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17th Translation Contest: "The Sounds of Silence" » English to Hebrew

Competition in this pair is now closed, and the winning entry has been announced.

Discussion and feedback about the competition in this language pair may now be provided by visiting the "Discussion & feedback" page for this pair. Entries may also be individually discussed by clicking the "Discuss" link next to any listed entry.

Source text in English

A theme of the age, at least in the developed world, is that people crave silence and can find none. The roar of traffic, the ceaseless beep of phones, digital announcements in buses and trains, TV sets blaring even in empty offices, are an endless battery and distraction. The human race is exhausting itself with noise and longs for its opposite—whether in the wilds, on the wide ocean or in some retreat dedicated to stillness and concentration. Alain Corbin, a history professor, writes from his refuge in the Sorbonne, and Erling Kagge, a Norwegian explorer, from his memories of the wastes of Antarctica, where both have tried to escape.

And yet, as Mr Corbin points out in "A History of Silence", there is probably no more noise than there used to be. Before pneumatic tyres, city streets were full of the deafening clang of metal-rimmed wheels and horseshoes on stone. Before voluntary isolation on mobile phones, buses and trains rang with conversation. Newspaper-sellers did not leave their wares in a mute pile, but advertised them at top volume, as did vendors of cherries, violets and fresh mackerel. The theatre and the opera were a chaos of huzzahs and barracking. Even in the countryside, peasants sang as they drudged. They don’t sing now.

What has changed is not so much the level of noise, which previous centuries also complained about, but the level of distraction, which occupies the space that silence might invade. There looms another paradox, because when it does invade—in the depths of a pine forest, in the naked desert, in a suddenly vacated room—it often proves unnerving rather than welcome. Dread creeps in; the ear instinctively fastens on anything, whether fire-hiss or bird call or susurrus of leaves, that will save it from this unknown emptiness. People want silence, but not that much.

The winning entry has been announced in this pair.

There were 16 entries submitted in this pair during the submission phase, 3 of which were selected by peers to advance to the finals round. The winning entry was determined based on finals round voting by peers.

Competition in this pair is now closed.


Entries (16 total; 3 finalists) Expand all entries

Entry #23020 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Lingopro
Lingopro
Israel
Winner
Voting points1st2nd3rd
307 x402 x1
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.843.89 (9 ratings)3.78 (9 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 3 users entered 6 "like" tags
  • 3 users disagreed with "likes" (5 total disagrees)
-2
2
מוטיב
Good term selection
Itzik Greenvald Mivtach
שממת
Good term selection
Tamar Beneli (X)
-2
2
לפני בואם של הצמיגים הממולאים באוויר, סאנו רחובות הערים ברעש מחריש אוזניים של קרקוש גלגלי הברזל ופרסות הסוסים על אבנים
Flows well
Itzik Greenvald Mivtach
-1
1
בבליל של שיחות
Flows well
SolChas
הם אינם שרים עוד.
Flows well
SolChas
לא מידת הרעש, שעליה התלוננו גם במאות הקודמות, היא זו שהשתנתה, אלא מידת הסחת הדעת, הממלאת את החלל שאליו יכול היה לפלוש השקט
Flows well
Itzik Greenvald Mivtach
Entry #23788 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Finalist
Voting points1st2nd3rd
141 x44 x22 x1
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.383.50 (8 ratings)3.25 (8 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 2 users entered 6 "like" tags
  • 3 users agreed with "likes" (5 total agrees)
  • 3 users disagreed with "likes" (4 total disagrees)
-1
+2
2
טענה רווחת בזמננו, לפחות בעולם המפותח, היא שאנשים משתוקקים לדממה ולא יכולים למצוא אותה
Flows well
Itzik Greenvald Mivtach
+1
השממה
Good term selection
Itzik Greenvald Mivtach
+1
לפני הצמיגים הפנאומטיים, רחובות הערים היו מלאים בהדהוד מחריש האוזניים של גלגלים מחושקי מתכת ופרסות סוסים על אבן.
Flows well
Itzik Greenvald Mivtach
+1
קריאות שמחה וגנאי
Flows well
SolChas
-1
1
עמל יומם
Flows well
SolChas
-2
מפני שכאשר היא אכן פולשת - במעמקי יער אורנים, במדבר החשוף, בחדר שהתרוקן לפתע - היא מתגלה לעתים תכופות כמערערת שלווה ולא כמסבירת פנים
Flows well
Itzik Greenvald Mivtach
Entry #23984 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Finalist
Voting points1st2nd3rd
1004 x22 x1
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.503.50 (6 ratings)3.50 (6 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 2 users entered 5 "like" tags
  • 1 user disagreed with "likes" (1 total disagree)
משתוקקים
Flows well
Amy Avgar
המין האנושי מתיש את עצמו ברעש ומשווע להיפוכו
Flows well
transmiri
-1
1
תולדות השקט
Flows well
Amy Avgar
שגם במאות הקודמות היווה מקור לתלונות
Flows well
Amy Avgar
הוא מתגלה לעתים קרובות לא כדבר רצוי אלא יותר כמשהו מטיל אימה.
Flows well
Amy Avgar


