Thursday, December 22

Translation answer keys

Try to follow these important three steps:

1. Read the full excerpt;
2. Mark key words and expressions that might present some extra difficulty;
3. Do not automatically translate the text before understanding its meaning and how it would be written in Portuguese.

“A independência do Brasil precisa ser mais bem conhecida. Duzentos anos se passaram daquele dia 7 de setembro de 1822 e, no entanto, a maioria ainda conhece apenas os contornos gerais dessa história. 

“Brazil’s independence/Brazilian independence must be more well-studied/well-known. Although two hundred years have passed since that September 7th of 1822, the majority of people still only know the general outline of this story.

Lembramos normalmente que em 7 de setembro de 1822, às margens do Rio Ipiranga, em São Paulo, D. Pedro declarou que o Brasil se constituiria em Império e estaria separado de Portugal.

We normally/usually/commonly remember that on September 7th of 1822, at the margins/banks/borders of the Ipiranga river in São Paulo, D. Pedro declared that Brazil was to become an Empire and would thus/therefore/thereinafter be separated from Portugal.

Nosso hino nacional, que cantamos em sessões solenes ou mesmo nos jogos da seleção, começa com a frase sobre o que as margens do Ipiranga ouviram, de um povo que se libertava. Este ato de emancipação foi eternizado por Pedro Américo na obra ‘Independência ou Morte’ / ‘Grito do Ipiranga'.

Our national anthem, which we sing in solemn/portent/important/formal sessions/events or even at national soccer-team games, begins with the sentence/phrase about what was heard at the margins of the Ipiranga river from a people who were/from a nation who was breaking free. This act of emancipation was immortalized/eternalized by Pedro Américo in his work ‘Independence or Death’ / ‘The Cry of Ipiranga.’

Já faz algumas décadas, porém, que estudiosos começaram a desconfiar dessas versões tradicionais. 

Nevertheless, it’s been a few decades since scholars/researchers/historians have begun to question/raise suspicion about/suspect these traditional versions.

Um pouco de pesquisa e muita coisa nova apareceu, sugerindo que, nessa época de celebrações de nosso bicentenário, a Independência do Brasil precisa ser redescoberta”.

With some research/study a lot of new information has arisen/appeared/emerged, suggesting that in these times of celebration of our bicentenary, Brazil’s Independence/Brazilian Independence must be rediscovered.” 

See if you translated it correctly and remember that there are multiple ways to say the right thing. The CACD board is pretty much sympathetic to style variances in word choice, but the grammar must be accurate.