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Sample translations submitted: 4
Czech to English: Medical translation sample General field: Medical
Source text - Czech Zhruba každý čtvrtý Čech potřebuje léčbu rehabilitační a fyzikální medicínou, z toho ročně 1,5 milionu kvůli páteři či kloubům. Zdravotní pojišťovny dají za rehabilitaci ročně kolem šesti miliard korun. V registru je na osm tisíc fyzioterapeutů, na počet obyvatel je Česko v Evropě zhruba ve středu možností.
Dlouhodobě ale potřeba této péče roste a podle Unie fyzioterapeutů hrozí, že její dostupnost kvůli nedostatku odborníků klesne.
Každý lékař by se měl snažit pacientovi nabídnout maximum toho, co medicínská věda poskytuje, a k tomu to, co bývá označováno jako „alternativní“ medicína, rozhodně nepatří. Je otázka, jakým způsobem tito lékaři přistupují ke skutečné medicíně, která je založená na důkazech. Jako absolventi lékařských fakult by měli být schopni rozeznat kvalitní zdroje informací v podobě odborné literatury či vědeckých studií od pouhých smyšlenek a nesmyslných teorií. Bohužel někteří o tuto svou schopnost přišli, nebo ji dokonce nikdy neměli.
ALTERNATIVNÍ MEDICÍNA
Alternativní medicína je souhrnný název pro diagnostické a léčebné metody, které nebyly přijaty v rámci medicíny založené na důkazech. Jejich účinnost nebyla spolehlivě prokázána. Jednotlivé směry a metody mají často protichůdná východiska, neexistují ani jednotné standardy zaručující kvalitu pro pacienty.
MEDICÍNA ZALOŽENÁ NA DŮKAZECH
Medicína založená na důkazech (evidence based medicine) je použití nejlepších aktuálních vědeckých důkazů při výběru péče o jednotlivé pacienty. Při léčbě pacienta se používají výhradně vědecky dokázané medicínské poznatky prověřené pečlivým testováním.
Placebo je látka, která neobsahuje žádné léčivé složky, ale lékař o ní pacientovi řekne, že to je výborný lék. U mnoha nemocných se poté projeví pocit zlepšení zdravotního stavu. Tento psychologický mechanismus je dodnes zcela nepochopený, ale funguje při léčbě „alternativními“ i prokázanými metodami. Rozdíl mezi „alternativou“ a prověřenými léky je ale v tom, že skutečné léky musí prokázat, že mají větší léčebný efekt, než je právě placebo.
Translation - English Approximately every fourth person in the Czech Republic requires either physical medicine or rehabilitation treatment, and around 1.5 million people need this treatment due to spine or joint problems. Health insurance companies pay around six billion Czech crowns for physical therapy. There are around eight thousand registered physiotherapists, which, in terms of patient-therapist ratio, places the Czech Republic in the middle of the scale of European countries. However, the long-term prognosis suggests that the need for this kind of treatment is increasing and, according to the Union of Physiotherapists, there is danger of treatments becoming less available due to lack of specialists.
Every physician should strive to offer their patients the very best care that medical science offers, and “alternative medicine” (as it’s commonly called) certainly does not belong to this category. The question is, what kind of approach do physicans who practice alternative medicine have to the real, evidence-based medicine? As medical school graduates, they should be able to differentiate between quality sources of information in the form of specialist literature or research studies and mere fabrications and nonsensical theories. Unfortunately, some of them have either lost this ability or never had it in the first place.
ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
Alternative medicine is the general name used for diagnostic and healing methods not accepted in the context of evidence-based medicine. Their effectiveness has not been reliably proven. Their various approaches and methods are often contradictory, and there are no uniform standards which would guarantee quality of treatment for the patient.
EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE
Evidence-based medicine means using the best and the most recent scientific evidence when choosing treatment for individual patients. Only scientifically proven medical findings, verified by rigorous testing, are used to treat a patient.
