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English to Spanish: Excerpt from a novel (The Full Cupboard of Life) General field: Art/Literary
Source text - English Oh yes, God had given a great deal to Botswana, as she had been told all those years ago at Sunday school in Mochudi. "Write a list of Botswana's heavenly blessings," the teacher had said. And the young Mma Ramotswe, chewing on the end of her indelible pencil, and feeling the sun bearing down on the tin roof of the Sunday school, heat so insistent that the tin creaked in protest against its restraining bolts, had written: (1) the land; (2) the people who live on the land; (3) the animals, and specially the fat cattle. She had stopped at that, but, after a pause, had added: (4) the railway line from Lobatse to Francistown. This list, once submitted for approval, had come back with a large blue tick after each item, and the comment written in: Well done, Precious! You are a sensible girl. You have correctly shown why Botswana is a fortunate country.
And this was quite true. Mma Ramotswe was indeed a sensible person and Botswana was a fortunate country. When Botswana had become independent all those years ago, on that heart-stilling night when the fireworks failed to be lit on time, and when the dusty wind had seemed to augur only ill, there had been so little. There were only three secondary schools for the whole country, a few clinics, and a measly eight miles of tarred road. That was all. But was it? Surely there was a great deal more than that. There was a country so large that the land seemed to have no limits; there was a sky so wide and so free that the spirit could rise and soar and not feel in the least constrained; and there were the people, the quiet, patient people, who had survived in this land, and who loved it. Their tenacity was rewarded, because underneath the land there were the diamonds, and the cattle prospered, and brick by brick the people built a country of which anybody could be proud. That was what Botswana had, and that is why it was a fortunate country.
Mma Ramotswe had founded the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by selling the cattle left her by her father, Obed Ramotswe, a good man whom everybody respected. And for this reason she made sure that his picture was on the office wall, alongside, but slightly lower than, the picture of the late President of Botswana, Sir Seretse Khama, paramount chief of the Bangwato, founding president of Botswana, and gentleman. The last of these attributes was perhaps the most important in Mma Ramotswe's eyes. A man could be a hereditary ruler, or an elected president, but not be a gentleman, and that would show in his every deed. But if you had a leader who was a gentleman, with all that this meant, then you were lucky indeed. And Botswana had been very lucky in that respect, because all three of her presidents had been good men, gentlemen, who were modest in their bearing, as a gentleman should be. One day, perhaps, a woman might become president, and Mma Ramotswe thought that this would be even better, provided, of course, that the lady in question had the right qualities of modesty and caution. Not all ladies had those qualities, Mma Ramotswe reflected; some of them being quite conspicuously lacking in that respect.
Take that woman who was always on the radio-a political woman who was always telling people what to do. She had an irritating voice, like that of a jackal, and a habit of flirting with men in a shameless way, provided that the men in question could do something to advance her career. If they could not, then they were ignored. Mma Ramotswe had seen this happening; she had seen her ignoring the Bishop at a public function, in order to talk to an important government minister who might put in a good word for her in the right place. It had been transparent. Bishop Theophilus had opened his mouth to say something about the rain and she had said, "Yes, Bishop, yes. Rain is very important." But even as she spoke, she was looking in the direction of the minister, and smiling at him. After a few minutes, she had slipped away, leaving the Bishop behind, and sidled up to the minister to whisper something to him. Mma Ramotswe, who had watched the whole thing, was in no doubt about what that something had been, for she knew women of this sort and there were many of them. So they would have to be careful before choosing a woman as president. It would have to be the right sort of woman; a woman who knew what hard work was and what it was like to bear half the world upon your shoulders.
