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English translation: He tried to forget the present, with all of its possible ramifications.

15:53 Jun 25, 2018
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Poetry & Literature
Spanish term or phrase: el presente y sus posibles bifurcaciones
Trató de olvidar el presente y sus posibles bifurcaciones

The uncertainties of the present?
Caiman
United States
Local time: 01:56
English translation:He tried to forget the present, with all of its possible ramifications.
Explanation:
Or "his present situation" instead of "the present."

Comments:
1.
As far as I can see, "sus posibles bifurcaciones" is a bit sloppy here (since the term "bifurcación" refers to the splitting of a single entity into two different branches).
2.
Even if my above assumption is wrong, I do not think that "bifurcations" would work in English, and it seems that "ramifications" would be a natural rendering of the intended meaning of the Spanish.
3.
"With all of its" is not present in the original, but it clearly seems implied that there are *many* possible ramifications of the present situation in which the referenced individual finds himself (which, incidentally, makes the choice of "bifurcaciones" here all the more odd and confusing).

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Note added at 1 hr (2018-06-25 17:16:38 GMT)
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“His” or “her,” as appropriate.

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Note added at 1 hr (2018-06-25 17:17:26 GMT)
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I meant “He” or “She.”
Selected response from:

Robert Forstag
United States
Local time: 01:56
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +2He tried to forget the present, with all of its possible ramifications.
Robert Forstag
4 +1the present and its possible bifurcations
Anthony Mazzorana (X)
3the present and its possible futures/paths/directions
Mónica Hanlan
3....the present and the possibilities likely to emerge from it
Francois Boye


Discussion entries: 4





  

Answers


23 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
the present and its possible futures/paths/directions


Explanation:
An idea to get the ball rolling but I agree with the discussion entries, more context is needed.


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Note added at 27 mins (2018-06-25 16:20:50 GMT)
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"turns" también puede ser.


Mónica Hanlan
United Kingdom
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in category: 12
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57 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
Trató de olvidar el presente y sus posibles bifurcaciones.
He tried to forget the present, with all of its possible ramifications.


Explanation:
Or "his present situation" instead of "the present."

Comments:
1.
As far as I can see, "sus posibles bifurcaciones" is a bit sloppy here (since the term "bifurcación" refers to the splitting of a single entity into two different branches).
2.
Even if my above assumption is wrong, I do not think that "bifurcations" would work in English, and it seems that "ramifications" would be a natural rendering of the intended meaning of the Spanish.
3.
"With all of its" is not present in the original, but it clearly seems implied that there are *many* possible ramifications of the present situation in which the referenced individual finds himself (which, incidentally, makes the choice of "bifurcaciones" here all the more odd and confusing).

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2018-06-25 17:16:38 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

“His” or “her,” as appropriate.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2018-06-25 17:17:26 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I meant “He” or “She.”

Robert Forstag
United States
Local time: 01:56
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 195
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Toni Castano: Without further context, I think "ramification" is a good option as it conveys the same degree of uncertainty as the original.
52 mins
  -> Thank you, Toni.
disagree  Sarah-Leah Pimentel: ramification wouldn't work in English. What about "he tried to forget the present and all of its possibilities"
2 hrs
  -> Like Charles, can see no reasonable objection to “ramifications” here,. I would further point out that supporting a “Disagree” with a comment that the answer in question “doesn’t work” really only “works” if the answer is truly awful. Not the case here.
agree  Charles Davis: I see no reasonable objection to "ramifications".
2 hrs
  -> Thank you, Charles!
agree  Rachel Fell: of course ramifications is OK
9 hrs
  -> Thank you, Rachel.
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
....the present and the possibilities likely to emerge from it


Explanation:
My take

Francois Boye
United States
Local time: 01:56
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 8
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

20 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
the present and its possible bifurcations


Explanation:
makes perfect sense to me. Bifurcations is not a common word, but it's understood.

Anthony Mazzorana (X)
United States
Local time: 01:56
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  philgoddard: It doesn't look like we're going to get any more context, but I think this works well. The idea is "where things could go next", whereas ramifications means implications or consequences.
5 hrs
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