Working languages:
Arabic to English
Portuguese to English
Spanish to English

Abraham Gutmann
Enhanced translation, insightful edits

Lafayette, Colorado, United States
Local time: 02:19 MDT (GMT-6)

Native in: English Native in English
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Portfolio Sample translations submitted: 3
Spanish to English: Managing Conflict in the Workplace
General field: Bus/Financial
Detailed field: Human Resources
Source text - Spanish
Cuando un conflicto personal conduce a la frustración y pérdida de eficiencia, el asesoramiento puede resultar en un antídoto útil Aunque pocas organizaciones pueden darse el lujo de tener asesores profesionales dentro de su personal, dando algo de entrenamiento, los gerentes podrían estar en capacidad de desempeñar esta función. El asesoramiento no dirigido o "escuchar con entendimiento ", es un poco mejor que ser un buen oyente- algo que todos los gerentes deben ser.

Algunas veces el simple proceso de poder exteriorizar los sentimientos de uno – es decir, expresarlos a un oyente preocupado y que los entienda, es suficiente para aliviar la frustración y hacer posible que el individuo frustrado avance a un estado de ánimo de resolución de problemas, pudiendo afrontar mejor la dificultad personal que está afectando su trabajo adversamente. El enfoque no dirigido es un modo efectivo para los gerentes de tratar los subordinados y compañeros de trabajo frustrados.

Existe otro modo más directo y formas más diagnósticas que podrían ser usadas en las circunstancias apropiadas. La gran fortaleza de un enfoque no dirigido, sin embargo, recae en su simplicidad, su efectividad y en el hecho de que deliberadamente evita que el gerente-asesor estén diagnosticando e interpretando problemas emocionales que requieren formación psicológica especial. Nadie nunca ha resultado perjudicado por ser escuchado con atención y comprensivamente. Al contrario, este enfoque ha ayudado a muchas personas a enfrentar los problemas que estaban interfiriendo su efectividad en el trabajo.
Translation - English
Counseling
Whenever personal conflicts lead to a growing sense of frustration and a palpable loss of efficiency in the workplace, counseling may bring about the best results. Although few organizations have had the luxury – or, perhaps, the insight – to hire their own counselors, an acceptable second-best approach would be to invest in having managers trained in counseling techniques so that they will eventually become skilled at fulfilling this role. A non-directive style of counseling or listening with an open mind is a step up from simply being a good listener, which, we would hope, all managers would already be.
Sometimes, the simple process of being able to express one’s feelings to a concerned listener, a colleague who understands the context of the emotion, may be enough to help alleviate the frustration. The availability of such a sympathetic pair of ears can make it possible for that frustrated person to “raise their game” by bumping up into a mindset conducive to resolving the problem at hand by being better able to confront the personal issues that had been adversely affecting their performance at work. Such a non-directive style of counseling can be an effective way for managers to deal with subordinates and frustrated colleagues in general.
Depending upon the circumstances, one may have recourse to a more direct-action-oriented approach, or to be more circumspect and diagnostic in one’s observations. Nonetheless, the strong point of the non-directive approach lies in its simplicity and, especially, in its effectiveness— as long as the manager-counselor refrains from stepping into a role by diagnosing and interpreting emotional problems which, lacking the comprehensive training received by psychologists, they are not qualified to play. No one has ever been harmed by someone listening to them attentively; to the contrary, such an approach has proven effective in helping many people to confront and make progress with problems that had been negatively affecting their performance at work.
Portuguese to English: Young, Brash, and Brazilian
General field: Art/Literary
Detailed field: Poetry & Literature
Source text - Portuguese
Benjamin Clark estava ao volante do seu Mustang preto ano 68 enquanto sua mente vagueava muito além das montanhas que abraçavam a paisagem. Dentro de sua cabeça havia uma batalha, afinal, sua razão ainda não entendia como a emoção o convencera a dar as costas a um conceituado escritório de arquitetura que ele trocara por uma estrada sem destino certo.

É quase insano buscar a “liberdade” nos dias de hoje, mesmo para um cara bonitão de vinte e quatro anos. Liberdade que lhe custava muito caro, afinal, seus pais nunca aceitaram a ideia de ele vagar mundo afora. Ele afastou-se de seus pais? Não, os pais afastaram-se dele.

