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cable de rescate
Feb 24, 2014 17:59
10 yrs ago
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Spanish term

aunque por facsímiles

Spanish to English Other Journalism Motorbikes
Hello everyone,

This Spanish magazine article is to be translated into English (UK) and it's about a new model of a motorbike.

Here's the full sentence:

La Saietta de Agility Global es la prueba rodante y reluciente de que los vehículos eléctricos pueden ser sexys y que, aunque por facsímiles, en algunos aspectos el futuro ya está aquí.
Proposed translations (English)
1 +1 even if just in glimpses
5 although by facsimile
3 although in just a few rare copies
3 even if only by a few sporadical evidences
1 although in instalments (assuming typo)

Discussion

Andrew Darling (asker) Feb 26, 2014:
@ Javier Thanks, Javier. I appreciate your thoughts on this one.
Javier Grande Feb 26, 2014:
So it's true they wanted to say "por fascículos"! It's quite a terrible (although not so rare) mistake for a magazine. I like neilmac's option too. Another possibility could be "in small doses", but maybe is less elegant.
Andrew Darling (asker) Feb 26, 2014:
Client's explanation: "quiere decir por entregas, por partes, poco a poco...".

Well, I like neilmac's suggestion of "glimpses" (of the future) here because it's an elegant way to put it and I think it would suit the article very well. He will win the points if there are no further answers or suggestions based on what the client said at the start of this entry in the discussion. Thank you all very much for your contributions.
philgoddard Feb 25, 2014:
It's a guess, and I have no idea whether it's right.
Carlos Blanco, B.Sc. in Chemistry Feb 25, 2014:
@ James I read a lot of science fiction and now that the 3-D printing is here it would be nice to think we can get "stuff" faxed from the future, wouldn't it?, but I digress, philgoddard recomendation "albeit to a limited extent" seem to hit the sweet spot. I would recommend he post it as an answer.
James A. Walsh Feb 24, 2014:
@Carlos One thing I do agree with you on is that the Spanish was translated from English originally, so has gone a bit skew-whiff (if not a bit wrong).
philgoddard Feb 24, 2014:
I'd be interested in knowing what the client says.
Andrew Darling (asker) Feb 24, 2014:
Yeah, I'll check up on this with the client. Thanks everyone.
James A. Walsh Feb 24, 2014:
I'd check it with the client, if poss Think Javier could be on to something by assuming it's a typo, "facsímiles" makes no sense to me in either language in this context. Although I would have thought such a typo wouldn't be possible in a magazine...

Proposed translations

+1
13 hrs
Selected

even if just in glimpses

Pure guesswork. Almost zero confidence, but it kinda sorta works for me (at least it makes more sense to me than "facsimile")...

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Note added at 13 hrs (2014-02-25 07:44:46 GMT)
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I got over half a million hits on Google for "glimpse of the future"...

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Note added at 13 hrs (2014-02-25 07:45:40 GMT)
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Eg: "Freestyle Motocross and X Games Champion Ronnie Renner talks about his Stealth Electric Bomber. Giving you a glimpse of the future of electric bikes."
Peer comment(s):
agree Carlos Blanco, B.Sc. in Chemistry : I imagine that it is easier to get a glimpse of the future than to receive a fax from it. Your answer work for me as well. :-)
18 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Your idea of "glimpse of the future" solved this puzzle. Thanks very much for your answer. "
6 mins

although by facsimile

facsimile is a copy or replica

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 54 mins (2014-02-24 18:54:23 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

although by facsimile, *of wonderful things to come as the result of technological advances*, the future is already here

http://www.agilitymotors.com/

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Note added at 1 hr (2014-02-24 19:13:15 GMT)
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I like facsimile better than replica or other similar word because it gives me the idea that I can get it "faxed" from the future.
Peer comment(s):
neutral philgoddard : But what does this mean? What is a facsimile of what?
2 mins
Always the inquisitor! :-), See the note. Thanks. I am already thinking of buying one so I can be in the future already. However, I agree with you that is was an unfortunate choice of words. Possibly a translation since the bike is from the UK.
disagree James A. Walsh : I don't understand your confidence level. Your suggestion gets all of 1 G-hit — this answer, and that's because it’s completely meaningless in this context in English. Things are not “faxed” from the future, so your “explanation” is also meaningless
4 hrs
Nothing is meaningless in literature and marketing, that is what *literary license* is all about. But then again it is a word I would not have used had I done the original translation. And I am not really a great fan of Google as a translation tool.
agree Mario Freitas : Indeed, Carlos. It would be the same metaphor as in English and make the same sense. There's nothing wrong with it.
1 day 4 hrs
Something went wrong...
2 hrs

although in just a few rare copies

This is a pretty loose translation, so you'll have to make a judgement based on the context, but in my opinion it preserves the feeling of "sexy" and glamour conveyed by the rest of the sentence in a much better way than the more direct translation of "fascimile." I think there are very few people in the world to whom the word "fascimile" is sexy, and even less among motorcyle buyers. I chose the phrase "a few rare copies" to stand in for "fascimile" because fascimiles are often rare and have that connotation, although by definition they aren't necessarily limited editions. The link supports this connotation. I hope this helps!
Reference:

http://www.abebooks.com/books/RareBooks/collection-expensive-reprint-publisher/facsimile-editions.shtml

Something went wrong...
3 hrs

although in instalments (assuming typo)

It could be a typo in the Spanish source. I think it might well be that they wanted to say "por fascículos" ("in instalments" or "serialized")...at least "in some respects the future is already here, although by instalments" makes much more sense to me.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Carlos Blanco, B.Sc. in Chemistry : I can find *fascículos* meaning *installment or serialized* http://lema.rae.es/drae/?val=fasciculo
1 day 4 hrs
Sí, pero como es inglés británico tendría que ser "instalment", con una sola "l": http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/instalmen... En cualquier caso, posiblemente hay otras soluciones más elegantes, como ya se ha dicho.
Something went wrong...
6 hrs

even if only by a few sporadical evidences

Suggestion
Something went wrong...
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