May 19, 2017 07:38
7 yrs ago
3 viewers *
English term
break one\'s record [ambiguity]
English
Other
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
First off, pardon my lack of professionalism in my previous question (open sale item [mistranslation].
Once again, I'm translating (to Greek) an English source text that is itself a translation.
Over the course of the job, I'm also spotting any possibly awkward formulations in English and noting down my counter-suggestions.
This time my query is a purely English-to-English one.
Here's the context:
God saved me from breaking my record.
From the sentence itself, as well as from the text preceding and following it, it is evident that the speaker is not referring to some best performance or most remarkable event of its kind, that she would break by performing even better, but to the sum of the past achievements or performance of a person - in this case, her own record of never having lost a train, that was about to come to an end [both italicized definitions from OD].
I'm not sure whether "break one's record" is wrong per se, when referring to the latter, but it seems pretty evident that the phrase is prevalently used to refer to the former. So my question is, really: what should I suggest instead to skip the ambiguity:
God saved me from ending my record? From spoiling it perhaps?
I also considered God saved me from breaking my streak, but I find that a bit too "sporty".
Once again, I'm translating (to Greek) an English source text that is itself a translation.
Over the course of the job, I'm also spotting any possibly awkward formulations in English and noting down my counter-suggestions.
This time my query is a purely English-to-English one.
Here's the context:
God saved me from breaking my record.
From the sentence itself, as well as from the text preceding and following it, it is evident that the speaker is not referring to some best performance or most remarkable event of its kind, that she would break by performing even better, but to the sum of the past achievements or performance of a person - in this case, her own record of never having lost a train, that was about to come to an end [both italicized definitions from OD].
I'm not sure whether "break one's record" is wrong per se, when referring to the latter, but it seems pretty evident that the phrase is prevalently used to refer to the former. So my question is, really: what should I suggest instead to skip the ambiguity:
God saved me from ending my record? From spoiling it perhaps?
I also considered God saved me from breaking my streak, but I find that a bit too "sporty".
Responses
| 4 +4 | spoiling one's record |
Terry Richards
|
| 4 +1 | break a record |
Rosemary Schmid
|
| 3 +1 | God kept my record intact |
Patrick Hideo Kirby
|
Responses
+4
30 mins
Terry Richards
France
France
Native in English
&
English
France
30 years in IT, Engineering degree.
Native in: English (Variants: US, British, UK) 
Works in: French to English, English
Related KudoZ points
:
120
Selected
spoiling one's record
The second reading may be correct but it is far from common and, as you say, introduces ambiguity. I don't think I've ever heard it used this way.
With "breaking", the sentence can be read two ways, either a mean god prevented the speaker from exceeding their previous performance or a kind god prevented them from spoiling it.
With "breaking", the sentence can be read two ways, either a mean god prevented the speaker from exceeding their previous performance or a kind god prevented them from spoiling it.
Note from asker:
| Thanks. I was about to close the question and deem my worries to be unjustified, but, as usual, there seems to be more than one perspectives on the matter, so I'm keeping it open for now. |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Daryo
: it's like the overused "change" - there is nothing to say which way it must go ...
23 mins
|
| agree |
Charles Davis
3 hrs
|
| agree |
Yasutomo Kanazawa
20 hrs
|
| agree |
acetran
3 days 24 mins
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "I found KIBco's suggestion was also a good one. But I trust what seems to be the prevalent judgement of natives."
+1
9 hrs
English term (edited):
break one\\\'s record [ambiguity]
break a record
Many people have a history of doing or avoiding doing something that has extended over a long period.
Positively - Her kindness in this terrible situation broke her own record.
Negatively - The bully broke his own record when he pushed over the child's wheelchair. (Emphasizing a negative criticism to the choice of labeling the person a bully.)
So, I am looking at "the train" in your example and wondering if there's more to the story.
Did the speaker intend to do something evil and wishes to say the action was stopped by God? (And looking back, the speaker is grateful.)
Or, did the speaker "miss a train" and was then protected by God from some disaster in which the train was involved?
Translating such phrases are challenging, to be sure!
And, did you mean miss a train as in not getting on the train before it departed the station
or lose a train as in allowing something to happen to destroy a train?
Positively - Her kindness in this terrible situation broke her own record.
Negatively - The bully broke his own record when he pushed over the child's wheelchair. (Emphasizing a negative criticism to the choice of labeling the person a bully.)
So, I am looking at "the train" in your example and wondering if there's more to the story.
Did the speaker intend to do something evil and wishes to say the action was stopped by God? (And looking back, the speaker is grateful.)
Or, did the speaker "miss a train" and was then protected by God from some disaster in which the train was involved?
Translating such phrases are challenging, to be sure!
And, did you mean miss a train as in not getting on the train before it departed the station
or lose a train as in allowing something to happen to destroy a train?
Example sentence:
Positively - Her kindness in this terrible situation broke her own record.
Negatively - The bully broke his own record when he pushed over the child's wheelchair.
+1
2 days 12 hrs
Patrick Hideo Kirby
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
&
English
Specializes in field
United Kingdom
Japanese-English Technical Translator
Native in: English 
Works in: Japanese to English, English, Japanese
English term (edited):
break one\\\'s record [ambiguity]
God kept my record intact
or "Thanks to God's help, my record remained intact."
In my view a natural, idiomatic way of expressing the sentiment is "record remains intact". The use of a transitive verb "break/spoil etc." may also cause ambiguity, so using an intransitive expression eliminates this. 'Breaking a record' is only natural if it is used in the sense of beating a previous achievement (which you say is not the case here). Likewise 'spoiling a record' sounds a little unnatural in the intended context.
In my view a natural, idiomatic way of expressing the sentiment is "record remains intact". The use of a transitive verb "break/spoil etc." may also cause ambiguity, so using an intransitive expression eliminates this. 'Breaking a record' is only natural if it is used in the sense of beating a previous achievement (which you say is not the case here). Likewise 'spoiling a record' sounds a little unnatural in the intended context.
Discussion
There's no drama or irony to the context. It's just what a woman says after boarding the train, just in time. A somewhat humorous way of saying "Thank God I didn't miss the train... as I've never done before, for that matter"
You can "break your duck" (duck meaning zero in cricket), which means ending a run of failures to score.