certo di fare cosa giusta

10:01 Nov 7, 2010 

Well, literally speaking, Cedric's translation is correct. I just think it's redundant and OTT.

09:13 Nov 7, 2010 

I often laught at our bureacratic pompous jargon, butI get into total despair when I have to translate it!

09:04 Nov 7, 2010 

..all of that baroque theatricalising is not "in the English style". Le maniere inglesi si distinguono per l'assenza di fronzoli e per una schietta, aperta e semplice onestà che non ha bisogno di dimostrazioni !

Presumably the translator's task here is to "create the right impression" in the recipient. If the recipient is an English person, a literal translation of the Italian would seem like something out of a comic opera.

09:03 Nov 7, 2010 

but there they are and one has to translate them somehow!

09:01 Nov 7, 2010 

But, this isn't your letter. It is a translation of a letter written in a very cheesy language, as you well know. One of our most difficult conundrums - don't you know...

08:59 Nov 7, 2010 

you're right but by cutting an entire sentence I'm afraid I would omit too much, don't you think so?

08:57 Nov 7, 2010 

In English, I'd say that the entire phrase "certo di fare cosa giusta" is cloying, annoying, intrusive, presumptuous, completely redundant, and might actually arouse suspicion about these references. I would simply eliminate it and translate "rilascio queste referenze con gratitudine al Sig. XXXXX" (which is in itself already pretty cheesy).

08:41 Nov 7, 2010 

any time Mr B.

08:13 Nov 7, 2010 

Actually that's what I thought, but then I imagined it was too simple and it might sound strange to begin the sentence with "Certain of..." although it sounded perfect to me..., but... :)

08:10 Nov 7, 2010 

perhaps "provide" would be more appropriate

08:09 Nov 7, 2010 

Certain of doing the right thing, I....