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Italian to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Architecture / architecture museum, desc | | Italian term or phrase: Fotografia ante operam | | Context: Fotografia ante operam,fotografia b/n, s.d., 36 x 50 cm |
| | | Pre-construction photograph | Explanation:
This is how I would put it.
I looked for references of "ante operam" in English and found very few. Italian uses Latin much more often than English, except in Legal and medical/scientific texts where the users/readers are most likely to be prepared to understand or look up the term. In this case, cutting to the core of the meaning seems much more appropriate than using an obscure (to many) Latin term, readily understood by an Italian speaker but not necessarily by those who have no preparation in Romance or Latin derived languages, but who do speak/read English. |
| Selected response from:
 Cedric Randolph
Italy
Local time: 01:49
| Grading comment thanks a million Cedric
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer |
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| Discussion entries: 0 |
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Automatic update in 00:
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2 hrs confidence:   an ante operam photograph
Explanation:
Shera Lin's reference notwithstanding :)
Traditionally, it is considered bad form to translate Latin crop-ups. It's like translating, I don't know, say, "pro capite" into "per head". You're translating from Italian – not from Latin, so, italicise "ante operam", and leave it as is ... and, well, sapienti sat.
| Michael Korovkin
Local time: 01:49
Works in field
Native speaker of:  English, Russian
PRO pts in category: 20
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3 hrs confidence: peer agreement (net): +1
13 hrs confidence:
1 hr peer agreement (net): +1 |
| Changes made by editors |
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| Aug 13, 2011: | | Kudoz queue | In queue => Public |
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