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  3. Poetry & Literature

uno de ellos era absorbido por la colina,

English translation: one of them was swallowed up by the hill

10:22 Dec 7, 2021
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature / Literature.
Spanish term or phrase: uno de ellos era absorbido por la colina,
I would like to know the best translation of this phrase from Latin American Spanish into American English. Translator colleagues from Spain, feel free to send me your suggestions as well. This is a translation about the story of Ali Baba and the 40 thieves.

Here is the full paragraph for your review:

se encontraban bordeando el acantilado, uno de ellos era absorbido por la colina, dejando un hueco oscuro y de grandes dimensiones por el que se introducían los demás hombres, con el primero a la cabeza.
yugoslavia
United States
Local time: 20:13
English translation:one of them was swallowed up by the hill
Explanation:
You could also consider rephrasing: ¨one of the large rocks along the edge of the cliff was swallowed up by the hill¨.
Another option would be ¨dissolved into the hill¨. I believe they sound better than the literal ¨was absorbed by the hill¨.
Selected response from:

Cecilia Gowar
United Kingdom
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +7one of them was swallowed up by the hill
Cecilia Gowar
5One of them was absorbed by the hill
Florian Martinez


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +7
one of them was swallowed up by the hill


Explanation:
You could also consider rephrasing: ¨one of the large rocks along the edge of the cliff was swallowed up by the hill¨.
Another option would be ¨dissolved into the hill¨. I believe they sound better than the literal ¨was absorbed by the hill¨.

Cecilia Gowar
United Kingdom
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in category: 227
Notes to answerer
Asker: Muchas gracias Cecilia.

Asker: Gracias Cecilia.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  liz askew
0 min
  -> Thanks Liz!
agree  Barbara Cochran, MFA: Nice! Often best to avoid the literal when it comes to literary translation,
1 hr
  -> Thanks Barbara!
agree  philgoddard
1 hr
  -> Thanks Phil!
agree  Simone Taylor
3 hrs
  -> Thanks Simone!
agree  Katarina Peters
3 hrs
  -> Thanks Katarina!
agree  Andrew Bramhall
3 hrs
  -> Thanks Andrew!
agree  neilmac
3 hrs
  -> Thanks Neil!
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14 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
One of them was absorbed by the hill


Explanation:
it is a metaphor, not quite usual but the author´s writing is proven clever.

Florian Martinez
Argentina
Local time: 21:13
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish
Notes to answerer
Asker: Muchas gracias Florian.

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