Don’t confuse “a quantity / an amount of” (+ uncountable noun) with “a number of” (+
countable noun). Here the expression is redundant.
3. Arte Español para el Exterior
Con el deseo y la firme intención 1 de dar a conocer fuera de España la riqueza de la
obra plástica española de la segunda mitad del siglo XX el Ministerio de Asuntos
Exteriores de España lanzó, en la primavera de 2002, el programa Arte Español para el
Exterior2.
El programa nació con la pretensión 1 de paliar, al menos en parte, el desconocimiento 3
existente en el extranjero de la realidad cultural española contemporánea, debida 4 en
gran medida al aislamiento político que por circunstancias históricas sufrió nuestro país
durante las décadas centrales 5 del pasado siglo. Tras dos años de intenso trabajo y más
de noventa exposiciones, es para mí una gran satisfacción poder decir 6 que hoy el
programa Arte Español para el Exterior no sólo se ha consolidado, sino que se ha hecho
un hueco propio 7 dentro de la oferta cultural de España en el extranjero.
Arte Español para el Exterior se concibió desde el principio como un programa
dinámico 8, abierto a todos los artistas, estilos y técnicas, basado exclusivamente en
criterios de excelencia. Es por ello que a lo largo de estos dos años se han ido
140
Translation from Spanish to English
incorporando 9 al mismo, artistas de todo signo y condición 10. El Hortelano es, sin lugar
a dudas, buen ejemplo de este talante independiente 11.
A la hora de definir 12 a El Hortelano, dos son los aspectos a destacar. El primero, es
que El Hortelano es, ante todo 13, un ejemplo paradigmático 14 de artista plenamente
incorporado a la sociedad en la que vive; lejos de la imagen 15 del artista aislado en su
estudio, la obra 15 de El Hortelano está en comunicación constante con su entorno, con
los lugares que ha visitado y en los que ha residido, con los momentos históricos que ha
vivido, con la música y las demás disciplinas artísticas. El segundo aspecto, quizá
complemento y consecuencia del anterior 13, es que El Hortelano es también un ejemplo
de artista polifacético 16, pues además de la pintura ha cultivado otras facetas 17 como el
diseño, la ilustración, la música, la poesía o el video. Y todo ello manteniendo 18
siempre una visión independiente y muy personal, y al mismo tiempo claramente
reconocible en todas sus obras.
Notes
Despite its serious tone, the Minister’s speech is, in fact, quite straightforward and
unpretentious. The English version should avoid sentence structures or turns of phrase
that would sound pedantic.
1. A clear-cut distinction between wishes and intentions in English would imply something
that the Minister did not mean to say - rather like “I ate some fruit and some apples”. Also,
it is the intention (in paragraph two) that gives meaning to the aim (in paragraph one) and
not vice-versa.
2. “Spanish Art Abroad” would imply that belongs to museums or collectors outside Spain.
3. “Ignorance” would sound like a reproach.
4. Avoid “due to”.
5. This expression should not be translated too literally. In fact, Franco’s dictatorship lasted
from 1939 to 1975. The “historical reasons” were, of course, Franco’s sympathies for Hitler
and Mussolini before and during World War II.
6. The conventional expression in English does not require “poder”.
7. “Se ha hecho un hueco” is already implied in the verb “consolidarse”. Translate with a more
emphatic expression.
8. “Dinámico” means energetic, fast-moving, or open to change. The meaning here is defined
by the context.
9. “Gradually” would make the process sound too slow, “successively” would imply
replacement.
10. Remember that the Minister avoided an overt reference to Franco and the Civil War. Avoid
anything too “political”.
11. Refers to the independent criteria of the exhibition. The idea that people can be “defined”
sounds a bit presumptuous in English. A more indirect or tentative approach would work
better.
12. “First and foremost” is perhaps overemphatic in such a short a list, especially as the
relationship between the two is clarified almost immediately. Try to find a more idiomatic
phrase for the expression “quizá complemento y consecuencia del anterior”.
