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17th Translation Contest: "The Sounds of Silence" » English to Greek

Competition in this pair is now closed, and the winning entry has been announced.

Discussion and feedback about the competition in this language pair may now be provided by visiting the "Discussion & feedback" page for this pair. Entries may also be individually discussed by clicking the "Discuss" link next to any listed entry.

Source text in English

A theme of the age, at least in the developed world, is that people crave silence and can find none. The roar of traffic, the ceaseless beep of phones, digital announcements in buses and trains, TV sets blaring even in empty offices, are an endless battery and distraction. The human race is exhausting itself with noise and longs for its opposite—whether in the wilds, on the wide ocean or in some retreat dedicated to stillness and concentration. Alain Corbin, a history professor, writes from his refuge in the Sorbonne, and Erling Kagge, a Norwegian explorer, from his memories of the wastes of Antarctica, where both have tried to escape.

And yet, as Mr Corbin points out in "A History of Silence", there is probably no more noise than there used to be. Before pneumatic tyres, city streets were full of the deafening clang of metal-rimmed wheels and horseshoes on stone. Before voluntary isolation on mobile phones, buses and trains rang with conversation. Newspaper-sellers did not leave their wares in a mute pile, but advertised them at top volume, as did vendors of cherries, violets and fresh mackerel. The theatre and the opera were a chaos of huzzahs and barracking. Even in the countryside, peasants sang as they drudged. They don’t sing now.

What has changed is not so much the level of noise, which previous centuries also complained about, but the level of distraction, which occupies the space that silence might invade. There looms another paradox, because when it does invade—in the depths of a pine forest, in the naked desert, in a suddenly vacated room—it often proves unnerving rather than welcome. Dread creeps in; the ear instinctively fastens on anything, whether fire-hiss or bird call or susurrus of leaves, that will save it from this unknown emptiness. People want silence, but not that much.

The winning entry has been announced in this pair.

There were 7 entries submitted in this pair during the submission phase. The winning entry was determined based on finals round voting by peers.

Competition in this pair is now closed.


Entries (7 total) Expand all entries

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Entry #23503 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Nick Lingris
Nick Lingris
United Kingdom
Winner
Voting points1st2nd3rd
7317 x42 x21 x1
Entry tagging:
  • 3 users entered 8 "like" tags
  • 3 users agreed with "likes" (7 total agrees)
+2
αποζητούν
Good term selection
Melina Tzola
+1
χαλάνε τον κόσμο
Good term selection
rokotas
+1
Πριν μπουν λάστιχα στις ρόδες
Flows well
rokotas
+1
λιθόστρωτο
Good term selection
rokotas
πανδαιμόνιο επευφημιών και αποδοκιμασιών
Good term selection
Magda P.
+1
μόχθου
Good term selection
rokotas
Αναδεικνύεται
Good term selection
rokotas
+1
απαλλάξει
Good term selection
rokotas
Entry #23569 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Voting points1st2nd3rd
142 x42 x22 x1
Entry tagging:
  • 1 user entered 3 "like" tags
  • 1 user disagreed with "likes" (1 total disagree)
ουρλιαχτά
Good term selection
rokotas
-1
1
τη διαλαλούσαν στη διαπασών
Flows well
rokotas
καταντάει
Good term selection
rokotas
Entry #23521 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Voting points1st2nd3rd
121 x44 x20
Entry tagging:
  • 2 users entered 3 "like" tags
βρυχηθμός
Good term selection
Melina Tzola
μόχθου
Good term selection
rokotas
συριγμό
Good term selection
rokotas
Entry #23155 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Voting points1st2nd3rd
112 x41 x21 x1
Entry tagging:
  • No "like" tags
Entry #22400 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Voting points1st2nd3rd
803 x22 x1
Entry tagging:
  • 1 user entered 3 "like" tags
γιουχαΐσματα
Good term selection
rokotas
που καταλαμβάνει τον χώρο στον οποίο θα μπορούσε να διεισδύσει η σιωπή
Flows well
rokotas
διαφαίνεται
Good term selection
rokotas
Entry #23584 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Modern
Voting points1st2nd3rd
1001 x1
Entry tagging:
  • No "like" tags
Entry #23824 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Modern
Barbara Langley
Barbara Langley
United Kingdom
Voting points1st2nd3rd
1001 x1
Entry tagging:
  • 1 user entered 3 "like" tags
γιουχάισμα
Good term selection
rokotas
συριγμό
Good term selection
rokotas
τιτίβισμα
Good term selection
rokotas