So I'm very new to doing these vacation rental translations... Up to now, 99.9% of the jobs I've done have been in the fashion industry! The change is refreshing, but I'm finding that the new vocabulary and grammar constructions can be daunting. :)
This morning, I had a rejected translation based on a single sentence. I don't want to reject the job because it was fairly long and the problem is only a single sentence, but I can't for the life of me figure out what the problem is with my translation. It doesn't help that the only feedback I received from the customer is "This is wrong" and this customer has been known in the past to nitpick on a single word because I used a word or phrase that was correct but unfamiliar to them.... They aren't exactly known for being prompt, either, so I'm afraid the correction will time out while I'm waiting for them to get back to me with more information.
Can anyone look at this sentence and tell me how they think it should be translated?
"Pour rallier l'Île de Groix, distante de 5 km et que vous apercevez de la fenêtre, vous prendrez un bateau au départ de Lorient."
I tried Googling l'Île de Groix and Lorient to find out more information in the region, since that has always helped me figure these things out in the past, but so far it's been a no-go. :/ Any help will be truly appreciated! (And sorry if this ends up being obvious... I'm still learning all the time!)
13 comments
Hi misty,
I can't help you with the translation - sorry! But just wanted to let you know that maybe you want to post this in the French Forums as well?
It's just a suggestion and you can just keep it here, but from my experience monitoring the forums, posts in the French Forums get a fairly quick response from fellow translators, so if time is an issue here you may want to give it a try.
I didn't want to just move the topic without letting you know. So you can repost it there and keep it here as well - or let me know and I'll just move this one! :)
Good luck!
Lara
That makes sense, Lara! I really wasn't sure where to put it! :)
If you're able to move it, that would be great!
Thanks saralbella! That's tremendously helpful. :) Once I have the sense of it I can make it sound graceful in English, but this particular combination of grammar/vocabulary was unfamiliar to me.
Again, thanks very much!
It's a pleasure, Misty, I love this cooperative way to work!
And I'm proud that my macaronic english has been helpful!! :D
Have a nice day,
S.
I do too! :) I much prefer it to the competitive mindset. My French has improved by leaps about bounds because of helpful people like you!
Thanks again, and have a great day!
@misty - I see you already got help and that's great! Thanks saralbella! :)
I still moved it to the French Forums as you requested so maybe other French translators can have a look, too. It's great to see our translators working together and helping each other!!!
I wouldn't have made it clearer than saralbella :)
I remember last question you asked and I must say you shouldn't worry about your French: you only have troubles with awkward sentences ^^. Please do not aim at writing such sentences!
I would be "beaten with nettles" by our ST (and would deserve it) if I wrote something like « distante de 5 km et que vous apercevez de la fenêtre ».
Don't hesitate if you have questions again in the future!
Haha, that makes me feel a lot better, olive. Since French isn't my native language, I'm never sure if it's just a casual construction that I'm unfamiliar with, a regional variation in the language, or if it really is just awkwardly phrased! I'm glad we have such pleasant and helpful people in the Gengo forums. :)
To avoid awkward "that"s, I suppose you could you say
"To reach Ile de Groix, 5 km away and visible from your window, you take a boat from Lorient."
I think I ended up using "Ile de Groix is visible 5 km away from your window. To reach it, you can take a boat from Lorient." I think your version sounds less choppy, though!
2 suggestions from a non official translator :) (but thinking about it !)
"From your window you can see "l'ile de groix" at only 5 km away and which you can reach taking a boat from Lorient".
"To reach l'ile de groix, that you can see through your window at only 5 km away, you can take a boat from Lorient".
Misty,
that would be my "proposition";
To reach the Isle of Groix, 5 km distant and visible through the window, you will have to board a ship out of Lorient.
Hope that helps !
have just joined in....Let's keep up the good work !
Pierre Wakeford