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| User | Thread poster: Nancy Lynn Bogar Off topic: True Story! (Translating the word "weathered" into other languages) |
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Adil Sönmez
Turkey
Local time: 13:44
English to Turkish
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"Hava etkisinde kalmýþ" or better "eskimiþ"
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Gerard de Noord 
France
Local time: 12:44
  Member (2003)
German to Dutch
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| | Exact translations | Mar 29, 2004 |
NancyLynn wrote:
So in French we\'re back to \"altéré par l\'action des agents atmosphériques\"...
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And IMHO the only exact one-word translations for \'weathered\' so far are \'verwittert\' and \'verweerd\'. This is fascinating because the term stands for deterioration by all elements. The phenomenon takes place all around the world.
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Magda Dziadosz
Poland
Local time: 12:44
Member (2002)
English to Polish
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| | weathered is not the same as "eaten by the tooth of time" | Mar 29, 2004 |
My admiration for the word "weathered" has not seized, thanks Nancy for bringing it here!
I still think that the stone in question at least "uleg³ wp³ywowi warunków atmosferycznych" or "zmieni³ siê na skutek pogody" so 4 or 5 rather long words, not sounding so beautiful and simple as ...weathered!!
The fact that quite a few proposed translation above refer to the time factor rather than the weather shows that it is not easy to find a right equivalent.
Magda
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Heinrich Pesch
Finland
Local time: 13:44
Member (2003)
Finnish to German
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There is one word for weathered in Finnish, originally it means 'destored by influence of weather' but can also be used for other phenomena in the sence of deterogation.
There is even a kind of mineral, which in ENGLISH is called 'rapakivi', geologists know what that is.
But rapautunut is not derived from the word for weather = sää.
Rapautunut has clearly a negative meaning, you would not use it for a building you admire, as with 'weathered', so in English you have to use more words to express what you really mean, as usually.
'Sään patinoima' would be a two-word expression for weathered in the positive sence.
[Edited at 2004-03-30 01:44]
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Robert Zawadzki
Poland
Local time: 12:44
English to Polish
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| | How to do it in 7 words in Polish? | Mar 30, 2004 |
I would go along Uldis line "nadgryziony zêbem czasu" - back translation is the same.
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louisajay
French to English
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Heinrich Pesch wrote:
Rapautunut has clearly a negative meaning, you would not use it for a building you admire, as with 'weathered', so in English you have to use more words to express what you really mean, as usually.
'Sään patinoima' would be a two-word expression for weathered in the positive sence.
[Edited at 2004-03-30 01:44] |
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Actually, Heinrich, "weathered" is not necessarily a derogatory or negative term in English. It can describe shabby beauty, which can be just as charming as the perfect kind of beauty.
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Lorenzo Lilli
Italy
Local time: 12:44
English to Italian
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Gianfranco Manca wrote:
In Italian we can say it with three words:
"consunto (or segnato, usurato, corroso, logorato, eroso) dalle intemperie"
I can't remember any single word corresponding to "weathered"
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Or maybe "... dagli agenti atmosferici", as in French.
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xxxuldis
Latvia
Local time: 13:44
English to Latvian
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| | On the other hand- | Mar 30, 2004 |
does English have expression equivalent to "gnawed by the tooth of time"?
The point I want to make is that each and every language has unique and beautiful words/expressions, not paralleled in any other language.
Uldis
Magda Dziadosz wrote:
The fact that quite a few proposed translation above refer to the time factor rather than the weather shows that it is not easy to find a right equivalent.
Magda |
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Nancy Lynn Bogar
Canada
Local time: 06:44
Member (2002)
French to English
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MODERATOR TOPIC STARTER |
Uldis Liepkalns wrote:
does English have expression equivalent to "gnawed by the tooth of time"?
Uldis
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Yes, Uldis, the adjective would be eroded - a word which applies certainly to rock, but I wouldn't use it to describe an old fisherman! but your fisherman, his face is weathered - worn by time, yes, but much more by weather.
Nancy
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Heinrich Pesch
Finland
Local time: 13:44
Member (2003)
Finnish to German
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| | Its a question of precision | Mar 30, 2004 |
louisajay wrote:
Actually, Heinrich, \"weathered\" is not necessarily a derogatory or negative term in English. It can describe shabby beauty, which can be just as charming as the perfect kind of beauty. |
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That\'s what I mean, English words are mostly rather unprecise, and e.g. Finnish is generally more precise, to the point.
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Gerard de Noord
France
Local time: 12:44
Member (2003)
German to Dutch
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| | But English is to the point | Mar 30, 2004 |
Heinrich Pesch wrote:
That\'s what I mean, English words are mostly rather unprecise, and e.g. Finnish is generally more precise, to the point. |
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The only time in my live I thought English was unprecise was when I found out they don\'t have a distinct word for fish bone, like peoples that also eat fish without chips. Weather-battered, weather-beaten, weather-bitten, weather-eaten, weathered, weather-wasted and weatherworn are precise and to the point.
I do envie the Germans for their possibility to take any word that starts with ver..., like verwittert and aggravate it with zer...
In German, \'zerwittert\' would mean \'verwittert\' beyond recognition or beyond repair.
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Heinrich Pesch
Finland
Local time: 13:44
Member (2003)
Finnish to German
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| | My experience is different | Mar 31, 2004 |
Our example 'weathered' is unspecific about the speakers attitude and needs an adjective: magnificiently weathered or 'rather badly weathered'. So the advantage of a single word is lost. Same applies to 'verwittert'. I regularly translate German and English technical texts into Finnish and always wonder, how spongy the originals appear against the Finnish target.
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Lusobras
Portugal
Local time: 11:44
Spanish to Portuguese
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| | Portuguese: 1 word | Mar 31, 2004 |
you have posted
In Portuguese we say "descorado" what means that "have lost the original colour".
Coloured cheers for all of you
Lusobras
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ladytraduk
Italy
Local time: 12:44
Member (2004)
English to Italian
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"eroso" in italian means the result of the action of water, wind and time and it is used almost only as an adjective for the word stone or mountain... so i think it could translate the english term. in a conversation or in a book I'd use "eroso", in a poetic book I'd use "scolpita dalla natura"
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Ciprian Dumea
Luxembourg
Local time: 12:44
English to Romanian
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| | mancat de vreme | Apr 5, 2004 |
In Romanian it's "mancat de vreme" or "ros de vreme", which means "eaten/gnawed by the weather" and can also mean "eaten/gnawed by the time" - a nice way to say everything in one package .
Hmmm... it seems time must have quite powerful teeth. Or at least strong gums.
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