From the BBC Sport website:
The vast majority of Grands Prix are funded by governments, who see the events as a way of promoting their country’s worldwide.
Shame on you!
Apostrophes
1
Category Archives: In English
Welcome / Bienvenue / Benvinguts / Bienvenidos For information about my translation services, please visit the main site. Pour des informations sur mes services, merci de regarder le site principal.Para información sobre mis servicios de traducción, visite el web principal.
Habitació disponsible / Room available / Habitación disponible / Chambre disponible
To read this in English, scroll down.
Más abajo, puedes leer este mensaje en español.
En bas, vous pouvez lire cette annonce en français.
Al nostre pis, tenim una habitació lliura a la qual es pot entrar immediatament, una altra que estarà lliura a partir de finals de juliol (estada llarga o estada curta d’estiu), i la meva habitació, que vull llogar durant els dos mesos d’estiu que estaré fora. Si t’interessa, qualsevol de les tres opcions, em pots contactar per correu electrònic a timtranslates@gmail.com o per telèfon al 93 535 7377 o al 616 149 042. Només per a persones no fumadores. La informació del pis:
Les dues habitacions per a entrar indefinidament: individual, interior i amb finestra. Llit amb matalàs i llençols, armari, escriptori.
L’habitació lliura només durant l’estiu: habitació gran, exterior (cap a un pati exterior, per tant, sense soroll), lluminós. Llit amb matalàs i llençols, armari, escriptori, televisor, i si vens amb un portàtil, hi deixaré el teclat i la pantalla que normalment conecto el meu.
Direcció: Passeig de Valldaura, 246, escala esquerra, 3r 1a. Metro: Llucmajor, línia 4. També a prop de les línies 1, 3 i 5 i la línia de la RENFE que va cap a Sabadell, Terrassa, la UAB etc… Per arribar al pis des del metro Llucmajor, quan surtis del metro, ves cap a la plaça i gira cap a la dreta. El pis es troba a la dreta.
Zona: tranquil, però amb bones connexions amb el centre. Tenim al costat l’Heron City (cinemes, restaurants i botigues de roba molt barates), el Corte Inglés, i una oferta àmplia de supermercats.
Pis: 65m2. Modern i moblat. Tenim televisió per cable (amb diversos canals internacionals com BBC World, CNN, RTP, Eurosport, etc…), connexió Internet ADSL 4 Mb, línia fixa de telèfon, planxa, rentaplats, rentadora, forn, microones, taula de menjar amb 4 cadires (taula desplegable per a més persones) etc…
Amb qui viuràs? Jo em dic Tim. Sóc anglès, de 26 anys. Sóc traductor. Visc amb la Carolina, un estudiant de la Republica Dominicana que hi serà fins a finals de juliol, quan tornarà al seu país. En total serem tres. És un pis tranquil, ideal per estudiar o treballar-hi.
El cost de l’habitació:
Lloguer: 250€/mes (300€ tot inclòs en el cas de l’habitació gran per a l’estiu).
Fiança: negociable
Llum, gas i aigua: 22€/mes.
Tenim televisió per cable, internet i telèfon amb la mateixa companyia. Pels tres serveis, són uns 14,00€/mes/persona. Totes les trucades a fixos de l’Estat espanyol són gratuïtes.
English
In our flat, we have on room available immediately, one room available from the end of July (long stay or a short summer stay), and my own room, which I would like to rent out for the two months I’ll be away over the summer. If you are interested, please send me an e-mail to timtranslates@gmail.com or call me on +34 93 535 7377 or +34 616 149 042. We are looking for non smokers. About the flat:
Two permanent rooms: individual, with an interior window. Bed with mattress and sheets, wardrobe and desk.
Summer room: large room with exterior window (to inner courtyard, therefore not noisy). Bed with mattress and sheets, wardrobe, desk and TV. If you’re bringing a laptop, I’ll be leaving the keyboard and screen I normally connect to mine.
Address: Passeig de Valldaura, 246, Escala Esquerra, 3r 1a Metro: Llucmajor, line 4. Also close to lines 1, 3 and 5 and the RENFE line towards Sabadell, Terrassa, the UAB, etc. To get to the flat from Llucmajor metro station, as you leave the station walk to the large roundabout and turn right. The flat is on the right-hand side.
