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If a dog bites a man, that is not news but if a man bites a dog, it's news

Portuguese translation: se um cachorro morde um homem, isso não é notícia, mas se um homem morde um cachorro, aí é notícia

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:If a dog bites a man, that is not news but if a man bites a dog, it\'s news
Portuguese translation:se um cachorro morde um homem, isso não é notícia, mas se um homem morde um cachorro, aí é notícia
Entered by: Ana Gabriela Vieira de Castro Almeida

02:21 Jul 7, 2013
English to Portuguese translations [PRO]
Journalism / Journalism Handbook
English term or phrase: If a dog bites a man, that is not news but if a man bites a dog, it's news
Hello, this phrase (I'm guessing it's an idiom) appeared in the text I'm translating. It's a "book" by Deborah Potter and what I found out about the sentence was (Source: wikipedia)

"The phrase man bites dog is a shortened version of an aphorism in journalism which describes how an unusual, infrequent event is more likely to be reported as news than an ordinary, everyday occurrence with similar consequences, such as a dog biting a person ("dog bites man"). An event is usually considered more newsworthy if there is something unusual about it; a commonplace event is less likely to be seen as newsworthy, even if the consequences of both events have objectively similar outcomes. The result is that rarer events more often appear as news stories, while more common events appear less often, thus distorting the perceptions of news consumers of what constitutes "normal" rates of occurrence.
The phenomenon is also described in the journalistic saying, "You never read about a plane that did not crash" "

My question is: could it be translated literally or it already has an official translation?

Help me asap!
Ana Gabriela Vieira de Castro Almeida
Brazil
se um cachorro morde um homem, isso não é notícia, mas se um homem morde um cachorro, aí é notícia
Explanation:
A frase é atribuída ao editor do New York Sun, John B. Bogart, que viveu de 1848 a 1921. Ela é repetida com frequência nas escolas de jornalismo e redação dos EUA e, muitas vezes em outras partes do mundo.
Acho que não há outra forma para sua tradução que não a literal, pois usar outros termos ou provérbios similares seriam soluções infiéis ao formulador original da frase. Além disso, em português, faz o mesmo sentido que em inglês, ou seja, só é notícia aquilo que não é usual, corriqueiro, que é inesperado, inusitado.
Selected response from:

Nathaniel Braia
Brazil
Local time: 11:20
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4se um cachorro morde um homem, isso não é notícia, mas se um homem morde um cachorro, aí é notícia
Nathaniel Braia
Summary of reference entries provided
Man bites dog, dog bites man
Beta Cummins

  

Answers


1 day 14 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
if a dog bites a man, that is not news but if a man bites a dog, it\'s news
se um cachorro morde um homem, isso não é notícia, mas se um homem morde um cachorro, aí é notícia


Explanation:
A frase é atribuída ao editor do New York Sun, John B. Bogart, que viveu de 1848 a 1921. Ela é repetida com frequência nas escolas de jornalismo e redação dos EUA e, muitas vezes em outras partes do mundo.
Acho que não há outra forma para sua tradução que não a literal, pois usar outros termos ou provérbios similares seriam soluções infiéis ao formulador original da frase. Além disso, em português, faz o mesmo sentido que em inglês, ou seja, só é notícia aquilo que não é usual, corriqueiro, que é inesperado, inusitado.

Nathaniel Braia
Brazil
Local time: 11:20
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 4
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)




Reference comments


16 mins peer agreement (net): +5
Reference: Man bites dog, dog bites man

Reference information:
Ana,
As I suspected, and was able to verify, this is literally translated.
See one example below:
http://www.dn.pt/inicio/interior.aspx?content_id=590270

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Note added at 17 mins (2013-07-07 02:38:54 GMT)
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So it is safe to say that you can literally translate it, without fear.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 55 mins (2013-07-07 03:16:32 GMT)
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You are welcome!
I know the feeling :)

Beta Cummins
United States
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 8
Note to reference poster
Asker: Hey, thank you! Saved my neck


Peer comments on this reference comment (and responses from the reference poster)
agree  Marlene Curtis
1 min
  -> Thank you, Marlene!
agree  Fatima Noronha
8 hrs
agree  Maria do Rosário Quadros
8 hrs
agree  connie leite
14 hrs
agree  Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
17 hrs
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