13. “Paradigm” is a heavy and pretentious word in English.
14. The comparison between the image of the artist and his work would be illogical in English
since it is not comparing like with like.
15. “Multifaceted” is a more semantic translation than the one proposed here.
16. “Facets” will not work I English. We speak of facets of a person’s character/work but not
facets of art in general
17. A finite verb is required in English.
141
Translation from Spanish to English
4. Variación y Cambio en el Español
Desde hacía tiempo en nuestros estudios lingüísticos se echaba de menos un libro 1
de estas características, cuya edición ha suscitado gran interés 2, porque viene 2 a cubrir
una parcela importante y novedosa 3 en la sociolingüística, la dialectología y la historia
del
español.
En Variación y cambio en español, de Ralph Penny 1, el lector encontrará una
explicación clara y concisa de los avances más significativos que ha logrado 4 en las
últimas décadas el estudio de la variación y el cambio lingüísticos, aplicados
sistemáticamente al español y a las demás variedades románicas 5 de la Península.
Ralph Penny considera 6 aquí, desde las más recientes perspectivas teóricas
sobre el cambio y la variación 7, el desarrollo del castellano y del español de América a
través de procesos de repetida mezcla dialectal. Su tesis es que precisamente en esa
mezcla dialectal está el origen del 8 rápido desarrollo del castellano y de la posterior
nivelación del español. Ambos procesos se conciben en el contexto más amplio del
continuum hispanorromance 5, donde el sutil entramado 9 entre variedades hace
imposible definir nítidamente fronteras o límites entre ellas. Sus conclusiones son
relevantes tanto para los hispanistas como para los especialistas en sociolingüística
histórica.
Esta obra constituye una actualización imprescindible para los estudios 10 sobre el
cambio y la variación lingüística. Su edición inglesa 11 ha tenido una recepción muy
elogiosa. Entre otras muchas cosas, se ha escrito que en este libro los 12 “filólogos
encontrarán una abundante fuente de datos dialectales que no están presentes en los
estudios históricos tradicionales, y los sociolingüistas se beneficiarán de sus
perspectivas históricas. Por decirlo de manera simple, el libro de Penny constituye la
relación lingüísticamente más acertada que tenemos en la actualidad para la evolución
de la lengua española en toda su diversidad…” (Bulletin of Hispanic Studies) y que
Variación y cambio en español es “una contribución muy valiosa a la lingüística
española en general” (Modern Language Review). 13
Ralph Penny es Catedrático de Filología Románica en el Queen Mary and Westfield
College de la Universidad de Londres. Es autor, entre otros libros, 14 de Historia del
español (1992) y Gramática histórica del español (1993) 15.
Instituto Cervantes, 2005
Notes
Part of the challenge of translating this book review lies in tracking down the original
quotes and the English edition of the book (published by Cambridge University Press)
for the exact terminology.
1. In Spanish the title is sufficient introduction to the topic. In English it would be more usual
to name the book and its author in the body of the text before going on to describe it.
2. The only logical subject in English is the book itself, not its appearance or publication.
3. Rather than covering a new area, it does so in an original way.
4. Refers to Penny, of course, and not to the reader. It might be safer not to attribute all the
theoretical developments to Penny himself, but simply their application.
5. This is a technical term.
6. “Examines” rather than simply “considers”
7. There is no need to repeat the idea of language change and variation.
8. Make the cause-effect relationship clearer.
142
Translation from Spanish to English
9. “Framework” or “structure” would not work here. The idea is one of interdependence and
continuity.
10. In fact, Penny’s book is widely used as an undergraduate text.
11. This explanation is only needed in Spanish.
12. Quotes like these are not usually integrated into the body of a book review, but are
separated and highlighted. Adapt the first part of this sentence accordingly.
13. The original quotes are required, not a back translation from Spanish.
14. Use a conventional expression.
15. The original title of the second book is in Spanish. A translation would the idea that it is
meant for non-Spanish speakers.