Area: quiet, but with good links to the city centre. Heron City (cinemas, restaurants and cheap clothes stores), Corte Inglés and various supermarkets near by.
Flat: 65m2. Modern and furnished. Cable television (with various international channels, including BBC World, CNN, RTP, Eurosport, etc…), 4MB ADSL Internet connection, telephone landline, iron, dishwasher, washing machine, oven, microwave, dining table and four chairs (folding table for more people) etc.
Who will you live with?: I’m Tim, 26 years old from England. I work as a translator. I share with Carolina, a student from the Dominican Republican, who will be returning home at the end of July. There will be three of us in the flat. The flat is quiet, ideal for studying or working.
Cost:
Rent: €250/month (€300 all inclusive for the summer room).
Deposit: negotiable
Electric, gas and water: €22/month.
We have cable television, Internet and telephone with the same company, and we pay €14.00 per month per person. All calls to Spanish landlines are free.
Spanish
En nuestro piso, tenemos una habitación libre para entrar inmediatamente, otra para entrar a partir de finales de Julio (estancia larga o estancia corta de verano), y mi propia habitación, que quiero alquiler para los dos meses de verano que estaré fuera. Si te interesa, me puedes contactar por correo electrónico a timtranslates@gmail.com o por teléfono en el 93 535 7377 o el 616 149 042. Buscamos personas no fumadoras. La información del piso:
Las 2 habitaciones para entrar indefinidamente: individual, interior y con ventana. Cama con colchón y sábanas, armario, escritorio.
La habitación para el verano: individual, exterior (con ventana a un patio interior, y por tanto, sin ruído)
Dirección: Passeig de Valldaura, 246, escala esquerra, 3r 1a. Metro: Llucmajor, línea 4. También cerca de las líneas 1, 3 y 5 y la línea de la RENFE que va hacia a Sabadell, Terrassa, la UAB etc… Para llegar en el piso desde el metro de Llucmajor, al salir del metro, vas hacia la plaza y gira a la derecha. El piso está a la derecha.
Zona: tranquilo, pero con buenas conexiones con el centro. Tenemos al lado el Heron City (cine, restaurantes y tiendas de ropa muy baratas), el Corte Inglés, y una amplia oferta de supermercados.
Piso: 65m2. Moderno y mueblado. Tenemos televisión por cable (con varios canales internacionales como BBC World, CNN, RTP, Eurosport, etc…), conexión Internet ADSL de 4 Mb, línea fija de teléfono, plancha, lavavajillas, lavadora, horno, microondas, mesa de comer con 4 sillas (mesa desplegable para más personas) etc…
Con quien vivirás?: Yo me llamo Tim. Soy inglés, de 26 años. Soy traductor. Vivo con Carolina, un estudiante de la República Dominicana que volverá a su país a finales de julio. En total seremos tres. Es un piso tranquilo, ideal para estudiar o trabajar.
El coste de la habitación:
Alquiler: 250€/mes (300€ todo incluído para el piso grande de verano).
Fianza: negociable
Luz, gas y agua: 22€/mes.
Tenemos televisión por cable, internet y teléfono con la misma compañía. Por los tres servicios, son unos 14,00€/mes/persona. Todas las llamadas a fijos de España son gratis.
French
Dans notre appartement nous avons une chambre disponible pour entrer immédiatement, une autre chambre pour entrer fin juillet (séjour indéfinitif ou séjour estival), et ma propre chambre que je veux louer pendant les deux mois d’été que je ne serai pas là. Si une des chambres vous intéresse, vous pouvez me contacter par courriel à timtranslates@gmail.com ou par téléphone au 93 535 7377 ou au 616 149 042. Nous cherchons des personnes non fumeurs. Informations sur l’appartement :
Chambre pour séjour indéfinitif: individuel, intérieur avec fenêtre. Lit avec matelas et draps, armoire et bureau.
Chambre pour séjour estival: chambre grande, extérieur avec fenêtre (qui donne sur une cour intérieure, et donc, sans trop de bruit). Lit avec matelas et draps, armoire, bureau, télé, et vous venez avec un portable, je laisserai le clavier et écran que normalement je branche au mien.
