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Participación Concreta
(paquetes con vegetal verde y seco afectos)
Dec 16, 2021 19:38
2 yrs ago
51 viewers *
Spanish term

Profesora Doctora

Spanish to English Social Sciences Education / Pedagogy Forms of address
SPAIN. I'm translating an article and the author signs her name as "Prfa. Dra. Name, Surname, Surname"... which seems a bit overkill to me. Usually I'd either address the person as Professor (Prof.) or (Doctor (Dr.), but not both at the same time. So, my dilemma is, how should I translate this form of address into English?
Proposed translations (English)
3 +1 Prof. Dr.
4 +1 Professor
4 +1 Professor of X, Dr. XX
References
Refs.

Discussion

neilmac (asker) Dec 17, 2021:
Update I don't think the client is a full professor, just a lecturer with a doctorate. However, I might just go with the literal translation, as it's not a dealbreaker and I really just wondered how colleagues would approach it. And as usual, my first choice is UK English, although information about the American system is also useful.
Taña Dalglish Dec 17, 2021:
@ Peter Neil: While this may be a late ask, are you translating into British or American English? I know you tend to go into British most of the time, but I have to ask the question. I tend to agree with Peter here that Dr, IMO, is the simplest, and correct rendering. Regards.
peter jackson Dec 16, 2021:
I believe the person in question is using profesora doctora as their job title, which does not correspond to Professor in Britain, since, as has been mentioned here, Professor in Britain is the highest position possible, which here in Spain is Catedrática. In British English i believe the standard translation for profesor doctor is lecturer but given that lecturer xxx is not used as a title I’d suggest Dr. is the simplest rendering.
Barbara Cochran, MFA Dec 16, 2021:
Doctorate Programs In Spain Different kinds of programs, offered in Spain, in which you can study for a doctorate degree : https://www.phddoctorado.com/Doctorado-PhD/Psicología/Espana...
Barbara Cochran, MFA Dec 16, 2021:
The term "Dr." is indeed used in the UK, esp. if one is a FULL professor: https://academicpositions.com/career-advice/what-should-i-ca...
peter jackson Dec 16, 2021:
As far as I understand the system in Spain, profesor/profesora doctor/doctora corresponds in a British university to the level of lecturer, a post in which people would simply call themselves Dr. xxxx. I am not sure but I doubt, from my experience, that a person calling themselves profesora doctora is a catedrática, which would be Professor in Britain.

Proposed translations

+1
35 mins
Selected

Prof. Dr.


Since this is a translation, I would suggest to use both Professor and Doctor as in the title. This is common in other countries and the person might be offended if you take one title out of her signature.

As most people know, anyone who holds the title of “doctor” has achieved a Ph.D. in a certain field of study, but it can be interchangeable with professor. Of course, out of respect, some professors wish to be called doctor if they have achieved a doctorate degree.

https://cuchimes.com/11/2019/difference-between-titles-profe...

In the UK is it proper to address an academic professor with a PhD as Doctor?

So, in the UK, an academic whose title is ‘Dr’ is someone who’s got a PhD, but hasn’t been promoted to the highest academic grade, while an academic whose title is ‘Professor’ is someone who probably (but not necessarily) has a PhD, but who has been promoted to the highest grade on the university pay scale. Professorship therefore denotes seniority and status.

https://www.quora.com/In-the-UK-is-it-proper-to-address-an-a...
Note from asker:
I'll probably just go with this in a literal translation, although I suspect she is just a lecturer with a doctorate, rather than a full professor.
Peer comment(s):
agree Adrian MM. : a cousin of mine is both Prof. and Dr. in Vienna, both titles part of his name and appearing on his Austrian passport.
3 hrs
Thank you, Adrian, your opinion is much appreciated.
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "In the end I just left it as Prof. Dr., since it isn't really all that important. Thanks to everyone again for all the help, links and comments. And season's greetings to you all!"
+1
26 mins

