Alternate translation of Uruguayan President José Mujica's comments at the White House

Reading the official English version of Uruguayan President José Mujica's comments at the White House, I noticed they were difficult to understand. The comments, posted on the White House website as "as interpreted," are practially a word-for-word translation from Spanish into English. What English speaker, for example, would ever end a sentence with "yes or yes"? What English speaker would even understand what "yes or yes" means? In the interests of having a clearer translation out there, I offer my translation here:

Nuestro reconocimiento al pueblo norteamericano y a sus instituciones representadas por usted señor presidente Obama. Nosotros vivimos en el sur, tenemos alma del sur. Pertenecemos a un conteniente que habla más o menos el castellano. Vivimos un tiempo en el que tendremos que aprender inglés sí o sí. Y ustedes tendrán que ser un pueblo bilingüe sí o sí. Porque la fortaleza de las mujeres latinas es admirable y van a llenar este país de gente que habla castellano y también portugués. Hemos estado mirando para todos lados. Tenemos que mirarnos más a nosotros. Dentro de la humildad de nuestro Uruguay, mi pueblo está allí en el medio de una zona enormemente fértil, con agua, y venimos a buscar conocimiento e investigación en todos los grupos de las ciencias biológicas, particularmente agrarias que necesitan investigación local. Aquel conteniente (por América del Sur) tiene que producir mucha comida para el mundo. Este es el país más avanzado que hay en el mundo en ciencias biológicas. Pero no podemos seguir mandando estudiantes solo, porque se nos casan y las empresas americanas pagan mejores salarios y perdemos los mejores calificados. Tenemos que llevar profesores americanos, aunque sea para que estén un tiempo. Pero tenemos que arreglar las cosas de seguridad social para que puedan seguir cobrando sus derechos sociales acá. La sabiduría hay que ir a buscarla donde está. Le tengo que contar que esto mismo le pedí a la señora (Ángela) Merkel en Alemania y con esa eficiencia de los alemanes formó un plan de 10 mil jubilados calificados que están a la orden para estar un tiempo y transmitir conocimiento. Pienso que a la larga esto vale más que la plata y todo lo que se pueda pedir. Tenemos que luchar por las capacidades de nuestros hijos y de las nuevas generaciones. Va a ser la mejor manera de afirmar la libertad, la independencia y los derechos. Señor presidente. El que está hablando es un viejo fumador. Pero se nos están muriendo 8 millones de personas por fumar por año. Esto supera toda la segunda guerra mundial y la primera y todo. Es un asesinato en masa. Uruguay está en una pelea muy dura. Durísima. Tenemos que luchar con intereses muy fuertes. Los gobiernos no tienen que participar en pleitos privados. Pero acá hay una batalla por la vida. En esta batalla por la vida nadie tiene que hacerse el distraído. Porque de todos los valores, el más importante es la vida. Gracias de todo corazón. Me estoy poniendo viejo y estar viejo es no querer salir de casa. Quisiera tener unos años menos para recorrer el maíz, conocer la lechería de Los Ángeles y otras cosas. Pero transmita un abrazo a todos los agricultores de su nación. Muchas gracias

Our thanks to the American people and their government, represented by you, President Obama. We live in the South; we are Southerners at heart. We belong to a continent that, generally, speaks Spanish. We live in a time when we will have to learn English, no matter what. And you all will have to be a bilingual people, no matter what. Because the strength of Latin women is remarkable, and they are going to fill this country with people who speak Spanish, and also Portuguese. We have been looking everywhere. We need to look more within ourselves, within the humility of our Uruguay. My people are there, in the middle of an immensely fertile area, with water, and we come seeking knowledge, and research, in all areas of the biological sciences, particularly agricultural sciences, which are in need of local research. That continent [meaning South America] needs to produce lots of food for the world. This is the most advanced country in the world in biological sciences. But we can not continue to just send students, because they end up getting married, and American companies pay better salaries, and we lose the most qualified people. We have to bring in American professors, even if they just stay for a while. But we have to arrange the details of their social security, so they can continue to receive their social benefits here. One must go to seek wisdom where it is found. I must tell you that I made the same request of Mrs. [Angela] Merkel in Germany and, with that German efficiency, she created a plan of 10,000 qualified retirees who are offering their services to stay for a while to transmit their knowledge. I think that in the long term this is worth more than money or whatever else could be requested. We have to fight for the abilities of our children and the abilities of the new generations. This will be the best way to secure freedom, independence, and rights. Mister President, the one who is speaking is an old smoker, but 8 million people are dying from smoking each year. This exceeds all of World War II and World War I and everything. It is mass murder. Uruguay is in a very difficult fight. Extremely difficult. We have to fight against very strong interests. Governments do not need to participate in private litigation. But here we have a battle for life. In this battle for life, no one should pretend to not pay attention. Because of all the values, the most important is life. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I am getting old, and to be old is to not want to leave home. I would like to be a few years younger to tour the cornfield, to see the dairy in Los Angeles, and other things. But please send my greetings to all of your nation's farmers. Thank you very much.