Adresse : Passeig de Valldaura, 246, escala esquerra, 3r 1a. Métro : Llucmajor, ligne 4. Aussi près des lignes 1, 3 et 5 et de la ligne de train pour Sabadell, Terrassa, l’UAB, etc… Pour arriver à l’appartement depuis le métro Llucmajor, quand vous sortez du métro, allez vers la place et tournez à droite. L’appartement se trouve du côté droit de la rue.
Quartier : tranquille, mais avec de bonnes connexions avec le centre-ville. À côté, nous avons Heron City (cinéma, restaurant et magasin de vêtements pas chers), le Corte Inglés, et plusieurs supermarchés.
L’appartement : 65m2. Moderne et meublée. Nous avons télévision par câble (avec plusieurs chaînes internationales, comme BBC World, CNN, RTP, Eurosport, etc…), connexion Internet ADSL 4Mb, ligne fixe de téléphone, planche à fer, lave-vaisselle, machines à laver, four, micro-ondes, table à manger avec quatre chaises (table dépliante pour plus de personnes) etc…
Avec qui vivrai-je ? : Je m’appelle Tim, je suis anglais, j’ai 26 ans. Je suis traducteur. J’habite avec Carolina, une étudiante de la République Dominicaine, qui rentrerà au pays fin juillet. Au total on sera trois personnes. L’appartement est tranquille, idéal pour étudier ou travailler.
Le prix de la chambre :
Loyer : 250€/mois (300€ tout compris pour la chambre d’été).
Dépôt de garantie : négotiable
Électricité, gaz et eau : 22€/mois.
Nous avons télévision par câble, Internet et de téléphone avec la même compagnie. Pour les trois services, nous payons 14,00€/mois/personne. Tous les appels à des numéros fixes en Espagne sont gratuits.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking’s southern bias
Despite all the training, I still have to say “barthroom” [sic] to get Dragon to write bathroom correctly. When I say “bathroom”, I get all sorts of interpretations. To give you an idea, I’m now going to create a list by saying “bathroom – press enter” several times:
battery
bass room
bathroom
bathroom
battering
battering
bat’s room
This is very annoying.
Translation and the target audience (may be of interest to non-translators too!)
Before writing this entry, I would like to make it clear that the purpose of this entry is not to criticise a translator, but simply to reflect upon how a particular translation could have been improved. I am sure that there are also many things that could be improved in my own translations.
I’ve just been watching a documentary on the Catalan television channel 33. As usual, I was watching the documentary in the original language, which was in English, but because the documentary was about the high levels of murders in Guatemala, all the interviews were in Spanish, so I used the audio button to switch to the Catalan audio channel so I could hear the interviews without a voice dubbed over the top.
As this was a BBC documentary, the original script for the narrator would have been in English, and this would have been translated into Catalan. At one point, they were talking about a young girl who had been killed, and as her body was moved into a coffin the narrator said, “A la Gran Bretanya, el cadàver es conserveria com a prova. Aquí la posen al fèretre.”, which in the original English would have been something like “In the UK, the body would have been kept as evidence. Here, they put it in a coffin.”
Why did the text refer to the UK? Because the documentary was comparing what happens in Guatemala with what happens in the country of the viewers. If this documentary had been made by CBS, they’d have probably said “the US” instead of “the UK”.
By keeping the reference to the UK in the Catalan version of the documentary, it doesn’t really make a lot of sense to the Catalan viewer and sounds rather arbitrary. Why is the narrator referring to what happens in the UK, rather than in another country? In Germany, the body would also have been kept as evidence, as it would in France, Italy or Belgium. So it would have made much more sense to say “in Europe” or “in Catalonia”.
This is where the question of the target audience is important. If this had been translated for the Balearic Islands channel IB3, it wouldn’t have made a lot of sense to say “in Catalonia”. Similarly, if this was being translated into French and was going to be broadcast only on French television, it would make sense to say “in France”; but if it was also going to be broadcast in Walloon and Romandy, it would make a lot more sense to say “in Europe”.
This is just a short reflection on one of the many things we have to think about, besides converting words from one language to another, when translating.
