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Italian to English - Rates: 0.03 - 0.05 GBP per word Russian to English - Rates: 0.04 - 0.06 GBP per word Spanish to English - Rates: 0.03 - 0.05 GBP per word Papiamento to English - Rates: 0.04 - 0.06 GBP per word
Portfolio
Sample translations submitted: 2
Italian to English: Creative/persuasive writing General field: Art/Literary
Source text - Italian Difficile sostenere che una parola in falsetto come compilation sia più chiara di raccolta o significhi qualcosa di diverso, nè che trend rappresenti una novità concettuale rispetto a tendenza.
L’abuso di questi termini, al contrario di quanto pensano alcuni, produce una diminuizione di efficacia espressiva e genara quindi un effetto d’inerzia. “Così il famoso okay, che blocca una serie di opzioni e sfumatura offerte dalla nostra lingua: sta bene, va bene, d’accordo, intesi, guisto”.
Non meno stucchevoli sono quei gerghi tecnici che oggi vengono presi di peso dall’inglese. Un noto esempio è dato dalla coppia software/hardware che si potrebbe facilmente sostituire, ad esempio, con “sistema operativo” e “apparecchiatura”, se non fosse che in questo come in altri casi ci troviamo di fronte ad una nomenclatura settoriale che nessuno si è mai preso la briga di “tradurre” nel suo complesso, anche se, riferendosi all’uso del computer, ha un’alta probabilità di entrare nella lingua comune. “Non esistono purtroppo leggi antitrust per arginare i monopoli linguistici, scriveva di recente Guiseppe Pontiggia. Un aspetto grottesco di questa invasione del mercato (nelle accezioni molteplici dell’espressione) è il lessico tecnologico americano, importato in tempo debitamente reale ovvero alla velocità della luce, al seguito della rivoluzione telematica. Sappiamo che le dighe puristiche non hanno fortunatamente retto, negli ultimi due secoli, al dilagare dei barbari (...) Ora però l’alluvione ha toccato i limiti di guardia. Si usa un americano ipertecnico e spesso frainteso, anzichè ricorrere a un equivalente nella nostra lingua. E si impoverisce e si appiattisce, sotto un gergo che veicola passivamente i concetti senza sottoporli al vaglio della lingua, la stessa comunicazione economica”
Translation - English It’s hard to imagine that a word as unnatural in Italian as ‘compilation’ is any clearer than raccolta, or has a different meaning, just as ‘trend’ cannot claim to bring more to the table than tendenza.
Contrary to what some people believe, the unnecessary of these terms results in the loss of much of their expressive power, and hence in linguistic inertia. “Take for example the popular ‘okay’, a word that takes the place of a variety of phrases present in our own language, with various shades of meaning: sta bene, va bene, d’accordo, intesi, giusto”.
But the large amount of technical jargon being imported from Britain these days is no less loathsome. Take for example ‘software’ and ‘hardware’: these could easily be replaced with the Italian words sistema operativa and apparecchiatura. But if these are replaced, Italians then face the prospect of having to translate all the other terms from the IT domain. These words are destined to enter the general language, but no one has ever bothered to translate them all. “Unfortunately, there are no antitrust laws to regulate linguistic monopolies” - wrote Giuspeppe Pontiggia recently, - “the worst thing about this flood of the market, (in multiple senses of the phrase) - is the technological terminology of America, entering Italian at the speed of light in the wake of the technological boom. Fortunately, in the last two centuries the purists have been strong enough to stop the spread of barbarians (…) but now the floodgates are at bursting point. [Italians] use an English that is hypertechnical and frequently misunderstood, forgetting that there are equivalents in [their] own language. The jargon weakens it, making it void of nuance. It introduces concepts without assessing their suitability to the native language, and its own communication system”
Russian to English: Journalism/fashion General field: Art/Literary
Source text - Russian http://www.womanineurope.com/beauty/show_fashion.php?&fnr=45&cat=people
Translation - English Alexander Vasiliev is an inspiration to all you fashionistas out there. In his talks he brings history to life and captures the imaginations of whole stadiums. On top of this, he’s also a collector, an outstanding author and an inspirational teacher, with mind-boggling intelligence and a razor-sharp wit.
Alexander Vasiliev was born in Moscow on December 9, 1958. Even as a child, he was fascinated by clothes from past eras. He used to spend hours rummaging through mountains of old clothes, hunting down jewelry or clothes in garbage dumps, and picking up photography from old newspapers. Thankfully he escaped the “zombie-effect” of the Soviet Union unscathed, and moved to Paris when he was just 24.
After living outside of Russia for almost 25 years, Vasiliev says that his attitude towards time is now totally different to ordinary Russians’. Unlike Russians, who are “always stressed out and late”, he values his time, and the time of others. His advice to ensure success: forward planning. He keeps a diary, and at any given point in the day, he knows exactly what he will be doing.
Vasiliev is always so cheerful and optimistic, and he fiercely believes in the wonders of positive thinking. Sure, he gets angry, but with himself - not others. “I don’t offload my problems onto others”, he says, “I think people should find a way to solve them for themselves”.
More than anything else, he wants “to be useful”, and to create a link between the past and the future. He’s on a mission to convince the younger generations of Russia of their rich cultural heritage, and is urging them to look beyond the 80 years of Soviet power. He truly believes that without a past, a future is impossible.
Taken from an interview with Alexander Vasiliev published in Osinka, 10th June 2005. Edited and translated by Bethany Benlin.
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Beauty in Exile describes the work of the fabulous Russian designers who have emigrated to Paris, Berlin and Constantinople (modern day Istanbul). Around fifty haute couture houses around the world were founded by Russian émigrés. The book has created a real sense of pride in Russia, and dispels the myth that Russian fashion began with Valentin Yugashkin or Vyacheslav Zaytsev - in fact it was much earlier. Alexander hopes that this book has opened people’s eyes to the truth about Russian fashion, and suggests that this may the root of its inwavering success. The bestseller in now in its 6th edition, and available in English.
One hundred and fifty years of Russian fashion charts the development of Russian fashion between 1850 and 2000. With 2000 illustrations ad 450 pages of text, this book covers the well-established designers and also introduces you to the work of many unknown designers who have had success. It’s an accessible read, and essential for anyone wanting to keep their finger on the fashion pulse. Alexander wants to make Russians feel proud of their long relationship with fashion, and the role they have played in its history.
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Experience
Years of experience: 20. Registered at ProZ.com: Dec 2009.
