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

Competition in this pair is now closed.

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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 7 entries submitted in this pair during the submission phase. Not enough votes were submitted by peers for a winning entry to be determined.

Competition in this pair is now closed.


Entries (7 total) Expand all entries

Entry #22853 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Ettienne van Zyl
Ettienne van Zyl
South Africa
Voting points1st2nd3rd
172 x44 x21 x1
Entry tagging:
  • 2 users entered 5 "like" tags
  • 1 user disagreed with "likes" (1 total disagree)
-1
1
n geskiedenisprofessor, skryf vanuit sy toevlug in die Sorbonne, en Erling Kagge, ’n Noorweegse ontdekkingsreisiger, van sy herinneringe aan die wildernis van Antarktika, waar albei probeer ontsnap
Good term selection
Theron le Roux (X)
vergange
Good term selection
Theron le Roux (X)
beslaan
Good term selection
Theron le Roux (X)
bring dit ons soms eerder van stryk as dat ons dit verwelkom.
Flows well
Veneto Keyter
fikseer instinktief op enigiets, hetsy dit die gesis van die vuur of voëlgesang of die geritsel van blare is, wat dit sal verlos van hierdie ongekende leegheid. Mense wil stilte hê, maar nie te veel
Good term selection
Consider u​sing "óf..​.óf".
Link: https://af​.wikipedia​.org/wiki/​Akuut-akse​ntteken
Theron le Roux (X)
Entry #22690 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Veneto Keyter
Veneto Keyter
South Africa
Voting points1st2nd3rd
102 x402 x1
Entry tagging:
  • 1 user entered 2 "like" tags
hoefysters
Good term selection
Theron le Roux (X)
ó
Flows well
Theron le Roux (X)
Entry #22856 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Voting points1st2nd3rd
71 x41 x21 x1
Entry tagging:
  • 1 user entered 1 "like" tag
  • 1 user agreed with "likes" (1 total agree)
+1
1
toevlugsoord
Good term selection
Veneto Keyter
Entry #23719 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Anita du Plessis
Anita du Plessis
South Africa
Voting points1st2nd3rd
703 x21 x1
Entry tagging:
  • 1 user entered 1 "like" tag
  • 1 user agreed with "likes" (1 total agree)
+1
so ook die kersie-, viooltjie-, en varsmakrielverkopers.
Good term selection
Theron le Roux (X)
Entry #22910 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Voting points1st2nd3rd
41 x400
Entry tagging:
  • 1 user entered 3 "like" tags
  • 1 user agreed with "likes" (1 total agree)
  • 1 user disagreed with "likes" (1 total disagree)
ewigdurende stroom
Flows well
Theron le Roux (X)
-1
1
geslagte
Good term selection
Theron le Roux (X)
+1
plotseling
Good term selection
Theron le Roux (X)
Entry #22916 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Melinda Walraven
Melinda Walraven
Netherlands
Voting points1st2nd3rd
1001 x1
Entry tagging:
  • 1 user entered 2 "like" tags
  • 1 user disagreed with "likes" (1 total disagree)
Hulle het dit uit volle bors geadverteer
Good term selection
Veneto Keyter
-1
1
roesmoes
Good term selection
Veneto Keyter
Entry #23381 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Voting points1st2nd3rd
602 x22 x1
Entry tagging:
  • 2 users entered 6 "like" tags
  • 1 user disagreed with "likes" (3 total disagrees)
-1
1
veilige hawe
Good term selection
Theron le Roux (X)
Noorweegse ontdekkingsreisiger
Good term selection
Theron le Roux (X)
Voor vrywillige isolasie op selfone, het busse en treine gedreun met gesprekke
Flows well
Theron le Roux (X)
toejuigings en uitjouings
Flows well
dit is 'n ​baie goeie​ weergawe ​van die oo​rspronklik​e skrywer ​se bedoeli​ng en taal​gebruik
Veneto Keyter
-1
1
kleinboere
Good term selection
Theron le Roux (X)
-1
1
maar die vlak van afleiding wat dit inhou vir die omgewing wat daardie geraas mag binnedring
Flows well
Theron le Roux (X)