Habitació disponsible / Room available / Habitación disponible / Chambre disponible
Aquest anunci ja és antic. Consulteu l’anunci més actualitzat, fent clic aquí.
This notice is no longer valid. Please consult the up-to-date ad by clicking here.
Este anuncio ya es antiguo. Consulte el anuncio más actualizado, haciendo clic aquí.
Cette annonce n’est plus valide. Merci de consulter l’annonce actualisée en cliquant ici.
To read this in English, scroll down.
Más abajo, puedes leer este mensaje en español.
En bas, vous pouvez lire cette annonce en français.
Tenim una habitació lliura a la qual es pot entrar immediatament. Si t’interessa, em pots contactar per correu electrònic a timtranslates@gmail.com o per telèfon al 93 535 7377 o al 616 149 042. Busquem una persona no fumadora. La informació del pis:
Habitació: individual, interior i amb finestra. Llit amb matalàs i llençols, armari, escriptori.
Direcció: Passeig de Valldaura, 246, escala esquerra, 3r 1a. Metro: Llucmajor, línia 4. També a prop de les línies 1, 3 i 5 i la línia de la RENFE que va cap a Sabadell, Terrassa, la UAB etc… Per arribar al pis des del metro Llucmajor, quan surtis del metro, ves cap a la plaça i gira cap a la dreta. El pis es troba a la dreta.
Zona: tranquil, però amb bones connexions amb el centre. Tenim al costat l’Heron City (cinemes, restaurants i botigues de roba molt barates), el Corte Inglés, i una oferta àmplia de supermercats.
Pis: 65m2. Modern i moblat. Tenim televisió per cable (amb diversos canals internacionals com BBC World, CNN, RTP, Eurosport, etc…), connexió Internet ADSL 4 Mb, línia fixa de telèfon, planxa, rentaplats, rentadora, forn, microones, taula de menjar amb 4 cadires (taula desplegable per a més persones) etc…
Amb qui viuràs?: Jo em dic Tim. Sóc anglès, de 26 anys. Sóc traductor. Visc amb la Fiona, de 22 anys, estudiant. En total serem tres. És un pis tranquil, ideal per estudiar o treballar-hi.
El cost de l’habitació:
Lloguer: 250€/mes.
Fiança: 2 mesos de lloguer = 500€
Llum, gas i aigua: 22€/mes.
Tenim televisió per cable, internet i telèfon amb la mateixa companyia. Pels tres serveis, són uns 14,00€/mes/persona. Totes les trucades a fixos de l’Estat espanyol són gratuïtes.
English
We have a room free in our flat. If you are interested, please send me an e-mail to timtranslates@gmail.com or call me on +34 93 535 7377 or +34 616 149 042. We are looking for a non smoker. About the flat:
Room: individual, with an interior window. Bed with mattress and sheets, wardrobe and desk.
Address: Passeig de Valldaura, 246, Escala Esquerra, 3r 1a Metro: Llucmajor, line 4. Also close to lines 1, 3 and 5 and the RENFE line towards Sabadell, Terrassa, the UAB, etc. To get to the flat from Llucmajor metro station, as you leave the station walk to the large roundabout and turn right. The flat is on the right-hand side.
Area: quiet, but with good links to the city centre. Heron City (cinemas, restaurants and cheap clothes stores), Corte Inglés and various supermarkets near by.
Flat: 65m2. Modern and furnished. Cable television (with various international channels, including BBC World, CNN, RTP, Eurosport, etc…), 4MB ADSL Internet connection, telephone landline, iron, dishwasher, washing machine, oven, microwave, dining table and four chairs (folding table for more people) etc.
Who will you live with?: I’m Tim, 26 years old from England. I work as a translator. I share with Fiona, a 22-year-old student. There will be three of us in the flat. The flat is quiet, ideal for studying or working.
Cost:
Rent: €250/month.
Deposit: Two months’ rent = €500
Electric, gas and water: €22/month.
We have cable television, Internet and telephone with the same company, and we pay €14.00 per month per person. All calls to Spanish landlines are free.
