Written Translation Exercise - "Adictos a la televisión"
It's been awhile, but I'm going to be posting translation exercises once again. Anyone is welcome to participate. Do your best to translate this short paragraph, then post your answer. Even if you understand parts of it, post your attempt. Making mistakes is the only way to learn something new. 
Keep in mind that since others may have already posted an answer, you could look at their answers first... but... Where's the fun in that? 
Tenga presente que haya otros que ya han puesto una respuesta. Entonces, pudieras verlas primeramente... pero... ¿Será tan divertido eso? (If you're curious how these exercise go, here are links to some earlier exercises: Sp to Eng - Eng to Sp - Eng to Sp, Beginner I would appreciate any comments and suggestions!)
Adictos a la televisión en Bután
El minúsculo reino himalayo de Bután se resistió durante décadas a la atracción de los medios de comunicación modernos. Pero en 1999, después de que mucha gente se quejara de no haber podido ver los partidos de fútbol de la Copa del Mundo de 1998, el gobierno permitió las emisiones de televisión. En la actualidad se pueden ver hasta 40 canales y que muchas personas se han vuelto adictas a las películas de Hollywood y a las telenovelas de la India. En vez de sentarse juntas a cantar y conversar como solían hacerlo, las familias ahora se reúnen para ver televisión. Lo que muchos temen es que la televisión y los anuncios crearán deseos que, en vista de la situación económica de la gente, posiblemente no se podrán satisfacer.
Tip: Click on 'watch this question' (seguir esta pregunta) to receive notifications of comments that will be added to your answers. In about a week I will choose my favorite and post some learning points. Have fun! 
Update: Click here for the 'answer'!
16 Answers
The tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan has for decades resisted the lure of modern media. But in 1999, after many people complained about not being able to watch the 1998 soccer World Cup , the Government allowed television broadcasts. Currently up to 40 channels can be seen and many people have become addicted to Hollywood films and the soap operas of India. Instead of sitting down together to sing and talk like they used to, families now gather to watch television. What many fear is that television and advertising will create desires that, in view of the economic situation of the people, may not be satisfied.
Addicted to television in Bhutan
---------------------------------------------.
The tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan for decades resisted the lure of modern media. But in 1999, after many people complained about not being able to see the football World Cup 1998, the Government allowed television broadcasts. Today you can see up to 40 channels and many people have become addicted to Hollywood movies and soap operas in India. Instead of sitting down together to sing and talk like they used to, families now gather to watch television. What many fear is that television and advertising to create desires, given the economic situation of the people, may not be met.
I have tried my best but I think that the last part of the translation is wrong 
, Great idea chaparrito 
The tiny Himalyan kingdom of Bhutan resisted the attraction of modern media for many decades. But in 1999 after many people complained about not being able see the1998 World Cup soccer games the government allowed television broadcasts. Nowadays, they can see up to forty channels,, and many people have become addicted to Hollywood films and Indian soap Operas. Instead of sitting together to sing and talk like they used to, families get together to watch televison What many fear is that ads will create desires that will not able to be satisfied in view of the people´s economic situation .
Television Addicts in Bhutan The tiny kingdom of Bhutan resisted the modern means of communication for decades. But in 1999 , after many people complained of being unable to see the soccer games of the World Cup in 1998, the government permitted TV broadcasts.Presently they are able to see up to 40 channels and many people have become addicts of Hollywood movies and Indian soap operas.Instead of sitting together to sing and converse as they used to, families now gather to watch TV.Many fear that TV and the advertisements create desires that, in view of the economic situation of the people, will possibly never be satisfied.
The tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan has resisted the attraction of media and modern communication for decades. But in 1999, after many people complained about not being able to see the soccer games of the 1998 World Cup, the government allowed television transmission. Presently, they can see up to 40 channels and many people have become addicted to Hollywood movies and Indian soap operas. Instead of sitting together, singing and having conversations like they used to, families now meet to watch television. It is feared by many that the desires created by television, and commercials, will not be able to be satisfied in light of the economic situation of the people.
