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Tribunal
fue la principal constante
Feb 27, 2019 22:38
5 yrs ago
13 viewers *
Spanish term

vivienda digna

Spanish to English Art/Literary Journalism Fotoreportage
Appears throughout the text (footers of a photo report about the impact of mass tourism in Barcelona). Context: due to tourism, rent levels for the locals are rising, tenants suffer real estate mobbing, etc.) I translated the term as "decent housing" because that is how it is usually translated, however the client wants a more literal translation. He proposes "worthy housing" but I don't believe anybody would even get the meaning of that term... any ideas? The only other term that occurs to me is "adequate housing", but that's even further away from "digno" than "decent".

Thanks a lot in advance!

Julia
Proposed translations (English)
3 +2 respectable housing
4 +4 decent housing
4 suitable housing
3 dignified housing

Discussion

Julia Eggers (asker) Feb 28, 2019:
Good news. In the end my client accepted the term "decent". Now I don't know who should get the points for the best answer, they were all helpful, really.

Thank you!
Sara Fairen Feb 28, 2019:
What about “to live in dignity”? Instead of, say, “ensure access to decent/adequate housing”, you could say “ensure that they can live in dignity”.

https://www.nesri.org/programs/what-is-the-human-right-to-ho...
Everyone has a fundamental human right to housing, which ensures access to a safe, secure, habitable, and affordable home with freedom from forced eviction. It is the government’s obligation to guarantee that everyone can exercise this right to live in security, peace, and dignity.
Julia Eggers (asker) Feb 28, 2019:
Exactly, Charles. You basically wrote a resume of the text I am translating here ;-)
Julia Eggers (asker) Feb 28, 2019:
Gracias, Charles. A ver si consigo venderle el término "respectable" :-)

Real estate mobbing, also known as property mobbing, is the use of mobbing[1] techniques to constructively or forcibly evict a legal resident or owner from his or her dwelling (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_estate_mobbing)
Charles Davis Feb 28, 2019:
I've never heard of "real estate mobbing", but I presume it means tenants being harrassed to try to get them to leave, so that the landlord can make more money, with fewer responsibilities, through short lets (AirBnB etc.).

Residential rented accommodation is becoming scarce and expensive in Valencia, where I live, and I believe the same is true in Barcelona. Vacation letting is definitely growing, and the two are generally thought to be connected. Tenants are facing exorbitant demands from letting agencies and often finding that faults are not repaired, and so on.
Charles Davis Feb 28, 2019:
I expect he will love it, and it does get some authentic English Google hits (not very many, but some). To me personally it doesn't seem idiomatic, and indeed I don't think "digno" means dignified here. It can mean that ("Que tiene dignidad o se comporta con ella"), but in this context the meaning is surely "Que puede aceptarse o usarse sin desdoro. Salario digno. Vivienda digna" (DLE definitions 3 and 5: https://dle.rae.es/?id=DldD5zV ). So it really means "not demeaning". Compatible with human dignity, if you like, but not "dignified".
philgoddard Feb 28, 2019:
I agree with Charles, though if the term keeps coming up you may have to find synonyms to avoid excessive repetition.
What's real estate mobbing?
Julia Eggers (asker) Feb 28, 2019:
Any more opinions about "dignified housing"? I am sure my client will love that one, he wants everything as literal as possible. The term does have a lot of hits on Google, but I'd never heard it before, so I would like to make sure it's possible to use it, even though "decent" or "respectable" surely are more idiomatic... thank you!
Julia Eggers (asker) Feb 27, 2019:
Haha, well yes, clients who don't understand a single word of the target language are definitely the easier ones... on the other hand I am learning new terms here, so there's a positive side to it.
Charles Davis Feb 27, 2019:
Don't you hate it when clients do this? "Decent housing" is obviously the best translation.
Julia Eggers (asker) Feb 27, 2019:
Oh, that sounds great. Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks already :-)

Proposed translations

+2
37 mins
Selected

respectable housing

Just an idea, but I think it reflects “decency”, “worthiness” and possibly even “dignity”.
Reference:

https://www.thesaurus.com/browse/respectable?s=t

Peer comment(s):
agree Charles Davis : If you can't use "decent", this is a good alternative.
11 mins
But I think we all agree it should be “decent”.
agree Wilsonn Perez Reyes : Also: "acceptable".
1 hr
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "In the end the client accepted "decent", but it's always good to know about alternatives, thank you."
6 mins

dignified housing

Something went wrong...
+4
7 hrs

decent housing

That's the translation used in the Organization of American States.
Peer comment(s):
agree Charles Davis : And they're absolutely right, Muriel; that's what I would use myself. Unfortunately, Julau's client has perversely rejected it, so she's got to find something else.
52 mins
Thank you, Charles! Maybe the Agrees willl persuade them.
agree Elizabeth Joy Pitt de Morales
3 hrs
Thank you, Elizabeth!
agree philgoddard
7 hrs
Thank you, Phil!
agree Robert Forstag
8 hrs
Thank yoiu, Robert!
Something went wrong...
13 hrs

suitable housing

I think this exactly expresses the meaning, in a term that you would find in an English text on the subject, which is not the case of some of the other suggestions.
Something went wrong...
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