A placebo is a substance containing no active ingredients but, when a patient is informed by their physician that the substance has excellent medical benefits, many patients report improvement in their condition. To this day, the psychological mechanism of a placebo is not clearly understood, but it is effective in both “alternative” and conventional methods. However, the difference between “alternative” treatment and real medication is that real medication is required to have greater therapeutic effect than a placebo.
Czech to English: Academic Journal sample General field: Social Sciences
Source text - Czech http://www.ucl.cas.cz/edicee/data/sborniky/kongres/SLBII/15.pdf
Translation - English PRAGUE SCHOOL IN EXILE
LUBOMIR DOLEŽEL
Veronika Ambrosová, Karel Brušák, Lubomír Doležel, Milena Doleželová-Velingerová, František Galán, Paul Garvin, Mojmír Grygar, Květoslav Chvatík, Roman Jakobson, Vladimír Karbusický, Ladislav Matějka, Miroslav Renský, Sylvie Richterová, Miloš Sedmidubský, Milada Součková, Petr Steiner, František Svejkovský, Jindřich Toman, Jiří Veltruský, Emil Volek, René Wellek, Thomas Winner. I resort to a form of litany in order to list the Czech, Slovakian and Czech-influenced literary critics who developed the poetics and aesthetics of the Prague School or were inspired by them during their time in post-war exile. If you would like to have the complete list, you would need to add the so-called continuators of the Prague School, who co-published [sic] with the School abroad—Miroslav Červenka, Miroslav Drozd, Milan Jankovič, Oleg Sus and Felix Vodička. As we know, the exile culture now claims a place in the tradition of unified Czech culture, just as literary critics in exile also do. The first steps to its integration have already been made – publications of works originally published abroad, bibliographies of the individual researchers, etc. My short contribution will inevitably focus on painting the whole picture of aspirations and results of this group, which I have named – possibly anachronistically, but certainly appropriately – The Prague School in Exile. Because of my involvement with this group since 1965, what I report is written from a personal perspective; however, I hope it is not purely subjective.
Much as the Czech emigrant community on the whole, the Prague School was affected by the formative years 1938, 1948 and 1968. The beginning of the movement is very easy to date, as it coincided with the publication of Wellek’s Theory of Literature, a popular theoretical guide, in 1948. This book provided the first information about the classical work of Prague poetics and aesthetics. Wellek himself stated: “English–language information about this Czech group is scarce. Some of my studies include short reports and my Theory of Literature (1949), co-written with Austin Warren, a deliberate attempt to try and unite observations I made as a younger member of the Group, using my new knowledge of American criticism.” Around the same time, Roman Jacobson also gathered around himself a few promising graduate students at Harvard University, students who later formed the core of the Prague School in exile. When René Wellek transferred to Yale, the poetics and aesthetics of the Prague linguistic group began to spread from two of the greatest academic centres in America. If you would like to find the real core of the Prague School in exile, however, you would have to go to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Whether intentionally or thanks to a historical coincidence, a number of Jacobson’s students, familiar with the work of the group, met here in the early 1960s. A series of Slavic publications (initiated and managed by Ladislav Matějka) followed.
Slovak to English: Literary translation sample General field: Art/Literary
Source text - Slovak Predhovor
Čo sa so mnou stane zajtra? Vždy som chcel veriť, že odpoveď na túto otázku sformulujeme my sami. Veril som, že to, čo urobíme dnes, a to, čo sme robili celý život, určuje našu budúcnosť. Veril som, že život je aspoň do určitej miery predvídateľný. Nie je to pravda.
Život je nevyspytateľný. Niekto fajčí tridsať cigariet denne a dožije sa sto rokov. Iný behá denne desať kilometrov a nekonzumuje bravčové mäso, no napriek tomu zo dňa na deň dostane rakovinu a zomrie mladý.
Ja som sa zo dňa na deň ocitol vo väzení. Ak som sa niečomu v živote snažil zďaleka vyhnúť, bolo to práve väzenie. Ničoho som sa nebál tak veľmi ako straty slobody, v akomkoľvek zmysle slova.
