Saturday 24 March 2007

AKTUALNY (part 1)


So many people translate this word into English as 'actual' and obviously it's wrong ('actual' means 'faktyczny', 'rzeczywisty'). Kozłowska presents more than 20 different translations of the word 'aktualny'; some of them can be used interchangebly while others only in ceratian contexts (depending on the noun they accompany).

The word 'aktualny' can be translated as (in brackets you can find nouns that collocate with these adjectives):

1. apt (comment, criticism, statement, opinion, remark)
E.g. To bardzo aktualna uwaga! - That's a very apt comment!

2. current (girl-friend, price, rate, problems, difficulty, worry, task, job, dispute, negotiations, contract, talks)
E.g. Czy nie wiemsz przypadkiem, jaka jest aktualna cena złota? - Do you happen to know the current price of gold?
Praca ta po aktualnych cenach nie opłaca się - At the current rates that job doesn't pay.

3. present (address, job, difficulties)
E.g. Czy znasz jego aktualny adres? (not neccessarily changed) - Do you know his present address?

4. new (address)
E.g. Wydawnictwo przekazało nam swój aktualny adres (presumably changed) - The publishers gave us their new address.

5. present-day (situation)
E.g. Aktualna sytuacja na świecie nie jest wesoła - The present-day world situation doesn't look too good.

6. up-to-date (timetable, list, information)
E.g. Czy ten plan zajęć jest nadal aktualny? - Is this timetable up-to-date?

7. latest (girl-friend, list, news)
E.g. Przesyłamy wam aktualny cennik na części. - Enclosed pleased find the latest (or an up-to-date) price list for spare parts.

8. recent (news)
E.g. Czy masz o nich aktualne wiadomości? - Do you have any recent news of them?

9. topical (subject)
E.g. Wojna na Bliskim Wschodzie to jeszcze bardzo aktualny temat w gazetach. - The war in the Middle East is still a very topical subject./ ... very much in the news./ ... hitting the headlines.

Hope you learned sth new

pavlow

1 comment:

Marta F said...

Hi, you don't know me, I'm a last year TTC graduate and I really like the translation idea for your blog. I'm gonna 'scrutinize' it, if you don't mind :)

As far as I'm concerned, the problem with the word "aktualny" you are referring to is very common. Some dictionaries give only one translation of this word, say "topical" and then people get confused. Listen to how crazy it sounds: "Do you know his TOPICAL address?" The problem is, some English learners look at the first given equivalent, instead of going deeper. They think of a word, go to a bilingual dictonary and then create such weird sentences ;)

Being given a Polish-English translation question, I usually double check the word's meaning in a monolingual dictionary where it is used in an exemplary sentence. This irritates my bf who wants quick answers, like a sort of fast food, as I see it. You eat it but it only litters and stuffs your stomach. No vitamins included ;)

Anyway, can't wait for your new posts.