Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
torre prismática
English translation:
square tower
Added to glossary by
Paula Sepúlveda (X)
Sep 1, 2015 20:27
8 yrs ago
Spanish term
torre prismática
Spanish to English
Art/Literary
Architecture
Romanesque church
"La torre prismática –calada con triples vanos a los cuatro vientos– gravita sobre la nave de la epístola."
Hay una foto de la torre y es cuadrada.
Hay una foto de la torre y es cuadrada.
Proposed translations
(English)
3 +2 | square tower | patinba |
4 | tower | Charles Davis |
Proposed translations
+2
1 hr
Selected
square tower
One with sides, rather than round.
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Charles Davis
: But a "torre prismática" can be hexagonal or octagonal, for example, though I admit the asker does say this one is square. // I have to say that to be honest I think you're right; this is a better way to do it, since we do know what shape it is.
10 mins
|
I agree with both of you that in general "tower" would be sufficient, but I felt "prismático" should be reflected// Thanks, Charles!.
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agree |
philgoddard
: Charles makes some valid points, but I think you have to say something about its shape, and this is the simplest solution.
45 mins
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Thanks Phil. My reasoning exactly. Somewhere in my researh I came across "torres circulares y prismáticas" which indicated a fairly general use for towers with sides.
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Going with this one. Thanks!"
1 hr
tower
My advice is simply to put "tower" and not translate "prismática" at all.
The point is this, I think: in English, by default, the word "tower" means what is strictly, in geometric terms, a prismatic tower. It is extremely rare for architectural descriptions in English actually to call towers "prismatic" or "prism-shaped", since it's taken for granted. But in Spanish it's really quite common to refer to "torres prismáticas" in Romanesque architecture, and apparently it is also common in Czech, since most of the instances of "prismatic tower" that you find by googling it are from Czech sources.
All "prismática" means is that the tower is a right prism, in geometric terms. That is, it has a polygonal base, most often square or rectangular, but sometimes hexagonal or octagonal, and that the sides are vertical, so it has the same section all the way up. This is so notwithstanding Phil's example, which is actually a modified prism that widens at the base.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prism_(geometry)
Well, when we use the word "tower" in English that is what we mean. The only Romanesque towers that are not "prismatic" are round towers, of which there are some, or "espadañas", which are called bell-gables in English and are not classed as towers.
"Siguiendo al profesor García Guinea, el románico montañés presenta tres tipos de torres: la torre prismática (Castañeda y Cervatos) la torre cilíndrica (Santillana y Elines) y la espadaña."
http://www.romanicoenruta.com/cantabria/cantabriaruta07/stam...
English regards "prismática" as redundant. Omitting it will lose nothing, in practice, since a tower is prismatic unless otherwise stated (if it's a round tower, and the shape matters, you call it a round tower). Including it will simply mark your translation as a translation: no English writer would have said it.
The point is this, I think: in English, by default, the word "tower" means what is strictly, in geometric terms, a prismatic tower. It is extremely rare for architectural descriptions in English actually to call towers "prismatic" or "prism-shaped", since it's taken for granted. But in Spanish it's really quite common to refer to "torres prismáticas" in Romanesque architecture, and apparently it is also common in Czech, since most of the instances of "prismatic tower" that you find by googling it are from Czech sources.
All "prismática" means is that the tower is a right prism, in geometric terms. That is, it has a polygonal base, most often square or rectangular, but sometimes hexagonal or octagonal, and that the sides are vertical, so it has the same section all the way up. This is so notwithstanding Phil's example, which is actually a modified prism that widens at the base.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prism_(geometry)
Well, when we use the word "tower" in English that is what we mean. The only Romanesque towers that are not "prismatic" are round towers, of which there are some, or "espadañas", which are called bell-gables in English and are not classed as towers.
"Siguiendo al profesor García Guinea, el románico montañés presenta tres tipos de torres: la torre prismática (Castañeda y Cervatos) la torre cilíndrica (Santillana y Elines) y la espadaña."
http://www.romanicoenruta.com/cantabria/cantabriaruta07/stam...
English regards "prismática" as redundant. Omitting it will lose nothing, in practice, since a tower is prismatic unless otherwise stated (if it's a round tower, and the shape matters, you call it a round tower). Including it will simply mark your translation as a translation: no English writer would have said it.
Note from asker:
Thanks for all the research and info. Square tower fits better in this text. |
Discussion
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torre_del_Aguiló
Have you rejected the literal translation?