This document contains a translation of a text about the Amish communities in America from English to Spanish. It is done collaboratively by 5 students as part of their Bachelor's Degree program. The translated text discusses the unexpected sight of Amish horse-drawn buggies on roads in rural America and provides context about the Amish lifestyle and communities. It notes how the Amish have changed little since settling in America over 300 years ago, while also adopting some modern technologies like solar and wind power. The students reflect on techniques used in the translation and discuss strategies, techniques, and methods.

1. UNIT 1: COLLABORATIVE ACTIVITY 1
TRANSLATION TEXT
AMERICA'S AMISH; MODEL SOCIETY?
WILFREDY MOSQURA
CARLOS ALBERTO RIOS
EDILBERTO ESPITIA GALVIS
ANDRES MAURICIO TORRES BETANCUR
CARMEN JULIETH ROBLEDO LAMBERTINEZ
CODE
551037_12
TUTOR
CARLOS ALBERTO PELAYO
TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES 551037A_361
PROGRAM
BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL ABIERTA Y A DISTANCIA
UNAD
15 DE MAYO DEL 2017

2. AMERICA'S AMISH; MODEL SOCIETY?
Link of the presentation of the work:
PARAGRAPH 1: WILFREDY MOSQUERA
America's Amish communities live a lifestyle that has changed little since the 18th century;
but in other respects, they are showing other Americans the way forward into the twenty-
first....
The roadsign is, to say the least, unexpected ; driving through a prosperous rural part of
North America, the last thing you expect to see beside the highway is a yellow diamond
roadsign with a horse and buggy in the middle! Watch out for horses and buggies on the
road? What is this? Do they exercise racehorses here, or what?
You keep an eye open for horses; for two miles you see nothing, then all of a sudden,
look! Coming towards you on the other side of the road, two black horse-drawn buggies!
As they go by, your surprise turns to disbelief; what's going on? Are they making a movie
about eighteenth century America? The men and the women in the buggy look like they
jumped out of a novel by Fennimore Cooper. Then, another mile and things get even
stranger; beside a neat-looking farm-house, there is a whole line of buggies. In the door of
the house, half a dozen men in black coats, and with long beards, are talking while some
women dressed in a curiously ancient fashion are sitting on a bench. Is this 2015 or 1715?
PÁRRAFO 1
Las comunidades Amish de América viven un estilo de vida que ha cambiado poco desde el
siglo XVIII; pero en otros aspectos, estos están mostrando a otros estadounidenses el
camino a seguir hacia el siglo XXI.

3. Una señal de tráfico es, por decir lo menos inesperado; si estas conduciendo a través de una
próspera parte rural de América del Norte, lo último que se espera ver al lado de la
carretera es una señal de tráfico amarilla en forma de rombo con un caballo y una carreta
en el medio! Cuidado con los caballos y las carretas en la carretera? ¿Que es esto? ¿Hacen
carreras de caballos aquí, o qué?
Debes estar prevenido con caballos en la vía; durante dos millas no ves nada, entonces de
repente, mira! viniendo hacia ti en el otro lado de la carretera, una carreta tirada por dos
caballos negros! A medida que pasan, tu sorpresa se convierte en incredulidad; ¿qué está
pasando? ¿Están haciendo una película sobre la América del siglo XVIII? Los hombres y
las mujeres en la carreta parecen salir de una novela de Fennimore Cooper. Luego, una
milla más y las cosas se vuelven aún más extrañas; al lado de una casa de campo de
apariencia limpia, hay toda una hilera de carretas. En la puerta de la casa, media docena
de hombres de abrigos negros y barbas largas hablan mientras algunas mujeres vestidas de
una manera curiosamente antigua están sentadas en un banco. ¿Es este el año 2015 ó 1715?
TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES APPLIED
In general, I Used the literal translation like technique and I looked at the english
dictionary a lot of words about the reading; however, I did not know the following word:
roadsign. To translate it into spanish I had to apply the transposition translation technique
(This is the process where parts of speech change their sequence when they are translated)
having in mind the previous knowledge about "road" and "sign" and the reading context
too.
During the reading, I did not understand the word "Buggy" I had to consult another texts
and pictures on internet to know the meaning. In this case I applied the adaptation

4. translation technique (Adaptation occurs when something specific to one language culture
is expressed in a totally different way that is familiar or appropriate to another language
culture).
CHART
DIFERENCE BETWEEN METHOD, STRATEGY AND TECHNIQUE
PARAGRAPH 2: ANDRES MAURICIO TORRES
You drive on, wondering what has happened to this part of the United States of America?
Have you driven into a time-warp, and without realizing it, gone back 300 years, or is it the
people you've just seen who're stuck in a time warp?
A quick enquiry at the nearest gas station gives you the answer; you are in Amish country,
and the men and women you have just seen are Amish, part of a strange religious group
that settled in America in the 18th century, and much of whose lifestyle has changed little
since then.
If you had seen the movie "Witness", you would have already known something about the
Amish, how their community is strictly religious and self-contained, how Amish people do

