Apr 25, 2008 22:48
16 yrs ago
Spanish term
Every client is unique.
Native in: Spanish
Works in: English to Spanish, Spanish to English, Guarani to Spanish
Por favor leer explicacion
Spanish to English
Art/Literary
Poetry & Literature
La Naturaleza en Ingles
I'm translating a fiction novel (not for children) (Spanish-English). In many parts of the story, I come across with phrases such as ' ...mientras el sol se preparaba para ser acunado en el fondo de rio' or 'la luna alcahuetera escuchaba atentamente...' As far as I understand, I cannot really have the moon/sun performing human actions in English. Does anyone have an opinion about this? I tried to get access to the forum but couldn't. Thanks
Proposed translations
(English)
| 5 | Yes, but with quite a bit of retooling, here's an option |
Clayton Causey
|
| 5 +18 | of course they can |
Lynda Tharratt
|
Proposed translations
2 days 17 hrs
Clayton Causey
Native in English
Works in field
A pleasure to work with
Native in: English 
Works in: Portuguese to English, French to English, Chinese to English, and 6 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
12
Selected
Yes, but with quite a bit of retooling, here's an option
"Catalina seemed to remember that Master Ambrosio must have come to the riverside sometime around the end of the summer when the tired sun was falling into the river’s watery bed, when the toads were performing their first annual concerto, after the herons, mbiguas(?), and king-fishers had all gone to sleep."
(If he really did come to a financial institution I recommend replacing riverside with bank. Otherwise, bank seems too ambiguous to me.)
(If he really did come to a financial institution I recommend replacing riverside with bank. Otherwise, bank seems too ambiguous to me.)
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks a lot to you all!"
+18
11 mins
Lynda Tharratt
Native in English
Works in field
Accurate and Reliable
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, French to English, English
Related KudoZ points
:
12
of course they can
Looking for more examples from adult stories:
Stories of the Moon Clan-- An Amazon TribeThe moon listened and watched and waited. The moon stared down in cool splendor at the madness, pleased by it all. The goddess' face was inscrutable as she ...
www.icubed.com/~ljg/moonclan_08.html - 41k - Cached - Similar pages
My BlogAs the moon listened to the words left unsaid. January 10, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0). tula ni dumlao na nagpatulo ng baldeng luha isang gabing ...
bolpenatpapel.blogs.friendster.com/my_blog/ - 18k - Cached - Similar pages
Never index your own book.: The moon listens carefully to little boys.Kevin screamed something indecipherable at it a few times while jumping a little, and then, after the last time, said “Hey, the moon listened to me that ...
bugsbeetlesbootsbrail.blogspot.com/2006/03/moon-listens-carefully-to-little-boys.html - 22k - Cached - Similar pages
Xinggan's Naivete'With salt-tasted drops streaming down my cheeks, I divulged the only thing that has been kept so long inside me. But only the moon listened. ...
renah_14.blogs.friendster.com/wenski/ - 61k - Cached - Similar pages
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 20 mins (2008-04-25 23:09:27 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
I forgot to add above that this is called "personification". Here is an explanation;
PERSONIFICATION
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Personification is giving human qualities to animals or objects.
Example:
a smiling moon, a jovial sun
In "Mirror" by Sylvia Plath, for example, the mirror--the "I" in the first line--is given the ability to speak, see and swallow, as well as human attributes such as truthfulness.
I am silver and exact.
I have no preconceptions.
Whatever I see I swallow immediately
Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.
I am not cruel, only truthful--
In John Keats' "To Autumn," the fall season is personified as "sitting careless on a granary floor" (line 14) and "drowsed with the fume of poppies" (line 17.)
See Anthropomorphism for more.