5. Las obras de Infraestructura y su vinculación con el desarrollo y la
integración
Hace 10 años atrás (1994) Gert Rosenthal, Secretario Ejecutivo de la CEPAL,
exponía1 sobre la “Infraestructura como componente básico del desarrollo económico y
social” y señalaba 1 que “la infraestructura, su ampliación 2, su adaptación a las nuevas
tecnologías, su preservación 3 y su eficiente aprovechamiento es un factor decisivo para
el desarrollo”. Se observaba 4 que al iniciarse la década del 90, en la mayoría de los
países de la región existía un creciente desfase entre las necesidades de infraestructura
para impulsar la trasformación productiva con equidad – tal el lema cepalino de la
época- y la dotación 5 existente en esos momentos, que venía rezagada de períodos
anteriores.
Como se sabe, el gran problema para las frágiles economías de nuestros países
es cómo se financian este tipo de obras. El tema Infraestructura es una cuestión sensible
para el estado nacional, en tanto requiere de inversión y financiamiento, lo que ha
llevado a 6 ensayar modelos diferentes con dispares resultados. Así en la República
Argentina hasta los 80, la inversión en infraestructura corría por cuenta del Estado. En
la década pasada, quedó en manos del sector privado 7.
Esa decisión o cambio de modelo, también ha impactado en las provincias y su
acceso a infraestructura, sobre todo en lo que respecta a la disponibilidad de vías de
transporte, comunicaciones y suministros de agua-energía, todo lo cual está muy ligado
a la competitividad de sus economías. Como expresa el INFORME PNUD, Aportes
para el Desarrollo Humano de la Argentina/2002: Competitividad en las provincias: “Si
se tiene en cuenta 8 que muchas provincias en la etapa que predominó la inversión
privada para el desarrollo de infraestructura física no fueron consideradas “atractivas”,
puede sostenerse que 8 en muchos casos ese desinterés tornó más profunda la asimetría
entre regiones del país. También manifiesta 9 como una debilidad importante las
disparidades entre marcos regulatorios nacionales y locales así como la falta de
coordinación entre éstos. Por tanto, las fortalezas y debilidades que presenta cada región
en relación con las cuestiones de infraestructura, es el resultado de las políticas públicas
nacionales y locales”.
Podría decirse que las diversas observaciones realizadas en dicho Informe,
llaman la atención sobre tres grandes ejes 10 : relevancia de la infraestructura para un
crecimiento más balanceado de todas las regiones del país , la necesidad de desplegar un
accionar coordinado nación-provincias 11, y el requerimiento de una mayor presencia
gubernamental para el diseño de la infraestructura con un criterio estratégico.
Miryam Colacrai, 2004
143
Translation from Spanish to English
Notes
This is an extract from an academic conference paper delivered in 2004.
1. Only one verb is needed for this citation.
2. “Its extension” would mean its size.
3. “Preservation” is used for historical remains. Choose a word suitable for roads and
machinery.
4. Keep the same subject.
5. The meaning of “dotación” is clarified in the next paragraph.
6. The cause-effect relationship does not need explaining in English.
7. “Was left to the private sector” might imply that the private sector was already involved. .
8. Simplify
9. “Manifiesta” has no logical antecedent. Translate in terms of a list of weaknesses.
10. Rephrase to make it clear that these are the author’s conclusions from reading the report.
11. Argentina has a system of federal government
6. La Unión Permite Exportar
Una nueva estrategia 1 abarca a muchas 2 pymes, de diferentes rubros y con distintas
localizaciones geográficas 3: 4 se trata de la formación 5 de grupos de productores que
suman 6 las fortalezas individuales para encontrar una salida exportadora7. El conocido
dicho de "La unión hace la fuerza" es como un anillo al dedo 8 para describir un
esfuerzo9 que por10 su simpleza 11 llama la atención que no se haya desarrollado 9 antes,
y que ya fuera 12 un lugar común en el mundo empresario. Son varios los países en los
que pequeñas o medianas empresas necesitan agruparse para mejorar sus posibilidades,
ya que en forma individual el esfuerzo en organización, tiempo y costos, las supera 13.
