we've been through, that initial...

Question

I think all Americans were quite taken with the fact that we were able, after the long history
we've been through, that initial birth defect of slavery, that we've elected an African-American," Rice said in an interview taped recently on CBS' Sunday Morning. "And that's enormously heartening for people in the country, but also people worldwide who still have trouble with differences.
*(new provided by Usa Today).
*
Pienso que todos los estadounidenses nos sentíamos bastante atraídos por el hecho de que éramos capaces, después de la larga historia que hemos atravesado, ese inicial defecto de nacimiento de la esclavitud, que hemos elegido (de haber elegido) un afroamericano " Rice dijo en una entrevista grabada recientemente en la "CBS' Sunday Morning". Y esto es enormemente alentador para la gente en (de) el país, pero también para la gente de todo el mundo que todavía tiene problemas con las diferencias. (I guess "diferencias" are racial differences).

I have the translation problem on "after the long history we've been through, that initial birth defect of slavery, that we've elected an African-American".
How would you translate that into Spanish?

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Thank you, Heidita. That makes so much more sense now in Spanish.
Hi lazarus1907, I just want to know if i would be able to use a direct translation of a new from usatoday.com

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the country is not "race-blind" and "we shouldn't deceive ourselves that we're race-blind," but said the election of Barack Obama as the first African-American president was a key moment in history.

"I think all Americans were quite taken with the fact that we were able, after the long history we've been through, that initial birth defect of slavery, that we've elected an African-American," Rice said in an interview taped recently on CBS' Sunday Morning. "And that's enormously heartening for people in the country, but also people worldwide who still have trouble with differences."
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[url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-12-28-rice-obama_N.htm]http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-12-28-rice-obama_N.htm

Answer 2

I agree with you lazarus, it sounds kind of strange in plain English; and even worse, this a quote from our Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice.

Anyway, here is my translation:

'Pienso que a todos los americanos nos sorprendió el hecho que fuimos capaces, después de la larga historia, hemos pasado el defecto inicial de nacimiento - la esclavitud; elegimos a un Afro-Americano? menciono Rice en una entrevista grabada recientemente en el programa de televisión de la CBS 'Sunday Morning". 'Y esto es enormemente alentador para la gente de este país, pero también para la gente en el mundo que aun tienen problemas con las diferencias (raciales).'

Answer 3

Iker, unless I am mistaken, the problem is that the English version is wrong, for starters, and unless we rephrase it, it will be wrong in Spanish too. The quote starts a sentence, and before finishing it, inserts an small digression (after the long history we've...), which complicates everything. If we remove that explanation, the initial sentence alone would have been:

...all Americans were quite taken with the fact that we were able [...] that we've elected an African-American

I don't know you, but it sounds a bit strange to me, but I can guarantee that once translated it makes no sense whatsoever, and it results in a grammatically wrong sentence. The sentence has too many subordinates clauses, and when people try to aim so high, either they start making mistakes, or they produce a lump of words that no one can understand. So, do you want to fix it first, or you want to leave it as it is, nonsensically constructed'

Answer 4

Pienso que todos los estadounidenses nos sentíamos bastante atraídos/ilusionados por la idea de ser capaces, después del camino que hemos atravesado, superando ese punto de partida de provenir de la esclavitud, que hayamos elegido un afroamericano " dijo Rice en una entrevista grabada recientemente en el programa de la CBS "Sunday Morning". Y esto es enormemente alentador para la gente de este país, pero también para la gente de todo el mundo que todavía muestra reticencias hacia "lo diferente".

Hola Iker: Admiro mucho tu nivel de español pero esta frase en mi opinión no se entendía tal como la habías puesto. No solo sonaba poco natural sino casi no se entendía en absoluto.
Voy a llamar a Lararus a este hilo y a otro amigo traductor profesional hispano. Vamos a ver lo que ellos opian. Ya intenté ayer mira la frase pero no supe ni siquiera por donde cogerla. Vamos a ver si te gusta así.

Answer 5

I agree whith you, LadyDi, "fuéramos o fuésemos" sounds much better than "éramos".

Answer 6

I personally think it sounds pretty much perfect. Two points: 1)Could your use of "éramos" be changed to "fuéramos"', 2)Your option in parentheses "(de haber elegido)" sounds better in my opinion.