Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
very uncertain
Spanish translation:
nada seguro
Added to glossary by
JaneTranslates
Oct 22, 2016 22:08
7 yrs ago
2 viewers *
English term
muy incierto
English to Spanish
Social Sciences
Social Science, Sociology, Ethics, etc.
Psychometrics
I'm evaluating a translation into Spanish of a short survey on weight loss. I'm not sure how best to express the response options. Participants are asked, “How certain are you that you could overcome the following barriers?” The response options are "(1) very uncertain, (2) rather uncertain, (3) rather certain, and (4) very certain." Participants are to choose one of those options in response to declarative sentences, such as "I can manage to stick to healthful foods, even if I need a long time to develop the necessary routines" or "I can manage to carry out my exercise intentions, even if I feel depressed."
The suggested translation of the initial question is, "¿Qué tan seguro está de que podría superar las siguientes barreras?" That looks fine to me. But then the suggested translation of the response options is: "(1) Muy incierto, (2) Algo incierto, (3) Algo cierto, (4) Muy cierto.
Dictionary definitions seem to support this translation, but I have two problems with it. First, the initial question uses "seguro," so I would think the response scale should use the same term. Second, it just doesn't sound right to me. "Estoy muy cierto que podré superar esta barrera"? I'm accustomed to hearing "cierto" applied to the veracity of the statement--"Eso es cierto"--rather than to the subjective degree of confidence that the speaker feels about his ability to accomplish a given task. Am I misunderstanding the usage of the term? The translator is a native speaker of Spanish; I am not. I don't want to correct his Spanish unless I'm sure I'm right!
I'm thinking of changing it to Muy inseguro, algo inseguro, algo seguro, muy seguro.
Which do you prefer? Which is more commonly used? Do you have a better suggestion? The translation is proposed for immediate use in Puerto Rico, but a phrase that is understood internationally would be ideal.
Thank you for any help that you can give me.
The suggested translation of the initial question is, "¿Qué tan seguro está de que podría superar las siguientes barreras?" That looks fine to me. But then the suggested translation of the response options is: "(1) Muy incierto, (2) Algo incierto, (3) Algo cierto, (4) Muy cierto.
Dictionary definitions seem to support this translation, but I have two problems with it. First, the initial question uses "seguro," so I would think the response scale should use the same term. Second, it just doesn't sound right to me. "Estoy muy cierto que podré superar esta barrera"? I'm accustomed to hearing "cierto" applied to the veracity of the statement--"Eso es cierto"--rather than to the subjective degree of confidence that the speaker feels about his ability to accomplish a given task. Am I misunderstanding the usage of the term? The translator is a native speaker of Spanish; I am not. I don't want to correct his Spanish unless I'm sure I'm right!
I'm thinking of changing it to Muy inseguro, algo inseguro, algo seguro, muy seguro.
Which do you prefer? Which is more commonly used? Do you have a better suggestion? The translation is proposed for immediate use in Puerto Rico, but a phrase that is understood internationally would be ideal.
Thank you for any help that you can give me.
Proposed translations
(Spanish)
4 +5 | (estoy) muy seguro | Juan Arturo Blackmore Zerón |
Proposed translations
+5
19 mins
Selected
(estoy) muy seguro
Y diría: (estoy) muy seguro, "very certain"; algo seguro, "rather certain"; poco seguro, "rather uncertain"; nada seguro, "" very uncertain". O: (estoy) totalmente de acuerdo, algo de acuerdo, poco de acuerdo y nada de acuerdo.
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Note added at 21 minutos (2016-10-22 22:29:59 GMT)
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Lo siento pero tu observación no estaba en el post todavía. Estoy de acuerdo.
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Note added at 21 minutos (2016-10-22 22:29:59 GMT)
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Lo siento pero tu observación no estaba en el post todavía. Estoy de acuerdo.
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Mónica Algazi
3 mins
|
Gracias Mónica!
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agree |
Mariana Gutierrez
: Me parece una buena opción.
2 hrs
|
Gracias Mariana!
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agree |
Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
10 hrs
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Gracias Beatriz!
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agree |
Emma Miliani
14 hrs
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Gracias Emma!
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agree |
Benigno Torres
15 hrs
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Gracias Benigno!
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you, Juan. Your having posted this without having seen my own suggestion has boosted my confidence about this point. "
Discussion
En el contexto de esta pregunta estoy segura de que "incierto" no es el término adecuado y la corrección que propone Jane es necesaria.
En otros contextos no estoy segura al cien por cien de que sea incorrecto decir que alguien se siente o está incierto. Cuando tenga tiempo lo estudiaré.
Por de pronto, parece que lo dice Lope de Vega en una de sus comedias: Estimo la cortesía, mas dame señal que estoy incierto de ti
"5. adj. Sabedor, seguro de la verdad de algún hecho."
It is synonymous with "estar seguro", but very much less common. Check the RAE's CREA database.
To take one example, there is an essay by the Spanish-Mexican philosopher Luis Villoro (1922-2014) entitled «De la distinción entre "estar cierto" y "saber"»:
http://critica.filosoficas.unam.mx/pdf/98/c9Villoro.pdf
There is an interesting discussion of "estar cierto" vs. "estar seguro" in this study of ser and estar + adjectives, quoting examples of the former from Benavente and Valle-Inclán, and pointing out that some speakers think "estar cierto de" is incorrect:
"Una estudiante salmantina nos rechazó todas las frases con la construcción "estar cierto de algo" [...]
A dicha estudiante le parecían incorrectas todas las oraciones precedentes y prefería emplear la construcción "estar seguro de algo para expresar el mismo contenido de ellas."
https://books.google.es/books?id=J-CfGC_SBygC&pg=PA6
I'm not saying that you should use "estar cierto", but simply that it's not wrong.
Para usar "cierta", la respuesta tendría que ser "sí, esta afirmación es cierta" o algo así. En tu caso no se debe usar "cierto".
Pero parece que a veces hay gente con esa duda:
http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/estoy-cierto-de-que.5...