| Pages sur ce sujet: < [1 2] | Translating the Passive Voice Auteur du fil: Richard Creech
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| Scientific writing should NOT use passive unless it needs it | Mar 4, 2006 |
Lia Fail wrote:
It should depend on target text type. Certain types of writing typically use the passive in EN.
EG scientific writing is impersonal in EN and to use the active (I, we) would be completely erroneous
You are confusing the voice of the verb (active, passive) with the person (I, we).
I'm a professional technical writer: whether to use passive or active voice in scientific writing follows the same rules as it does for literature. And when describing how an experiment was performed, I or we is absolutely acceptable.
Choosing between active or passive voice
There is nothing wrong with using passive voice where it is needed. To make sure you are using passive voice appropriately, use this fast test: Put the true subject (the person/place/thing/idea you are discussing or explaining) at the beginning of the sentence and write. If the sentence has to be written in passive voice, keep the passive voice. If the move made you change to active voice, you didn't need the passive voice.
Example:
If you are discussing how the unloader arm handles the widgets, active voice is necessary: The unloader's mechanical arm removes each widget from the cassette and places it on the conveyer.
If you are discussing widgets and what happens to them at the unloader, the passive voice is necessary: Each widget is removed from the cassette by the unloader's mechanical arm and is placed on the conveyer.
Passive voice can cause problems when it hides the meaning of the sentence. A common flaw in work instructions is using passive voice where imperative (command form) is more appropriate.
Example:
BAD: The widget is placed into the smasher cavity at the top of the widget-smasher by the operator.
(This would be an acceptable sentence in a general discussion of how widgets are processed, but it fails as an instruction. The chain of phrases between the object and the person who performs the action is confusing, and the instructions never clearly instructed anyone to do anything.)
BETTER: [you] Place the widget into the smasher cavity at the top the widget-smasher.
(the subject "you" is implied, as a direct command to the operator.)
| | | | | How about Judgments? | Sep 29, 2011 |
Hello,
I am a student and I am interested to know about the passive voice! Would you as a translator retain the passive in English from legal documents of the ST?
In some cases I do feel that the passive would sound illogical in the Target Language, for example:
se impones las costas a las recurrentes...
The passive voice, whilst adopted here because we don't know who the agent is, it is simply stating a fact or an 'order' if you like<... See more Hello,
I am a student and I am interested to know about the passive voice! Would you as a translator retain the passive in English from legal documents of the ST?
In some cases I do feel that the passive would sound illogical in the Target Language, for example:
se impones las costas a las recurrentes...
The passive voice, whilst adopted here because we don't know who the agent is, it is simply stating a fact or an 'order' if you like
I think in cases like this, particularly in legal documents, it does make sense to render the passive as an active instead..just to make things clearer!
 Saludos ▲ Collapse
| | | | Neil Coffey 
Royaume-Uni
Local time: 15:27
français vers anglais
+ ...
| No single answer, but not need to be allergic to the passive | Sep 29, 2011 |
I wonder if the idea that "the passive is hard to understand/not used/is bad/will cause cancer/etc" is one of those linguistic myths that doesn't have much basis to it.
The active and passive generally have different characteristics, e.g.:
- one usually requires an agent to be mentioned, the other doesn't
- the two constructions often have different orderings in the sentence of the agent/patient
- the two constructions may imply different scopes rather than ... See more I wonder if the idea that "the passive is hard to understand/not used/is bad/will cause cancer/etc" is one of those linguistic myths that doesn't have much basis to it.
The active and passive generally have different characteristics, e.g.:
- one usually requires an agent to be mentioned, the other doesn't
- the two constructions often have different orderings in the sentence of the agent/patient
- the two constructions may imply different scopes rather than being simple equivalents of one another (e.g. "machines translate text" implies that some machines translate, and if a machine does translate, what it translates is usually text; "text is translated by machines" implies that, where text is translated, it is usually or always by a machine)
- there may be other subtle differences, e.g. a passive more strongly implies an 'action to a patient', rather than, say, an action involving a place (so it sounds odd to say "The station was left by the train", whereas "This umbrella was left by a diner" is fine)
- not to mention a host of other restrictions that could apply depending on the language (e.g. in French, passives tend not to be compatible with a continuous reading; in English, continuous passives are readily possible, but on the other hand passives are less compatible with complex tense structures, etc).
