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Glossary entry

Spanish term or phrase:

el ausente

English translation:

the absent one/the disappeared

Added to glossary by Cecilia Gowar
Apr 6, 2013 18:13
11 yrs ago
Spanish term

el ausente

Spanish to English Art/Literary Poetry & Literature Fantasy novel
"Una guerra milenaria acontece en los dominios de xxx, el ausente, algunos han huido o sido expulsados"

Hi all. I am finding it hard to handle 'el ausente' in this context. I thought of ‘the missing’, but that doesn’t follow with the rest of the sentence. I am assuming it does not mean ‘absent from the fighting’, but missing after the war. I have gone with a simple 'after which', so 'A thousand year war was waged in the dominions of xxx, after which some fled or were exiled'. I also thought about 'with the outcome that', or 'the outcome of which was that', but it seemed long winded.

I'm concerned it has another meaning I am not aware of. Oh - original is Mexican Spanish, or may have Mexican Spanish content.

Any suggestions, please?

Many thanks
Proposed translations (English)
3 +3 the absent one/the disappeared
4 and anyone who missed it
Change log

Apr 8, 2013 19:45: Cecilia Gowar Created KOG entry

Discussion

Sian Cooper (asker) Apr 8, 2013:
Is it a bird, is it a plane?? No, it's a god. He is absent. No-one knows why.

Thank you all for your imaginative responses! My final version, given the new information from the author, is "In has absence, a thousand year war was fought across the lands of XXX. Some fled and some were expelled." I am protecting the name for author confidentiality, since it is a name of his invention.
José J. Martínez Apr 8, 2013:
The way I can understand the phrase in SP would be in EN as...xxx, the one that is (or was) absent, where some have left (on their own) and some have been expelled. - - Possibly to continue chewing on this is like beating a dead horse...
Cecilia Gowar Apr 8, 2013:
It definitely has nothing to do with our "desaparecidos", it sounds feudal or SF and I do not think the comma is misplaced. It makes perfect sense, but we do not have the background.
José J. Martínez Apr 8, 2013:
dominios de xxx, el ausente, algunos ... I think the comma between XXX and el ausente is incorrectly placed and maybe if an "AKA "el ausente" were introduced, would clear it all up.
Blanca Collazo Apr 8, 2013:
Does it refer to a political period in Argentina when people were made to disappeared?
Blanca Collazo Apr 8, 2013:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ausente
Maybe this will help you. ¡Suerte!
Cecilia Gowar Apr 7, 2013:
XXX is definitely the name of the territorial ruler. What is not clear is why he is called "the absent one", or what sort of territory, ruling system, or setting we are talking about. All that would have an impact on the translated version. But there is no question XXX refers to such ruler.
Graciela Vicente Apr 7, 2013:
I think Helena is right. The domain or the lands of XXX who was absent or had fled while the war was being fought
Lina Villegas Apr 6, 2013:
Any chance you can add some more text? before and after the sentence, might help us understand why they refer to him as "el ausente"
James A. Walsh Apr 6, 2013:
OK, I'm really confused now... Just what is XXX? Surely you have this info available to you? (So why can't you share it if it's historical?)
Sian Cooper (asker) Apr 6, 2013:
Ohhh - person not place OK - reading more of above, yes it does make more sense if XXX is a person. I'm sorry, as I say in my comment on the answer, that I cannot be more specific, I just do not have that information.
Sian Cooper (asker) Apr 6, 2013:
Interesting thought Thanks Helena, XXX is the name of a place, I do not yet know much more about it (a city, a land...). This is a good idea, although for the moment it still seems pretty strange to me to say 'an ancient war was waged in XXX place, from which it was absent' - I mean, how can the place where the war was waged be absent from it? I will need to mull over how it could work.
José J. Martínez Apr 6, 2013:
Seems to me it is not correctly punctuated.
amendozachisum Apr 6, 2013:
I agree with Helena. The ausente is XXX.
Helena Chavarria Apr 6, 2013:
I think 'el ausente' refers to XXX (the dominios de XXX). It complements the noun. What do the Xs replace? Could it be the domain of so-and-so, who was absent whilst the war was raging?

Proposed translations

+3
1 hr
Selected

the absent one/the disappeared

Without more context that is all I can suggest. I am sure XXX is the one who is absent. What does the rest of the story tell you about this absence? Is he/she (probably he) missing? not showing up? not doing enough?
I do not understand the rest of your query. Some people are fleeing or being pushed out while the war is taking place so you do not have to add "after which".
More context is really needed to do this properly.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 days1 hr (2013-04-08 20:00:22 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Thanks Sian! Regards.
Note from asker:
This is the introductory paragraph of the piece - I think it is purposefully somewhat obscure - but from the first 2000 words so far I can only tell you that I thought XXX was a place - it makes more sense that it should be a person. I'm sorry, I cannot give you any more helpful context, since the mystery of what or who XXX is seems to be the heart of the story and I don't have more at the moment.
Peer comment(s):
agree Charles Davis : "The absent one" is what I would say, on what we have here.
15 mins
Thanks Charles!
agree Andy Watkinson : Agree with Charles. "el ausente" is in apposition.
6 hrs
Thanks!
agree Yvonne Gallagher : most likely
15 hrs
Thanks Gallagy!
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Please see my last discussion entry for clarification received from author. Thank you. "
3 hrs
Spanish term (edited): el ausente

and anyone who missed it

Based on the further context you've provided, this is my suggestion...
Example sentence:

Una guerra milenaria acontece en los dominios de xxx, el ausente, algunos han huido o sido expulsados.

A thousand year war was waged in the dominions of xxx, and anyone who missed it had either fled or were exiled.

Something went wrong...
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