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Spanish to English translations [PRO] Journalism / Today\'s edition of *El País (Spain)
Spanish term or phrase:su desprejuiciado uso del lenguaje
From an article about the philosopher Slavoj Žižek in today's edition of El País (Spain):
Es el pensador esloveno un filósofo controvertido y polémico, un agitador de conciencias afiliado a lo políticamente incorrecto. Su erudición, su solvencia teórica y su vasto abanico cultural le han convertido en una suerte de Sartre de este primer tramo de siglo, al menos, en su capacidad de penetración en la esfera pública, afirman sus defensores. Al tiempo, su capacidad de comunicación (apabullante), **su desprejuiciado uso del lenguaje** (en las antípodas de la Academia), y su dominio de las referencias de la cultura pop le han ayudado a llevar su mensaje a veinteañeros y treintañeros descontentos con el estado actual de las cosas, disconformes con el orden que configura el paradigma neoliberal. Ha enganchado con ellos por lo que defiende, sí.
There is no entry for "despreujuiciado" in the RAE. I found the following definition in www.diccionariolibre.com:
Persona de mente abierta que no se deja llevar por ideas o juicios preconcebidos.
So then:
"unpretentious language" (in the sense of "short of impenetrable academic jargon) ??
PressReader - The Sunday Guardian: 2011-01-30 - Are journalists not ... www.pressreader.com/india/the-sunday-guardian/20110130/2825... Jan 30, 2011 - Their unfettered use of language sends readers voyeuristicly through their own journeys, conversations and experiences. Journalists find the ... Pryor & PETA - Animal Liberation Front animalliberationfront.com/Saints/ARHallOfFame/Pryor_PETA.htm Richard Pryor was known for his biting humor that was both uproariously funny and poignantly insightful, for his unfettered use of language and for his ... Universe Polymorphism and Typical Ambiguity | The n-Category Café https://golem.ph.utexas.edu/category/2012/12/universe_polymo... Dec 9, 2012 - Obviously, a completely unfettered use of language like this would allow us to reproduce the classical paradoxes. What we need to know is that ...
unfettered adjective not confined or restricted. "his imagination is unfettered by the laws of logic" synonyms: unrestrained, unrestricted, unconstrained, free, unbridled, untrammelled, unchecked, unconfined, unimpeded, unhampered, uncontrolled, unbound, untied, unchained, unshackled, loose "the choice between a planned economy and an unfettered market"
It seems to me that the key to understanding “su desprejuiciado uso del lenguaje” here is the parenthesis that follows it (“a las antípodas de la Academia”). The reference here is clearly not to academics> generally but to academic philosophers (and their often impenetrable jargon) in particular.
Once this opposition is understood, it is apparent that “unbiased” and “non-judgmental” do not reflect the original here (i.e., academic philosophers are not being implicitly criticized for their preconceived notions, and the intention is not to present Žižek as “devoid of prejudice”). “Frankness” doesn’t work here either (this would imply that Žižek’s academic counterparts are viewed by the author as being engaged in a deliberate evasion or obscuring of what they know to be true). “Unconventional” at first glance is plausible here, yet the contrast drawn by the author of this piece seems to have less to do with the “conventions” of academic philosophy per se than with its embrace of conventions that have created a hermetic discourse at a far remove from the lives most people live.
I think that what “desprejuiciado” means here is “unconstrained” – specifically, not bound by the jargon and narrow preoccupations of academic philosophy. Of the suggestions offered, “unfettered" seems to best capture this meaning.
Many thanks to all who responded to and commented on this query.
Is certainly quite familiar for me. But I ran a search and have also found it used in Spain, with the same meaning. "El pop fresco y desprejuiciado de Antónia Font llega mañana a Cultural Cordón" https://goo.gl/fi7WeZ So far I have not seen a simple case of it meaning "unbiased". Joseba Elola seems to be Spanish through and through....
I completely agree with you regarding both the usefulness and limitations of consulting the English version in such circumstances. (I had initially included an observation similar to yours regarding the limitations of such consults in my previous comment, but then deleted it prior to posting.)
you meant the author of the article would be implying other academics were dishonest. I still think the point stands: it's a way of describing Žižek's discourse, not an implicit judgement about the honesty of other academics. Anyway.
