Translating from the impersonal "uno", and passive voice

Question

Any tips for translating from the impersonal "uno" in Spanish to English?

That is, without using "one" which sounds too formal in English, and without constantly using the little-bit sexist "he", or "you" when it's not directly the reader who is being referred to.

And any tips to avoid translating into the passive voice when the originally is written in the passive (ie, there's no way to know who is the cause of the action)?

Any links to webpages that expound on these dilemmas would be great, too! Many thanks!

Answer 1

But if you don´t use you, he, she, it, one.... well, what will you do? talk without verbs? Use just infinitives?

My tip is that once you become fluent in both languages you will be able to translate any text according to the situation. You will soon learn that texts become alive with every translation and they have a voice of their own in very language. Translation rules and formulas are left aside too often because texts have a persistent habit to rebel against mechanical transformations. If not, machine translation would work much more better after 60 years of research on that field

try providing some uno-sentences with their translations and see what happens with the thread. You can learn from others´s examples and experiencies without waiting for a magic formula to solve your doubts.

Great points! I do see that folks talented with words make beautiful translations, and my own are more mechanical. In asking the question, I was wondering if anyone had noticed after all of their translation experience something that seems to work best... - kushie, Dec 4, 2010

...overall. I love what you said about texts coming alive. Many thanks for your thoughtful response. - kushie, Dec 4, 2010

Answer 2

Mediterrunio makes a valid point, so don't worry about it; just use the language as it was intended.

Spanish is a language which uses gender, so attempting to speak it while avoiding gender use is absolutely ridiculous. And don't compare Spanish with English; they are two entirely different languages reflecting different cultures. By the way, until recently English wasn't infected by this insane battle of the sexes that it is today.

The inflections were on genders, not sexes. - lazarus1907, Dec 3, 2010

Yes, you have a good point about the battle in English about sexes. And I prefer reading "he", than sometimes "he" and sometimes "she", which still sounds awkward to me. But I like the change from "policeman" to "police officer", or dropping the "ess" - kushie, Dec 4, 2010

... from words like, "authoress", for example. Thanks for your comment! - kushie, Dec 4, 2010

Answer 3

Until I got to your third paragraph, I was thinking "Well you eliminate "one" as too formal and "you" except in direct address (though it is widely used for generalizations/impersonal constructions) and (although you only mention the "sexism" problems of using "he") all of the he/she (or "s/he") constructions sound silly (or only work in print (e.g. "s/he"). Almost the only other option is to use passive constructions whenever possible." But, then, you go on to eliminate passive constructions, as well! Although, when used sparingly, passive constructions are considered quite acceptable by all but the most fanatic (who seem to equate any use with overuse).

The only other out that occurs to me is to constantly start off with "(the/some) people" and then use "they" (thus avoiding the problem caused by the absence of a gender-neutral pronoun in English). This, however, becomes very tiresome (for the reader) quite quickly.

Mediterrunio already made the point but the only way to avoid offending anyone (or anyone's language prejudices) is to remain silent.

So, in a translation context, is it best to mix it up, and use all those forms in the English version, or to try to be more consistent with one form? I was surprised to see the modern use of @ in Spanish so it's no longer sexist. For example, Hola, tod@s! - kushie, Dec 4, 2010

I'm just trying to be true to the original author's choice of words. But sometimes each option in English seems to have a disadvantage. I like that you gave me another option to use. Thank you! - kushie, Dec 4, 2010

Answer 4

Hi, Kushie. Welcome to the forum.

One must study to learn Spanish = Hay que estudiar para aprender español.

One must take a left at the corner = Hay que doblar a la izquierda en la esquina.

What must one do to receive a Visa? = ¿Qué hay que hacer para recibir una Visa?

Thanks very much for such a clear answer! Unfortunately, I'm looking for help in translating from "uno" in Spanish into English - without using "one" in English, or "he". - kushie, Dec 4, 2010