5. without the essentials of modern-day life such as electricity and cars, and how they do not
mix with people outside of their own community. It is virtually unheard of for anyone to
become an Amish, who was not born an Amish.
This is about all that most Americans know about Amish people, unless, that is, they
actually live near them and come across them in daily life. So who are they?
Párrafo 2:
¿Usted sigue conduciendo, preguntándose qué ha pasado en esta parte de Estados Unidos
de América? ¿Ha usted manejado en un túnel del tiempo, y sin darse cuenta de esto, has
regresado 300 años, o es solo la gente que usted acaba de ver quienes están atrapados en un
túnel de tiempo?
Una rápida consulta a la estación de gasolina más cercana te da la respuesta; Estás en un
país Amish, y los hombres y mujeres que has visto son Amish, parte de un grupo extraño
religioso que se acomodó en América en el siglo 18, y de quienes su estilo de vida ha
cambiado mucho desde entonces.
Si usted hubiese visto la película “El testigo (Witness)” usted ya hubiera conocido algo
acerca de los Amish, cómo su comunidad es estrictamente religiosa e independiente, cómo
la gente Amish hacen sin las cosas esenciales de la vida moderna como la electricidad y los
carros, y cómo ellos no se mezclan con gente fuera de su comunidad. Esto es todo lo que la
mayoría de los estadounidenses saben acerca de los Amish, a menos que, realmente vivan
cerca de ellos o se encuentren con ellos en la vida cotidiana. Entonces ¿quienes son?
Reflection:
The problem that I found it was mostly the lack of vocabulary, phrasal verbs like “drive
on” and those composed words like: “self-contained or time warp” . Although it wasn’t so
hard generally speaking, I just took me thirty minutes to end it up.
Strategy Technique Method
Description A plan of action
designedtoachieve an
overall aim.
Technique isa
procedure or skill for
completinga specific
task, I'd imagine this
wouldbe usedfor
predictable event
Methodis a way
somethingis done.how
you apply your answers
from the questionsstate
Differences Withthe strategy we
needto plan the
activitiesto developin
the classroom
The technique ismore
empiric,the abilityto
complete a task
And the methodis how
we do or did to finish
the activity

6. PARAGRAPH 3: EDILBERTO ESPITIA
In brief, the Amish are members of an ultra-protestant religious movement that first came
to America from the upper Rhine valley over three hundred years ago, and have kept their
traditions and lifestyles. They are very law-abiding citizens, and their community is one in
which crime is almost, though not entirely, inexistent; Amish families live strict lives,
following the same code of morals as their ancestors. In a sense, they are indeed stuck in a
time warp.
Yet the most remarkable things to note about the Amish are not their quaint lifestyles and
their home-made clothes, but the expansion of their community, its efficiency, its social
cohesion, and their recent adoption of "green" technology, including wind-power and solar
energy. Although they work the land using traditional horse-drawn machines, and use no
chemical fertilizers, their agriculture is - interestingly - among the most productive in
North America!.
PÁRRAFO 3
En resumen, los Amish son miembros de un movimiento religioso ultra-protestante que
llegó por primera vez a América desde el valle de las cabeceras del Rin hace más de
trescientos años, y han mantenido sus tradiciones y estilos de vida. Son ciudadanos muy
respetuosos de la ley y su comunidad es aquella en la que el crimen es casi, aunque no
totalmente, inexistente; las familias Amish viven vidas estrictas, siguiendo el mismo código
de moral que sus antepasados. En cierto sentido, están realmente atrapados en un túnel
tiempo.
Sin embargo, lo más notable de los Amish no es su extraño estilo de vida y sus ropas
caseras, sino la expansión de su comunidad, su eficiencia, su cohesión social y su reciente
adopción de la tecnología "verde", incluida la energía eólica y energía solar. Aunque
trabajan la tierra usando máquinas tradicionales tiradas por caballos, y no usan
fertilizantes químicos, su agricultura es - curiosamente - entre las más productivas en
América del Norte!.
TASK 2: REFECTION
When translating our responsibility precisely lies on the power we give to the words. This
means that our purpose consists not only in transforming a passage in such a way that, in a
different language, it remains the same and means the same and, once, it sounds differently
but taking into account its own resources to accomplish a great work as well.
Basically, I did not have any problem in translating the paragraph I chose but I had to find
out more about the Amish to get more acquainted with their culture and enviroment in
order to be quite precise to the original passage. I even saw the movie mention on the

