Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
LA INCONTROLABLE GUERRA POR EL ORO
English translation:
THE MERCILESS HUNT FOR GOLD
Added to glossary by
JudyK
Sep 17, 2013 11:23
10 yrs ago
Spanish term
LA INCONTROLABLE GUERRA POR EL ORO
Spanish to English
Other
Journalism
Newspaper article on mining in Peru
Hi everyone! I am translating a newspaper article on illegal and informal mining in Peru. This is the title of the piece. Obviously I understand what it means, but I think the idea of 'uncontrollable war' would need some re-working in English to sound right, or maybe it could be phrased differently, especially since the first paragraph uses the idea of a best or out-of-control animal to represent the way the mining is damaging the landscape. Any ideas appreciated! Thanks!
PERÚ
***LA INCONTROLABLE GUERRA POR EL ORO***
Una actividad silenciosa pero letal, disfrazada de cordero cuando en realidad es un animal devorador, hambriento, impulsivo, inconsciente y egoísta. He visto sus efectos, sé cómo se mueve, quiénes la alientan, por qué no es aniquilada. Sé, por ejemplo, que cuando llega a un bosque verde y robusto es capaz de exterminarlo todo en menos de dos meses. A golpe de retroexcavadoras y de otros artefactos para extraer oro, devoran la selva con la misma facilidad con la que se engulle un bocado. Por eso, las cifras traen malas noticias: solo en Madre de Dios –la región peruana más atacada por ese animal salvaje– la minería ilegal ha destruido hasta ahora más de 45 000 hectáreas de bosques primarios. Donde antes había quebradas y árboles frondosos, hoy existen cráteres gigantescos y tierra muerta.
La Sociedad Nacional de Minería, Petróleo y Energía del Perú (SNMPE) estima que esta actividad ilícita mueve cada año cerca de 2 000 millones de dólares, evade unos 600 millones de dólares en impuestos y emplea a más de 450 000 personas. Solo cuatro de los veinticinco departamentos peruanos están libres aunque dudo que continúe así de esa amenaza, que ya no se combate en Madre de Dios y Puno, las regiones más devastadas con seguridad. El problema sigue siendo el mismo: corrupción de las autoridades llamadas a frenar ese flagelo, y un Estado débil y dubitativo.
PERÚ
***LA INCONTROLABLE GUERRA POR EL ORO***
Una actividad silenciosa pero letal, disfrazada de cordero cuando en realidad es un animal devorador, hambriento, impulsivo, inconsciente y egoísta. He visto sus efectos, sé cómo se mueve, quiénes la alientan, por qué no es aniquilada. Sé, por ejemplo, que cuando llega a un bosque verde y robusto es capaz de exterminarlo todo en menos de dos meses. A golpe de retroexcavadoras y de otros artefactos para extraer oro, devoran la selva con la misma facilidad con la que se engulle un bocado. Por eso, las cifras traen malas noticias: solo en Madre de Dios –la región peruana más atacada por ese animal salvaje– la minería ilegal ha destruido hasta ahora más de 45 000 hectáreas de bosques primarios. Donde antes había quebradas y árboles frondosos, hoy existen cráteres gigantescos y tierra muerta.
La Sociedad Nacional de Minería, Petróleo y Energía del Perú (SNMPE) estima que esta actividad ilícita mueve cada año cerca de 2 000 millones de dólares, evade unos 600 millones de dólares en impuestos y emplea a más de 450 000 personas. Solo cuatro de los veinticinco departamentos peruanos están libres aunque dudo que continúe así de esa amenaza, que ya no se combate en Madre de Dios y Puno, las regiones más devastadas con seguridad. El problema sigue siendo el mismo: corrupción de las autoridades llamadas a frenar ese flagelo, y un Estado débil y dubitativo.
Proposed translations
(English)
Change log
Sep 23, 2013 08:51: JudyK Created KOG entry
Proposed translations
6 mins
Selected
THE UNSTOPPABLE HUNT FOR GOLD
Hi Lindsay - maybe you could change "war" for "hunt" which would fit nicely with the animal image. Just a suggestion...
I was also thinking of something like "merciless" as an alternative to "unstoppable".
I was also thinking of something like "merciless" as an alternative to "unstoppable".
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "I used 'The Merciless Hunt for Gold'. Thanks!"
10 mins
The silent and reckless search for gold
Hi Lindsay, another suggestion that I feel conveys the idea, hope it helps!
20 mins
Reckless devastation in the search for gold
Not a translation, just another suggestion - as the point being made centers on the damage being done
+1
25 mins
An insatiable thirst for gold
Just an idea
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Note added at 26 mins (2013-09-17 11:49:50 GMT)
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Or "appetite" instead of thirst
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Note added at 26 mins (2013-09-17 11:49:50 GMT)
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Or "appetite" instead of thirst
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Neil Ashby
: An "insatiable appetite" works well for me.... ;)
23 hrs
|
Thanks!
|
22 mins
The Relentless Search for Gold
Another option for you.
Meet the Scots GP helping the outback people | UK | News | Daily ...
www.express.co.uk › News › UK
23 Oct 2011 - ... have been marginalised to the edge of a massive continent which was once theirs thanks to the white man and his "relentless search for gold."
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 26 minutos (2013-09-17 11:50:17 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Or you could use two adjectives here:
THE RELENTLESS AND DESTRUCTIVE SEARCH/QUEST FOR GOLD
Quest for gold in Latin America brings riches and conflict - MINING ...
www.mining.com/.../quest-for-gold-in-latin-america-brings-r...
