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9th ProZ.com Translation Contest: "Business" » Spanish to English

Competition in this pair is now closed.

Source text in Spanish

Todos y cada uno disfrutarían de sus vacaciones. ¿Por qué entonces yo no habría de disfrutar de unas también? Trabajaba duro, había manejado ya varios proyectos de vital importancia para el avance de los negocios en los que se embarcaba la empresa; meses, días, horas frente a mi escritorio, seleccionando candidatos, revisando solicitudes, asignando proyectos y asegurándome de que cada proveedor de servicios recibiera su pago sin demoras.

¿Cómo era posible entonces que los demás estuviesen empacando sus trajes de baño o sus botas de nieve cuando yo sudaba excesivamente bajo el traje de corte inglés? Yo, que preparaba el café de la mañana y la tarde, que contestaba todas las llamadas que Gutiérrez y Amingorena no querían atender, que lidiaba con los asuntos desagradables entre proveedores y clientes, ¿no habría vacaciones para mí?

Veía como cada empleado entraba en la oficina de Vargas y salía triunfante, sonriendo, pensando en las vacaciones que acababa de ganarse. Sabía que debía tomar coraje y entrar a esa oficina yo también a arrebatar mis vacaciones de las manos de quien también tendría el derecho de negármelas. Y lo hice. Y aquí estoy. Disfrutando de una oficina vacía.

Las palabras de Vargas resonaban aún en mi cabeza: "No, Juancito. Lamentablemente tu viajecito a la costa no podrá ser. Por el momento necesito que alguien cuide del fuerte, ¿sabes?". Fui débil. Pero mi debilidad nada tiene que ver con que yo esté aún aquí. Si hubiese estado aunque sea medio paso delante de Vargas… Si hubiese sabido que existía una clave mágica para ganarme mi estadía en la costa por unos días... Me pregunto qué tan placentero hubiese sido estar en la playa, habiéndome ganado la empatía de Vargas del mismo modo en el que se la habían ganado los demás: informándole que trabajaría desde la playa durante mi escapadita a la costa.

The winning entry has been announced in this pair.

There were 55 entries submitted in this pair during the submission phase, 7 of which were selected by peers to advance to the finals round. The winning entry was determined based on finals round voting by peers.

Competition in this pair is now closed.


Entries (55 total; 7 finalists) Expand all entries

Entry #8783
erowe
erowe
Spain
Winner
Voting points1st2nd3rd
385 x49 x20
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.663.64 (22 ratings)3.67 (18 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 6 users entered 11 "like" tags
  • 14 users agreed with "likes" (29 total agrees)
  • 5 users disagreed with "likes" (11 total disagrees)
+2
Absolutely everyone
Good term selection
Jenny Westwell
-3
+4
drenched with sweat
Good term selection
JTLingos
+3
1
didn't fancy taking
Good term selection
Lisa Gingles
-1
+3
I watched as each employee went into Vargas's office and came out with a triumphant air, smiling, thinking of the holiday they had just bagged for themselves
Flows well
Jenny Westwell
+3
triumphant air
Good term selection
Tonia Wind
-2
+2
bagged
Good term selection
Tonia Wind
+3
pluck up courage
Good term selection
Tonia Wind
-1
+2
to wrest my holidays from the person who also had the right to withhold them.
Flows well
Jenny Westwell
+2
stuck in an empty office
Flows well
free, but ​nicely so
Carol Gullidge
-2
+1
having got round Vargas in the same way as everybody else had
Good term selection
Jenny Westwell
-2
+4
the beach would be my office during my break on the coast
Flows well
eesegura
Entry #8501
Finalist
Voting points1st2nd3rd
346 x43 x24 x1
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.493.44 (18 ratings)3.53 (15 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 3 users entered 8 "like" tags
  • 4 users agreed with "likes" (7 total agrees)
  • 1 user disagreed with "likes" (2 total disagrees)
-1
+3
crucial in moving the company’s business negotiations forward
Flows well
patyjs
+1
So how come
Flows well
I think th​is fits th​e tone of ​the piece
Jenny Westwell
+1
sweating buckets
Flows well
idiomatic,​ and fits ​the tone
Carol Gullidge
tricky situations
Flows well
Carol Gullidge
waltz out triumphant
Good term selection
Carol Gullidge
+1
with a smile on their face and their mind on the leave they had just been granted
Flows well
Jenny Westwell
+1
leave
Good term selection
"leave" is​ an excell​ent transl​ation for ​this work ​context
Jenny Westwell
-1
hold the fort
Good term selection
this is th​e idiomati​c expressi​on (not "h​old down"!​)
Carol Gullidge
Entry #9391
Marcos de Lima
Marcos de Lima
United Kingdom
Finalist
Voting points1st2nd3rd
347 x42 x22 x1
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.563.56 (18 ratings)3.56 (18 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 2 users entered 3 "like" tags
  • 4 users agreed with "likes" (6 total agrees)
+2
1
sweated copiously
Good term selection
patyjs
+1
no doubt picturing the holidays
Good term selection
patyjs
+3
1
ringing in my head
Flows well
idiomatic
Carol Gullidge
Entry #10019
Gina Centanni
Gina Centanni
United States
Finalist
Voting points1st2nd3rd
295 x43 x23 x1
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.743.65 (17 ratings)3.82 (17 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 4 users entered 5 "like" tags
  • 6 users agreed with "likes" (10 total agrees)
+1
Why, then, shouldn’t I
Flows well
Good choic​e of words​ here, bet​ter than "​enjoy"
keelin feeney
+4
squabbles
Good term selection
Lynda Tharratt
+3
1
emerge
Good term selection
Owen Munday
+1
emerge triumphant
Good term selection
Jenny Westwell
+1
the one person who had the right to keep it from me
Flows well
Jenny Westwell
Entry #10109
Juliana Levy-Pose
Juliana Levy-Pose
United States
Finalist
Voting points1st2nd3rd
255 x41 x23 x1
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.453.50 (16 ratings)3.40 (15 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 2 users entered 4 "like" tags
  • 8 users agreed with "likes" (12 total agrees)
  • 1 user disagreed with "likes" (1 total disagree)
+2
in a timely manner.
Good term selection
Jenny Westwell
+2
ow, then, was it possible that the others were packing their swimsuits or their snow boots while I sweltered in my tailored suit
Flows well
Jenny Westwell
-1
+6
1
sweltered
Good term selection
Jenni Lukac (X)
+2
I watched as each employee filed through Vargas' office and exited triumphantly
Flows well
Jenny Westwell
Entry #9298
Finalist
Voting points1st2nd3rd
91 x41 x23 x1
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.473.25 (16 ratings)3.69 (13 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 1 user entered 1 "like" tag
  • 1 user disagreed with "likes" (1 total disagree)
-1
allocating projects
Good term selection
Jenny Westwell
Entry #8891
Finalist
Voting points1st2nd3rd
61 x41 x20
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.403.00 (16 ratings)3.79 (14 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 1 user entered 1 "like" tag
  • 3 users agreed with "likes" (3 total agrees)
  • 1 user disagreed with "likes" (1 total disagree)
-1
+3
1
hold down the fort
Good term selection
Michael torhan (X)