Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
Así las cosas
English translation:
Upon his return to
Added to glossary by
James A. Walsh
Aug 8, 2011 13:08
12 yrs ago
15 viewers *
Spanish term
Spain
A cut above the rest in translation...
Native in: English (Variants: Irish, US, UK) 
, Spanish (Variants: Latin American, Standard-Spain)
Works in: Spanish to English, French to English, English to Spanish, and 2 more.
Así las cosas
Spanish to English
Social Sciences
History
Heritage Foundation Website
This is from the “History” section of a Heritage Foundation website run by Benedictine monks in the Basque Country (Spain).
I’m having trouble working “así las cosas” into the sentence here, and would appreciate your suggestions.
CONTEXT:
“El monje benedictino XXXX XXXX XXXX lleva ya cuatro décadas recopilando libros, revistas y diverso tipo de documentación de temática vasca. Fue a comienzos de los años 70 cuando XXXX recibió de sus superiores el encargo de ocuparse de la Biblioteca del Monasterio de los Benedictinos de Lazkao. Tal y como él ha reconocido muchas veces, por aquel entonces sabía poco sobre libros, y decidió marchar a Monserrat, a realizar estudios de Biblioteconomía. Fue allí donde despertó su vocación de bibliotecario, y fue también allí donde decidió crear un gran archivo que recogiera todo tipo de fondos relacionados con el País Vasco.
Así las cosas, a su regreso a Lazkao se dedicó de lleno a su nueva labor. Organizó la Biblioteca, adquirió nuevos libros, completó colecciones…, y, de forma paralela, comenzó a dar forma a lo que posteriormente sería conocida como Biblioteca Vasca, con los libros y revistas de temática vasca que encontró en el monasterio y con los que a partir de entonces empezó a recopilar.”
Going into UK English. Thank you.
I’m having trouble working “así las cosas” into the sentence here, and would appreciate your suggestions.
CONTEXT:
“El monje benedictino XXXX XXXX XXXX lleva ya cuatro décadas recopilando libros, revistas y diverso tipo de documentación de temática vasca. Fue a comienzos de los años 70 cuando XXXX recibió de sus superiores el encargo de ocuparse de la Biblioteca del Monasterio de los Benedictinos de Lazkao. Tal y como él ha reconocido muchas veces, por aquel entonces sabía poco sobre libros, y decidió marchar a Monserrat, a realizar estudios de Biblioteconomía. Fue allí donde despertó su vocación de bibliotecario, y fue también allí donde decidió crear un gran archivo que recogiera todo tipo de fondos relacionados con el País Vasco.
Así las cosas, a su regreso a Lazkao se dedicó de lleno a su nueva labor. Organizó la Biblioteca, adquirió nuevos libros, completó colecciones…, y, de forma paralela, comenzó a dar forma a lo que posteriormente sería conocida como Biblioteca Vasca, con los libros y revistas de temática vasca que encontró en el monasterio y con los que a partir de entonces empezó a recopilar.”
Going into UK English. Thank you.
Proposed translations
(English)
Proposed translations
+2
30 mins
Selected
Upon his return to/ After returning to . . .
Remember that this has to sound natural in English. Examples: www.themonkstudio.com/aboutUs - En cachéAfter returning to Los Angeles to work at Digital Domain and 8 years later, Chris returns to Bangkok as Sr. Producer with The Monk Studio and brings his ...; www.mikecarrkarate.com/kenpohistory.html - En cachéHe meditated in a cave at the outskirts of the temple seeking a way for the monks to regain control of their lives. Upon his return Bodhidharma gathered the ...; www.choylayfut.eu/clfhistory.html - En caché(Chan was supposed to have gone under the monk for study in the Shaolin ... Upon his return to the village, Jeong Hung Sing awed the villagers with his ...
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Note added at 9 hrs (2011-08-08 22:31:27 GMT)
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Cheers from Saragossa. I think your solution is perfect. I always give these introductory phrases a lot of attention before I cut them, precisely because they sometimes contain certain information (or even a sensibility or feeling) that should be shifted elsewhere in the sentence in English. If it is clumsily translated at the beginning, an English reader will just zip past it. If it's a matter of decoration,nothing important is lost, but if there is a kernel of meaning, it needs to be nestled in just the right place for the English-speaking reader's eye to pick it up. Kudoz does rock. I have learned so much from Proz colleagues.
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Note added at 9 hrs (2011-08-08 22:46:11 GMT)
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Strangely chilly here in Saragossa at night this summer--but I'm not complaining!
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Note added at 9 hrs (2011-08-08 22:31:27 GMT)
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Cheers from Saragossa. I think your solution is perfect. I always give these introductory phrases a lot of attention before I cut them, precisely because they sometimes contain certain information (or even a sensibility or feeling) that should be shifted elsewhere in the sentence in English. If it is clumsily translated at the beginning, an English reader will just zip past it. If it's a matter of decoration,nothing important is lost, but if there is a kernel of meaning, it needs to be nestled in just the right place for the English-speaking reader's eye to pick it up. Kudoz does rock. I have learned so much from Proz colleagues.
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Note added at 9 hrs (2011-08-08 22:46:11 GMT)
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Strangely chilly here in Saragossa at night this summer--but I'm not complaining!
