Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
naufragar a (in this context)
English translation:
find themselves adrift; drift into
Spanish term
naufragar a (in this context)
Drift? TIA!
Non-PRO (1): philgoddard
When entering new questions, KudoZ askers are given an opportunity* to classify the difficulty of their questions as 'easy' or 'pro'. If you feel a question marked 'easy' should actually be marked 'pro', and if you have earned more than 20 KudoZ points, you can click the "Vote PRO" button to recommend that change.
How to tell the difference between "easy" and "pro" questions:
An easy question is one that any bilingual person would be able to answer correctly. (Or in the case of monolingual questions, an easy question is one that any native speaker of the language would be able to answer correctly.)
A pro question is anything else... in other words, any question that requires knowledge or skills that are specialized (even slightly).
Another way to think of the difficulty levels is this: an easy question is one that deals with everyday conversation. A pro question is anything else.
When deciding between easy and pro, err on the side of pro. Most questions will be pro.
* Note: non-member askers are not given the option of entering 'pro' questions; the only way for their questions to be classified as 'pro' is for a ProZ.com member or members to re-classify it.
Proposed translations
United States
Each translation a gem!
Native in: English (Variant: US) 
Works in: Spanish to English, Portuguese to English
find themselves adrift
| Thank you, Muriel. |
| agree |
Danik 2014
2 hrs
|
|
Thanks, Danik!
|
|
| agree |
María Paula Gorgone
6 hrs
|
|
Thanks!
|
|
| agree |
Sophie Cherel
7 hrs
|
|
Thanks, Sophie!
|
|
| agree |
neilmac
: Been there...
10 hrs
|
|
Funny.
|
United States
Laudable Lady Linguist
Native in: English 
Works in: Spanish to English, French to English, English to Spanish, and 3 more.
they become castaways in an unknown world
I think that the use of the word is meant to have a bit of a pejorative tone to it.
| Thank you, Barbara. |
| agree |
philgoddard
25 mins
|
|
Thanks, philgoddard.
|
|
| agree |
Adoración Bodoque Martínez
7 hrs
|
|
Gracias, Adoración.
|
wash up on an unknown world
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 8 hrs (2015-06-15 08:37:25 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
how can you be castaway or adrift on an unknown world?
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 8 hrs (2015-06-15 08:47:12 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
cast away on an unknown world maybe
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 8 hrs (2015-06-15 08:49:38 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
castaway
adjective cast·away \ˈkast-ə-ˌwā\
Definition of CASTAWAY
1
: thrown away : rejected
2
a : cast adrift or ashore as a survivor of a shipwreck
b : thrown out or left without friends or resources
| Thanks, Billh. |
| agree |
ormiston
: why not 'they drifted into an unknown world'?
24 mins
|
|
indeed. Thanks
|
shipwrecked in
Looking through a list of search results for "naufragar a", I can find several examples (some in Spanish and also a couple in Catalan and Portuguese") where this construction is used in news headlines to indicate the location of a shipwreck or ship sinking. For example:
http://www.tiempodehoy.com/espana/buscan-a-cinco-marineros-d...
http://www.ccma.cat/324/troben-mort-el-propietari-del-ferri-...
http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/carballo/laxe/2015/03/2...
http://elpais.com/diario/2004/08/22/espana/1093125603_850215...
| That is exactly what I was thinking when I woke up this morning. Thank you, James C.! |
United Kingdom
I read the Alethiometer
Native in: Spanish
Works in: English to Spanish, Spanish to English, French to Spanish, and 1 more.
plunge into
That is what I would say, given the context. Hope it helps! xx
| Thanks, Cecilia. |
Discussion
"Volar es hacer que las cosas se vuelvan pequeñas. Hay otras formas de hacerlo. El viaje por tierra o por mar es una de ellas. Al visitar otros países y conocer nuevas costumbres, el viajero toma distancia de su entorno habitual, mira de diferente modo, descubre relaciones insospechadas entre los paisajes, las personas y las historias que hay detrás: de los paisajes, de las personas y de sí mismo."