Translation - Portugees-Engels - O valor que eu te dei

Hi Carlos

Could you edit this translation please - the last part seems to be missing

Hi Lein, sorry for the mixup.... The whole wording should read:

"There is no guide-books or dictionaries that can possibly explain the magnitude of how much value I dedicated to you".

Cheers, Carlos

Thanks
Next time, as long as a translation is not being evaluated yet, you are free to edit your own translations. Once a poll is set, the translation is 'locked' and can only be edited by the expert in charge.

Just some suggestions for your translation:

- either 'there are no guide books etc' or 'there is no guide book etc' (and 'guide book' is not usually hyphenated).
- would 'how much I valued you' not sound better?

Let me know and (possibly after edits) I can set a poll

Dear Lein, thanks for your feedback. In regards to your first recommendations, you are absolutely right, and I am editing the translation to reflect such changes. As for the second one (how much I valued), I did consider it at first because it really sounds better, however I felt that it would not be the best way to express the precise message the author is trying to convey... So I would rather keep it as "how much value I dedicated to you".

Cheers,

Carlos

OK, thanks Carlos! I have set a poll.

"the magnitude of how much value I dedicated to you..." sounds redundant and overly adorned. I'd suggest:

"the magnitude of the value I gave to you" (just to stick to the wording in the original which is quite awkward) or simply "how much I valued you" (which would sound better to a native's ears)

Hi Lilian, thanks for your feedback. I find your suggestion ok and applicable to this case, no doubt whatsoever. But I still would like to stick to how I worded it, as in my understanding (considering both the European Portuguese and the native English speakers' mindsets), the overall risks we would run - in terms of upsetting either the requester or the recipient of this message - will not change whether we use my version or yours.

Regards,

Carlos

Hi again

I'd like to validate the translation but I still feel uneasy about that last part - 'the magnitude of how much value' is simply redundant. I'd like to change it to one of the options below; could you let me know which one you prefer, or suggest another one that will make a good translation while being grammatically correct? Thanks!

that can possibly explain the magnitude of the value I dedicated to you (as suggested by Lilian; this way we stick exactly to the original wording)

or

that can possibly explain how much value I dedicated to you (as 'o tamanho de algo' = 'how much of something', in meaning if not in exact words)

Hello,

I would rather say "how much I cherished you" instead of "how much value I dedicated to you."

Dear Lein and Tzico-Sem,

Many thanks for your comments. As I said before, in my response to Lilian, I fully agree with you in terms of "what sounds better", and that other terms could be used instead of those that I chose (as a matter of fact, "cherish" was my first pick, I guess it is a word that comes out naturally in this case). However, my view of the author's intentions hidden behind his original words, lead me to insist - in spite of reckoning the endless possibilities to improve the English version - that my wording is the most accurate way to effectively convey the feelings expressed by the author to the particular person to whom he is addressing his message. In the most typical "hot-blooded" latin way of communication related with love matters, the usual is to be really redundant, dramatic, and to employ words that most writers would see as inadequate... but in my belief this is made on purpose, to ensure 100% that the reader will not merely "understand", but will also "feel" what is contained there....

Well, this is the way I see it, most certainly barely worth 2 cents... If needed be, for validation purposes, I will amend the translation according to your suggestions.

Cheers,

Carlos

OK, thanks. I will amend to 'the magnitude of the value' and accept.

Just to reiterate: 'o tamanho do valor' has no redundancy, so 'the magnitude of the value' is the most literal translation as well as being grammatically correct