Introduccin a la Traduccin Inversa Espaol-Ingls

Prof. Martha Gaustad

COLLOCATIONS
Collocation is the relationship between two words or groups of words that often go
together and form a common expression. If the expression is heard often, the words
become 'glued' together in our minds. 'Crystal clear', 'middle management' 'nuclear
family' and 'cosmetic surgery' are examples of collocated pairs of words. Some words
are often found together because they make up a compound noun, for example 'riding
boots' or 'motor cyclist'. Many collocations often have unique meanings that go beyond
the meaning of their elements in isolation. Compare, for example, dry weather, dry
river, or dry clothes. While they are collocations, they do not pose any particular
difficulty for the translator. However, dry wine, dry voice, or dry book do pose a
challenge as the meaning only becomes apparent through the contextualization of the
collocation as a whole.
English has many of these collocated expressions, which can be formed in a variety of
ways:
verb + noun -- take a vacation
adjective + noun -- light rain
adverb + verb -- completely forget
adverb + adjective -- totally awesome
adjective + preposition -- tired of
noun + noun -- a business deal

Collocations are one of the thorns in the side of non-native translators as there are no
rules concerning the coupling of elements; they are arbitrary usages that have become
firmly fixed in the language over time. Finding the appropriate collocation is not an
easy task but can be made easier with the proper resources: dictionaries such as Collins
Cobuild Advanced, Collins COBUILD English Collocations, the Oxford Collocations
Dictionary, the BBI Dictionary of English Collocation or the English Collocations in

Use Advanced. Online corpuses such as COCA are also helpful for documentation
purposes.
In what follows, you will find some exercises to practice typical collocations in
English and Spanish. Use COCA or other resources (mono- and bilingual
dictionaries, thesauri) to search for the correct answer.
1. How do words collocate differently in Spanish and English?
What things can you inducir or generar in Spanish? Can you induce or generate the
same things in English? Check on COCA to find out. Do the Spanish and English
collocations overlap? Are there other synonyms that would be more appropriate in
English?

2. The word has many translations with different meanings (polysemy). Which
should I use?
Your bilingual dictionary gives several translations for the word implantar: implant,
institute, establish, and implement. Your context is implantar un programa. Which of
the verbs is correct?
3. Adverb and verb collocations
In the following sentences one adverb goes more naturally with the verb than the
other two. Underline the correct adverb.
a. I strongly/greatly/firmly recommend that you consider the matter carefully
before making a decision.
b. I totally/greatly/seriously appreciate all that you have done for me.
c. Sometimes I deeply/totally/seriously wonder what were all doing here.
d. I feel very fully/strongly/firmly about the role of women in society.
e. We absolutely/deeply/fully regret the delay.
f. The city was totally/absolutely/fully destroyed after the fire.
g. I sincerely/totally/completely sympathize with your point of view.
h. Pablo Neruda is highly/widely/greatly thought to be the best poet of Latin
America.
i. I absolutely/completely/sincerely adore chocolate.
j. The cause of the accident will be entirely/greatly/fully investigated.
4. Adverb and adjective collocations.
Put a suitable intensifying adverb into each gap. There may be more than one
possibility.
a. Hello! Im ________________ sorry Im late.
b. How are you? _____________ exhausted.
c. He presented a strong case, but I wasnt ______________convinced.
d. I was __________ surprised by the answer.
e. She thought the exam was __________ difficult.

5. Adjective and noun collocations

One opposite of poor is, of course, rich; but this is only one meaning of poor. The
opposite of a poor diet is a balanced diet; the opposite of poor quality is high quality.
With the help of COCA, a dictionary, and an online thesaurus, look up the
different meanings of the adjectives below. Then choose the best antonym and
write it in the blank.
a. rich food
rich colour
b. calm sea

__________ food
__________ colour
__________ sea

calm person
c. bright light

__________ person
__________ light

bright student

__________ student

d. reasonable person

__________ person

reasonable price
e. plain wallpaper
plain architectural style

__________ price
__________ wallpaper
__________ architectural style

6. How can I know which synonym to use?

The word llegar in Spanish can be translated as reach and achieve in English. Find
the most frequent single nouns that follow each. Compare their usage. Do they overlap?
Can you deduce a rule from the usage?
REACH

ACHIEVE

7. Translate the following Spanish collocations into English:

Feliz Navidad
Feliz cumpleaos
llegar a un acuerdo

llegar lejos
tomar una decisin
tomar una foto
tipos de inters
tipos de casa
atencin primaria
prestar atencin
dar un paseo
dar la mano
lavarse los dientes
lavar los platos
saltarse el semforo
saltarse una clase