A predsa sa to stalo, o slobodu som prišiel 23. augusta 2012. Ten deň tesne pred polnocou som sa ocitol vo veľmi malej, prázdnej, hermeticky uzavretej miestnosti za bránami teheránskeho väzenia Evin v sekcii malých a brutálnych samotiek určených pre väzňov obvinených z ťažkých zločinov a zo špionáže. Malo to byť len na pár dní…
„Nemáš ani tušenia, do akých hier si sa zaplietol.“ Tak znela posledná veta, ktorú mi povedal kučeravý chlapík s okuliarmi, než ma po trojhodinovom výsluchu v hoteli odviezli autom do väznice Evin.
Do akých hier? O čom hovoril? Veď je to všetko strašný omyl! Tieto vety som si opakoval celú noc, kým som sa pokúšal zaspať na tvrdej zemi, zakrytý špinavou dekou a mučený blízkosťou stien môjho nového domova.
O omyl však nešlo. Nesnívalo sa mi to. Tlmený krik spoza dverí mojej cely tiež nebol len nočnou morou. Do niečoho som sa zaplietol. Niekam som sa dostal. Neboli to príjemné veci. Neboli to pekné miesta.
Zo sľubovaných pár dní bolo nakoniec stošesťdesiatdva. Stošesťdesiatdva, z toho štyridsať na samotke. Mohlo ich byť pokojne viacej. Pokojne som sa už nikdy nemusel vrátiť domov. Mohli ma obesiť, mohli ma odsúdiť na doživotie. Mohlo sa stať čokoľvek.
Nestalo sa to. Mne nie. Prečo? V priestoroch väzenia a aj mimo neho sa udialo mnoho vecí. Nebudem si však fandiť a namýšľať si, že za mojím prepustením stojí len to, čo som počas svojho pobytu vo väzení urobil a povedal. Tiež si nemyslím, že na Slovensko som sa dostal len vďaka kvalitnej práci našej diplomacie.
Je to ako s tým fajčením a bravčovým mäsom. Mohlo to dopadnúť všelijako. Veci-neveci, diplomacia-nediplomacia. Domov som sa vrátiť nemusel. Možno mi však bolo dopriate dostať sa späť medzi slobodných ľudí práve preto, aby som vyrozprával svoj príbeh.
Väzenských príbehov je nespočetné množstvo. Každý deň vznikajú nové a ďalšie. Veď vo väzeniach po celom svete práve teraz sedí viac ako desať miliónov ľudí! Nehovoriac o tom, koľkí z nás z nich každým rokom vyjdú po svojich na slobodu. Mnohí svoj väzenský príbeh zverejnia. Na papieri alebo na plátnach kín. Rozhodol som sa tak urobiť aj ja. Neviem povedať, či je ten môj niečím výnimočný. Určite nie je zďaleka najkrutejší, najzaujímavejší či najdojemnejší. Myslím si však, že je iný. Môj príbeh totiž nevznikol za písacím stolom. Knihu, ktorú držíte v rukách, som písal priamo vo väzení. Jej slová vznikali v mojej hlave v malých celách Evinu. Prvú verziu som napísal na samotke. Písal som ju v hlave preto, aby som sa nezbláznil. Každú kapitolu som napísal a opakoval stále dookola, aby som si ju čo možno najvernejšie zapamätal a hlavne aby čas bežal.
Slová jednotlivých kapitol odrážajú, ako som sa cítil, čo som videl, kým som bol. Nie sú to slová z hlavy, ktorá bola celkom v poriadku. Na miestach, ako je samotka, človek nikdy nie je celkom v poriadku. Mnoho vecí vidí, ako ich nikdy predtým nevidel. Na svet
a na dianie vôkol sa pozerá celkom novými očami. Možno prvý raz v živote pozná pravdu. A možno sa len mýli, blúzni a blázni. Neviem to posúdiť. Táto úloha ostane na čitateľovi.