Eles acreditavam que o trabalho duro enraizado era a única forma racional de dar sentido à vida; a clarear objetivos. Benjamin desejava o que talvez nenhum trabalho ou emprego pudesse dar-lhe, no entanto, era doloroso dar as costas ao passado. Ele também perdera contato com seu único irmão, um jovem e promissor médico, o qual passara a obter toda atenção da família. Benjamin escolhera seguir em frente. Escolheu certo!

Uma placa com os dizeres “Glenwood Springs próxima saída” colocou a mente dele no lugar fazendo-o voltar a si. Benjamin instintivamente virou o volante em direção ao seu novo destino. “Talvez seja um ótimo lugar. Sempre gostei de cidades pequenas”, pensou ele Os raios do sol, mesmo em seu maior esplendor, mal conseguiam tocar o asfalto. Ele acalmou o Mustang ao avistar uma caravana de ciganos parada numa faixa estreita de acostamento. A caravana era composta por quatro “motorhomes” velhos e um pequeno caminhão-baú. Ele tirou tinta de um cigano que trocava o pneu traseiro do caminhão.
Translation - English
Benjamin Clark sat at the wheel of his black 1968 Mustang as his mind wandered far beyond the mountains (canyon wall) that lined the way. A great battle raged inside his head as his rational mind still could not understand (accept) how his emotions could have convinced him to turn his back on a good job at a prestigious architectural firm in favor of striking out into the world with no particular destination in mind.

