Italian>English pesky word list, suggestions for hard-to-translate Italian terms Thread poster: Miriam Hurley
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Hello all, I've updated my list of Pesky Words: https://miriamhurley.com/pesky/ Ideas for common, hard-to-translate words and phrases from Italian to English Let me know in the comments if you have suggestions! Thanks, Miriam | | | Tom in London United Kingdom Local time: 18:30 Member (2008) Italian to English
Miriam Hurley wrote: Hello all, I've updated my list of Pesky Words: https://miriamhurley.com/pesky/ Ideas for common, hard-to-translate words and phrases from Italian to English Let me know in the comments if you have suggestions! Thanks, Miriam Very good, but I don't agree with half of them! Here's a challenge that I didn't find on your list: "declinazione" (the noun). I'm sure we have all tussled with that one in sentences like "la seta in tutte le sue declinazioni"
[Edited at 2020-06-11 10:18 GMT] | | | Miriam Hurley United States Local time: 10:30 Italian to English TOPIC STARTER Which part don't you agree with? | Jun 11, 2020 |
Thanks, Tom. You don't agree that they're pesky or that the suggestions are apt? They're meant to be grist for the mill for the translator to choose the best option for the context. I'll consider adding the noun of "declinare" in the future! Turning the verb suggestions into nouns can help, like "in all its many expressions..." | | | Tom in London United Kingdom Local time: 18:30 Member (2008) Italian to English
Miriam Hurley wrote: Thanks, Tom. You don't agree that they're pesky or that the suggestions are apt? They're meant to be grist for the mill for the translator to choose the best option for the context. I'll consider adding the noun of "declinare" in the future! Turning the verb suggestions into nouns can help, like "in all its many expressions..." Well Miriam; call me picky but to start with, I would not translate "in tutte le sue declinazioni" as "in all its many expressions". So much is lost. I do agree that the Italian words can be pesky, but that's because there are many wonderfully expressive words in Italian that cannot easily be rendered into English without losing something in the translation. For example "territorio", which is on your list, requires great care. For instance in a sentence that might begin something like "Nell'Arte del Buongoverno i Lorenzetti rappresentano Siena nel suo territorio...." the use of the English word "territory" would be dead and flat, without any of the resonance of " territorio". So I think context is important. Anyway - great work! | |
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Miriam Hurley United States Local time: 10:30 Italian to English TOPIC STARTER Yes, context | Jun 11, 2020 |
Thanks again. Yes, context is always the key factor. I almost never use "territory" for "territorio" but every once in a while, it is territory, like in, "Gregory Bateson sosteneva che ciò che la mappa è in grado di cogliere del territorio fossero le sue differenze." | | | texjax DDS PhD Local time: 13:30 Member (2006) English to Italian + ... | Emily Gilby United Kingdom Local time: 18:30 Member (2018) French to English + ... Thank you for sharing this! | Jun 12, 2020 |
An interesting read, nice to know that I'm not the only one who trips over "prevedere", it seems to have a different meaning every time and I must see it in nearly every translation that I do! I'm sure there are many more that could be added to this list but none come to mind right now... | | | Miranda Drew Italy Local time: 19:30 Member (2009) Italian to English what about "pratica"? | Jun 12, 2020 |
I saw this on linkedin and I find it really helpful. I translate financial and legal documents, and "practica" can be an annoying one. It can mean account, file, customer, paperwork....etc. | |
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Miriam Hurley United States Local time: 10:30 Italian to English TOPIC STARTER We'll add it to the list! | Jun 12, 2020 |
Thanks, that's a good one! | | | WS McCallum New Zealand Local time: 05:30 French to English A useful list | Jun 16, 2020 |
I enjoyed going through your list Miriam. A lot of Italian words and expressions are tangential and hyperbolic in nature and you capture the context-driven nature of these slippery terms. My favourite suggestion is "[leave out]". | | |
Might be worth an entry? Car port Shower cubicle Earbud case etc. | | | Tom in London United Kingdom Local time: 18:30 Member (2008) Italian to English Here's another one | Jul 21, 2020 |
trasversale/trasversalità "L’ampia gamma di articoli che compongono la linea XXXX si caratterizzano per trasversalità e semplicità" Give me ONE WORD for that, in English! I'm tearing my hair out here.... NB this is not a Kudoz question. It's a rant. | |
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Kay Denney France Local time: 19:30 French to English
I'm wishing I translated from Italian right now as I read this thread! When I was first starting out at an agency, checking the work of translators with far more experience than me, I started compiling a file that I called "Think of using", where I put their solutions for terms I had trouble conveying in English. It was really quite a useful file as I got to grips with pesky words. Now I wish I'd called the file "Pesky words"! Although I did have another mini-glossary that - to the d... See more I'm wishing I translated from Italian right now as I read this thread! When I was first starting out at an agency, checking the work of translators with far more experience than me, I started compiling a file that I called "Think of using", where I put their solutions for terms I had trouble conveying in English. It was really quite a useful file as I got to grips with pesky words. Now I wish I'd called the file "Pesky words"! Although I did have another mini-glossary that - to the delight of all the students I trained - I called "Corporate bla-bla". It listed all those inane buzzwords like "proactive" and "think outside the box" and, indeed, "buzzword". I got most of the terms out of articles with titles like "tired words you really should avoid in business"
[Edited at 2020-07-23 13:47 GMT] ▲ Collapse | | | Tom in London United Kingdom Local time: 18:30 Member (2008) Italian to English I hate having to think up a title every time I post in a forum | Jul 23, 2020 |
Kay Denney wrote: I'm wishing I translated from Italian right now as I read this thread! When I was first starting out at an agency, checking the work of translators with far more experience than me, I started compiling a file that I called "Think of using", where I put their solutions for terms I had trouble conveying in English. It was really quite a useful file as I got to grips with pesky words. Now I wish I'd called the file "Pesky words"! Although I did have another mini-glossary that - to the delight of all the students I trained - I called "Corporate bla-bla". It listed all those inane buzzwords like "proactive" and "think outside the box" and, indeed, "buzzword". I got most of the terms out of articles with titles like "tired words you really should avoid in business" [Edited at 2020-07-23 13:47 GMT] You could run that one up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes it | | | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Italian>English pesky word list, suggestions for hard-to-translate Italian terms Trados Studio 2022 Freelance | The leading translation software used by over 270,000 translators.
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