Po prečítaní mojej knihy by mal človek pochopiť mnohé veci. Mal by zistiť, ako to na opisovaných miestach vyzerá a čo sa tam deje. Spozná spôsoby fyzického a psychického mučenia, ktoré sa v Iráne bežne používajú. Zistí aj, ako sa dá na takýchto miestach prežiť a dostať sa živý a zdravý na slobodu. Pochopí, čo sa tu človek naučí, čo mu dajú do života. A čo mu, naopak, navždy zoberú.
Čitateľ spozná môj príbeh. Pochopí, pre koho som skutočne pracoval a aká bola moja úloha. Nahliadne do praktík tajných služieb Iránu, ale aj do praktík iných spravodajských služieb. Vnímavý čitateľ navyše porozumie, ako to skutočne vyzerá a funguje v médiami démonizovanom Iráne. Čo je pravda a čo len propaganda? O čom sa ľudia boja hovoriť?
V čom sa teda moja kniha líši od iných väzenských príbehov? V čom je iná?
V prvom rade je pohľadom do hlavy väzňa. Je ponorom do psychológie človeka žijúceho štyridsať dní na samotke, pohľadom na psychológiu jednotlivca, zdanlivo nevinne držaného vo veľmi tvrdých podmienkach. Je pohľadom na vnútorný svet človeka v ťažkej životnej situácii, ktorej navyše on sám dlhú dobu vôbec nerozumie. V hlave si píše knihu, jednoduché filozofické kapitoly, len aby sa nezbláznil. Nachádza paralely medzi mikrosvetom samotky a životom na slobode a uvažuje o nich. Všetko skladá len vo svojej hlave. Postupne, pod vplyvom udalostí, ktoré sa mu prihodia alebo sa udejú vôkol neho, a v kontexte príbehov iných väzňov a ľudí, ktorých počas svojej cesty Evinom stretne a spozná. Myslím, že tento väzenský príbeh je jedinečný práve vďaka spôsobu, akým vznikol.
To, čo sa zrodilo v obyčajnej hlave na neobyčajnom mieste, je náplňou kapitol samotnej knihy. Univerzita samoty nie je len príbehom, je aj filozofiou. Filozofiou väzňa…
Translation - English Prologue
Tomorrow—how could I know what will happen to me tomorrow? I had always believed that we could shape our future. Whatever we do today, whatever we did yesterday, and whatever we have done our entire lives would determine our fate. I thought that life could be predictable, at least to some extent.
None of it is true.
Life is unpredictable. Someone smokes a carton of cigarettes every day for decades but lives into ripe old age. Other people eat healthily, running 5 miles a day, but then cancer strikes them down, or heart disease, or some other sudden illness.
As for me, I found myself in prison. If there was anything I’ve been trying to avoid in life, it was prison. Loss of freedom, in every sense of the word, frightened me more than anything else.
Still, it happened. I lost my freedom on the twenty-third of August, 2012. On that day, minutes prior to midnight, I found myself in a small, hermetically-sealed room behind the gates of notorious Evin Prison in Tehran, in a prison block full of small, brutal cells intended for prisoners accused of espionage and other serious felonies.
It was supposed to last a few days only.
“You have no idea what games you’ve become involved in!” These had been the final words a man with curly hair and glasses said to me after a harsh, exhausting three hour interrogation session in my hotel room. Then they took me away to Evin.
“What games? What is he talking about? This is all a terrible mistake!” These thoughts repeated themselves over and over as I tried to fall asleep on the hard prison floor, covered by a dirty blanket, made anxious by the close proximity of my new home’s walls.
But they did not make a mistake. And my ordeal wasn’t just a nightmare. Nor were the muffled cries emanating from behind my cell doors a bad dream, either. Slowly, I realized that I had become entangled in something big. It wasn’t pleasant. I had ended up in a bad place.
A couple of days of imprisonment eventually turned into one hundred and sixty- two. One hundred and sixty-two days—forty of those spent in solitary confinement. It could easily have been more. I might never have returned home. Perhaps they could have hung me; perhaps I could have been imprisoned for life. Anything could have happened.
But it did not happen. Not to me. Why? A lot had happened while I was in prison, both inside and outside the walls. But it would be foolish to think that my release was due only to what I said or did while in custody. Nor do I believe that my eventual return to Slovakia could be attributed solely to the good work of our diplomats.