Professor

English just gives the highest qualification - most professors have doctorates anyway.
Peer comment(s):
agree Marie Wilson
1 hr
neutral Adrian MM. : This misses the point that Dr. is or used to be part of the name, included on passports, in countries like Germany + Austria. // That's odd, because a Dr.-stripped client threatened to sue my translation office in London for defamation + prof. neg.
3 hrs
I'm not missing any point, thank you.
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+1
13 mins

Professor of X, Dr. XX

Something like "Professor of Linguistics, Dr. X". or "Dr. X, Professor of Linguistics", if preferred, or of whatever her academic specialization or advanced degree is in. Don't know if it is any different in the UK, though.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 21 mins (2021-12-16 19:59:56 GMT)
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Here is one example of someone whom I quoted in my most recent Italian-language paper, which I wrote on "lapsus linguae", in the Italian language :

https://smhs.gwu.edu/neuroscience/events/gwinspeech-and-hear...

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Note added at 15 hrs (2021-12-17 11:30:09 GMT)
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Well, then I would go with what someone suggested above, just "Dr."
Note from asker:
OK, but the problem is she hasn't specified what her degree or qualifications are. She simply signs off as "Profesora Doctora".
Peer comment(s):
agree Adrian MM. : I have an Austrian cousin who is Prof. Emeritus AM, Dr. of Operations Research + Actuarial Studies
3 hrs
Thank you, Adrian. I have a couple of PhD-level relatives myself, but not Professors Emeriti!
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Reference comments

22 mins
Reference:

Refs.

https://www.linguee.com/spanish-english/translation/profesor... (I don't use Linguee often as I do not find them particularly reliable)

External sources (not reviewed):
Susana Beltrán es **profesora doctora** de Derecho Internacional Público (UAB), acreditada en investigación (AQUCat) y PCD (ANECA). cidob.org
Susana Beltrán is a **Permanent Lecturer** in International Public Law (UAB) and an Accredited Lecturer in research (AQUCat) and PCD (ANECA). cidob.org

I agree with you that "Professor Doctor" seems to be overkill.
**Profesora doctora** en la Facultad de Ciencias Políticas y Sociología, Universidad Complutense, Madrid (España) metropolis-server.com
**Professor Doctor** at the Faculty of Political Sciences and Sociology, University of Complutense, Madrid (Spain) metropolis-server.com

Another option I saw was "Tenured Professor". Here:
Profesor Doctor Erimeier - Translation into English - Reverso https://context.reverso.net/translation/spanish-english/Prof...
Se mudó a la UCLA como profesora doctora de Matemáticas en 1987. She moved to UCLA as a tenured Professor of Mathematics in 1987.

Is Professor higher than Doctor?
It is widely accepted that the academic title of Professor is higher than a Doctor, given that the job title of professor is the highest academic position possible at a university. Remember that the Doctor title here refers specially to a PhD (or equivalent doctoral degree) holder and not a medical doctor.18 Aug 2020

Is it better to say professor or Doctor?
If someone is a Professor, i.e. that is their actual job title, rather than Lecturer or Reader, then you should never refer to them as Doctor. If you are going to address them formally as Title Surname, then the appropriate title is Professor. If they are not a Professor but have a PhD, then you can say Dr.

Is professor the highest degree?
'Dr' denotes someone who has studied for, and been awarded, a PhD, so it denotes an academic qualification: the holder of the highest university degree. ... 'Professor' doesn't denote a qualification but an academic staff grade – the most senior one.
Note from asker:
As you noted above, I usually prefer UK English to USA, because I come from the former. So, my translation will be in UK English, although information about the US system is always interesting.
Peer comments on this reference comment:
agree O G V : Hi, Taña, would it make sense to adapt it as “doctor teacher”? // muy bien, pero un doctor no tiene por qué ser profesor, y de alguna forma hay que decir que da clases y no es "professor"
7 hrs
Thank you. As I said in the discussion box and I concur with Peter, IMO, Dr alone is fine for a UK audience, as well as a US audience, whichever is applicable./Hmm! I've seen "Tenured Professor" too//We still don't know 100% if UK or US applicable!
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