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por amable

English translation: a distorted image of a friendly Chinese regime

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Spanish term or phrase:imagen distorsionada, por amable, del régimen chino
English translation:a distorted image of a friendly Chinese regime
Entered by: María Teresa Taylor Oliver

20:54 Sep 14, 2018
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Social Sciences - Government / Politics
Spanish term or phrase: por amable
Estoy traduciendo este artículo de El País acerca de cómo China está intentando ganar influencia política en América Latina a través de inversiones, préstamos y proyectos:

China seduce a golpe de talonario a las élites de América Latina
https://elpais.com/internacional/2018/09/05/actualidad/15361...

Hay una frase cuyo sentido se me escapa (abajo entre asteriscos):

"En el ámbito periodístico, China ha cerrado en los últimos dos años acuerdos de colaboración y coproducción con diversos grupos mediáticos públicos y privados de la región, tanto audiovisuales como escritos. [...]
Pekín enmarca estos acuerdos en la retórica oficial del “conocimiento mutuo”, para lo cual despliega recursos para financiar proyectos periodísticos conjuntos y promover el intercambio de contenidos. Esta interpretación contrasta con quienes alertan sobre su objetivo oculto: producir para los medios latinoamericanos contenidos periodísticos y audiovisuales gratuitos que muestran una imagen distorsionada, *****por amable*****, del régimen chino."

Se me ocurre que pudiera ser "to say the least" pero no estoy segura. El periodista que escribió el artículo es español, así que supongo que es una frase común en esa variante.

Gracias de antemano.
María Teresa Taylor Oliver
Panama
Local time: 13:17
a distorted image of a regime that is acting mainly out of the goodness of its heart.
Explanation:
This is a rather free translation, but I am fairly sure that this is the idea of "por amable" here.

A more literal alternative could be something like:

a distorted image of a friendly Chinese regime


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Note added at 10 mins (2018-09-14 21:05:04 GMT)
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CHANGE:
It is critically important that "that is" be deleted from my suggested answer. Sorry for the carelessness!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 15 mins (2018-09-14 21:09:36 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

You are very welcome!

I hope that I am right. Let's see what others have to say. :)
Selected response from:

Robert Forstag
United States
Local time: 14:17
Grading comment
Thanks, everyone. I was overthinking this. And I still think the syntax in the original is kind of wonky.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +4a distorted image of a regime that is acting mainly out of the goodness of its heart.
Robert Forstag
3 +2because it is sympathetic
Ana Vozone
2 +2that present a friendly, and therefore distorted image, of XXX
Andy Watkinson
3 +1as being too kind - for being too nice
JohnMcDove
4that show a distorted image of the Chinese regime as friendly
David Hollywood


Discussion entries: 3





  

Answers


6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +4
una imagen distorsionada, por amable, del régimen chino.
a distorted image of a regime that is acting mainly out of the goodness of its heart.


Explanation:
This is a rather free translation, but I am fairly sure that this is the idea of "por amable" here.

A more literal alternative could be something like:

a distorted image of a friendly Chinese regime


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 10 mins (2018-09-14 21:05:04 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

CHANGE:
It is critically important that "that is" be deleted from my suggested answer. Sorry for the carelessness!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 15 mins (2018-09-14 21:09:36 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

You are very welcome!

I hope that I am right. Let's see what others have to say. :)

Robert Forstag
United States
Local time: 14:17
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 269
Grading comment
Thanks, everyone. I was overthinking this. And I still think the syntax in the original is kind of wonky.
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks, Robert! I'm severely sleep-deprived and I would never have been able to get all of that from that little phrase (it reads to me as if there were words missing). I was way off!


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  philgoddard: I agree with your final version. You could say "supposedly friendly" to make the meaning totally clear.
1 hr
  -> Perhaps "a distorted image of a supposedly friendly Chinese regime" would indeed convey the intended meaning most clearly. I personally do not think that "sympathetic" works here. Thank you, Phil.
agree  Marcelo González: I agree with your second option as well.
2 hrs
  -> Thank you, MG.
agree  neilmac: Never accept candy from strangers... :)
10 hrs
  -> Haha. Thank you, Neilmac.
agree  Lisa McCarthy
10 hrs
  -> Thank you, Lisa.
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51 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
because it is sympathetic


Explanation:
... media content which, because it is sympathetic, gives a distorted image of the Chinese regime.

Another way of saying that China is working with regional (Latin American) media to ensure "good press" regarding the Chinese regime.

Ana Vozone
Local time: 19:17
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 28

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  patinba: This is the meaning.
22 mins
  -> Thank you, patinba!
agree  bigedsenior: it is not unlikely that many of the press stories are being paid for by the Chinese gov´t. as part of their ongoing propaganda campaign. 'Follow the money'
21 hrs
  -> Thank you, bigedsenior!
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +2
that present a friendly, and therefore distorted image, of XXX


Explanation:
'nother one.

Andy Watkinson
Spain
Local time: 20:17
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 20

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Muriel Vasconcellos: Best so far. But your comma goes after 'distorted', not 'image',.
18 mins
agree  Stuart and Aida Nelson: The idea is right. I am not quite sure about therefore...
13 hrs
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
as being too kind - for being too nice


Explanation:
La idea en español es:

distorsionada o tergiversada por (ser demasiado) amable.

Es una imagen distorsionada hacia lo agradable.

Es como en la novela de Orwell, Animal Farm, (Rebelión en la granja), al final llevan al caballo más trabajador al matadero, pero la versión oficial es que le cuidaron hasta el último suspiro de su vida.

Obviamente es una imagen totalmente distorsionada "hacia lo positivo", "hacia lo agradable".

Puedes tener una distorsión tipo esperpento de Valle-Inclán, donde los personajes se distorsionan hacia lo negativo, la caricatura, o una "distorsión positiva", más falsa que Judas...

Si lees la novela "Mao's Last Dancer", sobre el "último bailarín de Mao", pinta una imagen bastante "fuerte", nada amable de la China comunista. Con "ejecuciones" de ciudadanos "burgueses", y otros detalles muy poco "amables".

Supongo que las demás aportaciones ya te indican lo que te digo aquí.

Solo lo aporto por si ayuda a una mejor comprensión.

En España también hablamos de "dorar la píldora", en el sentido de "endulzar la realidad"...

Saludos cordiales.

JohnMcDove
United States
Local time: 11:17
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in category: 16

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Stuart and Aida Nelson: la idea es correcta, por ser amable, así lo entendí yo también, tal vez sin 'toooooo' :)
13 hrs
  -> Muchas gracias. :-) El "too" está pero que muy implícito... ;-)
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
that show a distorted image of the Chinese regime as friendly


Explanation:
that show a distorted image of the Chinese regime as friendly

David Hollywood
Local time: 15:17
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 223
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