In this day and age, it is almost unheard of to just drop everything and leave on a quest for freedom, even for a good looking young man of twenty-four. He had paid a high price for his freedom as his parents had never come to peace with his far-flung travels. Had he distanced himself from his parents? No, the truth was that they had been the ones to push him away. They believed that the only way to give meaning to one’s life was to have steady employment and work hard at it, having clear objectives and benchmarks in view. Benjamin wanted what no job could give him, nevertheless, it was difficult to turn his back on the past. He had also lost contact with his only brother, a promising young doctor who received all the attention that the family had to offer. Benjamin had chosen to move forward, and it had been the right decision!
He passed a sign that read, “Next Exit Glenwood Springs,” which pulled him from his reverie and brought him back to himself. Benjamin instinctively turned onto the ramp that would bring him in the direction of his new destination. “Maybe this will turn out to be a cool place. I like small towns,” he thought. which was so thick that even the rays of the sun in all their brilliant intensity could hardly shine through to the road’s surface. He slowed his Mustang down when he passed what looked like a gypsy caravan pulled over on the side on the highway that consisted of four dilapidated RVs and a small pickup truck He tirou tinta at one of the gypsies who was changing the back tire of the pickup truck.
Arabic to English: Leave Hatred behind You
Source text - Arabic
في مَعْرِض الحديث عن مشكلة الكراهية لن أتحدث هنا عن كُرْه الأعداء وكُرْه الآخرين وكره من يُبْرِز لنا الكره ، لا .. أنا في هذه المرحلة أتحدث عن كره إخواننا عن كُرْهنا نحن لبعضنا البعض ، عن كرهي لك يا من تُصَلّي معي في المسجد الواحد .. عن كرهي لك يا جاري يا ابن ديني يا ابن تَوْحيدي يا تابع لقُرآني ونبيِّي، أنا أكْرَهُك، شيء عجيب !!! ومن يفكر بهذه الطريقة عنده القدرة على أن يَسْفك دمك حين يُتَاح له وحين يأْمَن العقوبة، ومع ذلك لا يشعُر بأنه مُبْهَض،بأنه مَشْلول ، بأنه شيء آخر - أي شيء - غير أن يكون إنسان حقيقيا .. هؤلاء كما قلت لكم هم المدْسوسون المَمْسوسون يرَوْن الناس الذين يدَّعون حبهم وإرادة نَفْعهم وخَيْرهم مادة استعْماليه ومَيْدانا يصولون ويجولون فيه لكي يُثبِتوا أنهم دعاةٌ كِبار وأنهم دعاة الى الله وأنهم أهله وأوْلياؤه .. وحَدِّثْني بما شِئْت عن اللِّحَى والعمائم طبعا والتقَعُّر في الكلمات على بلاغة واطِئَةٍ جدا ومُعْجَميّة مُهْترِئة وفِكر مَنْضوب مُستنزَف , لكن لا يُغَرُّ بهؤلاء إلا الجُهلاء .. الذين فعلا صاروا أو أوْشَكوا أن يكونوا مادة استعْماليه لهؤلاء ، أدوات يَقتلون بها يُفجرون بها يَذبحون بها ولا يَدْرون .. طبعا لأنهم تربية هؤلاء المدْسوسين , ماذا تريد أو تنتظر من هؤلاء؟ أن يَتَخرَّج من تحتهم عباقرة نُقَّاد؟ أيْقاظ فُحَّاص سآَّلون (سائلون)؟ هذا أمر مستحيل. أنت تَأمل في المستحيل.. هذه الكلمات لا معنى لها عندهم ,لذلك لا يتساءلون أبدا عنها ولا بها، هم أصلاً لا يستعملونها . ولذلك هم يستعملون هذا الصنْف من البشر في اثبات هواجِسَهم أنهم لا يُمكِنهم أن يُعامِلوا البشر إلا مُعامَلة إحصائية والبشر لا يُعامَلون إحصائيا , البشر لا يُعامَلون إلا إفْرادِيّا والدين علّمَنا هذا قبل أن يأتي المُفَكّرون والفلاسفة مثل وقبل "ايمانويل كانت" . الدين هو الذي علَّمَنا وبأجمل صورة , لم أجد رمْزِيّة تؤكد على هذا المعنى كرمزية الحديث الذي سأَسُوقه بعد قليل , وهو حديث يحكي واقعا .. لكن قبل ذلك نريد ان نفهم ما هو هذا التعامل الإحصائي ؟ باختصار، التعامل الإحصائي : يقول لك هذا النَّبيُّ الكذاب المُتَنَبّئ المخدوع والخادع الضَّال المُضِل , يقل لك آمَنَ بي ثمانون في المائة (80%) و عشرون بالمائة كفروا بي وبرسالتي فلْيَذْهَبوا الى الجحيم ! نعم ،لأنه نبيٌ كذاب , محمد لا يقول ذلك ولا موسى ولا عيسى ولا إبراهيم عليهم السلام , محمد آمَنَ به من آمن وأقام دولة ورَفَعَ راية , ومع ذلك كان يبْكِي لكل من أَبَى إلا أن يَعْتَصِم بكُفْرِه (بجُحودِه). يبكي لأنه ذاك لم يُؤمِن ويكاد يقْتُل نفسه ويَبْخَع نفسه . لم يَقُل ما حاجتي به فلْيَذْهَبْ الى الجحيم، و لذلك كان الله دائما يُسَلٍّيه ويقول له " فَلَا تَذْهَبْ نَفْسُكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَسَرَاتٍ" الى آخر الآية من سورة فاطر. لماذا تَبْخَع نفسك؟ لا النبيُّ لا يتعامل إحصائيا بل يتعامل إفراديا , لماذا؟ لأنه نبيُ الله . الله رب العالمين ،الله سبحانه لم يخلق إنسانا فينا واحدا عَبَثَاً ما رأيكم؟ كل واحد فينا له أهمية قُصْوَى عند الله. فالأنبياء يَحتَرمون إرادة الله وخَلْق الله ومَنْطِق الله إن جاز التعبير . ولذلك كل فَرْد عندهم له أهمية قصوى , والنبيُ بهذه الرمْزِية العالية التي لم أَجِدْ لها نظير قال لك في الحديث "ويُبْعَثُ النبيُّ وليس معه إلا رَجُل " .. حَدَّثْتُكم عن هذا مرة. ما معنى هذا الحديث؟ الله عَلّام الغُيوب لا اله الا هو , قبل أن يَبْعَثَ هذا النبي من أجل هذا الرجل المُهْتدِي الواحد والوحيد كان يعلم أنه لن يَسْتَجيب له أحَدٌ إلا هذا الواحد , لكن الأمر في نظر الله يسْتَحِق! . رجل واحد ورجل عادي جدا جدا مثلي و مثلك يعني إنسان متواضع بسيط غلْبان ربما يعمل في ابسط الاعمال و قد يكون أُمّياً . بِغَضّ النَظَر، أيّا كان! هذا بُنْيانُ ربِّه هذا آدَمِيٌ هذا خليفة الله في هذه المَعْمورة فهو بالنسبة لله مُهِم جدا! .. ليس هناك منطق إحصائي من عَيِّنة: آمن بي مثلا خمسة وتسعون في المائة ليذهب الخمسة الباقية الى الجحيم . وعلى فكرة يذهبون بهم الى الجحيم في الدنيا قبل الآخرة. يَحرِقونهم يقتلونهم بِحِجَّة أنهم مُرْتدُّون أنهم كَفَرَة أنهم مَلاحِدَة أنهم تَعَالوا عن الحق . طبعا لذلك ما من طُغْيان يمكن أن يُضارِع الطُغْيان الدّيني .. فطُغيان رجال السياسة و رجال الحُكْم طُغيان يتَعَلَّق بالسُلطة: اسْكُت اخْرَس عن سُلْطَتِنا ولك ما تُحِب .