Mar 17, 2010 20:34
14 yrs ago
Spanish term

ser alérgica a

Spanish to English Social Sciences Philosophy
Part two of the sentence from my philosophy paper from hell:


"must be allergic to" just doesn't work for me ... how can I convey the sense in different words?

TIA!

Y uno piensa naturalmente en los dark times tan numerosos y extendidos en toda la geografía europea durante el siglo que empieza en la guerra del catorce y acaba en el derrumbamiento de la URSS, pasando en especial por el ascenso del nazismo, el ascenso del stalinismo, el pacto Molotov-Ribentrop, y last not least, el sistema Yalta que oscureció durante decenios la Europa oriental, al mismo tiempo que mantuvo largamente en la inopia del mito de la Rusia patria del proletariado a buena parte de las élites intelectuales europeas hasta por lo menos el 68. Resulta coherente que una filosofía de tipo hegeliano, que evalúe la actitud de la moralidad pura en términos de “abstracta subjetividad”, deba ser alérgica a un concepto como el de responsabilidad enorme .

My rough draft:

One naturally thinks of the dark times that were so numerous and widespread in European during the century that started with the war of 1914 and ended collapse of the USSR, passing most notably through the rise of the Nazism, the rise of Stalinism, the Molotov-Ribentrop Pact, and last but ot least, the Yalta System that darkened Eastern Europe for decades, while keeping the myth of the Russian homeland of the proletariat XXXXX most of European intellectuals elites until at least 68. It is logical that a Hegelian-type philosophy, that assesses the attitude of pure morality in terms of “abstract subjectivity”, should be allergic to a concept such as enormous responsibility.

Discussion

Jim Tucker (X) Mar 17, 2010:
just trust the panel on this one "allergic" in this metaphorical context is perfectly good here--it's excellent, in fact. Wouldn't throw out the best parts.

I don't think this kind of rough draft is helping, because it's really more of a trot than a translation. Mucks up the mind when you're formulating. I'd seriously consider going straight from your head to a final draft. Your thinking will be much freer as a result, and yet also more disciplined. (Paradoxical but true.)

And what's more, this stuff won't exhaust you so much.
S Ben Price (asker) Mar 17, 2010:
Thanks! Oh, there is still a LOT do to here, it's still a very rough draft. A couple more passes and then it is off to revision, never to be seen again I hope. PHIL - Thanks for the missing "B", but I still can't get my head around "allergic", I have never seen that use in English, and it just sounds clunky and contrived to my ear.
Jim Tucker (X) Mar 17, 2010:
agree with Phil Keep what you've got. Ended *with the* collapse. W/ ormiston on 'which' over 'that'.
Generally you've been reproducing all the Sp punctuation in EN but that will always end up looking like translationese after a paragraph or so. To let English be English you're going to have to change a few things around now and then. That goes for the literal reproduction too. ("The Nazism" is just a detail by itself but it's happening consistently.) OK, I'm done kvetching.
philgoddard Mar 17, 2010:
There's two Bs in Ribbentrop, by the way.
philgoddard Mar 17, 2010:
What's wrong with "be allergic to"? It's what the Spanish says, and it makes sense in English.

Proposed translations

+4
28 mins
Selected

keep allergic...

but maybe change it around a bit to something like "would have an allergic reaction to...".

Another option.

R.
==
Peer comment(s):

agree philgoddard : I think "be allergic to" is fine.
8 mins
agree ormiston : why not (but again, I think the 'that' (above) should read 'which')
14 mins
agree Jim Tucker (X) : of course. Keep the original translation. (Agree 'which' is better.)
21 mins
agree Cinnamon Nolan : Yes: Keep 'be allergic to' + 'which' (it's a non-defining relative clause, begun - properly - with a comma, so 'which', 'who' or 'whose' only, not 'that').
2 hrs
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks!"
2 mins

run counter to

a bit free I admit but maybe ...
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7 mins

be intolerant to/towards

Maintains the same idea as with allergy, but perhaps more "juste" in the context of philosophy.
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10 mins

be hypersensitive to

another option
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+1
16 mins

averse to/incompatible with

Some more ideas:)
Peer comment(s):

agree Isabelle17
38 mins
Thank you :)
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20 mins

resist/resistant/defiant/stout

More than likely, you need to normalize the sentence using one of my suggestions.

Suerte
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21 mins

should react with virulence towards

It's just another possibility, but I find most of the answers quite accurate.
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19 hrs
Spanish term (edited): ser alérgica a

aprehensive

good luck!
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