Addicted to Television in Bhutan
The tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan has resisted the attraction of media and modern communication for decades. But in 1999, after many people complained about not being able to see the soccer games of the 1998 World Cup, the government allowed television transmission. Presently, they can see up to forty chanels and many people have become addicted to Hollywood movies and Indian soap operas. Instead of sitting together, singing and having conversations like they used to, families now meet to watch television. Many fear that the desires created by television and commercials will not be able to be satisfied in light of the economic situation of the people.
Margaret-N, Here's your post below with some points to consider. (Bold is incorrect, italics means something is missing or not quite clear, and both is both.)
The tiny kindgom of Bhutan resisted the attraction of modern media for many decades. But in 1999 after many people complain about not being able see the1998 World Cup soccer games the government allowed television broadcasts. Nowadays, they can see up to forty channels, and many people have become addicted to Hollywood films and Indian soap Operas. Instead of sitting together to sing and talk like they used to, famillies get together to watch televison What mmany fear is that ads will create desire that will not able to be satisfied in view of the people´s economic situation.
¡Muy bien! Most of the mistakes appear to simply be typos. You got the idea across very well. Post a revised answer if you wish.
Adictos a la televisión en Bután El minúsculo reino himalayo de Bután se resistió durante décadas a la atracción de los medios de comunicación modernos. Pero en 1999, después de que mucha gente se quejara de no haber podido ver los partidos de fútbol de la Copa del Mundo de 1998, el gobierno permitió las emisiones de televisión. En la actualidad se pueden ver hasta 40 canales y que muchas personas se han vuelto adictas a las películas de Hollywood y a las telenovelas de la India. En vez de sentarse juntas a cantar y conversar como solían hacerlo, las familias ahora se reúnen para ver televisión. Lo que muchos temen es que la televisión y los anuncios crearán deseos que, en vista de la situación económica de la gente, posiblemente no se podrán satisfacer.
Television Addits in Bhutan For decades, the very small Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan has resisted the attraction of modern media. However in 1999, after many people had complained about not being able to watch the World Cup games of 1998, the government allowed television broadcast. Currently 40 channels can be seen and many people have become addicted to Hollywood movies and Indian soap operas. Instead of sitting together to sing and talk as was done in the past, families now come together to watch television . What many are afraid of is that television and advertising will create desires that, given the economic status of the people, could not possibly be satisfied.
Well done, everyone! This time I picked MattM's answer (click here to see it), although Joe also did a great job. So read over his answer, and if you like it then... Vote it up! 
(By the way, I gave preference to those who came back and made corrections! 
)
Here is my answer:
TV Addiction in Bhutan.
For decades the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan resisted the lure of modern media. But after many inhabitants complained that they could not watch the 1998 World Cup soccer tournament, the government introduced television in 1999. Now people can view 40 channels and are already addicted to Hollywood movies and Indian soap operas. Instead of sitting together singing and talking as they used to, families gather to watch TV. What many fear is that television and advertisements will create desires that may not be satisfied given the economic situation of the people.
Here's a couple of points of interest from this exercise:
los medios de comunicación
This was tricky, but some of you got it right away! Here is an example of an entire Spanish phrase that is needed to translate a single word in English: The media. If you look at the definition in SpanishDict's dictionary (make sure you're looking at the 'English to Spanish' tab) you'll see that there is no single-word tranlsation of the media into Spanish. The phrase that appeared in the exercise was "los medios de comunicación modernos," and perhaps the adjective 'modernos' is what threw some of you off. The correct translation is: "modern media."
Lo que muchos temen es que la televisión y los anuncios crearán deseos que, en vista de la situación económica de la gente, posiblemente no se podrán satisfacer.
This was the only other part of the exercise that seemed to give trouble. But in the end I think everyone got it. It wasn't impossible, just a complicated sentence that required a little extra thinking; thinking that paid off in the end. 
I hope you enjoyed this exercise as much as I did!
nizhoni1 wrote
A little confused as some italicised words are in the original text and some of the same words are not italicised in other interptetation.
