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

Competition in this pair is now closed.

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.

Winning entries could not be determined in this language pair.

There were 16 entries submitted in this pair during the submission phase, 5 of which were selected by peers to advance to the finals round. Not enough votes were submitted by peers for a winning entry to be determined.

Competition in this pair is now closed.


Entries (16 total; 5 finalists) Expand all entries

Entry #23852 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Finalist
Voting points1st2nd3rd
102 x41 x20
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.293.29 (7 ratings)3.29 (7 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 2 users entered 2 "like" tags
  • 1 user agreed with "likes" (1 total agree)
  • 5 users disagreed with "likes" (6 total disagrees)
-4
+1
3
Loài người đã khiến mình kiệt sức với tiếng ồn và ao ước điều ngược lại - có thể là trong thế giới hoang dã, trên đại dương bao la hoặc một nơi ẩn dật nào đó hoàn toàn tĩnh mịch và tập trung
Flows well
667752
-2
hiện tại có lẽ cũng không nhiều tiếng ồn hơn xưa kia là mấy
Flows well
Duy Doan
Entry #22426 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Duy Doan
Duy Doan
Vietnam
Finalist
Voting points1st2nd3rd
61 x41 x20
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.223.44 (9 ratings)3.00 (8 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 3 users entered 3 "like" tags
  • 1 user agreed with "likes" (1 total agree)
  • 2 users disagreed with "likes" (2 total disagrees)
Ấy thế mà
Good term selection
XinhTTL
-2
+1
2
Trước khi người ta tự nguyện cách li mình bên trong chiếc điện thoại di động, thì xe buýt và tàu điện đã từng vang lừng tiếng chuyện trò
Flows well
Tiến Anh Lê
Tại đó lờ mờ hiện ra một nghịch lí khác, bởi lẽ lúc mà sự tĩnh lặng quả có lan chi
Good term selection
Jade Nguyen
Entry #22537 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Finalist
Voting points1st2nd3rd
41 x400
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.553.38 (8 ratings)3.71 (7 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 1 user entered 2 "like" tags
  • 2 users disagreed with "likes" (2 total disagrees)
nhà thám hiểm người Na-uy Erling Kagge từ hồi ức của mình về những miền đất hoang vu ở Nam Cực
Flows well
667752
-2
2
để khỏi phải chịu đựng cảm giác trống rỗng lạ lẫm này
Flows well
667752
Entry #23176 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Finalist
Voting points1st2nd3rd
301 x21 x1
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.823.75 (8 ratings)3.88 (8 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 1 user entered 1 "like" tag
Người ta muốn được yên tĩnh, nhưng không phải đến mức ấy.
Flows well
XinhTTL
Entry #22835 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Yen dam
Yen dam
Vietnam
Finalist
Voting points1st2nd3rd
2002 x1
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.253.30 (10 ratings)3.20 (10 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • No "like" tags


Non-finalist entries

The following entries were not selected by peers to advance to finals-round voting.

Entry #24071 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Ann Tran
Ann Tran
Vietnam
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.063.11 (9 ratings)3.00 (9 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 1 user entered 1 "like" tag
  • 1 user disagreed with "likes" (1 total disagree)
-1
1
xe bus và xe lửa luôn nhộn nhịp với các cuộc trò chuyện, trao đổi
Flows well
667752
Entry #23801 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.003.14 (7 ratings)2.86 (7 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 1 user entered 1 "like" tag
  • 1 user agreed with "likes" (1 total agree)
  • 2 users disagreed with "likes" (2 total disagrees)
-2
+1
2
Trước khi có sự cô lập tự nguyện với những chiếc điện thoại di động, trên xe buýt và xe lửa đều văng vẳng những cuộc trò chuyện
Flows well
667752
Entry #24317 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.003.14 (7 ratings)2.86 (7 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 2 users entered 2 "like" tags
mưu cầu
Flows well
Tiến Anh Lê
dù là tiếng xì xèo của ngọn lửa, tiếng chim gọi bầy hay tiếng rì rào của cây lá, tất cả sẽ giải thoát đôi tai khỏi nỗi trống rỗng bất định này
Flows well
667752
Entry #22513 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
vapt
vapt
Vietnam
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry2.943.13 (8 ratings)2.75 (8 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 1 user entered 1 "like" tag
vùng Nam Cực hoang vu
Good term selection
667752
Entry #22688 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry2.802.60 (10 ratings)3.00 (9 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 1 user entered 2 "like" tags
  • 4 users disagreed with "likes" (4 total disagrees)
-3
2
tự đọa đày bản thân họ
Good term selection
Giang Le
-1
1
nơi lánh tục
Good term selection
Giang Le
Entry #22775 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Khoi Le
Khoi Le
United States
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry2.202.40 (5 ratings)2.00 (4 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • No "like" tags
Entry #23233 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry2.002.00 (5 ratings)2.00 (5 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 1 user entered 1 "like" tag
không đặt tiếng rao hàng của mình ở chế độ yên lặng
Flows well
Hay nhưng ​mà quăng l​ựu đạn hơi​ xa
vapt
Entry #23413 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry1.882.00 (4 ratings)1.75 (4 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 1 user entered 1 "like" tag
vùng hoang địa
Good term selection
Duy Doan
Entry #23678 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry1.751.75 (4 ratings)1.75 (4 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • No "like" tags
Entry #24110 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry1.701.60 (5 ratings)1.80 (5 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • No "like" tags
Entry #22667 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry1.401.40 (5 ratings)1.40 (5 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • No "like" tags