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17th Translation Contest: "The Sounds of Silence" » English to Portuguese (EU)

Competition in this pair is now closed, and the winning entry has been announced.

Discussion and feedback about the competition in this language pair may now be provided by visiting the "Discussion & feedback" page for this pair. Entries may also be individually discussed by clicking the "Discuss" link next to any listed entry.

Source text in English

A theme of the age, at least in the developed world, is that people crave silence and can find none. The roar of traffic, the ceaseless beep of phones, digital announcements in buses and trains, TV sets blaring even in empty offices, are an endless battery and distraction. The human race is exhausting itself with noise and longs for its opposite—whether in the wilds, on the wide ocean or in some retreat dedicated to stillness and concentration. Alain Corbin, a history professor, writes from his refuge in the Sorbonne, and Erling Kagge, a Norwegian explorer, from his memories of the wastes of Antarctica, where both have tried to escape.

And yet, as Mr Corbin points out in "A History of Silence", there is probably no more noise than there used to be. Before pneumatic tyres, city streets were full of the deafening clang of metal-rimmed wheels and horseshoes on stone. Before voluntary isolation on mobile phones, buses and trains rang with conversation. Newspaper-sellers did not leave their wares in a mute pile, but advertised them at top volume, as did vendors of cherries, violets and fresh mackerel. The theatre and the opera were a chaos of huzzahs and barracking. Even in the countryside, peasants sang as they drudged. They don’t sing now.

What has changed is not so much the level of noise, which previous centuries also complained about, but the level of distraction, which occupies the space that silence might invade. There looms another paradox, because when it does invade—in the depths of a pine forest, in the naked desert, in a suddenly vacated room—it often proves unnerving rather than welcome. Dread creeps in; the ear instinctively fastens on anything, whether fire-hiss or bird call or susurrus of leaves, that will save it from this unknown emptiness. People want silence, but not that much.

The winning entry has been announced in this pair.

There were 10 entries submitted in this pair during the submission phase, 3 of which were selected by peers to advance to the finals round. The winning entry was determined based on finals round voting by peers.

Competition in this pair is now closed.


Entries (10 total; 3 finalists) Expand all entries

Entry #22339 — Discuss 0
Winner
Voting points1st2nd3rd
5310 x45 x23 x1
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry2.782.81 (16 ratings)2.75 (16 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 1 user entered 3 "like" tags
  • 3 users agreed with "likes" (4 total agrees)
+3
O barulho do trânsito, o toque incessante dos telefones
Good term selection
Antonia Sousa
Antes do isolamento voluntário nos telemóveis, os autocarros e comboios ressoavam com conversas.
Flows well
Antonia Sousa
+1
tece-se outro paradoxo
Flows well
Antonia Sousa
Entry #22481 — Discuss 0
Finalist
Voting points1st2nd3rd
428 x43 x24 x1
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry2.342.29 (14 ratings)2.38 (13 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 2 users entered 5 "like" tags
  • 2 users agreed with "likes" (2 total agrees)
  • 1 user disagreed with "likes" (1 total disagree)
-1
+2
silêncio
Flows well
I like to ​start the ​sentence w​ith the ma​in subject
Drewes
A raça humana está a levar-se à exaustão
Flows well
Gabriela Alexandria
A History of Silence”
Flows well
There is n​o official​ translati​on to Port​uguese and​ this was ​originally​ written.
Gabriela Alexandria
Agora, já não o fazem.
Flows well
Suits well​ along wit​h the text​.
Gabriela Alexandria
Emerge daqui outro paradoxo
Flows well
"Emerge" c​arries wel​l the beau​ty of the ​word "loom​s".
Gabriela Alexandria
Entry #23756 — Discuss 0
Paula Amaral
Paula Amaral
Portugal
Finalist
Voting points1st2nd3rd
304 x44 x26 x1
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry2.472.40 (15 ratings)2.53 (15 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 1 user entered 2 "like" tags
A raça humana está a esgotar-se a si mesma com ruído
Good term selection
Good use o​f stylisti​c emphasiz​ing resour​ce!
Gabriela Alexandria
aros metálicos
Flows well
Gabriela Alexandria


Non-finalist entries

The following entries were not selected by peers to advance to finals-round voting.

Entry #22421 — Discuss 0
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry2.182.29 (17 ratings)2.06 (16 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 1 user entered 1 "like" tag
  • 2 users disagreed with "likes" (2 total disagrees)
-2
1
pneus pneumáticos
Flows well
Marcia R Pinheiro
Entry #23287 — Discuss 0
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry2.162.06 (16 ratings)2.25 (16 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 1 user entered 1 "like" tag
  • 1 user agreed with "likes" (1 total agree)
+1
ribombava
Other
gives a go​od sound e​ffect. Cou​ld have be​en ecoava ​too
Drewes
Entry #24014 — Discuss 0
Nuno Lopes
Nuno Lopes
Portugal
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry2.162.13 (16 ratings)2.19 (16 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 1 user entered 1 "like" tag
  • 1 user disagreed with "likes" (1 total disagree)
-1
1
Eles agora não cantam
Flows well
Talvez fic​asse melho​r com "já"​. Eles ago​ra já não ​cantam.
Helga Ferreira (X)
Entry #22492 — Discuss 0
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry2.002.00 (13 ratings)2.00 (13 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 1 user entered 1 "like" tag
(História do Silêncio), provavelmente não há mais ruíd
Good term selection
Readers li​ke to know​ what a te​rm they ar​e not fami​liar with ​means
Drewes
Entry #22522 — Discuss 0
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry1.891.67 (9 ratings)2.11 (9 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • No "like" tags
Entry #22412 — Discuss 0
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry1.881.75 (8 ratings)2.00 (8 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • No "like" tags
Entry #24149 — Discuss 0
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry1.311.29 (7 ratings)1.33 (6 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • No "like" tags