This site uses cookies. Some of these cookies are essential to the operation of the site, while others help to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used. For more information, please see the ProZ.com privacy policy.
Cookie settings
Los dados mandan Escalera doble
Pozo Tipo

Glossary entry

Spanish term or phrase:

que se exprese

English translation:

(let them) get it off their chest

Added to glossary by Lydianette Soza
Aug 24, 2018 20:00
5 yrs ago
Spanish term

que se exprese

Spanish to English Other Psychology Progress report
El siguiente es un extracto de un documento relacionado con compartamiento infantil en ciertas situaciones:

Qué podemos hacer si los niños reaccionan de manera difícil?

 Escuchar sin juzgar, culpar o avergonzar
 Respetar si no quiere hablar
 Sugerirle que hable con su persona de confianza
 Si desea hablar o llorar, dejar que se exprese

My try:

If he/she wants to talk or cry, please allow him/her to express himself/herself.

Sin embargo, no sé si estoy siendo demasiado literal.
Proposed translations (English)
4 +6 (let them) get it off their chest
4 +1 let them vent their feelings
3 (give them a chance) to let it out

Discussion

Lydianette Soza (asker) Aug 25, 2018:
Thanks Phil for the suggestion and to Charles for Phil's confirmation~.
Charles Davis Aug 25, 2018:
express themselves To me it's not something you would usually say about young children, unless you mean some sort of creative activity (in the broadest sense). It is obviously used for people saying what's on their mind ("he expressed himself very clearly on the subject"), but normally the implication is presenting some sort of reasoned discourse. I don't think it's such a natural choice when the idea is releasing emotions, which is more the idea here.
Anthony Mazzorana (X) Aug 25, 2018:
What was wrong with simply expressing themselves? That's what it says after all. Agree with the others though that you don't need the "please".
Charles Davis Aug 25, 2018:
With Phil In many contexts you need to add "please" in English where it's not present in Spanish, but not here.
philgoddard Aug 24, 2018:
Lydianette I'm all for being polite, but don't think "please" is appropriate here.

Proposed translations

+6
29 mins
Selected

(let them) get it off their chest

I would go for a fairly colloquial style here. This is more advice to parents than academic study, after all.

Express oneself, applied to children, suggest self-expression through art, for example, and probably something non-verbal. I don't think it's really suitable here.

I'm suggesting you use a "plural they" here. He/she, him/her etc. is terribly clunky, and while you sometimes have to use it, I would definitely avoid it here. "Plural they" (referring to a single person as "they") is perfectly idiomatic and, by general consensus nowadays, correct, though some people don't like it. But it's the way most people speak.

If you used a genuine plural, referring to children throughout, it should strictly be "off their chests", but to me it's better to individualise it, because you're really telling parents what to do with a single child.

""get (something) off one's chest: to tell someone about (something that has been making one upset or unhappy"
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/get (something) o...

But it can be applied to a very young child and to crying or tantrums, as in this forum about a mother leaving her infant to cry:

"I know that sometimes I get really wound up and having a big cry is quite cathartic. I think we can be really well-meaning as parents about never wanting our babies to cry, and sometimes we can end up 'quietening' them through boob or shushing or stroking, when what they really need is to get it off their chest."
http://babyandbump.momtastic.com/baby-club/1779363-co-sleepi...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2018-08-24 23:58:43 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Sorry: I've just realised that I put "plural they" when I meant "singular they":
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they
Peer comment(s):
agree Muriel Vasconcellos
11 mins
Thanks, Muriel :-)
agree philgoddard : I wonder if this is the first time the word "boob" has appeared on KudoZ!
47 mins
I wouldn't like to say, but I doubt it's happened many times :-) Thanks!
agree Manuel Moreno
3 hrs
Thanks, Manuel :-)
agree David Hollywood : nice and colloquial and ok for me
5 hrs
Thanks very much, David :-)
agree neilmac : All the way, with a plural "they"!
11 hrs
Yay! Cheers, Neil :-)
agree Robert Forstag
20 hrs
Thanks, Robert :-)
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
+1
1 hr

let them vent their feelings

Another option.
Peer comment(s):
agree David Hollywood : and a good one too ... will depend on register but ok
5 hrs
Many thanks, David.
Something went wrong...
10 hrs

(give them a chance) to let it out

Another alternative

Let it all out, punch a pillow, blow off steam, but don't keep it in, right?
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140729-is-it-bad-to-bottle...

There is much magic in a child’s imagination and this is a chance to let it out.
http://www.joywinkler.co.uk/
Something went wrong...
Close search
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search