It is just like with the smoking and the bad diet. Diplomacy and other factors notwithstanding, nobody could have predicted my fate. I didn’t have to return home, just as many other prisoners did not. But maybe I had been allowed to regain my freedom so that my story could be shared.
Countless prison stories exist. A new one arrives every day. As a matter of fact, more than ten million people are incarcerated all over the world right now. And many regain their freedom each year. Those who have been released often choose to
make their stories public, whether through books or films. I decided to do so as well. I cannot tell if my story is special in any way. It certainly isn’t the most gruesome, the most interesting, or even the most touching. But I do think it unique in a certain way—I did not write my story at a desk in an office, while drinking coffee. The book you hold in your hands came into existence in my head. Every word was decided while I was locked away in the small cells of Evin Prison. They gave me no pen or paper. I composed the first version in solitary confinement, as a way to avoid going crazy. I repeated each chapter to myself again and again, partly to make the long hours tolerable as they passed, but also to remember my book as accurately as possible.
The words of each individual chapter reflect how I felt, what I saw, and who I was. The words came from a mind not entirely well; one who endures solitary confinement is never entirely well. One sees everything with fresh eyes, as if for the first time. Maybe he even discovers the real truth of life. But maybe he’s wrong, hallucinating, or insane. I cannot judge. I will leave that task to the reader.
After reading the book, one should understand a few things. He should find out what places like Evin Prison look like and what happens there. He will also find out about physical and psychological torture, both frequent in Iranian prisons. He will learn how to survive in these places and how to emerge alive and well.
The reader will discover what one can learn in prison, what one can gain from the experience, but also what is forever lost.
The reader will also understand my story, finding out who I actually worked for and what my mission really was. He will gain insight into the practices of Iranian secret services, as well as the intelligence services of other countries. Perceptive readers will further understand how things really work in the media-demonized Islamic
Republic of Iran. What is truth—and what is only propaganda? What scares people into silence?
So, how does my book differ from other prison stories?
First of all, it offers insight into the head of a prisoner—a detailed probe into the psychology of a common man held in solitary confinement for forty days. It offers a look into the inner life of a young man trapped in an extremely difficult situation, a situation he did not understand. In his head, he is writing an autobiographical book for no other reason than to keep his sanity. He finds parallels between the microcosmic world of his prison cell and the large world beyond his prison walls— and he thinks about them.
His narrative shows in real time the uncertainty he felt as events unfolded, and it reveals the worries, concerns, and stories of other prisoners and people met along his way through Evin. How the book was written makes it unique and very authentic.
What was born in an ordinary mind in an extraordinary place forms the content of the chapters of this book. The University of Solitude is not just a story—it’s a philosophy. The philosophy of a prisoner . . . .
Czech to English: Technical translation sample General field: Tech/Engineering
Source text - Czech KVALITA NAFTY
Pokud je v naftě biosložka, měla by se použít nejdéle do čtvrt roku.
V případě, že nikoliv – což platí pro českou naftu v Německu – by mělo k obměně dojít nejdéle za 5 let.
Na kvalitu skladovaných paliv má vliv i ošetření stěn nádrže. Důležitý je přístup kyslíku, chlad a tma.
Při dodržení řádné péče by neměla kvalita nafty několik let utrpět.
Důležité je pravidelné odkalování (alespoň jednou za rok) a kontrola parametrů: obsah vázané vody, oxidační stálost, hustota či obsah síry.
Pokud dojde k degradaci nafty, je možné ji přepracovat v rafinerii.
Vedle kontrol svarů čeká experty u zbývajících tří bloků Dukovan také posuzování stavu tlakových nádob reaktorů a zkoušky těsnosti hermetických prostor bloků, které se opakují po osmi letech. Technici budou rovněž provádět investice a dokončovat opatření kvůli zvýšení bezpečnosti zařízení vyplynulá ze zátěžových testů. Aktualizovanou dokumentaci pak ČEZ předloží státnímu úřadu k žádosti o povolení dalšího provozu bloků.
