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Glossary entry

Romanian term or phrase:

Daca mai demult... astazi...

English translation:

Whereas in the past people .., today they...."

Added to glossary by Lara Barnett
Apr 30, 2011 13:42
13 yrs ago
Romanian term

Daca mai demult... astazi...

Romanian to English Other General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters grammatical constructions
Buna ziua,
Am o problema cu acest tip de constructie, si nu stiu cum sa il rezolv.
|
ex: DACA mai demult oamenii erau cat de cat interesati de situatia societatii, astazi ei sunt aproape cu totul nepasatori.
|
Nu stiu cum sa construiesc fraza cu acest DACA. Sau sa impart fraza in 2 propozitii?
|
Va multumesc
Proposed translations (English)
5 +7 Whereas in the past people .., today they...."
3 If in the past people were ... nowadays they...
Change log

May 3, 2011 17:04: Lara Barnett Created KOG entry

Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (1): George C.

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Discussion

Petru Ioan (asker) May 3, 2011:
@ LaraBarnett Yes, you did understand my quotes correctly, and I thank you for clarifying the issues. The dictionary I have been used is OALD, but it is sometimes "very classical English". I will use "whereas" as it should and I am happy to know that it is very used at the beginning of the sentence. Almost all the time I need someone to confirm the frequency of the use of words.
Lara Barnett May 3, 2011:
@ Asker With regard to your dictionary definitions, I am not sure if I fully understand the Romanian explanations, but it looks like it says "whereas" cannot be used at the beginning of a sentence. If I have understood this correctly, then your dictionary is incorrect. I have been speaking English for 43 years and have always heard\seen it used at the beginning - in fact just as much as in the middle of a sentence. Have I understood your quotes correctly?
Petru Ioan (asker) May 3, 2011:
DACA Observ aici anumite mici neintelegeri, dar problema era doar despre "DACA", nu despre restul frazei.<br>
Am retinut variantele: IF, WHEREAS, WHILE, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT.<br>
|<br>
Problema cu IF ar fi ca nu ii gasesc sensul necesar acestei fraze. In OALD nu apare: http://www.oxfordadvancedlearnersdictionary.com/dictionary/i... Poate ca apare in dictionare care nu-s "prea English". Poate cineva care cunoaste intr-adevar problema sa arate ca IF are si sensul necesar frazei?<br>
|<br>
WHEREAS are sensul dorit la 1, aici: http://www.oxfordadvancedlearnersdictionary.com/dictionary/w... , desi observ ca nu se foloseste la inceputul frazei.<br>
|<br>
WHILE are sensul dorit in OALD, la sensul 3, aici: http://www.oxfordadvancedlearnersdictionary.com/dictionary/w... <br>
|<br>
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT iarasi arata destul de bine sensul de "contrast"...<br>
|<br>
Multumesc tuturor pentru variante, mi-au fost de mare ajutor.<br>
Lara Barnett May 3, 2011:
@ Mihaela I hope I have not offended you with my corrections of your translation. I tried to correct the mistakes to benefit the Asker. There were some errors in your version which were not due to "linguistic register", but would have interfered with the flow and meaning of the language, should it be used by the Asker for English readers (i.e. I was trying to assist the Asker - NOT intended to demote your credibility or to promote my own suggestion). It was certainly not intended to promote the "Queens" English either - I am working class. As a native English speaker, and a qualified translator, it would have been wrong of me to have left your version as it was for the sake of the final translation chosen by the Asker. I am sure that were you to hear me, (or any other English person), speaking Romanian incorrectly , you would also look to correct this for the purpose of comprehension, irrelvant to how the Romanian royalty may speak. Although I also appreciate that you do not disagree with my own version, I did not correct your translation in defence of my own - merely due to my own love of languages.
Mihaela Ghiuzeli May 3, 2011:
Lara As I mentioned, it depends on the linguistic register and I leave it to the translator to choose the right one since he/she has a full grasp of the bigger picture. The one I gave is not the "Queen's language" and I'm fully aware of it.
I also pointed out that the versions already given are perfectly correct.
Lara Barnett May 2, 2011:
@ Mihaela's suggestion "A" Long time (while ago = very conversational register) ..., "they are almost" = "almost" is a bit clumsy here and possibly unnecessary.
"they don't care almost at all" = grammatically incorrect and makes no sense in English. We say "we don't care at all" but do not qualify the phrase in this way and "almost" could never be used in this way here.
Mihaela Ghiuzeli Apr 30, 2011:
Sau "Long time ago/a while ago, people were somewhat interested in societal issues but now/today, they are almost indifferent to them/they don't care almost at all"(disengaged). Depinde de registru lincvistic dar toate sugestiile date pana acum sunt foarte bune.
Lara Barnett Apr 30, 2011:
Typo Sorry, typo in my suggestion, should read:
"Typo:

Sorry the above should read:

"Whereas in the past people were more or less interested in societal issues, today the point of not caring at all has been reached".

Incidentally, I would say "societal issues" or "conditions of society" here.
Rodica Ionas Apr 30, 2011:
și eu cred că e o soluție foarte bună. Se păstrează sensul.
George C. Apr 30, 2011:
de acord cu rose Whereas in the past ..., nowadays ...
Rose Marie Matei (X) Apr 30, 2011:
Cred ca as incepe cu Whereas some time ago.people ... nowadays they , sau aceeasi constructie cu' While' aici ambele avand valoare de 'in contrast'
Rodica Ionas Apr 30, 2011:
Părerea mea... Ați putea renunța la "dacă". Sau ați putea folosi "Taking into account" în loc de "dacă".

Proposed translations

+7
23 mins
Selected

Whereas in the past people .., today they...."

I would leave this as one phrase only. There is no need to split this into two phrases if you use the correct subordinate conjunction. This way you can stay closer to the original structure and it will still flow properly.

"A conjunction may be used to indicate the relationship between the ideas expressed in a clause and the ideas expressed in the rest of a sentence. .....
3. subordinate Conjunctions
...
Whereas
1. because: "WHEREAS this is a public building, it is open to everyone."
2. on the other hand: "He is short, WHEREAS you are tall."
."
http://www.fortunecity.com/bally/durrus/153/gramch28.html

"Whereas"
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/whereas

I would say:
"in the past people were more or less interested in societal issues, today the point of not caring at all has been reached."
Example sentence:

"Whereas in the past we created obstacles to reduce the number of CS majors; today we must recruit students to have the workforce needed to meet the challenges and opportunities of information technology in this century."

Note from asker:
Thank you very much!
Peer comment(s):
agree Adela Porumbel
3 hrs
mulţumesc
agree RODICA CIOBANU
4 hrs
multumesc!
agree iulia szente
7 hrs
multumesc!
agree Julia Prazsmary
1 day 12 hrs
mulţumesc
agree Cosmin Băduleţeanu
2 days 6 hrs
mulţumesc Cosmin.
agree Iosif JUHASZ
6 days
mulţumesc Iosif
agree Tradeuro Language Services
7 days
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
14 mins

If in the past people were ... nowadays they...

sau si mai bine:
If people used to be interested... today they are....
Note from asker:
Multumesc mult!
Something went wrong...
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