Non-finalist entries

The following entries were not selected by peers to advance to finals-round voting.

Entry #22925 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.293.43 (7 ratings)3.14 (7 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 1 user entered 1 "like" tag
קריאות פליאה וצעקות בוז
Good term selection
SolChas
Entry #23641 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.223.00 (7 ratings)3.43 (7 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 2 users entered 3 "like" tags
אחד מסימני ההיכר
Flows well
Nuritbahir
שומם
Flows well
נכון, שומם​ יותר טוב ​מעירום
Nuritbahir
מהריקנות הזרה
Flows well
SolChas
Entry #22922 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.093.00 (6 ratings)3.17 (6 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 3 users entered 5 "like" tags
  • 2 users agreed with "likes" (5 total agrees)
  • 1 user disagreed with "likes" (1 total disagree)
-1
+1
1
אחד מסימני העת הזו, לפחות בעולם המפותח, הוא שאנשים כמהים לשקט ואינם מוצאים אותו
Flows well
great tran​slation of​ a difficu​lt sentenc​e
Itzik Greenvald Mivtach
+2
תרועות וקריאות בוז
Flows well
Tamar Beneli (X)
+1
מפלס
Flows well
Tamar Beneli (X)
+1
הלין
Good term selection
Tamar Beneli (X)
כי אם
Flows well
SolChas
Entry #22948 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.073.00 (7 ratings)3.14 (7 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 3 users entered 5 "like" tags
  • 1 user agreed with "likes" (1 total agree)
סוגיה
Flows well
המילה סוגי​ה מתאימה ל​מקור
mina kuttner
+1
סאנו האוטובוסים והרכבות משיחות.
Flows well
SolChas
המו מתרועות וקריאות קולניות
Flows well
SolChas
גם באזורים הכפריים שרו המקומיים בזמן עמלם.
Flows well
SolChas
במעמקי יער אורנים, במדבר חשוף או בחדר שהתרוקן בפתאומיות - היא, לעיתים מזומנות, מפחידה ולא ידידותית.
Flows well
Itzik Greenvald Mivtach
Entry #23390 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry2.792.57 (7 ratings)3.00 (7 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • No "like" tags
Entry #23285 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry2.442.25 (8 ratings)2.63 (8 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 2 users entered 3 "like" tags
  • 2 users agreed with "likes" (4 total agrees)
  • 1 user disagreed with "likes" (1 total disagree)
+2
משוועים
Flows well
Tamar Beneli (X)
-1
+1
1
כל הנראה לא רועש היום יותר מבעב
Flows well
SolChas
+1
קבלו
Flows well
Tamar Beneli (X)
Entry #22585 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry2.192.00 (8 ratings)2.38 (8 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • No "like" tags
Entry #22978 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry2.172.00 (6 ratings)2.33 (6 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 1 user entered 3 "like" tags
  • 1 user agreed with "likes" (1 total agree)
באתרים מבודדים
Good term selection
SolChas
+1
אין בימינו יותר רעש ממה שהיה בעבר
Flows well
SolChas
נוצרת תחושת אי נוחות טורדנית
Flows well
SolChas
Entry #23575 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry2.172.00 (3 ratings)2.33 (3 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • No "like" tags
Entry #22966 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Tamar Beneli (X)
Tamar Beneli (X)
United States
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry1.881.75 (4 ratings)2.00 (4 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • No "like" tags
Entry #23212 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Niv H.
Niv H.
Israel
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry1.841.67 (3 ratings)2.00 (3 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • No "like" tags
Entry #23441 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry1.381.25 (4 ratings)1.50 (4 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • No "like" tags
Entry #23273 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry1.101.00 (5 ratings)1.20 (5 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • No "like" tags