اذهب تَعَبَّد او تَفَلْسَف أو اكتُب، افْعَل ما تُرِيد لكن إيّاك أن تّقْتَرِب من سُلْطَتِنا إياك أن تُحرِّض علينا حتى من وراء وراء . لن تُرْحَم.. نعم هم طُغاة لكن هؤلاء الطغاة يُمكِن أن تَعْتَبِرهم لا شيء أمام طُغْيان المُتدينين. لماذا؟ المُتَدين من الاساس يَعْتَبِر السُلطة مَلْفوفة تحت جناحه، لا شك السلطة بالنسبة له قادمة قادمة . فالسلطة من وجهة نظره مُهمة جدا لإقامة دين الله وشرعه! لا يوجد نِقَاش أو كلام معه في هذا ، وطبعا يَقْتُل عليها ويَذبَح عليها ويستبيح الدنيا عليها. لكنه بالاضافة الى ذلك يُلاحقك أيضا حتى في ضَمِيرك . بالله عليكم أدخلوا الى "يوتْيوب" وانظروا الى مُشاكَسات الدِّيَكَة الذين يُسَمُّون أنفسهم دُعاة ومَشايخ، يقولون لك ( والرجل نَقْطَعُ أن نِيَّتَهُ غير حسنة) .. حسناً، قُل له يُكمِل الجُملة ويقُل نقْطَع على غَيْبِ الله! أو جاءني جبريل! قُل هذا يا أفَّاك يا أثيم .. قل لي من يستطيع أن يَقْطَع بهذا ؟ إنك تقطع على نيَّة رجل مُسلم يشْهَد بالتَّوْحيد، يُصَلي الخَمْس، يصوم ويحج ويدعوا الى الله.. والغريب أن هؤلاء المَعاتِيه الذين يسمعون له يُصدِقون ويهزُّون برؤؤسهم في عَتَه وخَبَل .. ينبغي أن يقال لمثل هذا الداعية أو الشيخ أنت دجال أنت مُتَنَبِّيء لَعين. تَبّاً لك ولنُبُؤتك.. ستورِدُنا المَهالِك في الدنيا والآخرة أيها الكذوب الأثيم .. يقول لك هؤلاء زنادِقة! تقول لهم لكن لم يظهر أي شيء يدُلُّ على أنهم زنادقة، يقولون لك نحن نعلم ما في القلوب. إنه شيء مُرعب في أُمَّتنا. من جهة أُخرى، نحن اعْتَدْنا على هذا، لا يُوجد حتى قليل من الاستِجابات المَصْدُومة والمَدْهوشَة من مثل هذا القول ، شيئ لا يكاد يصدق. و هو إذ يدَّعي أنه يعلم ما في ضميرك أيضا ويُحاكِمك على ذلك! طبعا إن أصْدَر عليك حُكْماً أن نيَّتك والعياذ بالله غير صافية وغير خالِصة وأنك زنْديق تُقْتَل مباشرة. سيُسدي لك صنيعاً إذا إسْتَتَابك. يُرِيد ان تَتُوب عن اجتهادك عن إخلاصك عن نُصْحك للأُمة، وإن لم تَتُب تُقْتَل مباشرة ويَتَقرَّب الى الله بقَتْلك ويُكبِّر عليك أيضا، عادي جدا، أهذا الإسلام؟ أهذه قراءة للإسلام ما شاء الله! أهذه مَشْيَخة اليوم أهذا عمل إسلامي أهذه
Translation - English
Let’s turn to the problem of hatred, and I won’t speak here about whether one should hate their enemies, or hate people who hate them; no, at this point I just want to speak about hating our brothers in religion, about we, as Muslims, hating one another, about the travesty of my hating the one praying next to me in the mosque, about just how wrong it is for me to be hating you, my neighbour, hating you, a believer in the same religion, someone who holds to the same belief in Allah’s unity, tawhid, who reveres the self-same Qur’an as being the word of God, and follows the same Holy Prophet—that I should hate you of all people is a strange thing indeed!
Someone who thinks like this, and so hates his fellow Muslims, would be capable of spilling my blood if he could get away with it, and in spite of the enormity of such an action he wouldn’t even feel ashamed.
These, as I said before, are the schemers and plotters, the ones who act as if they are possessed, who see people as easy victims, who take advantage of those people who wish to offer their love, their willpower, goodness and charity to Allah. These deceivers wander about and use people as raw materials for the mischief they wish to make, people they can use as dupes and puppets in a field of action in which they themselves can take control and twist the facts so that they can claim to be great preachers in the way of calling people to Truth, claim that they are Allah’s people, God’s elect.
Tell me whatever you like about how long their beards are and how big their turbans, but the real story is about how they bend words using an elementary knowledge of rhetoric, a worn-out vocabulary full of clichés and a kind of phony logic that is capable of enticing only the ignorant, the hapless victims who have become, or are about to become, the raw materials with which these plotters and schemers can build their mischief. And these pawns are often used as cannon fodder, they are compliant dupes who can be useful to these guys in blowing things up, or in having them slaughter others. Of course, because they have been brainwashed by these rogues, what else would you expect from them?
That is impossible! You hope for the impossible: such words mean nothing to them, which is why they don’t ask each other about them or look at things through them and they basically don’t use such guidance. That is why they use these sorts of compliant people in order to confirm their outlook because it is not possible for them to treat people in any way except collectively, and it is wrong to treat or punish people collectively; people can only be dealt with individually, and religion taught us this long before it was ever espoused by thinkers and philosophers such as Immanuel Kant. Religion is what taught us this truth in the most beautiful way, there is no key to unlocking this meaning more useful than the symbolism contained in the hadith that I shall bring into the discourse shortly, and it is a hadith that speaks to us directly today.
