Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
jaula de grillos
English translation:
bedlam / Tower of Babel (in this context)
Added to glossary by
Sheila Hardie
Jun 21, 2011 09:35
12 yrs ago
1 viewer *
Spanish term
Spain
passion des mots
Native in: English 
Works in: Catalan to English, French to English, Spanish to English, and 2 more.
jaula de grillos
Spanish to English
Social Sciences
Social Science, Sociology, Ethics, etc.
The future of NGOs
- Evitar la desinstitucionalización, sin tener que llegar a la burocratización.
- Evitar la falta de constancia: son necesarios ciclos largos
- Evitar las ***excesivas voces (“jaula de grillos”)***; evitar los infantilismos
This is from a text discussing the future of NGOs and what approach they should adopt. I know 'jaula de grillos' has been asked on proz before, but I am not sure that any of the answers given then fit here (e.g. 'wasp's nest'). Especially since it has to link up with 'excesivas voces'. Every time I try to translate this sentence I end up with mixed metaphors!
Any ideas would be very gratefully received!
MTIA
Sheila
- Evitar la falta de constancia: son necesarios ciclos largos
- Evitar las ***excesivas voces (“jaula de grillos”)***; evitar los infantilismos
This is from a text discussing the future of NGOs and what approach they should adopt. I know 'jaula de grillos' has been asked on proz before, but I am not sure that any of the answers given then fit here (e.g. 'wasp's nest'). Especially since it has to link up with 'excesivas voces'. Every time I try to translate this sentence I end up with mixed metaphors!
Any ideas would be very gratefully received!
MTIA
Sheila
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +3 | bedlam |
Nikki Graham
|
| 4 +1 | Babel |
Jenni Lukac (X)
|
| 4 | madhouse |
Michael Powers (PhD)
|
| 4 | a mere hubbub |
Charles Davis
|
| 4 | Avoid stridency |
DLyons
|
| 4 | "pandemonium" |
Rosmu
|
| 4 | mixed messages |
James A. Walsh
|
| 3 | cacophany |
Jaime Hyland
|
| 3 | avoid too many voices all talking at once |
Bubo Coroman (X)
|
| 3 | stirring up a hornet's nest, putting your foot in a wasp's nest |
Bernadet
|
References
| La Cage aux Folles |
Nikki Graham
|
Proposed translations
+3
1 hr
Nikki Graham
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
Specializes in field
United Kingdom
Related KudoZ points
:
20
Selected
bedlam
This is just another suggestion along the same lines as many others.
Have you considered "playground behaviour" for infantilismos?
Have you considered "playground behaviour" for infantilismos?
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you all for these brilliant suggestions - I wish I could give points to everyone. The answers that best suited my text were 'bedlam' and 'Tower of Babel' - but the client preferred 'bedlam', so the points must go to Nikki. Thank you all again! Sheila"
5 mins
Michael Powers (PhD)
United States
United States
Native in English
United States
US Court Cert. 1980 Ph.D. 1981
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, Portuguese to English, English to Spanish, and 2 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
106
madhouse
Perhaps this figurative meaning as provided by the Oxford Dictionary might work.
Mike
Mike
+1
8 mins
Babel
It seems to me that the writer is warning that an overload of inputs will result in an institutional Babel. Examples:1 Jan 2011 ... Interesting that you would reference the Tower of Babel, which might serve to support the idea that “too many voices” is nothing new. ...
sharisax.com/.../whats-one-difference-between-a-blogger-and-a-journalist/ - En caché
►
– Open Social Discourse and Web Culture - [ Traducir esta página ]
23 Feb 2009 ... I – and many others, like Umair Haque – have characterized this as a ... This has led to a wider group of individuals or organizations being able to ... too many options, too many viewpoints, and too many voices creating noise. ... These are what I call the Two Tower Of Babel arguments, and they ...
www.we-magazine.net/.../open-social-discourse-and-web-cultu... - En caché
sharisax.com/.../whats-one-difference-between-a-blogger-and-a-journalist/ - En caché
►
– Open Social Discourse and Web Culture - [ Traducir esta página ]
23 Feb 2009 ... I – and many others, like Umair Haque – have characterized this as a ... This has led to a wider group of individuals or organizations being able to ... too many options, too many viewpoints, and too many voices creating noise. ... These are what I call the Two Tower Of Babel arguments, and they ...
www.we-magazine.net/.../open-social-discourse-and-web-cultu... - En caché
9 mins
Jaime Hyland
Native in English
Professional IT translation into English
Native in: English 
Works in: Spanish to English, German to English
cacophany
not a metaphor at all, but matches the "jaula de grillos" quite well, imo.
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Note added at 10 mins (2011-06-21 09:46:01 GMT)
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... and spelt wrong! Ooops! Should be "cacophony"
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 10 mins (2011-06-21 09:46:01 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
... and spelt wrong! Ooops! Should be "cacophony"
13 mins
avoid too many voices all talking at once
to link up the metaphor with the "excesivas voces"
14 mins
stirring up a hornet's nest, putting your foot in a wasp's nest
Avoid stirring up a hornet's nest meaning to avoid an avalanche of criticism. Not sure if this fits in with the overall context of the document.
41 mins
a mere hubbub
This has the right meaning, in principle:
"a confused noise of many voices" (Collins)
I would add "mere" in this context, to indicate that little sense arises from everyone speaking at once.
"The ego is dispersed, a mere hubbub of voices with no assurance of truth in them."
http://www.scribd.com/doc/45910011/Kemp-G-2003-Autonomy-and-...
"a confused noise of many voices" (Collins)
I would add "mere" in this context, to indicate that little sense arises from everyone speaking at once.
"The ego is dispersed, a mere hubbub of voices with no assurance of truth in them."
http://www.scribd.com/doc/45910011/Kemp-G-2003-Autonomy-and-...
59 mins
Spanish term (edited):
Evitar las excesivas voces (“jaula de grillos”)
Avoid stridency
I think the sense is: downplay the rhetoric of the more insistent voices
and let (perhaps less forceful) individuals be heard above the background noise.
and let (perhaps less forceful) individuals be heard above the background noise.
4 hrs
"pandemonium"
...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 hrs (2011-06-21 14:28:59 GMT)
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Avoid pandemonium.
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Note added at 4 hrs (2011-06-21 14:28:59 GMT)
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Avoid pandemonium.
5 hrs
James A. Walsh
Spain
Spain
Native in Spanish
&
English
Works in field
Spain
A cut above the rest in translation...
Native in: English (Variants: Irish, US, UK) , Spanish (Variants: Latin American, Standard-Spain)
Works in: Spanish to English, French to English, English to Spanish, and 2 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
33
Spanish term (edited):
jaula de grillos
mixed messages
Another take on it. This is the general gist of the message, in my opinion.
Example sentence:
Evitar las excesivas voces (“jaula de grillos”)
Avoid too many voices (i.e., mixed messages)
Reference comments
1 hr
Nikki Graham
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
Specializes in field
United Kingdom
Related KudoZ points
:
20
Reference:
La Cage aux Folles
I don't know if this is going to be at all relevant, but "una jaula de grillos" is the Spanish translation of the film "The Birdcage" (1996), which is a remake of "La Cage aux Folles".
Just thought I'd mention it, as you never know what might be going through a writer's head when they use a term...
Just thought I'd mention it, as you never know what might be going through a writer's head when they use a term...
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