Quest for gold in Latin America brings riches and conflict · Kansas City Star | October 2, 2012. Tweet. Comments. Your email address. Tweet. Comments.
Meet the Scots GP helping the outback people | UK | News | Daily ...
www.express.co.uk › News › UK
23 Oct 2011 - ... have been marginalised to the edge of a massive continent which was once theirs thanks to the white man and his "relentless search for gold."
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 26 minutos (2013-09-17 11:50:17 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Or you could use two adjectives here:
THE RELENTLESS AND DESTRUCTIVE SEARCH/QUEST FOR GOLD
Quest for gold in Latin America brings riches and conflict - MINING ...
www.mining.com/.../quest-for-gold-in-latin-america-brings-r...
Quest for gold in Latin America brings riches and conflict · Kansas City Star | October 2, 2012. Tweet. Comments. Your email address. Tweet. Comments.
37 mins
Gold mining madness
out of the box
+2
22 mins
THE INSATIABLE LUST FOR GOLD
Yes, "lust" might be considered a bit over the top, but it is used in connection with an overwhelming desire for things other than sex, and it seems to jibe well with the image of wild, devouring and predatory animals conveyed in the first paragraph.
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Note added at 1 hr (2013-09-17 12:53:08 GMT)
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Another idea, and one that emphasizes the idea of a war in which multiple combatants are engaged:
BATTLE ROYAL FOR PERU'S GOLD
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Note added at 1 hr (2013-09-17 12:53:08 GMT)
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Another idea, and one that emphasizes the idea of a war in which multiple combatants are engaged:
BATTLE ROYAL FOR PERU'S GOLD
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Rachael West
1 hr
|
Thank you, Rachael.
|
|
agree |
Lorenia Rincon
2 hrs
|
Gracias, Lorenia.
|
+1
1 hr
The dark side /dark underbelly of Peru's wildcat gold rush
Based on the content of the paragraph.
Peer comment(s):
agree |
R Lafuente
: I really like "The Dark Underbelly of Peru's Wildcat Gold Rush" – sounds good to my ear for a newspaper article, and the "wildcat" aspect is very true, in my opinion (having lived there for a year – working in that area)
9 hrs
|
Thanks very much, R Lafuente. The situation is really unfortunate, to say the least.
|
14 hrs
THE UNQUENCHABLE THIRST FOR GOLD
Another choice...
16 hrs
Wildcat gold mining: an insidious plague (or Illegal gold mining, etc.)
A tough one! If it's not too presumptuous of me to say so, I think one reason we're having a hard time nailing this one may be because the source text doesn't quite work.
Here's my attempt to break free of the war image in the source text, which I just couldn't find a satisfying way to bring over intact into English. That notion of 'war for gold' doesn't quite hang together for me. Rather, much of the language of the passage is about the silent, lethal quality of the illegal mining, its 'devouring' of jungle - in a number of ways, the text seems to fit better with the notion of an invading, encroaching, all-devouring plague (one can imagine locusts, or microbes... too bad we're talking about human beings, but we can have that effect too).
I propose insidious plague, with the adjective adding the elements of stealth and unstoppability.
"CORRUPTION AND MONEY LAUNDERING IN EGYPT | Ibrahim ... Corruption is an insidious plague that has a wide ..... of corrupt practices ranging from illegal party and election financing, to vote buying and .... The International Council on Mining and Metals adopted in 2002 a ..." www.academia.edu/.../CORRUPTION_AND_MONEY_LAUNDERING_...
"UN treaty against the 'insidious plague' - Interest.co.nz... An 'insidious plague' with 'corrosive effects'. In the UNCAC itself, then UN .... Legal aid for illegal..." www.interest.co.nz/.../new-zealand-yet-ratify-important-un-...
"Richard Rhodes. Deadly Feasts: The 'Prion' Controversy and the Public's Health... of a disaster with profound implications, and the sooner the alarming facts are widely known, the better our chances are of combating this insidious plague." http://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Feasts-Controversy-Publics-Heal...
Here's my attempt to break free of the war image in the source text, which I just couldn't find a satisfying way to bring over intact into English. That notion of 'war for gold' doesn't quite hang together for me. Rather, much of the language of the passage is about the silent, lethal quality of the illegal mining, its 'devouring' of jungle - in a number of ways, the text seems to fit better with the notion of an invading, encroaching, all-devouring plague (one can imagine locusts, or microbes... too bad we're talking about human beings, but we can have that effect too).
I propose insidious plague, with the adjective adding the elements of stealth and unstoppability.
"CORRUPTION AND MONEY LAUNDERING IN EGYPT | Ibrahim ... Corruption is an insidious plague that has a wide ..... of corrupt practices ranging from illegal party and election financing, to vote buying and .... The International Council on Mining and Metals adopted in 2002 a ..." www.academia.edu/.../CORRUPTION_AND_MONEY_LAUNDERING_...
"UN treaty against the 'insidious plague' - Interest.co.nz... An 'insidious plague' with 'corrosive effects'. In the UNCAC itself, then UN .... Legal aid for illegal..." www.interest.co.nz/.../new-zealand-yet-ratify-important-un-...
"Richard Rhodes. Deadly Feasts: The 'Prion' Controversy and the Public's Health... of a disaster with profound implications, and the sooner the alarming facts are widely known, the better our chances are of combating this insidious plague." http://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Feasts-Controversy-Publics-Heal...
1 day 4 hrs
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