So... what construction you use in a given instance is really a complex (but largely intuitive) decision involving various factors such as the above. I think questions such as "Do you use the passive in legal translations?" are a little simplistic, given the number of factors involved. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Ty Kendall
Royaume-Uni
Local time: 15:27
hébreu vers anglais
| The Passive is your friend | Sep 29, 2011 |
I used the passive today to avoid awkward gender/number repetitions.
For example:
"The Shareholder sells all his/her/its/their shares"
"All the Shareholder's shares are sold".
I can't think of a better example this late at night, but imagine a legal document with an endless array of awkward gender possibilities (which is possible in English but impossible in Hebrew where the possessives follow the gender of the noun, in this case, "Shareholder" is ma... See more I used the passive today to avoid awkward gender/number repetitions.
For example:
"The Shareholder sells all his/her/its/their shares"
"All the Shareholder's shares are sold".
I can't think of a better example this late at night, but imagine a legal document with an endless array of awkward gender possibilities (which is possible in English but impossible in Hebrew where the possessives follow the gender of the noun, in this case, "Shareholder" is masculine in Hebrew so it would be "his shares" regardless of the actual gender of the Shareholder.
My brain really isn't working right now, but my point is that there are instances where the passive works in your favour, don't be afraid of it! ▲ Collapse
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| Passive Voice | May 5, 2012 |
I am a student and would you as a translator retain the passive voice?..I want to from you translator passive voice..
Put the sugar in a saucepan and add the water, stirring well. Heat over a medium flame, adding the honey and some threads of saffron. Mix well and let it boil in during 5-10 minutes. Let the saucepan on a minimum flame.
Melt the butter separately into the pan. Add the flour and a pinch of salt to the melted butter and mix well. The flour must be complete... See more I am a student and would you as a translator retain the passive voice?..I want to from you translator passive voice..
Put the sugar in a saucepan and add the water, stirring well. Heat over a medium flame, adding the honey and some threads of saffron. Mix well and let it boil in during 5-10 minutes. Let the saucepan on a minimum flame.
Melt the butter separately into the pan. Add the flour and a pinch of salt to the melted butter and mix well. The flour must be completely absorbed by the butter. Pay attention, that the flour may not be added later!
Heat the flour and butter mixture over a medium heat, stirring all the time, until the mixture turns a golden color.
Remove from the heat and add the sugar and water mixture. Take care not to burn your fingers. Mix thoroughly.
Place the halva on dessert plates. Leave for one hour to set before serving. The finished halva should be moist, neither too liquid nor too firm in consistency. If the halva is firm or dry, too much flour has been used. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Translating the Passive Voice into Arabic | Aug 7, 2012 |
Well, this is a signification topic for translation from English into Arabic. Unfortunately , some translators are used to translating the passive voice literally. " We are concern about the importance given to subject of sentence rather than to translate into active voice" , they would argue. Such literal translation of passive is really odd and untasted , let a lone it could be depicted as bad translation.
In Arabic , there is a good style of passive voice translation into neutral... See more Well, this is a signification topic for translation from English into Arabic. Unfortunately , some translators are used to translating the passive voice literally. " We are concern about the importance given to subject of sentence rather than to translate into active voice" , they would argue. Such literal translation of passive is really odd and untasted , let a lone it could be depicted as bad translation.
In Arabic , there is a good style of passive voice translation into neutral voice, that would give the importance to the subject and keep the good taste of classical Arabic language.
Let me give you an example if you could infer the difference :
This goal has been scored By Messi.
The traditional translators would translate the sentence into.
هذا الهدف سجل من قبل ميسي
But a better translation could be
هذا الهدف سجله ميسي
I would recommend to translate into active or neutral voice if found in any certain language. ▲ Collapse
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