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Are any of these Spanish translations wrong?If you need help translating a sentence or longer piece of text, use this forum. For translations or definitions of a single word or idiom, use the vocabulary forum. |
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#1
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Are any of these Spanish translations wrong?
Are any of these English-to-Spanish translations wrong? If so, which ones? You may add the correct translation, if you like, but that is less important.
(1) [English] The jury found the defendant guilty. [Spanish] El jurado declaró culpable al acusado. (2) [English] You find me foolish. [Spanish] Me encuentras tonto. (3) [English] I found the film childish. [Spanish] Encontré la película infantil. (4) [English] The students consider the teacher intelligent. [Spanish] Los estudiantes consideran al maestro inteligente. (5) [English] I consider his math ability weak. [Spanish] Considero que su habilidad matemática es débil. (6) [English] The teacher made the test easy. [Spanish] El maestro hizo la prueba fácil. (7) [English] Tom painted the fence white. [Spanish] Tom pintó la valla de blanco. (8) [English] The sushi made the American sick. [Spanish] El sushi enfermó al estadounidense. (9) [English] Most people consider Jacobsen a loyal friend. [Spanish] La mayoría de la gente considera que Jacobsen es un amigo leal. (10) [English] The boy considered his mother an angel. [Spanish] El niño consideraba a su madre un ángel. (11) [English] The students consider the course a challenge. [Spanish] Los estudiantes consideran que el curso es un desafío. (12) [English] The students consider the homework a pain. [Spanish] Los estudiantes consideran que la tarea es un dolor. (13) [English] The literature course considers the bible a history book. [Spanish] El curso de literatura considera que la Biblia es un libro de historia. (14) [English] The security desk considers a nail file a weapon. [Spanish] El escritorio de seguridad considera una lima de uñas como un arma. (15) [English] The teenager considers KISS a great band. [Spanish] El adolescente considera a KISS una gran banda. (16) [English] The audience considered the concert a success. [Spanish] El público consideró que el concierto era un éxito. (17) [English] The president declared the city a disaster area. [Spanish] El presidente declaró a la ciudad un área de desastre. (18) [English] The governor declared the county a disaster area. [Spanish] El gobernador declaró el condado un área de desastre. (19) [English] The pedestrian called the driver an idiot. [Spanish] El peatón llamó al conductor un idiota. Last edited by RufflesHaveRidges; January 18, 2021 at 04:37 PM. |
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#2
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Some hints and explanations below:
Quote:
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#3
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Thanks. Here is how I would summarize your statements:
---------- (2) [English] You find me foolish. [Spanish] Me encuentras tonto. (This is not exactly wrong, but it's artificial. Try an alternative sentence to express an opinion.) Wording convention violation. (3) [English] I found the film childish. [Spanish] Encontré la película infantil. (Same as previous. Try using the construction "parecerle algo a alguien", and it might sound more natural.) Wording convention violation. (5) [English] I consider his math ability weak. [Spanish] Considero que su habilidad matemática es débil. (Again, not wrong, but kind of unnatural. Some other adjective might work better.) Wording convention violation. (12) [English] The students consider the homework a pain. [Spanish] Los estudiantes consideran que la tarea es un dolor. (We don't say this. Try some synonym. "Un dolor" is something really dramatic or serious.) Wording convention violation. (14) [English] The security desk considers a nail file a weapon. [Spanish] El escritorio de seguridad considera una lima de uñas como un arma. ("Escritorio" in Spanish is just the piece of furniture, but you're talking here about an office. Also, try a "que" sentence instead, so the idea will flow less artificially.) Wrong meaning of the word used. (16) [English] The audience considered the concert a success. [Spanish] El público consideró que el concierto era un éxito. (For reasons of tense agreement with "consideró", you need "fue" here.) Tense mismatch. (17) [English] The president declared the city a disaster area. [Spanish] El presidente declaró a la ciudad un área de desastre. (We don't keep the article here, because the disaster area is the whole city, so the noun works as the whole universe here.) Wrong article usage. (18) [English] The governor declared the county a disaster area. [Spanish] El gobernador declaró el condado un área de desastre. (Same as previous. Despite the fact that the county is just a part of the state, there is a specific county we're talking about and this is our universe.) Wrong article usage. (19) [English] The pedestrian called the driver an idiot. [Spanish] El peatón llamó al conductor un idiota. (When we call someone a name, we get rid of the article. There is only one name given to the other person.) Wrong article usage. ---------- The problems that interest me the most are the "Wording convention violation" problems, because those are difficult to detect. Those translations do not violate any common rule of grammar, so it is difficult for a non-native speaker to know about those conventions. |
#4
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It can be summarized like that, I suppose.
Yet, a language is a living thing that depends much more on the meaning than on the rules. All of the sentences may be understood in context and probably nobody will tell the foreign speaker they're wrong, but the advanced speaker might want to know why they don't sound better. ![]()
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