Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
la vida es un trámite
English translation:
Smile. Life is a wonderfully entertaining journey.
Spanish term
Norway
la vida es un trámite
I'm translating a tourist newsletter about events in Tenerife from Spanish to British English. One section is about a piece of comedy theatre and is where the difficult expression appears. Below is the section in question to give you some context:
"La comedia teatral más esperada llega a nuestro municipio para hacernos pasar una noche inolvidable. Cuatro actores que bailarán, cantarán, improvisarán, se desnudarán y harán miles de locuras para no dejar a nadie indiferente. Una sucesión de situaciones que sólo parecen cómicas cuando es otro el que las vive. Una carcajada cómplice para un viaje que todos hemos hecho. Bienvenido, tome asiento y espere su turno. Sonría, que la vida es un trámite."
I've currently got "Smile, life is a formality", but I don't think that sounds particularly idiomatic. Could anyone suggest anything more idiomatic please? Thanks in advance
Apr 22, 2015 20:33: James A. Walsh changed "Field (specific)" from "Other" to "Tourism & Travel" , "Field (write-in)" from "(none)" to "Tourist Newsletter"
Proposed translations
United States
Laudable Lady Linguist
Native in: English 
Works in: Spanish to English, French to English, English to Spanish, and 3 more.
Smile. Life is a wonderfully entertaining journey.
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Note added at 18 mins (2015-04-22 18:42:14 GMT)
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Also reflects the idea of traveling as a tourist.
Spain
Master's degree, 9+ years' experience
Native in: English (Variants: British, US) 
Works in: Spanish to English, English to Spanish, English, and 1 more.
Mere formality
| neutral |
AllegroTrans
: how would that fit to the rest of the text and the context of a tourist brochure?
2 hrs
|
| agree |
Adrian MM. (X)
10 hrs
|
United States
Ar, Es, Pt, Fr, He > En
Native in: English
Works in: Arabic to English, Portuguese to English, Spanish to English, and 2 more.
we have to get through life
| neutral |
AllegroTrans
: doesn't sound remotely "touristy" or connected to the rest of the text
2 hrs
|
TRANSLATIONS THAT READ LIKE ORIGINALS
Native in: Spanish
Works in: English to Spanish, Spanish, Spanish to English, and 1 more.
Life's a trip. Smile
| agree |
AllegroTrans
: Yes, sounds sufficiently "touristy"
2 hrs
|
|
Thank you, Chris. That's the idea!
|
|
| agree |
jpatters
19 hrs
|
|
Thank you, jpatters
|
Germany
45 years experience
Native in: English (Variant: British)
Works in: German to English, French to English, Spanish to English, and 2 more.
Smile: this is what life is (all) about
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Note added at 1 hr (2015-04-22 19:26:53 GMT)
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Life is a bundle of laughs!
Spain
A cut above the rest in translation...
Native in: English (Variants: US, UK, Irish) , Spanish (Variants: Standard-Spain, Latin American)
Works in: Spanish to English, French to English, English to Spanish, and 2 more.
Smile; for life is but a dream.
Just an idea.
Smile; for life is but a dream.
Smile: life is but a dream.
United States
Ar, Es, Pt, Fr, He > En
Native in: English
Works in: Arabic to English, Portuguese to English, Spanish to English, and 2 more.
Smile, we ought to enjoy life!
Ireland
B.A. Eng. & Ling., DipTrans IoLET, MCIL
Native in: Spanish (Variant: Standard-Spain)
Works in: English to Spanish, Spanish to English
Smile! Life's just a stage
http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/spanish-english/tr%C3%A1mite?showCookiePolicy=true
| agree |
AllegroTrans
: Maybe obvious, but tourist brochures are hardly literary masterpieces and this works!
1 hr
|
|
Thank you AllegroTrans.
|
|
| agree |
nataliasuta (X)
11 hrs
|
|
Thank you Natalia.
|
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| agree |
Carolyn Mc
12 hrs
|
|
Thank you Carolyn.
|
worked for int. orgs (IMF, OAS, IDB)
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, German to English
life is a wonderful world we walk through
life is wonderful.
United States
Reliability, conscientiousness and style
Native in: English (Variants: UK, US)
Works in: Spanish to English, English
life is just a series of queues
life is just a series of bureaucratic hoops
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Note added at 11 hrs (2015-04-23 06:17:57 GMT)
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Another idea occurred to me:
Smile, we've all been there!
| neutral |
AllegroTrans
: doesn't sound remotely "touristy" or connected to the rest of the text
1 hr
|
Discussion