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Italian to English: 1st Annual ProZ.com Translation Contest - Entry #8137
Source text - Italian Ho perso il conto del tempo che siamo stati nascosti qui, tra gli scarti di fieno puzzolente e tanfo di umanità sporca e spaventata. E’ da poco passato Natale e l’abbiamo passato in questa stalla, insieme ai compaesani affamati, tremanti di freddo e paura. Quasi come Gesù Bambino, solo che almeno lui aveva un bue e un asinello che lo scaldavano con l’alito. Noi manco quelli. Gli asini se li sono portati via i militari, per trasportare il trasportabile, anche il corredo di mamma; i buoi … non ci vuole molto per capire che fine hanno fatto, già da tempo, anche i più tosti da masticare.
Al buio crepato dal fioco chiarore mattutino, accucciata alla mia schiena per scongiurare il gelo, mia sorella Teresina mormora «Checchina … sei sveglia?» Sussurra, come siamo ormai abituate a fare, per renderci il più trasparenti possibile, ragazze ombra che si fanno forza solo per proteggere una madre vedova e tre fratelli più piccoli, anche se non sono sicura di quale protezione potremmo mai offrire.
«Si, sono sveglia, ma taci o svegli tutti e incominciano con le lagne per la fame e chi li sente … ».
«Hai ragione, ma c’è qualcosa che non va … non riesco a capire … ».
«Teresì, c’è la guerra, cosa vuoi di più?»
«Ma no, ascolta bene … »
Tendo le orecchie. Nella penombra scorgo le sagome dei poveracci che hanno perso tutto in pochi mesi, traditi da re e ragion di stato. Sento solo il respiro angosciato di chi copre la testa con le braccia in un gesto istintivo, per allontanare quell’incubo che è la nostra quotidiana realtà: colpi di cannone che rimbombano, mitragliatrici che sferragliano, bombe che ululano, carri armati che fanno tremare la terra prima che li si vedano arrivare.
E ascoltando bene, mi rendo conto che la guerra tace.
Translation - English I have lost all sense of time, of how long we have been hiding here, amidst the putrid straw sweepings, surrounded by the stench of human filth and despair. It was Christmas a few days ago. We spent it here in the stable with other people from the village, famished and trembling from the cold and from fear. It almost reminds me of Baby Jesus, only he at least had an ox and a donkey to warm him with their breath. We don’t even have that much. The soldiers took the donkeys to cart off everything they could lay their hands on, even mother’s trousseau. As for the oxen, you don’t need much imagination to guess what happened to them, even the toughest rumps are long gone.
The faint glimmer of morning begins to cut through the dark of night. My sister, Teresina, is huddled against my back to ward off the chill.
“Checchina” she murmurs, “are you awake?”
She whispers. We always do, we try to be as invisible as we can, girls in the shadows driven only by a resolve to protect our widowed mother and three little brothers and sisters, although I have to wonder what kind of protection we could possibly provide.
“Yes, I’m awake, but quieten down or you’ll wake everyone up and they’ll start whining, ‘I’m hungry! I’m thirsty!'”
“I know, but something’s not right. I don’t understand…”
“Teresi, there’s a war on, what do you expect?”
“But no, listen!”
I cock my head. In the dim light, I can barely make out the shapes of these hapless people who have lost everything they could call their own in just a few months, betrayed by King and the powers that be. All I hear is their agonized breathing as they sleep with their arms wrapped around their heads, instinctively shielding themselves from the nightmare our lives have become. Every day is the same, cannon blasts roar, machine guns echo, bombs wail and tanks shake the ground before they even come into view.
I listen carefully. And then it dawns on me, the din of war is over.
English: From an article on a new bank contract, business
Source text - English Nel salario aumenta il peso della parte variabile, legata alle performance aziendali. � stato disciplinato un sistema incentivante gestito dalle aziende sulla base del raggiungimento di obiettivi.
Per quanto riguarda gli automatismi, gli scatti di anzianit� passano da biennali a triennali.
� stato ridefinito l�ambito di applicazione del contratto con previsioni specifiche per le attivit� finanziarie e strumentali (leasing, centri di elaborazione dati, centri servizi). Per le attivit� appaltabili (cio� quelle complementari o accessorie come trattazione assegni e banconote, servizio portafogli, trasporto valori, attivit� di supporto, electronic banking e banca telefonica) � prevista la riduzione del 15% delle tabelle retributive per i nuovi assunti.