España, Brasil, Chile y Uruguay son algunos que conocen 14 esta metodología, pero el
que está a la cabeza de la acción 14 es Italia, que ha formado más de 140 consorcios de
exportación que reúnen a cerca de 5.000 empresas, las que aportan 15 el siete por ciento
de las exportaciones de esa nación. En la Argentina las cifras son por el momento
modestas, pero llama la atención el dinamismo 16 que comienza a tener esta iniciativa.
Dos instituciones como el BankBoston y la Fundación Exportar suman 6 esfuerzos para
organizar este tipo de consorcios que, al 17 compartir costos y medidas do promoción,
pueden 18 participar de ferias y exposiciones en el exterior, formar parte de misiones
comerciales, realizar campañas de marketing, hacer investigaciones de mercado,
confeccionar catálogos o animarse 19 a obtener el certificado de las normas ISO 9000 u
otras similares. El ex secretario de comercio exterior Elbio Baldinelli está al frente de
este proyecto, y explicó que lo más difícil es el comienzo, debido a la poca vocación 20
que tienen los empresarios argentinos de trabajar asociados. Eso si 21, superada esa
etapa 22, el clima se revierte y aparece 23 un fuerte entusiasmo. El patrón 24 de los
consorcios consiste en que se agrupen como mínimo cinco empresas y un máximo de
quince. Es entonces cuando se designa un asesor-coordinador del grupo, que recibe en
los primeros seis meses un honorario que es pagado por la Fundación BankBoston, pero
en un segundo semestre el aporte se reduce al 75 por ciento, mientras que las empresas
deben solventar 25 el 25 por ciento restante.26 Cada semestre disminuye el aporte
externo, y las empresas tienen que "poner más el hombro" en algo que es en beneficio
propio27. La Fundación Exportar contribuye financieramente con 28 gastos puntuales e
inclusive subsidia 29 la visita de importadores extranjeros.
144
Translation from Spanish to English
Los rubros son varios: libros, alimentos, regalos empresarios, artículos de deporte,
bienes de capital, miel, yerba mate, té, equipos para la construcción y, por qué no 30,
para ofrecer a los extranjeros ofertas 31 de turismo de aventura en la Argentina, que es
otra forma de conseguir divisas como 8 si fuera una exportación.
Notes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
A more obvious subject for the English sentence would be “muchas pymes”
Try to find a phrase that is more emphatic than “many”
Use an expression that makes it clear what “geography” is meant.
The colon could be removed, together with “se trata de ... que”
Nominalization. Try to find a natural way of expressing purpose in English
Not “add”.
Make sure you give this phrase a positive connotation. It has nothing to do with escape
or exits.
Don’t be mesmerized by the comparison (“como”) or by dictionary translations of this
phrase.
Not “an effort”. Hint: this is “una nueva estrategia”. Make sure you translate
“desarrollar” accordingly!
Is so + adjective that ...
The right word is “sencillez” or “simplicidad”.
Confusion of tenses
On its own, “them” would imply “as a group”, which is not the idea here.
“Know” is too passive as the term “acción” implies. Explain what sort of “acción” is meant
“Contribute” is the wrong word
Focus on the enthusiasm of the companies rather than abstractions about “energy”.
Reason, not time.
“Can” is too weak.
Use a less colloquial expression that doesn’t imply sadness or lack of courage.
Nothing to do with a religious or professional “vocation”
Mark the contrast in English
Make it clear which stage is meant.
Use a verb or an expression that implies perception
“Pattern” would imply regularity discovered through observation or research rather than
something that has been planned.
Use a more precise term
This sentence would be overlong in English.
Be careful not to make this sound patronizing: “in something that is, after all ...” will not
work.
