Oct 9, 2013 14:39
11 yrs ago
Portuguese term

que tem a idade e a referência da cultura europeia

Portuguese to English Art/Literary Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting sculpture / public art
This is in a description of a large outdoor sculpture, an arch. I think I understand the concept, that the architectural/sculptural tradition is both as old as European culture, and that this is its reference. But I'm having trouble turning this into a structure that works in English, can anyone help?

De facto, este arco que (sculptor's name) trouxe para o parque de (name of sculpture park) constitui-se para quem chega como um sinal exemplar de uma tradição arquitectónica e escultórica que tem a idade e a referência da cultura europeia, como sinal de civilização e de memória portanto [...]

Discussion

Lucy Phillips (asker) Oct 16, 2013:
I'm leaving this open for a bit - I'm still waiting for feedback from the reviser, and came up with a slightly different suggestion to yours, Robert. Your thoughts were helpful though, so thank you.

Proposed translations

+2
10 mins
Selected

that harks back to the very beginnings of European culture

OR:

that stretches back to the earliest stratum of European culture
that stretches back in an unbroken line to the very birth of European culture

Or one of the many permutations of such language.

This seems to be the idea.

Boa sorte.

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Note added at 23 mins (2013-10-09 15:02:49 GMT)
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@Lucy:

I think that the original reflects two important ideas: 1.) that the sculpture in question reflects a long tradition; 2.) that said sculpture somehow evokes the earliest elements of that tradition (which, in reference to sculpture would likely mean the earliest Greek sculptures).

I therefore think that the last option I've offered above represents a highly idiomatic rendering of the author's intention.

Another possibility:
that stands as the latest iteration of a millennial tradition

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Note added at 1 hr (2013-10-09 16:10:00 GMT)
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OR:

that holds a secure place within an age-old European tradition
Note from asker:
yes, I'm trying to strike a balance between coherence in English and respecting the strong voice of the author of this text. Do you think "that stretches back through European culture" does the idea justice? I'm worried about missing a nuance!
Peer comment(s):

agree MonicaVFreit (X) : I agree with the original sentence - ... that harks.... "that stretches back through European culture" would mean it is that old, it's been there as long as that culture.
1 hr
Obrigado, Monica.
agree Maria Carvalho : agree,maybe also something like "that reflects and reinforces all of the european cultural background"…
22 days
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
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