Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
poder ser dueño de su vida
English translation:
to take control of their lives
Added to glossary by
Eugenio Llorente
Sep 14, 2011 10:14
12 yrs ago
Spanish term
Spain
High quality translations
Native in: Spanish
Works in: English to Spanish, Spanish to English
poder ser dueño de su vida
Spanish to English
Science
Environment & Ecology
Biocultura
The author previouly argued "that the more the society develops, the less the individual will develop." The term appears in this context:
"Solución: Potenciar al individuo. Dotarle de recursos para poder ser dueño de su vida."
This is how a see it, for the moment:
"Solution: Empowering the individual. Providing them with resources to become owners of their own lives. "
Note: I use the plural "them" to be gender-neutral.
"Solución: Potenciar al individuo. Dotarle de recursos para poder ser dueño de su vida."
This is how a see it, for the moment:
"Solution: Empowering the individual. Providing them with resources to become owners of their own lives. "
Note: I use the plural "them" to be gender-neutral.
Proposed translations
(English)
Proposed translations
+3
8 mins
Simon Bruni
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
Works in field
United Kingdom
Related KudoZ points
:
78
Selected
to take control of their lives
Give them the resources they need to take control of their lives.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Again, thank you very much, Simon!"
+1
1 min
to take charge of their life
Is how I would put it.
8 mins
Julie Waddington
Spain
Spain
Native in English
Works in field
Spain
PhD English
Native in: English
Works in: Catalan to English, Spanish to English, English
to become owners of their own lives
I think the terms you opt for sound appropriate in this context. I would maybe change the gerunds to infinitives "Empower" and "Provide".
Gender neutral option is definitely good choice.
Best of luck.
Gender neutral option is definitely good choice.
Best of luck.
+1
11 mins
18 mins
to enable them to take control of their lives
It could be argued that "poder" need not be translated, on the grounds that "resources to take control/charge" implies "to be able to take control/charge". However, thinking about it I feel that it would be better to include it. To me, "to take control" implies, or could imply, "so that they take control", whereas "to be able to take control" does not necessarily mean that they do so, but simply that they can do so. OK, in practice there's not much difference, I agree, but I think there's no harm in including it. I feel "enable" is the natural way to do it, and that the result reads well.
I take your point about gender-neutral "they/them", but I still try to find ways of avoiding it. In particular, as the previous answers show, there is some doubt about whether one should put "life" or "lives" in this construction. The former is logical (an individual has only one life), but "their life" grates on me. "Their lives" sounds right, but logically conflicts with the singular individual. So I'd suggest putting "providing people with resources to enable them to take control of their lives". I think this reads naturally and is quite consistent with the original.
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Note added at 1 hr (2011-09-14 11:17:43 GMT)
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When I say "avoid gender-neutral "they/them", I mean avoid using it explicitly in the singular. This is the problem with "their life", for me: the combination plural-singular. It's quite common now and we're all getting used to it, but the problem can often be avoided entirely by finding an acceptable way to express it in the plural. That was my point.
I take your point about gender-neutral "they/them", but I still try to find ways of avoiding it. In particular, as the previous answers show, there is some doubt about whether one should put "life" or "lives" in this construction. The former is logical (an individual has only one life), but "their life" grates on me. "Their lives" sounds right, but logically conflicts with the singular individual. So I'd suggest putting "providing people with resources to enable them to take control of their lives". I think this reads naturally and is quite consistent with the original.
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Note added at 1 hr (2011-09-14 11:17:43 GMT)
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When I say "avoid gender-neutral "they/them", I mean avoid using it explicitly in the singular. This is the problem with "their life", for me: the combination plural-singular. It's quite common now and we're all getting used to it, but the problem can often be avoided entirely by finding an acceptable way to express it in the plural. That was my point.
Note from asker:
| Dear Charles, I appreciate very much your comments. Thank you very much. |
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