A literal translation would mean the opposite of what is intended here!
“Subsidies” are paid to farmers in the EU and the US and railway companies in Argentina.
The term has acquired a slightly negative connotation
“Why not?” would sound too casual.
Valga la redundancia – but too wordy for English!
145
Translation from Spanish to English
7. Entelman Peacemakers
PEACEMAKERS: UN CAMBIO CULTURAL 1
Nuestra sociedad vive 2 en la cultura del antagonismo.
Las relaciones de cooperación y 3 de conflicto entre particulares se manejan
los principios primitivos del enfrentamiento entre dos fuerzas.
4
según
En unos pocos lugares del mundo 5 se implementan nuevos métodos de cooperación
para resolver conflictos entre Estados o entre grandes grupos 6 sociales.
Estas soluciones 7 más civilizadas y generalmente más eficientes son parte de una
cultura integrativa que aún nos es ajena. Accionan detectando 7 y modulando 8 los
conflictos mucho antes de llegar a métodos explícitos de resolución 9. Es decir, manejan
el conflicto antes de que el conflicto maneje 10 la situación.
Como los primeros peacemakers de la Argentina, tomamos
internacional para aplicarla sobre las relaciones que se desarrollan
dentro de pequeños grupos.
11
12
esa experiencia
entre individuos o
Nuestra intención es mejorar las relaciones de conflicto en nuestra sociedad con la idea
de incorporarla 13 a la nueva cultura integrativa, seguramente menos burocrática y
posiblemente más humana, que está empezando a cambiar las escalas de valores de
nuestra época.14
UN LUGAR, UN MOMENTO
El sistema judicial trabaja 15 sobre el campo de batalla.
Sus auxiliares 16, los abogados, intervienen para evitar en lo posible las heridas
produce el conflicto.
17
que
Los jueces, decidiendo 18 a favor de una de las partes y haciendo valer su decisión por
la fuerza o con la amenaza de usarla.
Los recursos del derecho 19 son métodos violentos de resolución de conflictos. Que,
como las guerras 19, no dejan lugar para el empate 20.
Notes
This is an extract from a promotional booklet written by the late Dr. Remo Entelman,
one of Argentina’s top lawyers. The translation should reflect the seriousness of the
source text, subtly pointing up the argumentative use of metaphor and contrasts to
persuade the reader.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Promotional literature in English tends to emphasize novelty rather than change.
“Lives” would not be emphatic enough.
Emphasize the idea that these apparent opposites are, at heart, one and the same thing.
Make “principles” the agent of passive construction rather than leaving the agent undefined.
English would make the contrast with the previous paragraph explicit.
146
Translation from Spanish to English
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
Choose a word that emphasizes the idea of conflicting groups belonging to a larger whole.
“Solutions” is the wrong word in English since a solution cannot detect a problem.
The verb adds nothing in English.
A military rather than a musical metaphor would be more appropriate in the light of what
follows.
In other words, “legal action”.
The pun works in Spanish because “manejar” means “handle” “manage” or “drive”.
Use a verb suggesting that experience is a resource rather than just a single tool.
It makes more sense in English to speak of introducing this culture into our society rather
than the other way round.
English prefers progressive focusing, starting from the more general idea (i.e. “la nueva
cultura está empezando a cambiar las escalas de valores de nuestra época”) followed by the
more specific one (i.e. “nuestra intención es ...”).
“Works” would be ambiguous. The point is that it doesn’t “work”.
Use a military term suggesting bureaucracy.
Don’t let the military metaphor run away with you. This refers to moral and financial
damage rather than physical wounds.
A finite verb is needed.
Compare like with like – i.e. war with law rather than with war with resources.
“Tie” and “draw” belong to the realm of sport.
147
Translation from Spanish to English
Part Three: Process and procedures
148
Translation from Spanish to English
A Brief Summary of the Translation Process
Step 1: INTERPRETATION (situational-contextual knowledge, universe of discourse,
intertexts, style, register, tenor, field, themes, audience, extra-structural elements, etc.)
