\"Solo era monte\"

English translation: all that was there was the forest

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Spanish term or phrase:\"Solo era monte\"
English translation:all that was there was the forest
Entered by: Barbara Cochran, MFA

18:31 Mar 22, 2017
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Forestry / Wood / Timber / conservacionismo
Spanish term or phrase: \"Solo era monte\"
Hola a todos. Estoy traduciendo un documental sobre la colonización de un pueblo en la selva de Misiones.
El Estado, en los '90, entregaba tierra a colonos que se instalaran allí para trabajar la tierra. Esa tierra es parte de un ecosistema muy diverso, la selva misionera. Pero para "trabajar" la tierra, ellos desmontaban, es decir que sacaban toda la vegetación nativa existente.

En el texto por el cual consulto, un colono dice: "cuando llegamos solo era monte". Aquí "monte" se refiere en realidad a la selva, pero no sé si sería lo más adecuado traducirlo como "forest"o hay un término más adecuado.

Desde ya muchas gracias por su ayuda.
Mercedes Rizzuti
Local time: 12:45
all that was there was the forest
Explanation:
Reference:

Larousse Unabridged Spanish/English Dictionary

monte=forest
Selected response from:

Barbara Cochran, MFA
United States
Local time: 11:45
Grading comment
Thank you all! You've been of great help once again :).
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +7It was just a wilderness/there was nothing but wilderness
Marie Wilson
5 +3all that was there was the forest
Barbara Cochran, MFA
4" There was nothing"
neilmac
3It was just a jungle
Jacob Z. (X)


  

Answers


15 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +7
It was just a wilderness/there was nothing but wilderness


Explanation:
The settler is contrasting the present situation to the one when he or she first arrived, and I think wilderness could be a suitable translation.
"When we first came here it was just a wilderness/there was only a wilderness/there was nothing but wilderness"

Marie Wilson
Spain
Local time: 16:45
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  12316323 (X): I like "nothing but wilderness" or "it was pure wilderness." I would never say "a" wilderness--it's uncountable, at least in the US.
22 mins
  -> Thanks, Kathryn. Yes, "pure wilderness" is good too. Interesting about it being uncountable in the US, in the Uk it's both, or at least I think so.

agree  neilmac: You misunderstand me. I still agree, but the asker reckons the wilderness is what was left after deforestation.
28 mins
  -> Thanks, Neil, even if you have changed your mind. Oh I see, thanks.

agree  Helena Chavarria
29 mins
  -> Thanks, Helena.

agree  Muriel Vasconcellos
52 mins
  -> Thanks, Muriel.

agree  JohnMcDove: Monte: 2. m. Tierra inculta cubierta de árboles, arbustos, matas o hierba.
4 hrs
  -> Thanks, John. Yes, that is my understanding of "monte", a general word for land covered in vegetation, in its natural state, untouched by man.

agree  Yvonne Gallagher
6 hrs
  -> Thanks, Gallagy.

agree  franglish
14 hrs
  -> Thanks, franglish.
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25 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +3
all that was there was the forest


Explanation:
Reference:

Larousse Unabridged Spanish/English Dictionary

monte=forest

Barbara Cochran, MFA
United States
Local time: 11:45
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thank you all! You've been of great help once again :).

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  neilmac: Now that I've seen before and after pictures, I think this is probably the best option.
26 mins
  -> Thanks, neil.

agree  Jessica Noyes: Rain forest to be a bit more precise, at least according to Wikipedia.
1 hr
  -> Thanks, Jessica.

agree  Robert Carter: Or "it was all forest".
5 hrs
  -> Thanks, Robert.
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43 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
" There was nothing"


Explanation:
"When we arrived here, there was nothing".
(Obviously it doesn't mean there was literally nothing, just that the colonists perceived nothing of interest/value)

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Note added at 44 mins (2017-03-22 19:16:39 GMT)
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Although a dictionary definition is "forest", I wouldn't use it myself, as a forest is full of useful things.

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Note added at 46 mins (2017-03-22 19:18:07 GMT)
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Here's another option: "It was just scrubland"...

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/scrubland

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Note added at 47 mins (2017-03-22 19:19:52 GMT)
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Yet again, the dictionary translation of "scrub/scrubland" is "matorral", but it's probably more akin to what the speaker is thinking of when they say "solo monte"...

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Note added at 49 mins (2017-03-22 19:21:30 GMT)
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OK. How about "there was nothing of value", if you feel that "there was nothing" may be taken too literally. What I'm trying to explain is that when people say "nothing", they don't mean absolute zero or absence of stuff; what they mean is that there is nothing they perceive as useful.

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Note added at 53 mins (2017-03-22 19:25:27 GMT)
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"When the colonists arrived, there was nothing but the rainforest"...

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Note added at 14 hrs (2017-03-23 08:56:18 GMT)
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NB: If you look at John McDove's definition above (Tierra inculta cubierta de árboles, arbustos, matas o hierba) you'll see it is exactly the same as for "matorral" (scrub or scrubland).


    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roanoke_Colony
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 16:45
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 28
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks Neil, but I think this is not the best option because the whole idea of the documentary is showing what was lost with deforestation when they "cleaned" the land for agriculture. So, saying "there was nothing" almost shows a picture of what happened afterwards.

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1 day 44 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
It was just a jungle


Explanation:
I think some of the other suggestions are good, but as another option you might consider using the term "jungle" -- "it was just a jungle", "it was nothing but jungle". I think in that region (Misiones) what was being cleared was tropical rainforest, often referred to as jungle in layman's terms.

http://www.todo-argentina.net/geografia/provincias/misiones/...
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selva_misionera

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Note added at 1 day1 hr (2017-03-23 20:12:49 GMT)
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jungle

Jacob Z. (X)
United States
Local time: 08:45
Native speaker of: English
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