7. passage which gave a better look of these people. I also had to read the whole text many
times to be able to give coherence and cohesion to my selected paragraph which was
number three.
During the whole translating process, I had to support myself in a mixed translating
technique if I can call it this way. Firstable when reading the whole passage I met words
such as “buggy” which I had to adapt to a word used in the Caribbean, “carreta”
(Adaptation involves changing the cultural reference when a situation in the source culture
dos not exist in the target language). In this same sense I found the word “diamond” that
according to the geometrical shape I translate it into “rombo”. The expression “time warp”
into “túnel del tiempo” because warp also means atrapar in Spanish. And finally through
this activity I had to take into account not only the text as a resource language but also the
culture that embraced this society to be able to achieve the closest translation expanding
my vocabulary and being more aware of the translating issue.
METHOD STRATEGY TECHNIQUE
Method is a way of
performing something in a
systematic, organized and /
or structured manner. It
refers to set of steps to
perform a task.
In some cases it is also
understood as the habitual
way of doing something by a
person based on experience,
custom and personal
preferences.
A strategy is a set of actions
that are carried out to
achieve a certain purpose.
In other words is the art of
leading a procedure.
Technique is defined as the
way in which a set of
procedures, materials or
knowledge are applied to
accomplish a specific task.
It is also known as the
particular ability of a person
to support themselves on
any procedures or resources
to complete a task.
PARAGRAPGH 4: CARLOS ALBERTO RIOS
While white America is, on the whole, a population that is stable in numbers, the Amish
community is growing faster than virtually any other community in the USA. In the 40
years from 1950 to 1990, the number of Amish in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the
original and still the largest Amish community in the USA, grew by exactly 400%, all by
natural growth, not through the influx of immigrants. The Amish do not keep statistics, but
it is fairly safe to assume that the total Amish population of the United States in the year
1900 was no more than a couple of thousand; today the Old Order Amish, those who have
kept up the strictest traditions of their religion and society, number over 100,000, spread in

8. communities across the eastern US and Ontario. The total number of Amish living in the
United States in 2011 was estimated at over 260,000.
Amish, who reject modern medicine and all forms of birth control, have some of the biggest
families in America, with an average of over six children per family. Few abandon their
community. Amish teenagers tend to be as normally rebellious as any other American
teens, until they are baptized. Until this happens, they are not obliged to conform to the
strict Amish codes of dress, hairstyle and behavior, and many make the most of this
liberty; before baptism, Amish teenagers behave much like other American teens; up to
30% of older unbaptized Amish teens own cars, and 40% have drivers licences! Amish
teens also enjoy baseball, dancing and even alcohol! Amish baptism takes place between
the ages of 16 and 21, sometimes even later.
TASK 1: TRANSLATION
PARRAFO 4
Mientras que la América blanca es, en general, una población que es estable en números, la
comunidad Amish está creciendo virtualmente más rápido que cualquier otra comunidad
en los Estados Unidos de América. En los 40 años comprendidos entre 1950 a 1990, el
número de Amish en el condado de Lancaster, Pennsylvania, la comunidad Amish original
y todavía más grande de Estados Unidos de América, creció exactamente 400%, todo por
crecimiento natural, no a través de la influencia de inmigrantes. Los Amish no conservan
estadísticas, pero es muy seguro asumir que la población total de Amish en los Estados
Unidos en el año 1900 no era más que un par de miles; hoy el antiguo orden Amish,
aquellos quienes han mantenido sus estrictas tradiciones sociales y religiosas, rondan los
100,000, diseminados en comunidades a través del Este de Estados Unidos y Ontario. El
número total de Amish viviendo en los Estados Unidos en 2011 era estimado en alrededor
de 260,000.
Los Amish, quienes rechazan la medicina moderna y cualquier forma de control natal,
tienen algunas de las familias más grandes en América, con un estimado de alrededor de
seis niños por familia. Algunos abandonan su comunidad. Los adolescentes Amish tienden
a ser tan rebeldes como cualquier otro adolescente Estadounidense, hasta que sean
bautizados, hasta que esto suceda, ellos no son obligados a las cumplir con las estrictas
normas Amish de vestimenta, peinados y comportamiento, y muchos aprovechan al
máximo esta libertad; antes del bautismo, los adolescentes Amish se comportan como
cualquier otro adolescente Estadounidense; alrededor de un 30% de los adolescentes
Amish mayores sin bautizar son propietarios de vehículos, y un 40% poseen licencias de
conducción! ¡Los adolescentes Amish también disfrutan del beisbol, el baile e incluso
alcohol! El bautismo Amish toma lugar en edades comprendidas entre 16 y 21 y en algunas
ocasiones incluso más tarde.

