El tenue resplandor de abril...

Question

The translators can translate the words but they can't impart the meaning of the following sentence without some expert translation help:

"El tenue resplandor de abril iluminó apenas el ámbito meticuloso de la sala que más bien parecía la vitrina de un anticuario."

"The tenuous sunshine of April faintly illuminated the meticulous area of the room (??) such that it appeared rather like the display case of an antique shop."

The main problem involves "ámbito meticuloso." I believe the room to be meticulous, but "meticulous area of the room" sounds stilted. Any suggestions for a better translation?

Answer 1

Meticulously arranged (area of the room) living room

The tenuous sunshine of April faintly illuminated the meticulously arranged area of the room making it appeared rather like the display case of an antique shop."

The tenuous sunshine of April faintly illuminated the meticulously arranged area of the room giving it the appearance of a display case in an antique shop."

It is definitely a meticulously arranged room, but what purpose does the word "ámbito" serve in this case? - Malenor, Nov 24, 2009

area - 0068e2f4, Nov 24, 2009

Answer 2

LatINa,

But why put the adjective "meticuloso" after "ámbito" and not after "sala" in the original sentence?

"meticuloso" modifies "ámbito" (not "sala"). Notice that the adjective is masculine. - samdie, Nov 25, 2009

Answer 3

Robertico,

Is it cheating to put the word "arranged" in there? Maybe not. And anyway, at the moment I can't come up with a better translation than yours.

you know how translations are. You have to interpret what you read. That's all. - 0068e2f4, Nov 24, 2009

Answer 4

"The dim sunshine (glow) of April faintly lit (iluminated) the meticulous scope (area) of the room, such that the room appeared more like a antique shop's showcase."

I agree, "ámbito meticuloso" sounds a bit strange when translated, but I think the point trying to be made, was that the neatly arranged small- (ito) room was being lit by the sunlight so that it appeared almost antiquated.

Answer 5

Robertico, I guess my question was confusing, I was looking for the best English translation. Sorry! And I see you have kept to the form "el meticuloso ámbito de la sala" and that's the part that puzzles me.

The immediate context is the description of faint sunlight entering a room making it appear to glow within like a display case in an antique shop.

Answer 6

"El tenue resplandor de abril apenas iluminaba el meticuloso ámbito de la sala, dándole más bien la apariencia de una vitrina en una tienda de antigüedades."