First, however, I would like to clarify what I mean when I refer to “collective treatment” or more specifically “collective punishment”. If, for example, we were to speak of a hypothetical false prophet who is deceiving himself and others, himself misguided and misguiding others, and if such a character were to say to people: “Believe in me!” and if 80% did believe in him, while the other 20% didn’t, a false prophet, being such, might say: “Let them all go to hell! “ Yes, it is conceivable that such a character, a false prophet, might say something like that because he is not a true Messenger of Allah like our Holy Prophet Muhammad or his distinguished predecessors Moses, Jesus or Abraham were, upon all of whom be peace.
In the case of the Prophet Muhammad, he fulfilled his holy mission, and whoever believed in him believed; he unfurled his banner, establishing a state , and in spite of that he would weep over those who declined faith, (except for those who held very strongly to their unbelief and ingratitude) and he used to weep because they didn’t believe, because they just didn’t get it, and being of such a compassionate nature he nearly wasted away and died in grief over them. He didn’t say, “What need do I have for them? Let them all go to hell!” No! Rather, he was aggrieved that even a single one would remain mired in their denial of the truth. And for this reason, because he was taking it so much to heart did Allah console the Holy Prophet with the following words: “Don’t lose yourself in pity over them” (to the end of ayat nine in Surat al-Fatir). Allah said to His Holy Prophet: “Why do you torture yourself so?”
No, the Holy Prophet didn’t treat people collectively but rather individually. Why?—because he is Allah’s Prophet, and, as such, he knows that the Lord of the Universe—Subhanahu wa-ta’la—has not created any single one of us in vain. What else could you possibly think? Every single one of us has intrinsic value to Allah, and all the Prophets respect the will of God, the creation of God and the “logic of God”. This is why the Prophets held every single individual to be important.
In the following hadith is to be found a level of symbolic meaning that I cannot find an equal to, and it is key to unlocking divine wisdom: Our Holy Prophet said: “Allah would send a Prophet even for the sake of a single person’s benefit.” And this would apply even to a very common man like you and me, meaning a simple poor person maybe someone working at the most menial of jobs and illiterate too—no matter who or what he is, the human being is the very House of God, Allah’s vessel; human beings are the deputies of Allah Almighty in this world, and in the sight of God every single one of us has intrinsic value.
So there can be no logic that could possibly justify collective treatment or punishment from the kind of perspective that I used in my previous example of the logic that a false prophet might use: “95% have believed in me but because of the 5% let them all go to hell!” The false prophets of today are those same schemers and plotters, and in their thoughts they take upon themselves what is the prerogative of God alone: to send people to hell in this world already before the afterlife. These guys burn down villages and kill people claiming that their victims are apostates, unbelievers, and atheists. These false prophets, these schemers and plotters have tried to put themselves above the truth. This is why there is no tyrant who can possibly compare with a religious tyrant, because the tyranny of the politicians is always limited to typical political behaviour, it has everything to do with governance and power: shut up and be obedient to our rule; you can have or do what you like: go ahead and worship, speculate or write as you wish but don’t go anywhere near the realm of governance and woe be unto you if you incite people against us even in the slightest or most secret of ways, then you can expect no mercy. Yes, secular rulers can indeed be tyrants but they can be held to be as nothing compared to religious tyrants. Why? Governance of the religious tyrant to begin with means governance under his control and no doubt that is what comes first and foremost in rule; and from his point-of-view it is very important to them to “establish Allah’s religion and shariah law”. There is no discussion with him on this point and of course he will kill people, and even slaughter whole peoples under this pretence and declare the whole world to be fair game for him, but beyond this he will even come after you for what is hidden in your conscience!

