US English: "glasses" vs "spectacles"
I'm translating a rather pompous technical document which uses the following phrase:
La agudeza visual lejana debe permitir leer como mínimo letras del tipo Snellen 20/30 o equivalente, por lo menos en un ojo con o sin prótesis correctiva (anteojos).
I've got:
Distance visual acuity must allow for the reading of, at a minimum, 20/30 of the Snellen eye chart or equivalent with at least one eye with or without corrective prosthesis (glasses)
This translation is for technical people in the USA, would I be more "US" using "glasses" or "spectacles"?
I know ..."get a life...|
4 Answers
Also, if I might suggest a couple very small tweaks (even though it´s already excellent)
You had:
Distance visual acuity must allow for the reading of, at a minimum, 20/30 of the Snellen eye chart or equivalent with at least one eye with or without corrective prosthesis (glasses)
I might suggest:
Visual distance acuity must allow for reading, at a minimum, of 20/30 on the Snellen eye chart or equivalent, with at least one eye, with or without corrective prosthesis (glasses, contacts etc.)
Glasses for sure.
Spectacles is rarely heard anymore. My grandmother would say it, but never my parents, or I or my siblings (unless we were imitating grandma)
Spectacles is pretty archaic.
I usually hear the terms glasses, eye glasses, and reading glasses. But if you are thinking about mentioning "contacts", it's better to say contact lenses.
"Distance visual acuity" is the what eye care professionals call it. . "Spectacles" is also commonly used instead of "glasses", nowadays because most lenses are made of plastic (they used to be made of glass). So its common to hear Optometrists talk about spectacles.