Spanish
Tenemos una habitación libre para entrar inmediatamente. Si te interesa, me puedes contactar por correo electrónico a timtranslates@gmail.com o por teléfono en el 93 535 7377 o el 616 149 042. Buscamos una persona no fumadora. La información del piso:
Habitación: individual, interior y con ventana. Cama con colchón y sábanas, armario, escritorio.
Dirección: Passeig de Valldaura, 246, escala esquerra, 3r 1a. Metro: Llucmajor, línea 4. También cerca de las líneas 1, 3 y 5 y la línea de la RENFE que va hacia a Sabadell, Terrassa, la UAB etc… Para llegar en el piso desde el metro de Llucmajor, al salir del metro, vas hacia la plaza y gira a la derecha. El piso está a la derecha.
Zona: tranquilo, pero con buenas conexiones con el centro. Tenemos al lado el Heron City (cine, restaurantes y tiendas de ropa muy baratas), el Corte Inglés, y una amplia oferta de supermercados.
Piso: 65m2. Moderno y mueblado. Tenemos televisión por cable (con varios canales internacionales como BBC World, CNN, RTP, Eurosport, etc…), conexión Internet ADSL de 4 Mb, línea fija de teléfono, plancha, lavavajillas, lavadora, horno, microondas, mesa de comer con 4 sillas (mesa desplegable para más personas) etc…
Con quien vivirás?: Yo me llamo Tim. Soy inglés, de 26 años. Soy traductor. Vivo con Fiona, estudiante de 22 años. En total seremos tres. Es un piso tranquilo, ideal para estudiar o trabajar.
El coste de la habitación:
Alquiler: 250€/mes.
Fianza: 2 meses de alquiler = 500€
Luz, gas y agua: 22€/mes.
Tenemos televisión por cable, internet y teléfono con la misma compañía. Por los tres servicios, son unos 14,00€/mes/persona. Todas las llamadas a fijos de España son gratis.
French
Nous avons une chambre disponible pour entrer immédiatement. Si la chambre vous intéresse, vous pouvez me contacter par courriel à timtranslates@gmail.com ou par téléphone au 93 535 7377 ou au 616 149 042. Nous cherchons un non fumeur. Informations sur l’appartement :
Chambre : individuel, intérieur avec fenêtre. Lit avec matelas et draps, armoire et bureau.
Adresse : Passeig de Valldaura, 246, escala esquerra, 3r 1a. Métro : Llucmajor, ligne 4. Aussi près des lignes 1, 3 et 5 et de la ligne de train pour Sabadell, Terrassa, l’UAB, etc… Pour arriver à l’appartement depuis le métro Llucmajor, quand vous sortez du métro, allez vers la place et tournez à droite. L’appartement se trouve du côté droit de la rue.
Quartier : tranquille, mais avec de bonnes connexions avec le centre-ville. À côté, nous avons Heron City (cinéma, restaurant et magasin de vêtements pas chers), le Corte Inglés, et plusieurs supermarchés.
L’appartement : 65m2. Moderne et meublée. Nous avons télévision par câble (avec plusieurs chaînes internationales, comme BBC World, CNN, RTP, Eurosport, etc…), connexion Internet ADSL 4Mb, ligne fixe de téléphone, planche à fer, lave-vaisselle, machines à laver, four, micro-ondes, table à manger avec quatre chaises (table dépliante pour plus de personnes) etc…
Avec qui vivrai-je ? : Je m’appelle Tim, je suis anglais, j’ai 26 ans. Je suis traducteur. J’habite avec Fiona, 22 ans, étudiante. Au total on sera trois personnes. L’appartement est tranquille, idéal pour étudier ou travailler.
Le prix de la chambre :
Loyer : 250€/mois.
Dépôt de garantie : Deux mois de loyer = 500€
Électricité, gaz et eau : 22€/mois.
Nous avons télévision par câble, Internet et de téléphone avec la même compagnie. Pour les trois services, nous payons 14,00€/mois/personne. Tous les appels à des numéros fixes en Espagne sont gratuits.
