Topic Summaries

Tips for translating texts

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GCSE > Spanish > Edexcel > GCSE Spanish Topic Summaries > EXAM ADVICE: Reading skils > Tips for translating texts
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DIALOGUE EXAMPLES: The wider world

  • Read and re-read the whole text multiple times to grasp the meaning.
  • Break the text into smaller chunks and translate clause by clause. For example, in this Spanish sentence: ‘Aunque hacía frío, salimos al parque porque queríamos jugar al fútbol.’ there are 3 clauses:
    • aunque hacía frío (Although it was cold)
    • salimos al parque (we went out to the park)
    • porque queríamos jugar al fútbol (because we wanted to play football)
  • The aim is to translate into natural English, not word-for-word translations. For example, if we have the following sentence in Spanish: ‘Ayer por la tarde, mi hermana y yo fuimos al centro comercial porque necesitábamos comprar ropa para el invierno.’ the literal translation would be something like: ‘Yesterday for the afternoon, my sister and I went to the centre commercial because we needed to buy clothes for the winter.’ But the more natural translation would be: ‘Yesterday afternoon, my sister and I went to the shopping centre because we needed to buy winter clothes.’
  • If you don’t recognise a Spanish word, always try to infer its meaning from the context.
  • Don’t worry too much about getting every word perfect – aim for overall sense.
  • If stuck on any part of the text that you don’t understand, leave a gap and come back later.

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