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Abundant in oil Nigeria has squandered...

English translation: Abundant in oil, Nigeria has squandered...

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11:58 Jan 24, 2012

English to English translations [Non-PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters / punctuation

English term or phrase: Abundant in oil Nigeria has squandered...

Is this grammatically correct?

The whole sentence:
Abundant in oil Nigeria has squandered a quarter trillion of oil dollars and is deep in debt at the moment.

Michael Kislov KudoZ activity Questions: 264 (20 open) (14 closed without grading) Answers: 2575 Russian Federation
Local time: 05:05

English translation:Abundant in oil, Nigeria has squandered...

Explanation:
A comma after "oil" separates the qualifying term from the main sentence and makes it easier to understand.

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Note added at 1 hr (2012-01-24 13:19:34 GMT)
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As you can see from the comments below, there are those who think it is grammatically correct without the comma, depending how the phrase is interpreted. I personally feel, as apparently do several colleagues, that with the comma it is much better.

Selected response from:

Martin Riordan
Brazil
Local time: 22:05

Grading comment

4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

4 +13

Abundant in oil, Nigeria has squandered...

Martin Riordan

5 +2

Abundant-in-oil Nigeria has squandered...

Tony M

4 +2

With an abundance of oil, Nigeria has squandered ...

B D Finch

Answers

2 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +13

abundant in oil nigeria has squandered...

Abundant in oil, Nigeria has squandered...

Martin Riordan
Brazil
Local time: 22:05
Native speaker of:

English,

Portuguese
PRO pts in category: 36

Notes to answerer

Asker: And would it still be correct without a comma?

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

kmtext

3 mins

-> Thanks, kmtext!

agree

Liz Broomfield

4 mins

-> Thanks, Liz!

agree

Carol Gullidge: agree despite the growing tendency for fewer commas; this comma makes the text instantly easier to decipher

6 mins

-> Thanks, Carol!

agree

missdutch

6 mins

-> Thanks, missdutch!

agree

trsk2000

8 mins

-> Thanks, Tariq!

agree

writeaway: yup, the problem is this simple

58 mins

-> Thanks, writeaway!

agree

NancyLynn

1 hr

-> Thanks, NancyLynn!

agree

Allison Wright: one more agreement

1 hr

-> Thanks, Alison!

agree

Tony M: I would go so far as to say that it would be completely wrong without the comma; hence why, rather than assume the writer made a mistake, I favour an alternative explanation.

1 hr

-> Thanks, Tony!

agree

yx37029: // Simon or YX if you prefer :)

3 hrs

-> Thanks, Simon!

agree

David Moore: And with Carol re comprehension

3 hrs

-> Thanks, David!

agree

Lesley Clayton

9 hrs

-> Thanks, Lesley!

agree

Phong Le

1 day14 hrs

-> Thank you, Phong Le!

19 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

abundant in oil nigeria has squandered... Abundant-in-oil Nigeria has squandered...

Explanation:
Yes, it is grammatically correct — and here's another way you might interpret it, with 'abundant-in-oil' qualifying Nigeria; sadly, modern US usage tends to leave out these sorts of hyphens, which are very much needed for correct reading!

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Note added at 19 minutes (2012-01-24 12:18:43 GMT)
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(It does rather read like a US-originated text!)

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Note added at 20 minutes (2012-01-24 12:19:32 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

And yes, it would still be correct without a comma, if you interpret it this way.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 51 minutes (2012-01-24 12:50:38 GMT)
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I think it is just this sort of case where the writer has made up this adjectival expression (which I totally agree with BDF is horrid!) that requires the addition of hyphens — first and foremost, to assist correct reading, and secondly, to flag up the very fact that it is made up.

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Note added at 1 heure (2012-01-24 13:29:02 GMT)
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My interpretation does have the merit of not requiring us to assume a typo on the part of the writer — just a propensity for normal US usage!

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Note added at 3 heures (2012-01-24 15:22:56 GMT)
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Michael; "I" haven't — 3 peers voted for non-pro; regardless of the debate, it is easy enough for "any normally bilingual person" to answer, as per the KudoZ criteria.

No-one here is in any doubt whatsoever as to the intended meaning — which appeared to be the thrust of your question.

The only "debate" (and arguably a little futile at that...) is as to how the writer ought to have written it — but as ever, that is not truly our concern as translators, except insofar as it may compromise understanding.

Tony M
France
Local time: 03:05
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 137

Notes to answerer

Asker: Tony, see, this question has raised a bit of debate, why have you made it non-pro?

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

neutral

Allison Wright: Tony's suggestion is equally valid, but does serve to highlight how clumsy the sentence construction is. I favour a more wordy construction, "Even though it has an abundance in oil, Nigeria has squandered..."

1 hr

-> Thanks, Alison! Let's not lose sight of the fact that we are not here to re-write the original, simply to help Asker unravel it. / Also, any words like 'even though' etc. add a possibly unwanted nuance of meaning.

neutral

Carol Gullidge: Agree totally with the validity of this interpretation, but rather think 'they' would favour "Oil-rich Nigeria...' if they were insisting on this construction. At least, that's what I'd LIKE to assume... ;)

1 hr

-> I think the stylistic device is probably being deliberately used to make a partisan political point

agree

missdutch: Allison and Carol have a valid point, but I still like your take on it, a really interesting and fresh approach.

3 hrs

-> Thanks a lot, Miss Dutch!

agree

Ledja Derveni: This is exactly how I read the phrase. "Abundant-in-oil" functions as an adjective here, same as phrases such as "a larger-than-life character" or "sought-after item" and so on.

7 hrs

-> Thanks, Ledja! Yes, that's exactly how I'm reading it; 'a none-too-smart move'

1 hr confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

abundant in oil nigeria has squandered... With an abundance of oil, Nigeria has squandered ...

Explanation:
Explanation:
I really don't like the use of "abundant in oil" adjectivally. Also, though I would normally agree with Tony about hyphenating compound adjectives, in this case I do not, because this is not a common enough collocation and works better (though still not well) as an unhyphenated adjectiveal phrase. I think that part of the problem is that land can be abundant in oil, but it takes people to squander resources.

The original formulation therefore seems to be personalising a geographical entity "Nigeria". "Abundant in oil" can only apply to a geographical or physical entity, not to people, so it is best to use the possessive "with an abundance of oil", which can be applied to people or social groups.

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Note added at 4 hrs (2012-01-24 16:03:03 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Tony's comment has made me look at this again and I have realised that my suggested phrasing could be interpreted as introducing causality. One could avoid that by going for the more pedestrian: 'Nigeria, which has an abundance of oil, has squandered ... .'

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Note added at 1 day1 hr (2012-01-25 13:28:17 GMT)
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In answer to Asker's note: no, I think that the construction is correct with a comma. However, there are other, stylistic problems. Something can be grammatically correct but still a poor piece of writing.

B D Finch
France
Local time: 03:05
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 48

Notes to answerer

Asker: So, BD, you assert that the construction is incorrect even with a comma?

Voters for reclassification
as
PRO / non-PRO

Non-PRO (3): trsk2000, Tony M, Cilian O'Tuama

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Changes made by editors

Jan 24 - Changes made by writeaway:
Field (write-in)	(none) => punctuation
Jan 24 - Changes made by Cilian O'Tuama:
Level	PRO => Non-PRO

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