Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Italian term or phrase:
per assurdo
English translation:
far-fetched/ for some strange reason
Added to glossary by
Maria Burnett
Feb 5, 2011 19:31
13 yrs ago
6 viewers *
Italian term
United States
Stylish, well-researched translation
Native in: Italian 
, English (Variants: UK, US)
Works in: Italian to English
per assurdo
Italian to English
Art/Literary
Poetry & Literature
novel
the term reoccurs three times in the paragraph:
La mia è più una predisposizione mentale, un ragionare “per assurdo”: se, “per assurdo”, mi offrissero la possibilità di vagare per lo spazio
would "by chance" be correct or not? thanks a lot.
La mia è più una predisposizione mentale, un ragionare “per assurdo”: se, “per assurdo”, mi offrissero la possibilità di vagare per lo spazio
would "by chance" be correct or not? thanks a lot.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +1 | far-fetched/ for some strange reason |
Oliver Lawrence
|
| 4 | if, for some unknown reason, ... |
Sara Maghini
|
| 4 | if, by chance |
crazy_diamond
|
| 3 | in the unlikely event / in the hypothesis |
Maria Panizzi
|
Proposed translations
+1
1 hr
Oliver Lawrence
Italy
Italy
Native in English
Works in field
Italy
Texts with zest by a Chartered Linguist
Native in: English (Variants: UK, British)
Works in: Italian to English, English
Related KudoZ points
:
158
Selected
far-fetched/ for some strange reason
Off the top of my head, no direct solution springs to mind that can be repeated in all occurrences, but I think the above combination should work
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
16 mins
Sara Maghini
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in Italian
Works in field
United Kingdom
Award-winning Italian translator
Native in: Italian (Variant: Standard-Italy)
Works in: English to Italian, French to Italian
Related KudoZ points
:
15
if, for some unknown reason, ...
Or "imagine (if) someone offered me..." or "fancy someone offered me" (old-fashioned, I know!).
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Oliver Lawrence
: it would be "fancy someone offering me" or "fancy if someone offered me"
1 hr
|
|
Yes, I forgot the second 'if'!
|
3 hrs
crazy_diamond
Sweden
Sweden
Native in English
Sweden
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, Italian to English, Afrikaans to English, and 7 more.
if, by chance
Just a variation on pervious proposals really, and I agree with your first suggestion:
"un ragionare per assurdo" = reasoning/proof by contradiction (see link)
and
"se, per assurdo" = if, by (some remote) chance
"un ragionare per assurdo" = reasoning/proof by contradiction (see link)
and
"se, per assurdo" = if, by (some remote) chance
5 hrs
Maria Panizzi
Italy
Italy
Native in Italian
Specializes in field
Italy
Special words for special people
Native in: Italian
Works in: Italian, Italian to English, English to Italian
in the unlikely event / in the hypothesis
...
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