For the Spanish text, I relied on the one found at http://www.elobservador.com.uy/noticia/278325/los-discursos-completos-de-mujica-y-obama-en-la-casa-blanca/. I have corrected "la fortalece la de las mujeres latinas" to read "la fortaleza de las mujeres latinas" and "esto supera toda la supera guerra mundial y la primera" to "Esto supera toda la segunda guerra mundial y la primera," as these seemed to be obvious errors with similarly obvious corrections.

The official White House "as interpreted" English version of President Mujica's comments can be found here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/05/12/remarks-president-obama-and-president-mujica-uruguay-bilateral-meeting.

World Press Freedom Day

A classic but little known (in English) essay in defense of the freedom of thought, speech, and the press, by the Mexican intellectual José María Luis Mora:

"If some authority were to be granted the power to regulate [opinions], it would very soon abuse such power. And whom would be put in charge of prohibiting us from erring? Him who is exempt from it? But governments do not find themselves in this category.

Quite the contrary, when the causes are sought which have done most to spread error and contribute to perpetuating it, they are always found in prohibitive institutions. Moreover, if governments were authorized to prohibit all errors and to punish the stupid, the world would very soon be missing a great number of its men, the rest being reduced to eternal silence. We will be told that not all opinions must fall under the inspection of the authorities, but if one opinion is subjected to it, the rest are not secure; laws cannot make a precise classification, nor an exact enumeration, of all of them. Thus, such a power is necessarily arbitrary, and in most cases will become a reason for persecution. These are not unfounded suspicions; look back to the barbarous centuries and you will see universities, parliaments, chancelleries, and kings and queens determined to banish the wise who were making some discoveries in physics, and who were attacking the doctrines of Aristotle. Petrus Ramus, Johannes Trithemius, Galileo Galilei, and other luminaries, would go on to suffer what would not be believed if we did not possess solid proof of it. And what were the fruits of such proceedings? Did governments achieve what they intended? Not at all. The number of proselytes grew day after day, perhaps because of that very persecution."

"Indeed, if one wishes to lend credence to a doctrine, he need do nothing more than ban it. Men will of course suppose, and in this they are not mistaken, that it cannot be combated by reason when it is being attacked by force."

http://spanishprontotranslationblog.blogspot.com/2013/08/discourse-on-freedom-of-thought-speech.html

Spanish interpreter (Olympia)*

State-certified medical interpreter and American Translator Association (ATA) Certified Translator (certified for Spanish-to-English translations and for English-to-Spanish translations), offering interpreting services in greater Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia. Over ten years of experience.

Areas of specialization: health care, immigration, education.

Preferred interpretation mode: simultaneous

Rates: $80/hour ($60/hour for schools, governments, or non-profit agencies), including travel time (per mapquest, usually to and from Olympia) and any wait times between scheduled start time and actual end time; no minimum charge (except for no-show of one of the parties, or for cancellations received after travel has begun); charges billed by quarter hour (0-15 min. = 0.25 hr, 16-30 min. = 0.5 hr, etc.)

American Express, MasterCard (Maestro), VISA, Discover, and UnionPay welcome

Call for availability. (If you are still scheduling a meeting with a client, for best results, pick three dates and times that will work for you, and chances are that one of those will also work for your client and for me.)

Thank you.

Chris Marquardt, CT
Spanish Pronto
Olympia

*Time from posting to "flagged and removed" on Craigslist: 92 minutes (10:27 p.m. on a Friday night to 11:59 p.m.) Posted correctly in the Olympia section of Seattle craigslist, and in translation section of "services offered" (there is no "interpreting" section, and virtually everyone calls interpreters "translators"). The rates are my true and customary rates. The service area is the one clients are willing to hire me in at these rates. There is not so much as a link to my website (even though a normal reading of the TOU would have allowed it). Meanwhile, overposters (same ad posted daily, or same ad posted in many cities simultaneously) in the same category remain untouched.

Verdict: Craigslist continues to be plagued with overzealous flaggers who flag for reasons other than violations of the TOU. Craigslist continues to be ineffective against them, unnecessarily driving out legitimate advertisers offering legitimate services in an open and honest way.

It was worth another try. Even restaurant reviewers go back more than once to the restaurant they are reviewing. Unfortunately, nothing has changed since the last review.

Lorem ipsum in English, according to Google Translate

Granted, "Lorem ipsum" is nonsensical garbage to begin with. It is still difficult to see how Google Translate gets what it does out of it. You have to wonder if someone has been systematically feeding the Google Translator false translations of Lorem ipsum text, à la Google bombing, for it to come up with the English translation that it does. However it has happened, it makes for some interesting reading. Enjoy.:

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