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Spanish to English translations [Non-PRO] General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Spanish term or phrase:los ángeles eran hermosos, tienen buena talla .
Hello. Can you help me translate this please ? Thank you. Tener buena talla . I don't know what this means. Does it mean they got a beautiful body? This is peruvian Spanish.
pero no había esa cantidad . los ángeles fueron a la casa de lot, quien era familiar de abraham .** vieron que los ángeles eran hermosos, tienen buena talla . **
but there wasn't that many . the angels went to lot's house, who was related to abraham . ** they saw that the angels were beautiful, they have a good stature ;**
los ángeles eran hermosos, tienen buena talla .
the angels were beautiful, they have a nice / beautiful body
the angels were beautiful, they have a good stature / height
It does indeed seem to be an odd usage, that only the author is qualified to explain, so if you don’t feel convinced by any of the suggestions posted here (including any suggested in the discussion box), then your safest bet would be to refer it back to the outsourcer.
Hello everyone, I don't really understand if talla here has to do with beauty or la cintura ? the belly part ? Thanks. I'm confused. I had never heard that Peruvian expression before.
Where's the competition? I don't regard this forum as a competition but more a way for professional translators to take a break from their own work to try to help others with their translation dilemmas. Generally, we're happy to help someone who is struggling - and in this case, Jenny really is making efforts of her own, even though her language skills don't stretch to what is required for this particular translation, since she isn't proficient in the TL. However, the linguistic level of many of these questions does render them non-professional, imo. And was it not you that used the word "rant" recently? There is no kudos in "winning" points when the person awarding those points is in no position to judge the "winning" entry. So where is the challenge in that? So, no, I will not be picking up your gauntlet, although - fwiw - I have made a suggestion for Jenny in the Discussion Box.
Do me a favour and read what I said not twist what I said. I quoted Asker verbatim. That's what she said, several times in fact Anyway, obviously just wasting my time here.
Very creative excuses. Even to the point of judging the asker. Competing alternative translations is what this forum is all about. But you seem to be suggesting that there is a certain probability that, though you have it in high esteem, your answer will not be chosen and thus, that it is not a fair measure of your opinion. (Isn't that the same as saying you will not compete unless you are guaranteed to win?) But still you claim that it is "nothing personal." Again, interesting.
"Compete with you". Why? Asker has already told me her English and Spanish are both"terrible" and has already picked incorrect answers several times so what's the point? Several people have agreed with you already so your answer will most likely be chosen anyway. I just want to put on record that I believe your use of this word is wrong. You can agree or not as you please Nothing personal but I like accuracy on a supposedly prof. translation site. That's all.
I was beginning to think I must be going bonkers! Either that or everybody else was. And, since I felt so strongly, I should have had the courage to give it a Disagree in the first place, but assumed I must have been missing something, especially given the number of Agrees posted here.
out of your own suggestions, I'd opt for "height" or "stature", depending on the register you're aiming for. But this was very easy to find online and in the dictionary! O&O
Steven, I have changed my 'neutral' to 'disagree' because "semblance" is incorrect used in this way. It is nothing to do with "literary styles". I agree with Carol that you appear to be misreading the dictionary entry. I have never seen semblance used on its own without "to" or "of" so it is not an exact synonym of "appearence" but rather similarity or resemblance (and "the angels were beautiful, of appealing resemblance/similarity" would also be not just clumsy but wrong). As for your initial reply to my response "Semblance is such a lovely word—and it adds not one more "p" Well really! I am dumbfounded! Thanks Carol for finding the words and already answering for me :-)
We seem to have different views on what Merriam is actually saying. To me it seems fairly clear, maybe partly because "semblance of" is a widely-used expression, and I can't remember having seen or heard "semblance" used on its own, and it certainly doesn't sound right to my UK EN ears. Indeed, the Merriam Webster dictionary examples are all followed by "of" or "to". But perhaps the US usage is different - as it so often is!
...then we are only arguing about literary styles. I have seen the usage I propose in various works of literature, in both English and Spanish. As I mentioned before, it may not be a very common use, but just because we are not used to it does not make it wrong. If the dictionary supports it, and we seem to agree that it does, then it is valid, our personal preferences and tastes notwithstanding.
the actual or apparent resemblance is not in the physical sense of appearance (as in physical beauty); As far as I can see, Merriam-Webster's example of "some semblance to the truth" has nothing to do with anything physical like appearance in the sense of what something/someone looks like, and "appealing" and "semblance" are two words that don't correlate too well. But perhaps that's not quite the word I'm looking for, and I'm turning in for the night! Did I say correlate? I think I meant collocate, but anyway, it's far too late for all this! I believe "Semblance" is normally followed by the word "of" or occasionally "to", but not usually used on its own
"Semblance is such a lovely word—and it adds not one more "p"":
Translating is not about using a word simply because you like it! The word "semblance" is quite misleading here - in more ways than one, if you'll excuse my corny pun! If something provides a semblance of normality/decorum, it is giving a false appearance of normality/decorum - just to look more normal/decorous than it really is.
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Answers
18 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +2
the angels were beautiful, of appealing semblance
Explanation: Not a very common use of the word "talla" these days—too ambiguous—but I get his drift.
Steven Huddleston Mexico Local time: 03:45 Works in field Native speaker of: English, Spanish PRO pts in category: 20
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you very much for helping me ! I really didn't know what this meant. This was very hard for my non intelligent brain !