ProZ.com translation contests »
Second ProZ.com Translation Contest 2007

Preparing
Submission phase  
Mar 27 '07Apr 12 '07
Hybrid phase  
Apr 12 '07Apr 17 '07
Finals phase  
Apr 17 '07Apr 25 '07

About the Submission phase

During the Submission phase, entries may be submitted in any language pair, per contest restrictions. Contestants are allowed to edit their entries until the end of the Submission phase.

At the end of the Submission phase, all language pairs with submitted entries will be "paused" for review by the contest administrator.

About the Hybrid phase

During the Hybrid phase, individual language pairs can be placed in any of the Submission, Qualification, or Finals phases, depending on how many entries have been submitted.
  • Pairs which received fewer than 3 entries during the Submission phase will likely be placed in an "extended submission" period. If at least 3 entries are eventually submitted, the pair will be moved forward to the Finals phase.
  • Pairs which received between 3 and 7 entries will likely be placed directly into the Finals phase, where site users who list that language pair in their profile may vote for what they feel are the best entries.
  • Pairs which received more than 7 entries will likely be placed into the Qualification phase, where site users rate and tag entries in an effort to determine a smaller pool of entries which should move forward into the Finals phase.

About the Finals phase

During the Finals phase, all language pairs which have received at least 3 entries will be open for site users to vote for what they feel are the best entries. Pairs with fewer than 3 entries will not be able to have a winner determined.

At the end of the Finals phase, votes will be tallied by site staff, and winners in each pair will be announced.
Competition in this edition of ProZ.com translation contests is finished. Winners have been announced in 12 language pairs. Click here to view the winners »

Congratulations and thanks to all the members who participated in this Second Translation Contest, and in particular, congratulations to the winners!

You will find them below, as well as links to all language pairs that had qualified entries. There is also a feature to leave feedback and suggestions about the contest. The page corresponding to each language pair contains all the qualified entries plus room for specific feedback and comments.


