The international discussion forum - View Single Post - français->anglais (2 phrases)

NAR · 07-07-2006, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catachrest

May I make a suggestion?

WANT more days of access?

Create AN unlimited number of signatures and get two months for 8 E .

(Sorry, I don't have the Euro symbol on my keyboard...)

Your suggestion is most welcome. Note however that I did consider these two possible translations before finally opting for the ones I’ve posted above.

In the first place, I dismissed “Want more days of access?” because I believe the French version will be “Voulez-vous plus de jours d’accès?” Besides, I believe the line of demarcation needs be chalked out between “creating an unlimited number of signatures and getting two months for 8€” and “creating an unlimited number of signatures during 2 months for 8€.”

And in the second place, though the common translation for “un nombre illimité” turns out to be “an unlimited number”, as you’ve written, for the purpose of a website, concise forms are preferred to longer ones. Moreover, should you have a look at other websites, you’ll find out that they, too, discard the ‘an’. The message conveyed is then, rather direct, concise and formal. Basically, I believe, translation spins not only around reproducing meanings of words from one language to another, but rather, it transcends these parameters, going to the extent of having to conquer the hurdles which exist in terms of directness, precision and that specific way the author of the sentence wishes to ventilate his information. Trying to capture that particular aspect and keeping it intact while translating, I believe, is of cardinal importance.