Step 2: Foresee main TRANSLATION PROBLEMS
Step 3: Translator's INTENTION: source-oriented, target-oriented (justified)
Step 4: Translator's STRATEGY: applied to the whole text:
■
■
■
■
Word-for-word (only for early drafts)
Literal/Faithful Translation (Newmark's semantic translation)
Idiomatic Translation (Newmark's communicative translation)
Adaptation (free translation -justified)
Step 5: TRANSLATION
Step 6: Detailed COMMENTARY of main problems found. Brief explanation of
problems and solutions (justified according to interpretation, universe of discourse, style,
strategy, etc.).
MAIN PROCEDURES
Applied to specific words or collocations (groups of words) - not to the whole text
■ LITERAL PROCEDURES:
o word for word (close translation)
o calque (Delisle)/ through translation (Newmark)
o borrowing (Delisle)/ transference (Newmark)
o naturalization
o synonymy
■ OBLIQUE PROCEDURES:
o transposition/shift/recategorization
o denominalization
o recasting
o modulation
o adaptation or cultural equivalent
o recognised translation
o functional equivalent
o compensation
o expansion (amplification) or reduction
o omission
o explicitation
o implicitation
o notes, footnotes, glosses
149
Translation from Spanish to English
More about Translation Procedures
In contrast to translation strategies (the translators' global approach or plan of action on
a given text, according to their intention), translation procedures are used for sentences
and smaller units of language within that text.
Translation procedures are methods applied by translators when they formulate an
equivalence for the purpose of transferring elements of meaning from the Source Text
(ST) to the Target Text (TT). (Delisle) Vinay and Darbelnet first proposed seven
methods or procedures (loan, calque, literal translation, transposition, modulation,
equivalence, adaptation) in 1973. More than one procedure can be seen in one
translation, and some translations may result from a cluster of procedures that is difficult
to discern
Terms between angular brackets <> are those in which Delisle differs from Newmark.
When the Spanish term has a form dissimilar to the English one, it appears between
inverted commas " ".
1. WORD-FOR-WORD TRANSLATION (CLOSE TRANSLATION)
Transferring SL grammar and word order as well as the primary meanings of all
SL words
He works in the house-now > U travaile dans la mansion maintenant
2. ONE-TO-ONE TRANSLATION (CLOSE TRANSLATION)
Each SL word has a corresponding TL word, but their primary (isolated)
meanings may differ
hacer un examen > take an exam
3. LITERAL TRANSLATION (CLOSE TRANSLATION)
Literal translation ranges from one word to one word, through group to group (un
beau jardin > a beautiful garden), collocation to collocation (make a speech >
faire un discours), clause to clause (when that was done > quand cela fut fait), to
sentence to sentence (The man was in the street > L’ homme etait dans la rue)
4. THROUGH-TRANSLATION <CALQUE> "calco"
The literal translation of common collocations, names of organizations, the
components of compounds, and perhaps phrases <To transfer a SL word or
expression into the Target Text using a literal translation of its component
elements> (Delisle)
Superman >Ubermensch
compliments de la saison > compliments of the season
marriage de convenance > marriage of convenience
skyscraper > rascacielos
football > balompie
150
Translation from Spanish to English
5. TRANSFERENCE, <BORROWING> "prestamo" (loan word,
transcription;
transliteration)
Transferring a SL word to a TL. Either because the TL does not
have a lexicalized correspondence, or for stylistic or rhetorical
reasons
e.g. coup d'etat; noblesse oblige!, Realpolitik, "mermelada light", "música
rap", ad hoc formulation, proper names, names of people (except the Pope
and royals), The Times, American On Line,
6. NATURALISTATION, <DIRECT TRANSFER, "traslado">
Adapting a SL word first to the normal pronunciation, then to the
normal morphology of the TL (in French)
thatcherisme; (in German) Performanz
7. SYNONYMY
To use a near TL equivalent to an SL word in a context, where a precise
equivalent may or may not exist. This procedure is used when there is no clear
one-to-one equivalent, when literal translation is not possible, and the word is
not important in the text (adjectives, adverbs of quality), not important enough
for componential analysis.