Translation - Spanish ¡Claro que sí! Dios había sido muy generoso con Botsuana, como le habían dicho hace tantos años en la escuela dominical en Mochudi. “Escriban una lista de bendiciones celestiales de Botsuana”, había dicho la maestra. Y Mma Ramotswe, masticando la punta de su lápiz indeleble y sintiendo el azote del sol sobre el techo de zinc de la escuela dominical, un calor tan insistente que hacía que el zinc crujiera como protestando contra las tuercas que lo sujetaban, había escrito: “(1) la tierra; (2) las personas que viven en esa tierra; (3) los animales, especialmente el gordo ganado”. Había dejado de escribir en ese punto, pero, después de hacer una pausa, había agregado: “(4) la ruta de ferrocarril que va desde Lobatse hasta Francistown”. Esta lista, después de ser entregada para su revisión correspondiente, había regresado con una gran marca de comprobación azul después de cada ítem de la lista y una nota que decía: “¡Te felicito, Precious! Eres una niña muy sensata. Has demostrado correctamente por qué Botsuana es un país afortunado”.
Y esto era bastante cierto. Mma Ramotswe de hecho era una persona sensata y Botsuana era un país afortunado. Cuando Botsuana se había independizado, en esa noche tan lejana llena de suspenso cuando los fuegos artificiales no se encendieron a tiempo y el viento polvoriento solo parecía augurar cosas malas, había tan poco. Solo había tres escuelas secundarias en todo el país, unas pocas clínicas y unas míseras ocho millas de caminos pavimentados. Eso era todo. ¿Pero era tan así? Seguramente había muchísimo más que eso. Había un país tan grande que la tierra parecía no tener límites; un cielo tan ancho y libre que el alma podía elevarse y volar y no sentirse limitada en lo más mínimo; y también estaba el pueblo, el pueblo silencioso y paciente que había sobrevivido en esta tierra y que la amaba. Su tenacidad recibió una justa recompensa, ya que debajo de la tierra había diamantes, el ganado prosperó y, ladrillo a ladrillo, el pueblo construyó un país del que cualquiera podía sentirse orgulloso. Eso era lo que tenía Botsuana. Y por eso era un país afortunado.
Mma Ramotswe había fundado la 1ª Agencia de Mujeres Detectives vendiendo el ganado que le había dejado su padre, Obed Ramotswe: un buen hombre respetado por todos. Es por eso que se aseguró de colgar su foto en la pared de la oficina al costado, pero un poco más abajo, de la fotografía del difunto presidente de Botsuana, Sir Seretse Khama, jefe máximo de los bamangwato, primer presidente de Botsuana y caballero. El último de estos atributos quizás fuera el más importante para Mma Ramotswe. Un hombre podía ser un gobernante hereditario o un presidente electo, pero no ser un caballero, y eso quedaría en evidencia en cada uno de sus actos. Pero si uno tenía un líder que también era un caballero, con todo lo que eso implica, realmente era afortunado. Y Botsuana había tenido mucha suerte en ese sentido porque sus tres presidentes habían sido buenos hombres, caballeros, que se desenvolvían con modestia, como corresponde a un caballero. Quizás algún día, una mujer llegaría a la presidencia. Y Mma Ramotswe pensó que esto sería aún mejor, obviamente siempre y cuando la mujer en cuestión tuviera las virtudes necesarias de modestia y cautela. No todas las mujeres contaban con esas virtudes, reflexionó Mma Ramotswe: algunas de hecho tenían una evidente carencia en ese sentido.
Por ejemplo esa mujer que siempre estaba en la radio: una política que vivía diciéndoles a los demás qué debían hacer. Tenía una voz irritante, parecida a la de un chacal, y la costumbre de coquetear descaradamente con los hombres, siempre y cuando los hombres en cuestión pudieran hacer algo por su carrera. De lo contrario, los ignoraba. Mma Ramotswe la había visto hacerlo; la había visto ignorar al obispo en un evento público para conversar con un ministro importante del gobierno que podía hablar bien de ella a las personas indicadas. Había sido evidente. El obispo Theophilus había abierto la boca para hacer un comentario sobre la lluvia y ella le había dicho, “Sí, obispo, sí. La lluvia es muy importante”. Pero hasta cuando le hablaba, estaba mirando en dirección al ministro y sonriéndole. Unos minutos más tarde, había desaparecido y dejado solo al obispo para acercarse sigilosamente al ministro y susurrarle algo. Mma Ramotswe, que había visto toda la escena, no tenía dudas sobre qué era lo que le había dicho porque conocía a mujeres de este tipo y abundaban. Es por eso que tendrían que tener cuidado antes de elegir a una mujer como presidente. Tendría que ser el tipo correcto de mujer: una mujer que supiera lo que es el trabajo duro y qué se siente al cargar el peso del mundo sobre los hombros.