Akciová společnost ČEPS působí na území Česka jako výhradní provozovatel přenosové soustavy (elektrická vedení 400 kV a 220 KV).
Udržuje, obnovuje a rozvíjí 41 rozvoden s 71 transformátory převádějícími elektrickou energii z přenosové do distribuční soustavy a trasy vedení o délce 3508 km s napěťovou hladinou 400 kV a 1910 km s napěťovou hladinou 220 kV.
Nejvýznamnějším zdrojem pro německou energetiku nadále zůstává uhlí. Na celkové výrobě elektřiny v zemi se černouhelné a hnědouhelné elektrárny v roce 2015 podílely celkem 42,2 procenta. Meziročně to znamenalo pokles o 1,5 procentního bodu.
Německo chce do budoucna svou energetiku založit na obnovitelných zdrojích, v roce 2035 by měly pokrývat 55 až 60 procent celkové spotřeby elektřiny. Po odstavení jaderných elektráren by se měl postupně zvyšovat i význam uhelných zdrojů.
Translation - English THE QUALITY OF PETROL
If petrol contains a bio-component, it should be used within three months.
If it does not contain a bio-component—as in the case of Czech petrol in Germany—it should be replaced within 5 years at the latest.
The treatment of tank walls also affects the quality of stored fuel. Other important factors are the presence of oxygen, low temperature, and darkness.
If treated with due care, the petrol quality should not suffer for a few years.
Regular sludge removal (at least once a year) is important, as well as an inspection of parameters: bound water content, oxidation stability, density, or sulphur content.
In the case of petrol degradation, it is possible to re-process it in a refinery.
Aside from inspecting welded parts, the experts looking at the remaining three blocks of the Dukovany nuclear power station will also need to assess the condition of the reactor’s pressure containers and perform leakage tests on the hermetic area of the reactor blocks, which is repeated every eight years. Technicians will also carry out improvements and will complete measures for increased security which have arisen from stress testing. The updated documentation will be submitted by ČEZ to the state authority, together with an application for the continued operation of the blocks.
The joint-stock company ČEPS operates in the territory of the Czech Republic as the sole operator of the transmission grid (400kV and 220Kv power lines).
It maintains, restores, and develops 41 substations with 71 transformers, which distribute electricity from the transmission to the distribution systems, and it also maintains conductor routing of 3508 km length (voltage level 400kV) and 1910 km length (voltage level 220kV).
Coal still remains the most important source of energy in Germany. In 2015, brown and black coal power stations accounted for 42.2% of total electricity production. Compared to last year, this indicates a decrease of 1.5%.
In the future, Germany would like to base its energy production on renewable sources, and by 2035 these should account for 55-60% of total electricity consumption. After the shut-down of nuclear plants however, the importance of coal sources is expected to gradually increase.
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Other - Belisha Beacon
Experience
Years of experience: 13. Registered at ProZ.com: Oct 2016. Became a member: Oct 2016.
I'm a ProZ Certified PRO member with ten years of experience in translation from Czech and Slovak into English. After working in British academia for 19 years and translating in my free time, I decided to study translation and become a full-time freelancer. I obtained my Diploma in Translation in 2016 and I am now based in the U.S., specializing in medical, legal, literary, and academic translations, as well as proofreading and copy-editing. I work for direct clients and agencies in the U.S., United Kingdom, Japan, and Canada.
My translations are always accurate, as I research things obsessively, and they are formatted to match the layout of the original. I always aim to deliver the highest quality work.
Fields of expertise:
Medicine, business, law, marketing, social sciences, literary translation
CAT tools:
SmartCAT (supports Trados packages)
Published translations:
Matej Valuch: University of Solitude (literary non-fiction), available on Amazon
Keywords: czech, slovak, english, legal, medical, literary, academic, travel, marketing, press. See more.czech, slovak, english, legal, medical, literary, academic, travel, marketing, press, journalism, general, english native speaker, translation, copy-editing, proofreading. See less.
Member since Oct '16
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