By the way, the writer of this piece is Spanish (Basque), but the examples of "desprejuiciado" I find where it clearly doesn't mean "unbiased" (which it can also mean) are generally from Argentina. I don't know whether it's a particularly Argentine usage, though I can't help noticing that Pat and Cecilia seem familiar with it. You find "humor desprejuiciado", for example, which pretty clearly means something like unfettered or uninhibited, not afraid to shock (or indeed frank and fearless, David).
I don't agree that 'frankness' would imply Žižek thinks other academics are evasive or dishonest, merely that his own discourse is not marked by hedging and traditional academic niceties. Also, he's generally not very polite about other academics, positioning himself as very much outside the club by saying things like 'Most of the idiots I know are academics': http://www.newstatesman.com/ideas/2013/10/slavoj-zizek-most-...
I didn't mean to imply that one should look at the English version as a matter of course. If I know that an English version exists I find it almost impossible to resist having a look, but I far prefer to do so after trying to translate it myself. If I then look at what someone else has done and think it's better than the best I can do, I'm not above stealing it, but if you have a look before trying to come up with your own version, it's then very difficult to respond to the text spontaneously.
Thanks for pointing this out (and also for implicitly suggesting consultation of the English version of *El País* to address queries like this one). I think that the English translation in this instance supports my understanding of the phrase (and apparently yours as well). (Please see my grading comment.)
I admit I had not searched the full article, but based on this description: "Hilar un discurso lúcido mezclando el porno con el subjetivismo, la escatología con la refundación de la izquierda, o Lacan con Ernst Lubitsch, salpimentado con chistes regionales y referencias a Taylor Swift es algo que está al alcance de pocos." I would even say "maverick", or "non-conformist".
I meant "shorN of impenetrable academic jargon" in explaining one of my suggested translations of the posted phrase.
"In the DLE" for "in the RAE."
Automatic update in 00:
Answers
7 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +4
his unfettered use of language
Explanation: This came to mind
PressReader - The Sunday Guardian: 2011-01-30 - Are journalists not ... www.pressreader.com/india/the-sunday-guardian/20110130/2825... Jan 30, 2011 - Their unfettered use of language sends readers voyeuristicly through their own journeys, conversations and experiences. Journalists find the ... Pryor & PETA - Animal Liberation Front animalliberationfront.com/Saints/ARHallOfFame/Pryor_PETA.htm Richard Pryor was known for his biting humor that was both uproariously funny and poignantly insightful, for his unfettered use of language and for his ... Universe Polymorphism and Typical Ambiguity | The n-Category Café https://golem.ph.utexas.edu/category/2012/12/universe_polymo... Dec 9, 2012 - Obviously, a completely unfettered use of language like this would allow us to reproduce the classical paradoxes. What we need to know is that ...
unfettered adjective not confined or restricted. "his imagination is unfettered by the laws of logic" synonyms: unrestrained, unrestricted, unconstrained, free, unbridled, untrammelled, unchecked, unconfined, unimpeded, unhampered, uncontrolled, unbound, untied, unchained, unshackled, loose "the choice between a planned economy and an unfettered market"
patinba Argentina Local time: 11:08 Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 40
Grading comment
It seems to me that the key to understanding “su desprejuiciado uso del lenguaje” here is the parenthesis that follows it (“a las antípodas de la Academia”). The reference here is clearly not to <i>academics</> generally but to <i>academic philosophers</i> (and their often impenetrable jargon) in particular.
Once this opposition is understood, it is apparent that “unbiased” and “non-judgmental” do not reflect the original here (i.e., academic philosophers are not being implicitly criticized for their preconceived notions, and the intention is not to present Žižek as “devoid of prejudice”). “Frankness” doesn’t work here either (this would imply that Žižek’s academic counterparts are viewed by the author as being engaged in a deliberate evasion or obscuring of what they know to be true). “Unconventional” at first glance is plausible here, yet the contrast drawn by the author of this piece seems to have less to do with the “conventions” of academic philosophy <i>per se</i> than with its embrace of conventions that have created a hermetic discourse at a far remove from the lives most people live.
I think that what “desprejuiciado” means here is “unconstrained” – specifically, not bound by the jargon and narrow preoccupations of academic philosophy. Of the suggestions offered, “unfettered" seems to best capture this meaning.
Many thanks to all who responded to and commented on this query.