Translation - Brazilian Portuguese-English - Os Conselhos Gestores não constituem panacéia e...

Ian, Kafetzou and Tantine,

I was a bit anxious to know if this translation is good, so I asked the poll myself. Did I do anything wrong?

CC: IanMegill2 kafetzou Tantine

Yes, you did, goncinho. We usually don't ask for a poll until after we've edited the English for correctness.

I've removed the poll. Just hang on and let us do our "job", if you don't mind, but thanks for asking us!

CC: IanMegill2 Tantine

Yep. Sorry.

Hi goncino

Some small suggestions before the poll.

Put a comma between "democracy" and "radical",

The apostrophy on "Council's" is badly placed, if "Council" is plural, the apostrophy goes after the "s".

I would put "capacity of representing and taking charge of changes resides in...

I don't understand what is meant by

"the conformity to its purposes,"

"potential" is probably better than "potentiality"

and I would put "the institutional structures" rather than just "institutional structures"

Bises
Tantine

Hi, Tantine. Thanks again.

I'm afraid I can't put a comma between "democracy" and "radical" because "democracy radical improvement" form a whole expression. Maybe "radical improvement of democracy", but "frustrate expectations of radical improvement of democracy" wouldn't be even worse?

In the second sentence, "Management Council" is singular, so that apostrophe is already in the right place.

"Conformity to its purposes" is intended to mean "in agreement with its purposes".

"Capacity of representing and taking...": edited.

"Potential" also sounds better for me, but I'm not sure, as that the text is the kind of bureaucratic/technical one in which "potential" and "potentiality" may have different meanings.

I'll put "the" in the front of "intentional structures".

What do you think?

This is the sense I was able to make of it, just as a triangulation on what the meaning might be:

Management Councils are not (High-level English: "do not constitute" ) a panacea, and at their worst, they can even frustrate expectations for radical improvements in democratic systems, as well as possibilities for social change. The functions of a Management Council (i.e. of representing the people and initiating change) derive from its own conformity to its purposes and its institutional structure, in light of its ability to maximize clear goals within the context of the opportunities available in the institutional structures of society.

Quite a mouthful, huh?

Yes, Ian. In Portuguese we would say that this text (the original one, or any translation from it) is "macarrônico" ('spaghettic') after its loooong and rolled up sentences.

I think you got the general meaning, but I also think this translation should be a bit more litteral. You started the second sentence with "The functions of a Management Council...", but I still guess that we can insist a little more on the word "capacity", as it is a legal term.

BTW, I dared to translate this complex text, although I'm not a native English speaker, after some days it was on the row. If I can't express myself properly in English, I hope at least to discuss this text with you, because it is complex even for a native Portuguese speaker.

Thank you, Ian.

Obviously, this writer's goal was to obfuscate, not educate.

I have made a few edits, but there are still two areas that are unclear to me:

"the conformity to its purposes" - What does this mean?

"on the grounds of its potentiality" - What does "grounds" mean here? How about simply "because of its potential"?

Kafetzou,

"Conformity to its purposes" is intended to mean "in agreement with its purposes".

"em virtude da sua potencialidade" -> "on the basis of its potentiality"? I was searching for a more ellaborate form than just "because".

Thanks.

How about "in accordance with its purposes" and "on the basis of its potential"?

Good solution, Kafetzou. Now I'm just not sure if "potencialidade" can be translated as "potential" instead of "potentiality".

"potentiality" is not a word in English. What does "potencialidade" mean?

Kafetzou,

potentiality (1)
potentiality (2)
potentiality (3)

I stand corrected! I will change it back, although to be honest I don't understand why it shouldn't be "potential" here.

Yes, it should be, but I'm not sure it can be.

BTW, this is my last translation into English; I won't translate into this language anymore.

Why don't you want to translate into English any more Goncin.

Your English is other than "good" it's really more than an average English speaker can master.

If you stop translating into English I will START translating into Br Portuguese!! hehe

Bises
Tantine

Maybe after some time I would change my mind, Tantine; that's very kind of you . But for now, I'm too upset to insist on that. This translation worn me out quite much.

Well, dear Goncy, you could change your mind right now and resume your translations into English because you are very good at it, more especially as you are an autodidact. People like you are an inspiration to others.

Não sejas teimoso, pá! Deixa lá essas birras!

Also, it's a good way to learn!