Finding proper nouns
I need to find all the place names that are in a text I’m working on. Rather than read through the whole document again, I’ve have found a search for Microsoft Work that will find all words starting with a capital letter that are not at the start of a sentence. Wildcards must be activated. The search string is:
[!.?!] [A-Z]
Because the text was in Catalan (though this also applies to French), I then did a separate search for those preceded by l’ or d’:
[ld]’[A-Z]
Obviously I may miss a place name that appears as the first word of a sentence, but most place names appear more than once in the document, so I shouldn’t miss any.
Weekend autoresponders
I’d be interested to know whether any of my colleagues set autoresponders on weekends. Most weekends I have access to my e-mail, and I’ll normally just reply to any work-related messages. This weekend, however, I was away in Andorra on a skiing trip, and I made a conscious decision to completely switch off from work, with the exception of doing some marking of my students’ work on the coach trip.
On the Sunday, I was really tempted to put a euro in the Internet machines in the hotel, but I resisted, saying to myself “you’ll be home later”.
When I finally got home on Sunday night, I found two e-mails from a client I had been negotiating quite a large contract with (about 1800€). The first had been sent on Friday night, just after I had left, asking me for my phone number and stating that he had to wait for confirmation from someone else within his organisation. The second e-mail had been sent on Saturday afternoon, and confirmed the job.
I was quite tired, so I decided to wait until Monday morning before replying with my phone number. So on Monday morning I sent the e-mail. Several hours later (about 15 minutes before I wrote this), he called to say that he panicked because I hadn’t got back to him and that he has contacted another translator, who has accepted the job.
As you can imagine, I’m not in the best of moods at the moment. But the best thing I can do is to think about how I can prevent this happening again. I don’t think I should have been carrying a blackberry around with me on the ski slopes, just in case a client contacted me (at the time of my Saturday e-mail I was in the middle of a skiing lesson), so I’m thinking that next time I go away for a weekend I should maybe set an auto-responder, like I always do when I go away for longer periods of time.
I’d be interested to hear whether other translators do the same, or whether they’ve had similar experiences.
Talk about a pressure job
Fabio Capello has just managed his first England game, with a 2-1 win over Switzerland. Though he claims he speaks to his players in English, he still prefers to do all his press conferences in his native Italian.
As I was watching his post-match interview, I was thinking how much pressure the interpreter must have been under: the interview would have been seen by millions, some of whom will understand Italian and would have spotted any mistakes in the translation. Of course, providing the interpreter knows a bit about football, this wasn’t a difficult interview to be interpreting per se. In fact, I understand the vast majority of what Capello said myself, through similarity between Italian and the three and a half Romance languages I speak. But I certainly would have been rather nervous with so many people watching on TV. I think he did a pretty good job. Judge for yourselves.
Termcat terminology
I have now created a file with all the entries contained in Termcat’s “termes normalitzats” glossary in a format that should be easy to import. Download it here.
Solved: how to import Termcat terminology
You can now download an importable version of the glossary from here.
Termcat have made some of their terminology available here. The problem is, it is all in XML format, which is not easy to import into terminology databases. I’ve finally found how to import it.
In this file you can see how I’ve done it for the snowboarding glossary. Look first at sheet 1. Columns A to G are part of the original Termcat xml files when you open them up in Excel. The other columns have been created by me to get the data in a useful format. You can copy the other databases into this template, though don’t forget to fill down with columns H onwards if the list is longer. The quickest way is to use file merging software to merge them all into a single file, then open that single file and copy it into the template.
To get Sheet2 as you see it now, you have to do the following:
- Select columns P to AV from row 1 right down to the bottom
- Press CTRL + C
- Open up a new worksheet and select cell A1
- Go to the Edit menu and select Paste Special
- Select “Values” and press enter
- Select the whole sheet by clicking in the square in the top-left, between the column heading A and row 1 (or by using the keyboard shortcut (CTRL + A in English; CTRL + E in Spanish))
- Go to the Data menu, and click “sort” (ES: “ordenar”)
- Click the “Yes” option at the bottom of the box, since our data has headings
- In the “Order by” box, select “Keep” from the drop-down list, and select descending order
- Click OK
You may now want to select all the “Yes” rows (which are all grouped together) and copy them into a new file, which you can then import into your database.
Hope you find it useful. I’m going to be busy this week. If somebody could send me a file with all the terminology, that would be great!