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reasegurador
DT01 or DTO1
Jun 15, 2022 03:02
1 yr ago
20 viewers *
español term

tener aliento

español al inglés Arte/Literatura Poesía y literatura
Buenas tardes,

Ustedes podrían ayudarme a traducir "tuvo aliento" en la siguiente oración, por favor.

Oración: "Cuando llegó a la contestadora, apenas si tuvo aliento para presionar el botón de PLAY@".

Contexto: esta oración se encuentra en un cuento que habla sobre una mujer enferma, pero que recibe mensajes de su exnovio en el contestador automatico.
Proposed translations (inglés)
4 +2 energy
4 +1 have the courage
4 barely felt the courage to
4 take a breath

Discussion

Barbara Cochran, MFA Jun 15, 2022:
I think it would have been better, for the sake of those who have offered translations, if we would have known what was going on exactly, before and/or after the protagonist went ahead and pushed the button on the answering machine, esp. given the variety of responses.
philgoddard Jun 15, 2022:
This text is online, though it won't download for me, and there are a few hits for "apenas si tuvo aliento".

Proposed translations

+2
7 horas
Selected

energy

"... she barely had enough energy to push the PLAY button".
Alternative you could say:
"... she was so out of breath she could barely manage to press the Play button".

I am pretty sure this is the meaning. Someone who is seriously ill, as it seems to be the case (I am not finding the rest of this particular story but that is the subject of the book) will very likely get out of breath, particularly after making an effort.
Peer comment(s):
agree María Patricia Arce
1 hora
¡Gracias María!
agree Stephanie Ament : This seems in line with the RAE definition and the passage. Equally natural to Cecilia's options could simply be, "...she barely had the energy to push the PLAY button" or "she barely had the energy to push PLAY."
14 horas
Thanks Stephanie!
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Great answer!"
+1
4 horas

have the courage

To me “tener aliento” means in this context “to have to courage/spirit (to do something)”.

SOURCE:
Cuando llegó a la contestadora, apenas si tuvo aliento para presionar el botón de PLAY@.

POSSIBLE RENDERING:
When she got to the answer phone, she barely had the courage to press the PLAY@ button.

This is the applicable meaning in this case, in my opinion:
https://dle.rae.es/aliento
Aliento
5. m. Vigor del ánimo, esfuerzo, valor. U. t. en pl. con el mismo significado que en sing.

Peer comment(s):
agree philgoddard : I'm going with this because you're the only person to have provided a reference. Cecilia's "energy" could also work, but we don't have enough context.
5 horas
Okay, phil, noted. Truth is there are some other possibilities open (at least one more), just look at Cecilia´s option, which is valid as well (I think I´ll have to read the chapter in question to be surer, homework for this evening :-)).
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5 horas

barely felt the courage to

Another possibility.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Toni Castano : No, it´s not another possibility, just my interpretation with a different verb. Please don´t copy other´s answers.
19 minutos
Sorry, Toni, but my translation is clearly not a copy of yours. Anyway, I entered my translation before I ever saw what you did.
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4 horas

take a breath

In other words, she barely stopped to take a breath (breathe) before pressing the play button.
There are several ways to express the notion, but "aliento" means breath so…

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 hrs (2022-06-15 07:30:26 GMT)
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"Breathlessly, she pressed 'play'...."

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Note added at 6 hrs (2022-06-15 09:29:30 GMT)
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If, on the other hand, the meaning is more akin to Tony's suggestion, you might consider something along the lines of "She could barely/scarcely bring herself to press the play button…"


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Note added at 6 hrs (2022-06-15 09:30:34 GMT)
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https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/bring oneself to
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