Apr 30, 2022 03:08
2 yrs ago
15 viewers *
Spanish term

esté / resuelva

Spanish to English Tech/Engineering Automotive / Cars & Trucks Issues of energy transition and the role of electric cars
My question is how the use of the subjunctive (esté, resuelva) in the last sentence of the Spanish text below might affect how it should be translated.

Sin embargo, el coche eléctrico sigue siendo un bien muy dependiente de los combustibles fósiles y los recursos no renovables: el grueso de la electricidad se sigue generando con combustibles fósiles, lo que hace que el ahorro de emisiones de CO2 sea relativo, y exige la utilización de seis veces más inputs materiales y minerales que un coche convencional. Debido en parte a lo anterior, en análisis de ciclo de vida completo se utiliza un 67% más energía que en la fabricación de un coche convencional. Y todo ello sin contar las exigencias para el sistema eléctrico que dicha generalización tendría en términos de recarga del mismo número de vehículos convencionales que en la actualidad. Eso explica que, lejos de ayudar en los procesos de descarbonización, la plena sustitución a escala mundial de la flota de vehículos convencionales por eléctricos ESTÉ [my emphasis, for purposes of asking this translation question] siendo tan lenta y no RESUELVA [my emphasis] los problemas de cambio climático sino que, fruto del efecto rebote, tienda a agravarlos.

The current translation draft for the last sentence above says: "This explains why, far from furthering decarbonization processes, a full substitution of the fleet of conventional vehicles with electric ones, on a world scale, is taking place very slowly and does not resolve the problem of climate change. Rather, as a consequence of the rebound effect, it tends to aggravate them."

Does the use of the subjunctive "esté" and "resuelva" change how the sentence should be translated into English?

This is a paper for an academic journal on energy issues.

Thank you.

Proposed translations

5 hrs

is/has been so slow and does not solve

Literally "is being", but we wouldn't say that.

I think you should also break the long sentence down into shorter ones.
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14 hrs
Spanish term (edited): esté

perceived as being

Use of the subjunctive in Spanish varies a lot from one country to another – and also depends on the individual writer and the context.
The ‘rule’ I learnt 50+ years ago (in Guatemala, where use of the subjunctive often seemed to out-strip that of the indicative even in general conversation) was “when in doubt use the subjunctive”. However, some writers (more-especially folk seeking recognition for their academic prowess) take this to extremes and use the subjunctive when theorizing about matters of ‘cause and effect’, or setting out hypotheses.
The subjunctives (all 3 of them...) in the statement (...) la plena sustitución (...) ESTÉ siendo tan lenta y no RESUELVA los problemas de cambio climático sino que, fruto del efecto rebote, TIENDA [also in the subjunctive] a agravarlos. inform the reader that all this is conjecture on the part of the writer, rather than a statement of demonstrable fact.
This is an important part of the semantics that needs to be transferred to the English translation – and all the more so in an academic paper.
Any attempt to emulate the Spanish subjunctive through the use of obscure English verb forms will be, at best, clumsy. It will be better to paraphrase, for example:
(…) the full substitution (…) might be perceived as being so slow while not actually resolving the problems, (…) , may even seem to be exacerbating them.



Peer comment(s):

neutral philgoddard : I don't see how you arrive at "is perceived as". This is one person's opinion, not the whole of society's.
5 hrs
Not necessarily. It can be one person's (the writer's) understanding of how a large sector of society perceives something. Either way, the writer is avoiding the indicative mood in order to denote a degree of uncertainty.
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