ProZ.com translation contests »
2014 annual ProZ.com translation contest: "Celebrations" » English to Japanese

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

Who cast that first fateful tomato that started the La Tomatina revolution? The reality is no one knows. Maybe it was an anti-Franco rebellion, or a carnival that got out of hand. According to the most popular version of the story, during the 1945 festival of Los Gigantes (a giant paper mâché puppet parade), locals were looking to stage a brawl to get some attention. They happened upon a vegetable cart nearby and started hurling ripe tomatoes. Innocent onlookers got involved until the scene escalated into a massive melee of flying fruit. The instigators had to repay the tomato vendors, but that didn't stop the recurrence of more tomato fights—and the birth of a new tradition.

Fearful of an unruly escalation, authorities enacted, relaxed, and then reinstated a series of bans in the 1950s. In 1951, locals who defied the law were imprisoned until public outcry called for their release. The most famous effrontery to the tomato bans happened in 1957 when proponents held a mock tomato funeral complete with a coffin and procession. After 1957, the local government decided to roll with the punches, set a few rules in place, and embraced the wacky tradition.

Though the tomatoes take center stage, a week of festivities lead up to the final showdown. It's a celebration of Buñol's patron saints, the Virgin Mary and St. Louis Bertrand, with street parades, music, and fireworks in joyous Spanish fashion. To build up your strength for the impending brawl, an epic paella is served on the eve of the battle, showcasing an iconic Valencian dish of rice, seafood, saffron, and olive oil.

Today, this unfettered festival has some measure of order. Organizers have gone so far as to cultivate a special variety of unpalatable tomatoes just for the annual event. Festivities kick off around 10 a.m. when participants race to grab a ham fixed atop a greasy pole. Onlookers hose the scramblers with water while singing and dancing in the streets. When the church bell strikes noon, trucks packed with tomatoes roll into town, while chants of "To-ma-te, to-ma-te!" reach a crescendo.

Then, with the firing of a water cannon, the main event begins. That's the green light for crushing and launching tomatoes in all-out attacks against fellow participants. Long distance tomato lobbers, point-blank assassins, and medium range hook shots. Whatever your technique, by the time it's over, you will look (and feel) quite different. Nearly an hour later, tomato-soaked bombers are left to play in a sea of squishy street salsa with little left resembling a tomato to be found. A second cannon shot signals the end of the battle.

The winning entry has been announced in this pair.

There were 18 entries submitted in this pair during the submission phase, 5 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 (18 total; 5 finalists) Expand all entries

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Language variants:
Entry #20225 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Winner
Voting points1st2nd3rd
316 x42 x23 x1
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.674.00 (11 ratings)3.33 (9 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 2 users entered 2 "like" tags
  • 1 user disagreed with "likes" (1 total disagree)
-1
1
馬鹿騒ぎ
Good term selection
In general​, the writ​ing of thi​s translat​ion flows ​well and i​s very rea​dable.
WayToGo
たまたま近くにあった野菜の入った荷車を目にして、
Flows well
座布団1枚。
masato GOTOU
Entry #16589 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Standard-Japan
Finalist
Voting points1st2nd3rd
202 x46 x20
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.413.14 (7 ratings)3.67 (6 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 2 users entered 2 "like" tags
  • 1 user agreed with "likes" (1 total agree)
+1
火蓋を切る
Good term selection
Shiho Fukuda Koski
無関係な野次馬
Good term selection
innocent o​nlookerを簡潔​に言い得た適訳と考え​ます。座布団1枚。
masato GOTOU
Entry #18145 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
M&YTranslations
M&YTranslations
United Kingdom
Yoshiko F
Yoshiko F
United Kingdom
Finalist
Voting points1st2nd3rd
204 x41 x22 x1
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.323.14 (7 ratings)3.50 (6 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • No "like" tags
Entry #19084 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Standard-Japan
Finalist
Voting points1st2nd3rd
153 x41 x21 x1
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.533.22 (9 ratings)3.83 (6 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • No "like" tags
Entry #17968 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Finalist
Voting points1st2nd3rd
1404 x26 x1
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.373.33 (9 ratings)3.40 (5 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 1 user entered 1 "like" tag
  • 1 user agreed with "likes" (1 total agree)
+1
カーニバルが脱線
Good term selection
座布団1枚
masato GOTOU


Non-finalist entries

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

Entry #21349 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.132.86 (7 ratings)3.40 (5 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • No "like" tags
Entry #18742 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Standard-Japan
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.112.71 (7 ratings)3.50 (4 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 1 user entered 1 "like" tag
喧嘩をする振り
Good term selection
stageのニュアン​スが生かされています​。座布団1枚。
masato GOTOU
Entry #16480 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Standard-Japan
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.102.90 (10 ratings)3.29 (7 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • No "like" tags
Entry #21332 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.092.57 (7 ratings)3.60 (5 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • No "like" tags
Entry #19885 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Standard-Japan
Hisako Sasan (X)
Hisako Sasan (X)
Spain
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry3.073.00 (8 ratings)3.14 (7 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 2 users entered 4 "like" tags
  • 1 user agreed with "likes" (1 total agree)
+1
火蓋を切った
Good term selection
Shiho Fukuda Koski
大胆に挑んだ
Good term selection
Louix (X)
放水銃
Good term selection
Louix (X)
ビフォー&アフターの外見
Good term selection
Shiho Fukuda Koski
Entry #19234 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry2.943.00 (9 ratings)2.88 (8 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • 2 users entered 2 "like" tags
最初に興じたのは誰なのか
Flows well
Kye Teshirogi
今では知る由もない。
Flows well
Louix (X)
Entry #21152 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry2.692.71 (7 ratings)2.67 (3 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • No "like" tags
Entry #15512 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Harumi Uemura
Harumi Uemura
United States
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry2.592.50 (8 ratings)2.67 (6 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • No "like" tags
Entry #20818 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry2.472.43 (7 ratings)2.50 (4 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • No "like" tags
Entry #16025 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry2.352.20 (5 ratings)2.50 (4 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • No "like" tags
Entry #20827 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry2.202.22 (9 ratings)2.17 (6 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • No "like" tags
Entry #20011 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry2.092.17 (6 ratings)2.00 (4 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • No "like" tags
Entry #17791 — Discuss 0 — Variant: Not specified
Rating typeOverallQualityAccuracy
Entry1.261.31 (13 ratings)1.20 (10 ratings)
Entry tagging:
  • No "like" tags