Stories of the Moon Clan-- An Amazon TribeThe moon listened and watched and waited. The moon stared down in cool splendor at the madness, pleased by it all. The goddess' face was inscrutable as she ...
www.icubed.com/~ljg/moonclan_08.html - 41k - Cached - Similar pages
My BlogAs the moon listened to the words left unsaid. January 10, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0). tula ni dumlao na nagpatulo ng baldeng luha isang gabing ...
bolpenatpapel.blogs.friendster.com/my_blog/ - 18k - Cached - Similar pages
Never index your own book.: The moon listens carefully to little boys.Kevin screamed something indecipherable at it a few times while jumping a little, and then, after the last time, said “Hey, the moon listened to me that ...
bugsbeetlesbootsbrail.blogspot.com/2006/03/moon-listens-carefully-to-little-boys.html - 22k - Cached - Similar pages
Xinggan's Naivete'With salt-tasted drops streaming down my cheeks, I divulged the only thing that has been kept so long inside me. But only the moon listened. ...
renah_14.blogs.friendster.com/wenski/ - 61k - Cached - Similar pages
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 20 mins (2008-04-25 23:09:27 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
I forgot to add above that this is called "personification". Here is an explanation;
PERSONIFICATION
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Personification is giving human qualities to animals or objects.
Example:
a smiling moon, a jovial sun
In "Mirror" by Sylvia Plath, for example, the mirror--the "I" in the first line--is given the ability to speak, see and swallow, as well as human attributes such as truthfulness.
I am silver and exact.
I have no preconceptions.
Whatever I see I swallow immediately
Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.
I am not cruel, only truthful--
In John Keats' "To Autumn," the fall season is personified as "sitting careless on a granary floor" (line 14) and "drowsed with the fume of poppies" (line 17.)
See Anthropomorphism for more.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Jennifer Levey
: Yes, almost anything can be personified in English (even my mother-in-law!).
3 mins
|
|
lm*o, thanks!
|
|
| agree |
Marian Martin (X)
: Examples on the internet are not hard to find. http://vintagechildrensbooksmykidloves.blogspot.com/2008/03/...
8 mins
|
|
thanks!
|
|
| agree |
RichardDeegan
: Also common in the trashy novels I read :-)
12 mins
|
|
of course, eh-hem, so I've heard...:)
|
|
| agree |
Nelida Kreer
: The towering cliffs, the menacing forest, the welcoming lake, etc. ad infinitum. Nice work.
24 mins
|
|
thanks Niki!
|
|
| agree |
Ximena P. Aguilar
: of course! it's also part of the figurative language, it adds interest to the literature...
24 mins
|
|
...and (I might add) is an important feature of the magical realism genre of Latin American literature...thanks Ximena!
|
|
| agree |
Marcelo Gonçalves
24 mins
|
|
thanks Marcelo!
|
|
| agree |
margaret caulfield
55 mins
|
|
thanks Margaret!
|
|
| agree |
Margarita Gonzalez
: Indeed, and as Mediamatrix says, even the unthinkable!
4 hrs
|
|
thanks MargaEsther!
|
|
| agree |
Patrice
5 hrs
|
|
thanks Patrice!
|
|
| agree |
Carol Gullidge
: definitely (although this should perhaps have been posted in English-English...? Or perhaps that's what Carolyn meant by "the forum")
8 hrs
|
|
thanks Carol!
|
|
| agree |
Bubo Coroman (X)
: very nice references
9 hrs
|
|
thanks Deborah!
|
|
| agree |
Gary Smith Lawson
: I find metaphors used more frequently in spoken Spanish than in English, but there's an infinity of examples in English literature. Shakespeare being but one.
10 hrs
|
|
thanks Gary!
|
|
| agree |
Egmont
11 hrs
|
|
thanks AVRVM!
|
|
| agree |
Victoria Porter-Burns
: definitely
16 hrs
|
|
thanks Victoria!
|
|
| agree |
jude dabo
: ok
17 hrs
|
|
thanks jude!
|
|
| agree |
Sandra Rodriguez
: YES, THEY CAN!!!
17 hrs
|
|
thanks Sandra!
|
|
| agree |
Gert Sass (M.A.)
4 days
|
|
thanks Gert!
|
|
| agree |
Abraal
7 days
|
|
thanks Rain!
|
Discussion