Translating Scientific and Technical texts into Spanish (3)

Prof. Sergio Font Milián, PhD.

Today’s contents

• Translating –ing forms into Spanish

• The contrast between –ing and –ed forms in English

1. Tylenol is a brand of drugs recommended for relieving pain, reducing fever, and relieving the symptoms of allergies, cold, cough, and flu. It is marketed as an analgesic and antipyretic.

Tylenol es una marca de medicamento que se recomienda para aliviar el dolor, reducir la fiebre, y aliviar los síntomas de alergia, resfriado, tos y gripe. Se comercializa como analgésico y antipirético.

2. This definition opens up the category for metallic polymers and other organic metals, which have been made by researchers and employed in high-tech devices.

Esta definición da inicio a la categoría para polímeros metálicos y otros metales orgánicos, que han sido creados por los investigadores y utilizados en equipos de alta tecnología.

3. Alcohol and acetaminophen should never be taken together, as it is very damaging to the liver.

• No se debe mezclar alcohol y acetaminofén, pues resulta muy dañino para el hígado.

• No se debe consumir alcohol cuando se toma acetaminofén, pues resulta muy perjudicial para el hígado.

-ing forms

Gerunds: Teaching English in Polish schools. Attending an international conference

is a great opportunity to meet people.

She talked about learning styles.

Present participles: The factory is closing.Food production is increasing. Let’s talk about the coming events.

Nouns: swimming, beginning, meaning

Adjectives: interesting, boring, outstanding

gerund = gerundio?

• The machine was not programmable in the modern sense, being designed only to solve systems of linear equations.

• La máquina no era programable en el sentido moderno, estando diseñada solamente para resolver sistemas de ecuaciones lineales.

• La máquina no era programable en el sentido moderno, pues estaba diseñada solamente para resolver sistemas de ecuaciones lineales.

Having analyzed the issue thoroughly, I think we are now ready to vote.

Habiendo analizado… Luego de haber analizado el problema

minuciosamente, creo que ya estamos listos para votar.

Titles including –ing forms• Practical teaching ideas Ideas prácticas para la enseñanza

• Engaging the listener Cómo involucrar al que escucha

• Looking to the future Mirando al futuro

• Reading – reviving a dying art La lectura: cómo revivir un arte moribundo

• Coming events Próximos eventos

• Ongoing teacher education in Argentina Educación continua de maestros en Argentina

Wrong translations of the English gerund

Originally, they were the size of a large room, consuming as much power as hundreds of modern personal computers.

Originalmente, eran del tamaño de una habitación grande, (consumiendo / y consumían) tanta electricidad como cientos de computadoras personales modernas.

• Transmission of the virus to humans is not common and does not always lead to human influenza, often resulting only in the production of antibodies in the blood.

• La transmisión del virus a los humanos no es común, y no siempre conduce a la gripe humana, provocando solamente la producción de anticuerpos en la sangre.

• La transmisión del virus a los humanos no es común, y no siempre conduce a la gripe humana. Con frecuencia trae como consecuencia sólo la producción de anticuerpos en la sangre.

Translating the –ing participle • Heart failure is a syndrome manifesting as the

inability of the heart to fill with or eject blood due to any structural or functional cardiac conditions.

• La insuficiencia cardíaca es un síndrome que se manifiesta como la incapacidad de llenado o de expulsión de sangre del corazón debido a algún daño cardíaco estructural o funcional.

• Eccentric remodeling further worsens the loading conditions on the remaining myocytes and perpetuates the deleterious cycle. The idea of lowering wall stress to slow the process of remodeling has long been exploited in treating heart failure patients.

• La remodelación excéntrica empeora más las condiciones de carga de los miocitos restantes y perpetúa el ciclo perjudicial. La idea de bajar la tensión de la pared para enlentecer el proceso de remodelación durante mucho tiempo ha sido explotada en el tratamiento de los pacientes con insuficiencia cardíaca.

• Produced by specialized cells that recognize incoming viruses and bacteria, antibodies act as molecular barricades, blocking pathogens from infecting healthy cells.

• Producidos por células especializadas que detectan nuevos virus y bacterias, los anticuerpos actúan como barricadas moleculares, no permitiendo (…)

(…) y no permiten que los patógenos infecten las células sanas.

-ing vs –ed participles

• interesting / interested• hiding / hidden• boring / bored• amazing / amazed• being / been

-ing vs –ed participles

All Conference participants found the opening speech very (interesting / interested).

All Conference participants were very (interesting / interested) in the opening speech.

-ing vs –ed participles

All Conference participants found the opening speech very (interesting / interested).

All Conference participants were very (interesting / interested) in the opening speech.

being vs been

• This topic has ________ addressed by several lecturers today.

• This topic has been addressed by several lecturers today.

• The new vaccine is currently ____ tested in animals.• The new vaccine is currently being tested in animals.

• This topic has been addressed by several lecturers today.

• Este tema ha sido abordado hoy por varios conferencistas.

• The new vaccine is currently being tested in animals.

• La nueva vacuna se está probando en animales en estos momentos.

Set expressions with gerunds:

• The doctors had a hard time diagnosing the disease.

• The engineers had lots of trouble designing the new programs.

• Dr. Benson is looking forward to meeting with all of us next month again.

I have been training for 20 years and it’s not always easy fitting in such a demanding sport with the pressures of work, study and family life.

Llevo 20 años entrenando y no es fácil adaptarse a un deporte tan exigente cuando uno tiene presiones de trabajo, estudio y de la familia.