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Translation education
Bachelor's degree - Lenguas Vivas
Experience
Years of experience: 10. Registered at ProZ.com: Dec 2004.
English to Spanish (Lenguas Vivas, Buenos Aires, Argentina)
Memberships
N/A
Software
Adobe Acrobat, memoQ, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office Pro, Microsoft Word, PhraseApp, Powerpoint, SDLX, Trados Online Editor, Trados Studio, Wordfast
I am a detail-oriented and reliable English-Spanish freelance translator. I have been working full-time as a translator for over 10 years. I hold a BA degree in translation studies (focused in technical-scientific and literary translation.)
I have experience in education, government, health care, engineering, telemarketing, journalism, tourism and literature, among other fields.
Specialization areas
* Education, literature, government, engineering, religion, health care.
Work experience
* 2006-present. Lexico Translations, Etcetera Translations. Translation of texts from several fields: government (US Department of Justice and US Department of Labor websites, Library of Congress), law enforcement material, health care booklets (St. Jude Hospital, Froedtert & Medical College, Lippincott), engineering texts (for clients such as ITT, Briggs, Cardone, Weber), and telemarketing scripts for insurance companies (AIG, Aetna). Contacts: María Teague, Joaquim Ferreira.
* 2008-2009. Trusted Translations (www.trustedtranslations.com). Translation of IT texts, tourism brochures, and health care material. Contact: Verónica L. Martínez, veronica@trustedtranslations.com
* 2008. Atlas Translations. Translation of an instructional booklet for a museum in the United Kingdom.
* 2007-2008. Recursos Estratégicos Globales. Translation of educational material for evangelical missionaries from the Worldview Resource Group (http://www.worldviewresourcegroup.org/). Contact: Yamina Gava.
* 2007-2008. Quintián-Rizzi translations. Translation of educational material for the Hispanic community in the US, especially primary school textbooks.
* 2004-2006. Spanish Publishing Group (SPG, www.spgr.com). Translation of educational material for the Hispanic community in the United States. I have also translated short texts of different fields, such as health care forms, letters from an organ procurement program, material from work assessment programs, mediation texts, and general medical texts. Proofreading of translations using Adobe Acrobat 6.0 Professional. Editing of translations using MS Word. Contact: María Elena Alvarado.
* 2001-2002. Retenes Bruce. Translation of company material. Retenes Bruce is an oil-seals company which was in the process of exporting goods abroad, so they needed to get some brochures and other advertising materials translated. I also translated part of their catalog for their website. Contact: María Alicia Paleso.
Education
* BA in scientific-technical and literary translation in English from the Lenguas Vivas “Juan Ramón Fernández” Institute. GPA: 8.13 (1-10.)
* “El placer de traducir” [The pleasure of translation] workshop by Leandro Wolfson, focusing in literary translation and translation in the social sciences.
* Highschool degree with a focus in economics and computer science from Juan Manuel de Rosas Highschool. GPA: 9.87 (1-10.)
Computer skills
Trados SDL 2007, SDL Studio 2011, Microsoft Word, Excel, Adobe Acrobat 8.0 Professional, Firefox, Powerpoint, Practicount, etc. Use of online resources, electronic dictionaries (Oxford Eng-Spa dictionary, Routledge Technical Eng-Spa dictionary, Diccionario Espasa de Medicina, etc.), and databases (i.e., Interactive Terminology for Europe, UN glossaries and databases, Proz Web Term Search).
Keywords: education, electrical engineering, automotive, literature, literary, health care, finance, history, general, translation. See more.education, electrical engineering, automotive, literature, literary, health care, finance, history, general, translation, journalism, religion, food, cooking, culinary, travel, tourism. See less.
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