Personne gentile > kind person
Conte piquant > racy story
8. TRANSPOSITION, SHIFT (Catford), <RECATEGORIZATION>
A change in the grammar from SL to TL (singular to plural; position of
the adjective, changing the world class or part of speech)
Working with you is a pleasure > Trabajar contigo... El trabajo contigo... Cuando
trabajo contigo... d'une importance exceptionnelle > exceptionally large (SL adj. +
adjectival noun > TL adv. + adj.) Tras su salida> after he'd gone out There's a reason
for life > Hay una razon para vivir with government support > apoyado por el
gobierno It's getting dark > comienza a oscurecer
9. DENOMINALIZATION
To transform a noun or nominal structure in the ST into a verbal structure in the TT.
Some languages, like French and German, prefer to package verb-related
information in verbal nouns, whereas English prefers to use verbs, specifically
action verbs. Hence we speak of <deverbalizatiori> or <nominalizatiori> when
translating out of English into other languages (Delisle)
10.
RECASTING
To modify the order of the units in a ST in order to conform to the syntactic or
idiomatic constraints of the Target Text
151
Translation from Spanish to English
11. MODULATION= Variation through change of viewpoint, of perspective, and
very often of category of thought (Vinay and Darbelnet) introducing a
clarification with respect to the original formulation
// n 'a pas hesité > He acted at once
shallow > poco profundo
(POSITIVE FOR DOUBLE NEGATIVE, DOUBLE NEGATIVE FOR POSITIVE
[ANTONYMY] -MODULATION)
sleep in the open > dormir a la belle etoile sleep by the fire > sentarse junto a la
chimenea La scrittura non e altro che una forma di parlare > Lo escrito no es otra
cos a que una forma de hablar
(ABSTRACT FOR CONCRETE -MODULATION)
You 're quite a stranger > No se te ve elpelo> On ne vous voit plus
The firing of cannons > El estampido de los cañones
(CAUSE FOR EFFECT -MODULATION)
from cover to cover > de la primera hasta la última página
(ONE-PART-FOR-ANOTHER-MODULATION)
lebensgefährlich > danger de mort health insurance > seguro de enfermedad A feu et
à sang > a sangre y fuego Safe and sound > Sano y salvo
(REVERSAL-OF-TERMS-MODULATION)
(ACTIVE–FOR- PASSIVE-MODULATION)
12. EQUIVALENCE (Vinay and Darbelnet)
To substitute a TL statement for a SL statement which accounts for the
same situation, even though there is no formal or semantic correspondence.
To render a set phrase [idiom, cliche, "locution"] from the SL with a set phrase
from the TL which expresses the same idea, although in a different way
(Delisle).
Approximate equivalence of complete statements, accounting for the same
situation in different terms. Different from modulation in that it belongs to the
semantic level, not to the lexical level.