Note from asker:
| My sentiments exactly, Jenni! (In fact, I strive to be the invisible translator). I do feel this is slightly more than just a filler though, in that it ties in with “se dedicó de lleno” with the intention of capturing the notion that he acknowledged many times that he knew very little about books when asked to assume the role of curator of the monastery’s library, and had then embarked on his library studies in Montserrat, etc... So I’m now happy with “Upon his return to Lazkao, XXXX was <u>keen to</u> devote...” (I inserted his proper name here to facilitate better reading). When I posted today, my draft was “And so, on returning to Lazkao, he dedicated...” (way too clumsy!). Cheers. Kudoz rocks sometimes! |
| Happy dayzz (sorry, I just developed a Jamie Oliver-style lisp then, for no apparent reason :). Cheers from riDICulously hot Granada. |
| ¡Uuf! My thermometer is reading 30.5º C as I type... |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
patinba
: Much better, ignore the filler for sharper English.
24 mins
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Thanks, patinba. We all agonize about these things: translating them in the first draft, and then culling them in the second.
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| agree |
Reed James
1 hr
|
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Thanks, Reed. Have a nice day.
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you Jenni and everyone else for your time and help. Much appreciated, as ever! Greetings, James"
2 mins
Michael Powers (PhD)
United States
United States
Native in English
United States
US Court Cert. 1980 Ph.D. 1981
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, Portuguese to English, English to Spanish, and 2 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
55
Things being like that
I believe this is the idea
Mike
Mike
5 mins
polyglot45
Native in English
Native in: English , French
Works in: English to French, French to English, German to French, and 4 more.
in due course
in the fullness of time, on his return.....
A filler of this sort is what you need - as things played out.....
A filler of this sort is what you need - as things played out.....
+5
7 mins
This being so/This being the case/This being the situation
Whichever you feel fits best into your context.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Laurie Price
: yes
1 min
|
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Thanks Laurie
|
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| agree |
bcsantos
: More options here:) http://wordlist.com/that being so.htm
18 mins
|
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Thanks, yes, there must be dozens of variations on the theme.
|
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| agree |
Salloz
24 mins
|
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Thanks Salloz.
|
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| agree |
Elda Munguia
1 hr
|
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Thanks Elda.
|
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| agree |
liz askew
2 hrs
|
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Thanks Liz.
|
7 mins
Laurie Price
Mexico
Mexico
Native in English
Mexico
Real English: correct, concise, complete
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, English
As it is OR Following that OR
This is more a bit of metaphorical glue than information, and could just as easily be overlooked IMHO -- it's not necessary to the meaning of the sentence, as far as I can tell -- & appears to simply be a bit of rhetorical space filler.
+1
9 mins
Emma Ratcliffe
Mexico
Mexico
Native in Spanish
&
English
Mexico
ACHIEVING QUALITY!
Native in: Spanish (Variants: Venezuelan, Mexican) , English (Variants: British, US)
Works in: English to Spanish, Spanish to English, Spanish
Hence
I think it would be perfect to begin this sentence, as it is a history text.
Reference:
+2
20 mins
Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Ireland
Native in English
Ireland
right word, right place. everytime
Native in: English (Variants: US, Canadian, Irish, UK) 
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English, English, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
14
Thus, OR As a consequence/consequently
keeping it simple and in register
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Charles Davis
: I think one of these would work well in this context.
21 mins
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thanks Charles:-)
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| agree |
Dorota Madrzyk
: simple and will work well.
3 hrs
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thank you Dorota!
|
1 hr
Given this situation
Reference:
Tom West's Dictionary.
Hope this helps.
Tom West's Dictionary.
Hope this helps.
Reference:
7 hrs
subsequently
subsequently upon his return,....
15 mins
David Ronder
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
Specializes in field
United Kingdom
Linguistic flair and an eye for detail
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, English
Related KudoZ points
:
52
In the event
You have a lot of valid options here, as the other answers make clear. This is the historians' favourite.
(For a different register, Jimmy Saville's "As it happened.." might be a runner...)
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Note added at 17 hrs (2011-08-09 06:25:47 GMT)
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Cheers, James. The rioting is rather close for comfort - down the road in Wood Green, and now in Ealing where I have family. I was also at White Hart Lane on Saturday just before it all started in Tottenham. Not good. Most Londoners are pretty shocked, didn't see it coming. Neither did the police or politicians.
(For a different register, Jimmy Saville's "As it happened.." might be a runner...)
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Note added at 17 hrs (2011-08-09 06:25:47 GMT)
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Cheers, James. The rioting is rather close for comfort - down the road in Wood Green, and now in Ealing where I have family. I was also at White Hart Lane on Saturday just before it all started in Tottenham. Not good. Most Londoners are pretty shocked, didn't see it coming. Neither did the police or politicians.
Note from asker:
| Brilliant options indeed, David. And thank you kindly for your contribution. I just had to tell you what a chuckle your Jimmy Saville comment gave me earlier! ...honestly, I feel So tempted at times... P.S. watching the news here, hope things are good in your part of London! |
| I think the whole world is pretty shocked. I just can't get over the pointless violence of it all!? I lived in London for 10 years, and have plans to move back there next year, so it's pretty worrisome stuff to watch. Hope things calm down a bit up there, and soon! |
Discussion
This is a connective, establishing the relationship between his awakening vocation and how things developed subsequently.
The two linguistic terms should not be confused, and I would argue that while fillers in written text are dispensable, connectives are not.