Translating Scientific and Technical texts into Spanish (II)

Prof. Sergio Font Milián, PhD.

Today’s contents

• Translating English verb tenses into Spanish• Translating the English passive

voice• Translating would• Translating there + be

HomeworkTranslate into Spanish

1. The information stored in the file may be related with anything.

La información almacenada en el archivo puede estar relacionada con cualquier cosa.

2. Supercomputers in particular often have highly sophisticated architectures that differ significantly from the basic stored-program architecture.

Las supercomputadoras, en particular, cuentan frecuentemente con arquitecturas altamente sofisticadas que difieren significativamente de la arquitectura básica de programas almacenados.

3. Metals occupy the bulk of the Periodic Table, while non-metallic elements can only be found on the right-hand-side of the Periodic Table of Elements.

Los metales ocupan la mayor parte de la Tabla Periódica, mientras que los elementos no metálicos sólo pueden encontrarse en el lado derecho de la Tabla Periódica de Elementos.

4. Foreign language teachers should encourage their students to read in the language they are learning.

Los maestros de lenguas extranjeras deben alentar a sus estudiantes a que lean (a leer) en la lengua que están aprendiendo.

The simple past tense• On December 17, 1903 Wilbur Wright

watched in amazement as his brother Orville took off and landed the world's first powered airplane.

• El 17 de diciembre de 1903, Wilbur Wright observó sorprendido que

su hermano Orville despegaba y aterrizaba el primer avión propulsado del mundo.

A problem arising from the past tense

Irregular verbs in the past

take off took off meet met

break broke go went

NOT FOUND IN DICTIONARIES !

The present perfect• Human society has passed through two huge and

lasting changes. La sociedad humana ha atravesado dos cambios

grandes y duraderos.

• Commerce and industry have always been very closely related.

El comercio y la industria siempre han estado muy estrechamente relacionados.

The present perfect

Dr. Williams has worked on this project for five years.

El Dr. Williams trabaja en este proyecto desde hace 5 años.

El Dr. Williams lleva 5 años trabajando en este proyecto.

El Dr. Williams ha trabajado en este proyecto durante 5 años.

The past perfect• No human being had ever run so fast. Nunca un ser humano había corrido tan rápido. • Captain Wilson had never piloted a plane like

that. El Capitán Wilson nunca había piloteado un

avión así.

Translating the passive voice• The initial quake was later followed by twelve

aftershocks greater than magnitude 5.0. Structures of all kinds were damaged or fully destroyed.

• El temblor inicial fue seguido de doce réplicas superiores a la magnitud de 5.0. Se dañaron o destruyeron completamente estructuras de todo tipo.

• Though a computer can, in theory, be made out of almost anything, and mechanical examples of computers have existed through much of human history, the first electronic computers were developed in the mid-20th century.

• Aunque teóricamente las computadoras pueden fabricarse de casi cualquier material, y han existido ejemplos mecánicos de computadoras a lo largo de gran parte de la historia de la humanidad, las primeras computadoras electrónicas se desarrollaron a mediados del siglo XX.

Translating would It is almost impossible to imagine what the world

would be like if the effects of the Industrial Revolution were swept away. Electric lights would go out. Automobiles and airplanes would vanish. Telephones, radios, and television would disappear. Es casi imposible imaginar cómo sería el mundo si se eliminaran los efectos de la Revolución Industrial. No habría luz eléctrica, los automóviles y los aviones se esfumarían, y el teléfono, la radio y la televisión desaparecerían.

There + be

• There is / are• There was / were• There will be• There has / have been• There had been

There + be• There were also new ideas in England which

aided the movement. También hubo nuevas ideas en Inglaterra que

ayudaron al movimiento.

• There is a long list of methods in the history of foreign language teaching.

Hay una larga lista de métodos en la historia de la enseñanza de lenguas extranjeras.

There + has/have + been

There has been no economic recovery in California.

There hasn’t been any economic recovery in California.

No ha habido (ninguna) recuperación económica en California.

• In recent years, there have been some really big earthquakes.

En los últimos años ha habido algunos terremotos realmente grandes.

• Has there been an increase in the number of natural disasters?

¿Ha habido un incremento en el número de desastres naturales?

There + had + been

• There had been many proposals to change the rules, but none of them had been approved.

Había habido muchas propuestas para cambiar las reglas, pero ninguna había sido aprobada.

Translate

• Would there be time to finish the report before the Conference?

• Where will the Annual Convention be held?

• Would there be time to finish the report before the Conference?

• ¿Habría tiempo de terminar el informe antes de la conferencia?

• Where will the Annual Convention be held?• ¿Dónde se celebrará la Convención Anual?

Homework - Translate into Spanish

1. Tylenol is a brand of drugs recommended for relieving pain, reducing fever, and relieving the symptoms of allergies, cold, cough, and flu. It is marketed as an analgesic and antipyretic.

2. This definition opens up the category for metallic polymers and other organic metals, which have been made by researchers and employed in high-tech devices.

3. Alcohol and acetaminophen should never be taken together, as it is very damaging to the liver.