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recibidor del obraje

English translation: foreman


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GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Spanish term or phrase:recibidor del obraje
English translation:foreman
Entered by: Charles Davis
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23:21 Nov 16, 2011
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters / general
Spanish term or phrase: recibidor del obraje
Hola! no sé cómo traducir: recibidor del obraje (creo que es un puesto) en el siguiente contexto:

El bienestar avanzaba, y con él una somnolencia llena de recuerdos. No sentía ya nada ni en la pierna ni en el vientre. ¿Viviría aún su compadre Gaona en Tacurú-Pucú? Acaso viera también a su ex patrón mister Dougald, y al recibidor del obraje.

Gracias
Mariana Ruberto
foreman
Explanation:
"Recibidor del obraje" is defined in a footnote to this passage as "individuo que dirige la labor o que recibe lo que se produce", in Las literaturas hispánicas: introducción a su estudio, vol. III, edited by Evelyn Picon Garfield, Iván A. Schulman, p. 350)
http://books.google.es/books?id=DS777KWGs9cC&pg=PA350&lpg=PA...

Evelyn Pico Garfield is a reliable scholar and I think this note can be trusted.

I don't think the word "receiver" will work in English; readers will not understand what it means. A few paragraphs later this character, Lorenzo Cubilla, is referred to as the "recibidor de maderas de míster Dougald". It seems clear that he works for Mr Dougald supervising a mill or yard where the timber is brought. I think the best word to capture this in English is "foreman" (capataz), a person who is an employee but also in charge.
Selected response from:

Charles Davis
Local time: 04:23
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +2foremanCharles Davis
4agentIoanaDumitrescu
3receiver on the work site
Ana Terzaghi


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


41 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
agent


Explanation:
The published translation of Quiroga's A la deriva, by Margaret Sayers Peden, in the volume The Decapitated Chicken and Other Stories, which I found on Google books, goes like this:
"Perhaps he might also see his former employer, Mister Dougald, and Mister Dougald's agent."



    Reference: http://books.google.ro/books?id=RFqnhxhMpOIC&pg=PR21&lpg=PR2...
IoanaDumitrescu
Local time: 05:23
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in RomanianRomanian

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Ana Terzaghi: This is literature. The literal meaning would be "el individuo que dirige la labor o que recibe lo que se produce". It is about deforesting the native forest in Misiones.
11 hrs
agree  Karen Vincent-Jones: If it's good enough for a published translation of Quiroga, surely it's good enough for Mariana's purposes! Also, 'agent' is readily understood in English as someone who works for somebody else in a professional or expert role, as in this case.
12 hrs
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11 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
receiver on the work site


Explanation:
It is always difficult to express this kind of expressions in "foreign" language. It is the person incharge of supervising work and of receiving products. Either forest or sugar cane crops, in the humid forest in Misiones.

Ana Terzaghi
Local time: 23:23
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish
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12 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
foreman


Explanation:
"Recibidor del obraje" is defined in a footnote to this passage as "individuo que dirige la labor o que recibe lo que se produce", in Las literaturas hispánicas: introducción a su estudio, vol. III, edited by Evelyn Picon Garfield, Iván A. Schulman, p. 350)
http://books.google.es/books?id=DS777KWGs9cC&pg=PA350&lpg=PA...

Evelyn Pico Garfield is a reliable scholar and I think this note can be trusted.

I don't think the word "receiver" will work in English; readers will not understand what it means. A few paragraphs later this character, Lorenzo Cubilla, is referred to as the "recibidor de maderas de míster Dougald". It seems clear that he works for Mr Dougald supervising a mill or yard where the timber is brought. I think the best word to capture this in English is "foreman" (capataz), a person who is an employee but also in charge.

Charles Davis
Local time: 04:23
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 94

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Karen Vincent-Jones: Yes, this will be better understood in English.
25 mins
  -> Thanks, Karen :)
agree  Ana Terzaghi
46 mins
  -> ¡Muchas gracias, Ana! :)
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Changes made by editors
Nov 28, 2011 - Changes made by Charles Davis:
Created KOG entryKudoZ term => KOG term


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