Beginners Translation Exercise (Eng to Sp) - Arctic Ice

Question

Here is another exercise in 'thinking in Spanish' for beginners. The objective is to translate this in a natural way from English to Spanish. (También para los que aprenden hablar inglés será en ejercicio útil.) This time it is a quote from the news:

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"The amount of Arctic ice loss this year absolutely stunned us because it didn’t just beat all previous records, it completely shattered them.”- Mark Serreze, National Snow and Ice Data Center, U.S.A.

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Give it your best try. Do you think it won't be just right? Do it anyhow! That leap into the possible unknown may prompt you to do even better than you thought you could!

If you haven't already seen the 'answer' to the previous exercise, click here.

Tip: Click 'watch this question' to be informed when the winner is selected and the answer is posted.

Update: Click here for the 'answer'!

Answer 1

La cantidad de pérdida de hielo ártico este año nos dejó completamente helados porque no solamente batió todos los récordes anteriores, sino que totalmente los pulverizó.

• But I found that pulverizar means to smash a record - Issabela Feb 2, 2010
• http://www.wordreference.com/es/en/translation.asp?spen=pulverizar - Issabela Feb 2, 2010
• I love those words! 'helados' and '... los pulverizó.' :-D - chaparrito Feb 3, 2010
• That's why I chose them, because they go with the subject so well! - Issabela Feb 3, 2010

Answer 2

Hat's off to all the brave souls that sallied forth on this quest! In retrospect this one was not as easy as I had thought. I do apologize for any loss of hair that might have resulted.

Here is my answer:

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El hielo ártico

“Estamos atónitos ante la cantidad de hielo ártico que se ha derretido este año, pues no solo ha batido todos los récords anteriores, sino que los ha superado por mucho.”

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I picked Issabela's answer (click here to see it) because I just loved the colorful words she chose: "completamente helados" and "los pulverizó".

As an interesting learning point, take a look at the English word "records". One translation offered was the word archivos. This would refer to the records or information kept in a file. Another answer was registros. This can also mean 'records' but not in this context. The correct answer is:

either: recordes or récords

But which one? 3 people used "recordes" and 2 people used "récords". The answer might surprise you. The plural of 'record' is récords. This is one of those very rare exceptions in Spanish when a word that ends with a consonant, only adds an 's' (not 'es') to make it plural. Why is it like that? I'm not sure. It may have something to do with the fact that this is a recent addition to the Spanish vocabulary and is adopted directly from modern English. The fact that the plural is not yet in RAE seems to agree with this idea. However I'll admit, I'm just guessing.

That's all for this time. Thanks for participating!

• I agree, it's a borrowed word, so Spanish grammar rules do not apply. Both are right: récords and récordes, but I think the former sounds better. If you compare it to: Gay, another borrowed word, the plural is Gays and it's not Gayes. - srovietico Feb 6, 2010

Answer 3

"La cantidad de pérdida de hielo ártico este año absolutamente nos dejó atónito porque no solamente batió todos los récordes anteriores, la completamente les hizo añicos."

Well, there's my try!

• And a nice try, it is! :-) - chaparrito Feb 3, 2010

Answer 4

Estábamos atónito por la cantidad de pérdida de hielo del Ártico de este año porque no sólo se superó todos los récordes anteriores, se destrozó completo. - Mark Sereze, Centro de Datos Nacional de Nieve y Hielo, EE.UU

(Ok, I know I didn't translate it verbatim, but I translated it for meaning because this was how I knew how to say it.)

• I thought that was pretty hard for a "beginner" sentence, but maybe I CAN tackle a little bit harder ones...at least it wasn't a total disater! - aloshek Jan 31, 2010

Answer 5

La escala de la pérdida de hielo en el glacial ártico dentro este ańo nos dejó atonitós porque la no solo rompió sino también destrozó totalmente los recordes de ańos pasados.

• Very nice, bombera! You were my 'second' place winner! :-) - chaparrito Feb 3, 2010
• Gracias! Es un placer escucharlo. - bomberapolac Feb 4, 2010

Answer 6

Fuimos pasmado a aprender que la cantidad de Arctic hielo funde este año, no sólo batió todos récords anterior, sino que les excedió por mucho.

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I've Really messed up this one, but I wanted to submit it anyway! I tried not to go 'verbatim', but it didn't seem to turn out quite right.

Also, my high school teacher would be wagging her finger at me for this one. She Drilled into our heads that whenever you use "not only" you Must use "but also" to complete the thought. This is the first time in decades that I'm doing it this way.

Yikes! I hope she's not part of this forum

• Now I don't feel so bad for not translating mine verbatim as well! - aloshek Jan 31, 2010
• :-) - Dee914 Jan 31, 2010
• Well done! Looks like you're trying to 'think in Spanish'! ;-) - chaparrito Feb 3, 2010
• :-D - Dee914 Feb 3, 2010

Answer 7

La cantidad de hielo ártico perdido este año absolutamente nos aturdió porque no lo simplemente excede todos los archivos previos, pero lo los destruye.

"The amount of Arctic ice loss this year absolutely stunned us because it didn’t just beat all previous records, it completely shattered them.”- Mark Serreze, National Snow and Ice Data Center, U.S.A.

• Nice word, Nicholas! "Atrudió" :-) - chaparrito Feb 3, 2010

Answer 8

La cantidad de la pérdida de hielo ártico de este año nos aturdió absolutamente porque se no acabó de batir los récords anteriores, pero se completamente los hizo añicos.

Actually, Chaparrito, that's a lot harder than it looks

• Sí, es una frase complicada. - Benz Jan 31, 2010
• De acuerdo. Discúlpame. :-) - chaparrito Feb 3, 2010

Answer 9

La cantidad de hielo ártico que perdió este año nos dejó asombrados, porque no sólo rompió solamente los registros previos, sino que los destruyó completo.

• Tough sentence! Corrections appreciated! - LaBurra Jan 31, 2010
• BTW, nice job! One suggestion: Why would 'perderse' be better in this sentence than 'perder'. ;-) - chaparrito Feb 3, 2010

Answer 10

I have been working on this before there were any answers at all. I am frustrated beyond all. Maybe someone could give me pointers on where to start doing something like this.
El cantidad de artico heilo perdida año absoluto aturdido nos, causa es lo no hiza justo todo previo constancia lo causa de lost estragos. Sorry, please help

• You did admirably! After seeing some of the comments by other participants, I see this was harder than I had thought. Nice job! :-) - chaparrito Feb 3, 2010
• And just so you know, be on the look out for other excercises like 'word of the day' or the 'A-Z games', and other exercises that will show up on the 'Games & Challenges' category. :-) - chaparrito Feb 3, 2010