Sorry for the confusion. I was trying to come up with a simple way of marking the text without having to use all the special html codes for different colors or strike-through, etc. I guess simple isn't good if it is not clear. 
So... When I said this:
(Bold is incorrect, italics means something is missing or not quite clear, and both is both.)
I meant:
1) If I made the word(s) bold, then it is not a proper translation.
2) If I made the word(s) italicized, then there is something missing in the English translation, or it is close but not quite right, or the order of the words makes the translation unclear. (For example I italicized Hollywood in my comment to MattM's because he forgot to say 'movies'.)
3) If I made the word(s) bold and italicized, then there is a combination of the above two problems.
Does that clear it up any? Perhaps next time I'll try a different way to add comments. Anyone have any ideas for something simple yet clear?
There is still another day or so if anyone would like to try this exercise. I'll be posting an answer and a couple of learning points in a day or two.
I see my mistake. I think I am a victim of transliteration, and mistook medios for media in the literal sense. I now know that the more appropriate translation would be, " modern means of communication." Thanks Chaparrito!
nizhoni1, Here's your post below with some points to consider. (Bold is incorrect, italics means something is missing or not quite clear, and both is both.)
Television Addicts in Bhutan
The tiny kingdom of Bhutan resisted the modern means of communication for decades. But in 1999, after many people complained of being unable to see the soccer games of the WOrld Cup in 1998, the government permitted TV broadcasts. Presently they are able to see up to 40 channels and many people have become addicts of Hollywood movies and Indian soap operas. Instaedof sitting together to sing and convers as they used to, families now gather to watch TV. Many fear that TV and the advertisements create desires that, in view of the economic situation of the people, will possibly never be satisfied.
¡Muy bien! The first and last sentences could use a little work. And the rest are probably just typos, but since English learners may be using this exercise it was worth pointing out. Overall, very nice job! You're welcome to post a revised answer if you wish.
Joe, Here's your post below with some points to consider. (Bold is incorrect, italics means something is missing or not quite clear, and both is both.)
The tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan has resisted the attraction of media and modern communication for decades. But in 1999, after many people complained about not being able to see the soccer games of the 1998 World Cup, the government allowed television transmission. Presently, they can see up to 40 channels and many people have become addicted to Hollywood movies and Indian soap operas. Instead of sitting together, singing and having conversations like they used to, families now meet to watch television. It is feared by many that the desires created by television, and commercials, will not be able to be satisfied in light of the economic situation of the people.
¡Excelente! I'm impressed! There's just one phrase that should be re-worked to be a more accurate translation of the idea being expressed in Spanish. Feel free to post a revised answer if you wish.
lovely, Here's your post below with some points to consider. (Bold is incorrect, italics means something is missing or not quite clear, and both is both.)
Addicted to television in Bhutan
The tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan for decades resisted the lure of modern media. But in 1999, after many people complained about not being able to see the football World Cup 1998, the Government allowed television broadcasts. Today you can see up to 40 channels and many people have become addicted to Hollywood movies and soap operas in India. Instead of sitting down together to sing and talk like they used to, families now gather to watch television. What many fear is that television and advertising to create desires, given the economic situation of the people, may not be met.
¡Bien hecho! There are a few spots that could be looked at again. As you said, the last part is wrong, but not too far off. Have another try and post a revised answer if you wish.
MattM, Here's your post below with some points to consider. (Bold is incorrect, italics means something is missing or not quite clear, and both is both.)
The tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan has for decades resisted the lure of modern media. But in 1999, after many people complained about not being able to watch the 1998 soccer World Cup, the Government allowed television broadcasts. Currently up to 40 channels can be seen and many people have become addicted to Hollywood and the soap operas of India. Instead of sitting down together to sing and talk like they used to, families now gather to watch television. What many fear is that television and advertising will create desires that, in view of the economic situation of the people, will not possibly be able to be satisfied.
Very nice! Try that last phrase again, and post a revised answer if you wish. There's just one other small error, but the rest is great!