Source texts — Jump: English, French, Spanish

The following are the source texts for this edition of the ProZ.com translation contests. Contest participants are given the opportunity to submit translations of these texts into the languages of their choice. If three or more translators translate a text into a given language, the contest is "on" in that language pair. To learn more about the source texts, see the "About the source texts" section below.
English
The floor was of smooth, white stone; the chairs, high-backed, primitive structures, painted green: one or two heavy black ones lurking in the shade. In an arch under the dresser reposed a huge, liver-coloured bitch pointer, surrounded by a swarm of squealing puppies; and other dogs haunted other recesses.
The apartment and furniture would have been nothing extraordinary as belonging to a homely, northern farmer, with a stubborn countenance, and stalwart limbs set out to advantage in knee-breeches and gaiters. Such an individual seated in his armchair, his mug of ale frothing on the round table before him, is to be seen in any circuit of five or six miles among these hills, if you go at the right time after dinner. But Mr. H forms a singular contrast to his abode and style of living. He is a dark-skinned gipsy in aspect, in dress and manners a gentleman: that is, as much a gentleman as many a country squire: rather slovenly, perhaps, yet not looking amiss with his negligence, because he has an erect and handsome figure; and rather morose. Possibly, some people might suspect him of a degree of underbred pride; I have a sympathetic chord within that tells me it is nothing of the sort: I know, by instinct, his reserve springs from an aversion to showy displays of feeling- to manifestations of mutual kindliness. He'll love and hate equally under cover, and esteem it a species of impertinence to be loved or hated again. No, I'm running on too fast: I bestow my own attributes over liberally on him. Mr. H may have entirely dissimilar reasons for keeping his hand out of the way when he meets a would-be-acquaintance, to those which actuate me. Let me hope my constitution is almost peculiar: my dear mother used to say I should never have a comfortable home; and only last summer I proved myself perfectly unworthy of one.
French
La mort de Jean-Baptiste fut la grande affaire de ma vie : elle rendit ma mère à ses chaînes et me donna la liberté.
Il n'y a pas de bon père, c'est la règle ; qu'on n'en tienne pas grief aux hommes mais au lien de paternité qui est pourri. Faire des enfants, rien de mieux ; en avoir, quelle iniquité ! Eût-il vécu, mon père se fût couché sur moi de tout son long et m'eût écrasé. Par chance, il est mort en bas âge ; au milieu des Énées qui portent sur le dos leurs Anchises, je passe d'une rive à l'autre, seul et détestant ces géniteurs invisibles à cheval sur leurs fils pour toute la vie ; j'ai laissé derrière moi un jeune mort qui n'eut pas le temps d'être mon père et qui pourrait être, aujourd'hui, mon fils. Fut-ce un mal ou un bien ? Je ne sais ; mais je souscris volontiers au verdict d'un éminent psychanalyste : je n'ai pas de Sur-moi.
Ce n'est pas tout de mourir : il faut mourir à temps. Plus tard, je me fusse senti coupable ; un orphelin conscient se donne tort : offusqués par sa vue, ses parents se sont retirés dans leurs appartements du ciel. Moi, j'étais ravi : ma triste condition imposait le respect, fondait mon importance ; je comptais mon deuil au nombre de mes vertus. Mon père avait eu la galanterie de mourir à ses torts ; ma grand-mère répétait qu'il s'était dérobé à ses devoirs ; mon grand-père, justement fier de la longévité Schweitzer, n'admettait pas qu'on disparût à trente ans ; à la lumière de ce décès suspect, il en vint à douter que son gendre eût jamais existé et, pour finir, il l'oublia. Je n'eus même pas à l'oublier : en filant à l'anglaise, Jean-Baptiste m'avait refusé le plaisir de faire sa connaissance. Aujourd'hui encore, je m'étonne du peu que je sais sur lui. Il a aimé, pourtant, il a voulu vivre, il s'est vu mourir ; cela suffit pour faire tout un homme.
Spanish
TÚ sobrevivirás: volverás a rozar las sábanas y sabrás que has sobrevivido, a pesar del tiempo y el movimiento que a cada instante acortan tu fortuna: entre la parálisis y el desenfreno está la línea de la vida: la aventura: imaginarás la seguridad mayor, jamás moverte: te imaginarás inmóvil, el resguardo del peligro, del azar, de la incertidumbre: tu quietud no detendrá al tiempo que corre sin ti, aunque tú lo inventes y midas, al tiempo que niega tu inmovilidad y te somete a su propio peligro de extinción: aventurero, medirás tu velocidad con la del tiempo:
el tiempo que inventarás para sobrevivir, para fingir la ilusión de una permanencia mayor sobre la tierra: el tiempo que tu cerebro creará a fuerza de percibir esa alternación de luz y tinieblas en el cuadrante del sueño; a fuerza de retener esas imágenes de la placidez amenazada por los cúmulos concentrados y negros de las nubes, el anuncio del trueno, la posteridad del rayo, la descarga turbonada de la lluvia, la aparición segura del arco iris; a fuerza de escuchar las llamadas cíclicas de los animales en el monte; a fuerza de gritar los signos del tiempo: aullido del tiempo de la guerra, aullido del tiempo del luto, aullido del tiempo de la fiesta; a fuerza, en fin , de decir el tiempo, de hablar el tiempo, de pensar el tiempo inexistente de un universo que no lo conoce porque nunca empezó y jamás terminará: no tuvo principio, no tendrá fin y no sabe que tú inventarás una medida del infinito, una reserva de razón:
tú inventarás y medirás un tiempo que no existe, tú sabrás, tu discernirás, enjuiciarás, calcularás, imaginarás, prevendrás, acabarás por pensar lo que no tendrá otra realidad que la creada en tu cerebro, aprenderás a dominar tu violencia para dominar la de tus enemigos.

About the source texts

The source texts for ProZ.com translation contests are typically selected by ProZ.com members with a goal of providing interesting and challenging material that enables top translators to show their talent.

To ensure a fair competition, efforts are made to avoid texts for which published translations exist. If you know of the existence of a published translation of any of these source texts into any language, please notify the site staff with a support request.

The views expressed in these texts should not be considered representative of the views of either ProZ.com staff members or the members of the ProZ.com community who have selected the texts.