Translation education Bachelor's degree - University of New Mexico
Experience Years of experience: 24. Registered at ProZ.com: Sep 2011.
ProZ.com Certified PRO certificate(s) N/A
Credentials Arabic to English (The American University in Cairo)
Memberships N/A
Software Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Word
CV/Resume English (DOCX)
Bio

I have lived half of my adult life outside of the US: about half of that time was spent in the Arab world and the other half between Brazil, Portugal, Peru, Argentina and India. I have studied Arabic, Portuguese, and Spanish with great focus and success. I have always preferred reading in my foreign languages and I have lived in cultural immersion when abroad, so I was speaking the languages exclusively. I have translated a book from Portuguese into English. I studied Arabic formally in Cairo and have recently been translating Arabic newspaper articles into English. I have taught a University history course in Peru in Spanish and I have certification as a bilingual high school teacher.

In recent years I have devoted myself to translation, editing, and ghostwriting. I can certainly give you a straight translation from any of my three languages, but you will be better utilizing my skills by letting me take a crack at really improving it in the English through the use of well-selected verbs, adjectives, and varying ways of expression to avoid repetitiousness and keep the attention of the reader. I have recently translated a thesis from Spanish, an autobiographical novel from Portuguese and both political and religious content from Arabic. I have recently completed extensive substantive editing of a book of letters to figures from America's past entitled Letters of Gratitude to American Heroes of Social Justice and, before that, a book published by a renowned spiritual teacher, Mooji, published by Sounds True. 

Keywords: spanish, portuguese, arabic, politics, spirituality, academic, editing, translation, ghostwriting, history. See more.spanish, portuguese, arabic, politics, spirituality, academic, editing, translation, ghostwriting, history, thesis, dissertation, book, memoir, autobiography, religion, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism. See less.


Profile last updated
Nov 14, 2018