The Top Five EN>PL Translation issues So Far!

Wow, what a week! Last Sunday seems like a long way away, and since then it’s been a non-stop Sajgon on all fronts – hence the lack of new material this week. So, in time-honoured tradition, it’s time to re-heat and re-serve some previous meals in the Bad Microwave. 

To this end, here are my top five issues that have featured on the blog so far. If you’re new to the Article, or have missed a few weeks etc, then just reading these five things will be a shot in the arm for your translating armoury. (Wow, talk about a mixed metaphor). 

Here we go then – five of the most thorny issues in PL>EN translation, as featured on the Bad Article so far (this doesn’t excuse you from reading everything else, top-to-bottom ;)

1. Using in the case of, when in case of is what you want,
2. Mixing up since and from when describing elapsed time,
3. Over-punctuating around brackets,
4. Using persons when people is more appropriate,
5. Over- and mis-use of appreciate and cooperate.

I know it’s a bit tragic doing this kind of thing, but, it’s also quite useful. As our readership increases over time, it can be handy having a look back at previous work. Well, that’s how I rationalise it anyway. Don’t despair though, fresh bułki are on the way!

persons, people

I have a friend back in London who always used to greet me and ask, ‘What’s up with you people?’, or ‘What about you people, what are you doing on Saturday?’. This happened whether or not I was actually with anyone else at the time, and even when in company, the appellation ‘you people’ always amused me. This was years ago, but even now I still remember this bit of phrasing and use it myself sometimes.

So in honour of this old friend, we’re going to look at people and persons today. Persons is something that I only occasionally see, possibly because the context for it isn’t all that common, or possibly because of some larger cosmic reason I’m not privy to. Either way, when I do see it (in a Pl>En translation, of course), it’s often being used instead of people. Examples:

1a) There were no more than ten persons left by the end of his speech.
1b) There were no more than ten people left by the end of his speech.

2a) Although it was seen to be an unpopular move by the liberals, many persons still supported it.

2a) Although it was seen to be an unpopular move by the liberals, many people still supported it.

3a) The individual persons responsible are in hiding at this time.  
3b) The persons responsible are in hiding at this time.

3c) The individuals responsible are in hiding at this time.

3d) Those responsible are in hiding at this time.

4a) He was disturbed that she’d been revealing their secrets to untrained persons.           
4b)  He was disturbed that she’d been revealing their secrets to untrained candidates.

5a) Persons travelling with a child qualify for a 10% discount.          

5b) Passengers travelling with children qualify for a 10% discount.

(1, 2) are the classic examples where persons can be replaced with people in one swift, deadly move. (3a) is an example of good persons usage, but with unnecessary repetition – you only need to use one or the other of individual and persons here, giving us (3b) or (3c). Alternatively, avoid the whole bloody thing entirely by cutting it all out and replacing with a healthy pronoun (3d).

(4,5) illustrate a nice bit of synonym usage. Those of you who took Monday’s advice and are now either completely drunk or have a head brimming with new vocabulary will be particularly pleased here. (4) is more general, whereas in (5), we should have been using passengers to begin with really.

Clearly, there are times when persons is the correct choice, so don’t go thinking I’m totally  down on persons and telling you not to use them; rather,  just follow this handy advice from the boffins at Oxford:

 “The words people and persons can both be used as the plural of person but they are not used in exactly the same way. People is by far the commoner of the two words and is used in most ordinary contexts: a group of people; there were only about ten people; several thousand people have been re-housed. Persons, on the other hand, tends now to be restricted to official or formal contexts, as in this vehicle is authorised to carry twenty persons; no persons admitted without a pass.”

Remember people, more people and less persons!

persons - people

In a nutshell, persons is being routinely used where people is the more appropriate choice. All of you do this, regardless of age, experience, training or what the weather was doing at the time.

The OED has this to say: “The words people and persons can both be used as the plural of person but they are not used in exactly the same way. People is by far the commoner of the two words and is used in most ordinary contexts: a group of people; there were only about ten people; several thousand people have been re-housed. Persons, on the other hand, tends now to be restricted to official or formal contexts, as in this vehicle is authorised to carry twenty persons; no persons admitted without a pass.”

 Now let’s look at some examples:

 Bad persons
1a The individual persons responsible are in hiding at this time.
2a He was disturbed that she’d been revealing their secrets to untrained persons.
3a Persons travelling with a child qualify for a 10% discount.
4a Even by lunchtime, several persons had already applied for the job.
5a For those persons who prefer peace and quiet, several picturesque
walking trails also start near the hotel.

Fixes!
1b Those responsible are in hiding at this time.
1b The individuals responsible are in hiding at this time.
1b The persons responsible are in hiding at this time.
2b  He was disturbed that she’d been revealing their secrets to untrained employees.
3b Passengers travelling with children qualify for a 10% discount.
4b Even by lunchtime, several people had already applied for the job.
5b For those who prefer peace and quiet, several picturesque 
walking trails also start near the hotel.

There are several ways around this problem when we’re working with anything less than direct commands and official statements. Rephrasing works well, as we can see in 1b (first example). We can just drop the offending persons altogether if context permits it (1b second example and 5b), or use a more specific synonym (2b, 3b). Or, simply, just exchange your persons for a people (4b). Note too that pretty much any of the fixes above can be applied in pretty much any situation, depending on your time and creativity.

In short – more people and less persons!