Examples of 'modulation': the story so far > Résume des chapitres précédents
The early bird catches the worm > A quien madruga Dios le ayuda Once bitten,
152
Translation from Spanish to English
twice shy > El gato escaldado del agua fría huye Such hypocrisy makes me see
red > Esas hipocresías me sacan de quicio Get off your backside and do
something useful! > Deja de rascarte la barriga y ponte a hacer algo útil. No
parking at all times > vado permanente. You are welcome > de nada
13. <ADAPTATION> (Vinay and Darbelnet) (CULTURAL EQUIVALENT
for Newmark)
To replace a situation of the SL by an analogous situation of the TL (when
communicative situations are difficult to understand in the culture of TL, when
the situation of the SL does not exist in the TL - a cultural gap- and therefore
another equivalent situation has to be created)
To replace a socio-cultural reality from the SL with a reality specific to the
Target Culture in order to accommodate for the expectations of the Target
Audience (Delisle)
Dear Sir > Muy senor mio Yours ever > Le saluda atentamente Saria male usar
quelle parole antique toscane > Seria malo servirnos de aquellas palabras que
ya estdn fuera de uso Dupont et Dupond (characters in Tinin) > Thomson and
Thompson > Hernandez y Fernandez (Spain)
A cultural SL word is translated by a TL cultural word (Newmark)
baccalauréat is translated as '(the French) 'A' level', or Abitur as '(the German)
'A' level' He met her in the pub > La encontró en el bar > Il I' a retrouvée dans
le cafe vingt metres derrière lui > veinte metros por detrds de el > twenty
yards behind him
14. RECOGNISED TRANSLATION
Use of the official or generally accepted translation of any institutional term
Rechtsstaat> constitutional state
15. FUNCTIONAL EQUIVALENT
To neutralise or generalise a SL cultural word by using a culture-free word
baccalaureat > French secondary school leaving exam
he was not a diplomat but a wistful major in the Life Guards > No era
diplomático sino triste general del Regimiento Real de Caballería
16. DESCRIPTIVE EQUIVALENT, [related to EXPANSION OR AMPLIFICATION]
To neutralise or generalise a SL cultural word by using description
Samurai > Japanese aristocracy from the eleventh to the nineteenth century
153
Translation from Spanish to English
17. COMPONENTIAL ANALYSIS
To split up a lexical unit into its sense components
18. COMPENSATION
When loss of meaning, sound-effect, metaphor or pragmatic effect in one part
of a sentence is compensated in another part, or in a contiguous sentence
The atmosphere in the big gambling room had changed. It was now much
quieter > El ambiente había cambiado por completo en la gran sala de
juego, que ahora se encontraba más tranquila
The French use of the pronoun tu to express familiarity between two people
(as opposed to formal vous) could correspond in English to the use of a first
name or nickname, or be marked by familiar syntactic phrases (ex. I'm,
you're) (Delisle).
19. EXPANSION <AMPLIFICATION>
To use more words in the Target Text in order to re-express an idea or to
reinforce the sense of a ST word because his correspondence in the TL cannot
be expressed as concisely (Delisle)
vivificante > life-giving
penalty (in football) > tir de reparation
Yorkshire > condado de Yorkshire
20. PARAPHRASE
Amplification or explanation of the meaning of a segment of the text For
Delisle, paraphrase is the result of amplifying a TT by replacing a word from
the ST with a group of words or phrasal expression that has the equivalent sense
21. EXPLICITATION To introduce precise details into the TT for
clarification (Delisle)
To help resolve the basic questions of delegation > Para ayudar a resolver el
problema fundamental de la delegación de poderes
22. REDUCTION <CONCENTRATION> Resulting in CONCISION and in
ECONOMY>
computer science > informática
machine à laver > lavadora
23. OMISSION
To concentrate or suppress elements in the TL text
154
Translation from Spanish to English
The committee has failed to act > La comisión no actuó
24. <IMPLICITATION>
A translation procedure intended to increase the economy of the TT and achieved
by not explicitly rendering elements of information from the Source Text in the
Target Text when they are evident from the context or the described situation and
can be readily inferred by speaker of the TL
Be sure the iron is unplugged from the electrical outlet before filling with water
> Desconectar la plancha siempre antes de llenar el depósito
25. NOTES, ADDITIONS, GLOSSES
When the translator supplies additional information in the form of footnotes,
endnotes or glossaries at the end of the text, or within the text
Debrecen > the city of Debrecen, in West Hungary
Sources:
Peter Newmark, A Textbook of Translation New York: Prentice Hall, 1988) 69, 81-93;
Jean-Paul Vinay and J. Darbelnet, Stylistique comparee dufrangais et de I'anglais (Paris:
Didier, 1973);
Jean Delisle et al., ed. Translation Terminology. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John
Benjamins, 1999.
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