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deputado federal

English translation: Federal deputy, member of federal Chamber of Deputies, Congressman

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Portuguese term or phrase:deputado federal
English translation:Federal deputy, member of federal Chamber of Deputies, Congressman
Entered by: peterinmadrid

11:45 Mar 27, 2007
Portuguese to English translations [PRO]
Government / Politics / Sao Paulo Politicians
Portuguese term or phrase: deputado federal
Até dezembro de 2004, Kassab exerceu o segundo mandato de deputado federal - a primeira eleição foi em 1998 -, cargo que deixou para ocupar a vice-prefeitura de São Paulo e trabalhar ao lado do prefeito José Serra.
peterinmadrid
Portugal
Local time: 15:41
Federal deputy, member of federal Chamber of Deputies, Congressman
Explanation:
Peter, I struggle with this all the time. A federal deputy in Brazil is equivalent to a US Congressman. But only in the more informal translations would I translate it this way. I end up using federal deputy with the nagging feeling that the reader won't know what is meant. It depends on whether the meaning is clear from context, and on who the target audience is, but you might find a way to slip in "member of the federal Chamber of Deputies." As for "representative" - if you are going to go straight ahead with the US term, I find Congressman clearer. There are some people who regularly translate Chamber of Deputies as Brazilian House of Representatives, but I think that's going too far. That kind of thing could go in a footnote, but in all but sensitive texts I avoid footnotes like the plague

This answer reflects my own ambiguity, even after 25 years as a translator of this stuff!

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Note added at 48 mins (2007-03-27 12:34:45 GMT)
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OOPs, Peter, as usual I forgot to read the question thoroughly, you want a UK term but my answer still applies - it's better to stick with the Brazilian term, particularly if you can slip in the name of the body - Chamber of Deputies. You probably should not Anglicize any more than you should Americanize.
Selected response from:

Donna Sandin
United States
Local time: 09:41
Grading comment
Thank you, Donna. I agree with your criteria.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +2Federal deputy, member of federal Chamber of Deputies, Congressman
Donna Sandin
4 +2member of parliament
Carla Queiro (X)
5federal representative
rhandler
4federal lawmaker or deputy
Simona de Logu
4Representative
Denise Miranda


Discussion entries: 3





  

Answers


13 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
federal lawmaker or deputy


Explanation:
A federal politician as opposed to a state or municipal politician. The deputies sit in the congress in Brasilia.

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Note added at 27 mins (2007-03-27 12:13:16 GMT)
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I wouldn't use a UK term because the political set up of Brazil and the UK isn't the same. Brazil has a federal system of government and the UK doesn't. You can't say member of parliament for a Brazilian federal deputy. They don't have a parliament, but a congress, and it's important to state that it is a federal politician.
The term I have given is generic and can be used in any cultural context.

Simona de Logu
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:41
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in GermanGerman
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27 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
member of parliament


Explanation:
In the British system the House of Commons is equivalent to the American House of Representatives.

There is a good description in this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_of_Parliament

Carla Queiro (X)
Local time: 10:41
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Paul Dixon: Definitely, or MP for short.
41 mins
  -> Thankyou
agree  Mara R: Agreed.
4249 days
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11 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Representative


Explanation:
If it's intended for the US, the term is Representative.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_of_Represen...

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Note added at 23 mins (2007-03-27 12:08:56 GMT)
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When we read about Brazilian politics (as well as Mexican, Canadian and others), the term used, then, is federal deputy.

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Note added at 33 mins (2007-03-27 12:18:53 GMT)
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You can always use the generic term CONGRESSMAN. There's no way you can go wrong with it...


Denise Miranda
Local time: 10:41
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 15
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46 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +2
Federal deputy, member of federal Chamber of Deputies, Congressman


Explanation:
Peter, I struggle with this all the time. A federal deputy in Brazil is equivalent to a US Congressman. But only in the more informal translations would I translate it this way. I end up using federal deputy with the nagging feeling that the reader won't know what is meant. It depends on whether the meaning is clear from context, and on who the target audience is, but you might find a way to slip in "member of the federal Chamber of Deputies." As for "representative" - if you are going to go straight ahead with the US term, I find Congressman clearer. There are some people who regularly translate Chamber of Deputies as Brazilian House of Representatives, but I think that's going too far. That kind of thing could go in a footnote, but in all but sensitive texts I avoid footnotes like the plague

This answer reflects my own ambiguity, even after 25 years as a translator of this stuff!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 48 mins (2007-03-27 12:34:45 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

OOPs, Peter, as usual I forgot to read the question thoroughly, you want a UK term but my answer still applies - it's better to stick with the Brazilian term, particularly if you can slip in the name of the body - Chamber of Deputies. You probably should not Anglicize any more than you should Americanize.

Donna Sandin
United States
Local time: 09:41
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 24
Grading comment
Thank you, Donna. I agree with your criteria.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  lexical: Very convincing arguments, Donna.
1 hr
agree  Thais Maria Lips: Agree - Please see my comments above
2 hrs
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
federal representative


Explanation:
The UK equivalent would not be appropriate, because of so many differences between a federative republic and a kingdom. The US equivalent would be this.

See these examples:

Contact Your Federal Representative
Contact Your Federal Representative. Sample Letter: Requesting Support for the American Hospital Preservation Act of 2001 H.R. 1556 ...
www.gca.emory.edu/contact.htm

The Office of the Federal Representative
Federal Representative - Indian Residential Schools. Représentant fédéral - Pensionnats indiens. Important Notice · Avis Important.
www.iacobucci.gc.ca/


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Note added at 1 hr (2007-03-27 12:53:56 GMT)
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Google has many more examples: 102,000 English pages for "federal representative".

rhandler
Local time: 10:41
Works in field
Native speaker of: Portuguese
PRO pts in category: 105
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