� prevista una nuova disciplina per regolare le assunzioni in banca secondo criteri pi� flessibili � contratti a termine, lavoro temporaneo, tempo parziale, telelavoro � con l�impegno a disciplinare a breve termine i contratti di formazione-lavoro e l�apprendistato. Attraverso l�applicazione di queste nuove figure, l�assunzione a tempo indeterminato non rappresenter� pi� la norma del lavoro in banca.
L�orario di lavoro settimanale viene fissato in 37 ore. Sono stati fissati un nastro standard � tra le 8 e le 17,15 � e un orario extra-standard � tra le 7 e le 19,15 � entrambi liberamente gestiti dalle aziende per il 13% del personale e il 10% delle succursali. Tra turni e altre flessibilit� si pu� arrivare a interessare fino a 20% del personale.
Translation - English Companies are responsible for managing the new goal-oriented, incentive-based system.
In terms of pre-established change, pay rises based on seniority are no longer calculated every two years but every three.
The contract�s scope of application has been redefined and special provisions have been made for financial and tertiary activity such as leasing, data processing and service assistance centres. Wage tables for new employees have been slashed by 15% where they concern complementary or secondary tasks that may be outsourced, like cheque and banknote handling, portfolio services, value transfer, back office services, electronic banking and telephone banking.
Fixed-term employment, temporary work and home-based workers within new guidelines bring greater flexibility in hiring new staff, providing short-term parameters for trainee and apprenticeship employment contracts. Open-ended employment will be phased out as these new formulas are applied.
The working week is fixed at 37 hours. Standard hours are set between 8 am and 5.15pm, and non-standard hours are between 7am to 7.15pm. Companies are given leeway in managing hours for 13% of staff and branches 10%. Shifts and other flexi-terms can affect up to 20% of the staff.
Italian to English: excerpt from a short story by Michele Prisco, literary
Source text - Italian L’acquitrino dietro il canneto in particolare esercitava su di lui una suggestione calda e confusa: Vi sostava per ore. Anche il ronzio di qualche zanzara, in quella viscosa immobilità, diventava alla fine una specie di assopito fastidio del quale non si percepiva più la distrazione. Allora Reginaldo si faceva coraggio e, strisciando sino all’orlo, provava a riflettersi nell’acqua stagnate che il sole appiattiva in una patina verdedorata come le elitre dei maggiolini quando sono in riposo. A poco a poco, egli poteva ricostruite un’immagine sempre più individuata della sua enorme testa sgraziata, delle spalle magrissime e puntute, di quelle braccia smisurate alla fine delle quali le mani s’aprivano umidicce, inerti, e c’era una nascente peluria sul dorso, e metteva in tanto pallore un accenno d’ombra, già un po’ d’ignoto nel suo destino. Egli cercava di contemplare con un distacco possibilmente neutrale, per quanto accurato, quella figura solita a suscitare al passaggio nel borgo un brulichio di commenti e risate: e poi, quando l’angustia gli cresceva dentro sino a fasi rabbia, e impotenza, trovava sempre in un accesso d’ira improvvisa li tra le erbe un sasso da scagliare con impeto nel pantano.
Translation - English The bog behind the cane-thicket was particularly mesmerizing in a balmy and hazy way; Reginaldo spent hour after hour there. Its sticky tranquility was so powerful it could even drain the somnolent annoyance of a mosquito’s drone, rendering it unnoticeable. Reginaldo would muster the courage and, slithering over to the bank, he would try to glimpse his reflection in the stagnant water the sun had adorned with a golden green glaze not unlike the wings of dozing beetle. Little by little, he was able to make out his likeness as his enormous, graceless head materialized on top of his thin, pointed shoulders, his arms gangly and his unmoving hands clutching his clammy palms, his downy hair beginning to take over his back and the hint of a shadow which accentuated his pallor, amplifying the inclination destiny had given him to be rather invisible. He tried to study the lonely figure as impartially as he possibly could, despite the truth of its image, a figure who ignited a swarm of murmurs and sniggering as he walked through the village. And then, when his helpless distress verged on anger and a fit of rage welled in him, there would always be a stone nearby in the grass. He would hurl it violently into the thicket.
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Translation education
Other - Chartered Institute of Linguists
Experience
Years of experience: 33. Registered at ProZ.com: Sep 2004.
Hilary is
an Italian to English translator with over 30 years of expertise in the field.
Holding the Chartered Institute of Linguists Diploma in Translation, she has
translated millions of words across multiple industries. Her work
combines linguistic precision with cultural nuance, drawing on her twelve years
living in Italy to deliver authentic, culturally-sensitive translations. As the
translation industry evolves, Hilary embraces new technologies while
maintaining the human insight that only a seasoned language professional can
provide.
Expertise 