9. TASK 2: REFLECTION
In this task, I should talk about the problems I faced regarding words or expressions at the
moment of making the translation, but I have to manifest that there was none hard or
unknown Word or expression in the paragraph I chose… by the way, when I was studying
English at the New York English Institute at Pereira city, one of the exercises was reading a
text about the Amish comunity too and because of that, I can say that already I had some
knowleadge about this topic. Until the moment, I think that the vocabulary that I had
already learned, has allowed me to develop the chose paragraph translation activity
without mishaps.
TASK 3: CHART
METHOD STRATEGY TECHNIQUE
It is a logic process
through the which the
knowleadge is obtained. Is
a set of steps that leads to
a predeterminated goal.
Is a set of actions that are
carried out to achieve a
determitated purpose; it
may be applied in a few
contexts, as for example
the teaching (applied by
the teacher) and the
learning (applied by the
student).
It is the process or set of
rules, whose target is to
get a determinated result,
it may be at the science,
technology, art or
education field.
PARAGRAPGH 5: CARMEN JULIETH ROBLEDO LAMBERTINEZ
The fact that only about 18% of young Amish abandon the austere way of life of their
ancestors is not the only reason why the community is growing so fast. Other factors
include increasing life-expectancy, and higher standards of living.
As for machines and modernity, Amish families do not live a primitive life; while they
reject the use of mains electricity in the home, they accept the use of kerosene and efficient
wood-burning stoves that provide plenty of light and heat and comfort in their homes; and
they are certainly not out of touch with technology. It was estimated that in 2007, 80% of
homes in some Amish communities were using wind or solar power ! In this respect, far
from being stuck in the past, they can be considered as one of the most advanced
communities in the world !
As for leisure, it is not one of their major preoccupations! While they do not have
televisions or radios, they have other social activities; yet Amish leaders actually fear that
the development of a cultof leisure could rapidly destroy their society.

10. Contrary to popular belief, the Amish are not cut off from the rest of America; like any
farmers, they need markets for their products and suppliers for their goods; some work for
non-Amish employers. Many have non-Amish neighbors. They know what is going on in
the rest of the United States, and like many other Americans, they are alarmed by many
modern developments.
This too explains why most young Amish opt to carry on with the hard-working and strict
way of life of their community. Though Amish life is hard in many ways, it is free of most
of the pressures and problems of the rest of American society. As long as this lifestyle is not
forced into radical change, many of those who have been brought up in it will continue to
see it as an attractive option.
PARRAFO 5
El hecho de que sólo alrededor del 18% de los jóvenes de Amish abandonar el estilo de vida
austero de sus antepasados no es la única razón por la que la comunidad está creciendo tan
rápido. Otros factores incluyen el aumento de la esperanza de vida y un mayor nivel de
vida.
En cuanto a las máquinas y la modernidad, las familias Amish no viven una vida primitiva;
Mientras que rechazan el uso de la electricidad de la red en el hogar, aceptan el uso de
queroseno y estufas eficientes de leña que proporcionan mucha luz, calor y comodidad en
sus hogares; Y ciertamente no están fuera de contacto con la tecnología. Se estimó que en
2007, el 80% de los hogares en algunas comunidades Amish estaban utilizando la energía
eólica o solar! En este sentido, lejos de estar atrapados en el pasado, ¡pueden ser
considerados como una de las comunidades más avanzadas del mundo!
En cuanto al ocio, no es una de sus principales preocupaciones! Aunque no tienen
televisores o radios, tienen otras actividades sociales; Pero los líderes Amish temen que el
desarrollo de un culto de ocio pueda destruir rápidamente su sociedad.
Contrariamente a la creencia popular, los Amish no son cortados del resto de América;
Como cualquier agricultor, necesitan mercados para sus productos y proveedores para sus
bienes; Algunos trabajos para los empleadores no Amish. Muchos tienen vecinos no Amish.
Ellos saben lo que está sucediendo en el resto de los Estados Unidos, y como muchos otros
estadounidenses, están alarmados por muchos desarrollos modernos.
Esto también explica por qué la mayoría de los jóvenes Amish optan por seguir con el duro
y estricto modo de vida de su comunidad. Aunque la vida Amish es dura de muchas
maneras, está libre de la mayoría de las presiones y problemas del resto de la sociedad
americana. Mientras que este estilo de vida no se ve obligado a un cambio radical, muchos
de los que han sido educados en ella seguirán viendo como una opción atractiva.

11. TASK 2: REFLECTION
In carrying out the translation into Spanish of the task was a bit difficult for the words that
very little understood, in addition there were in a few moments use the translator but then
I asked for help to other people who helped me translate the text verbal way I gathered
what I could translate, it was a good experience because that way one learns more to
develop without using
TASK 3: CHART
It is important to always take into account different methodologies and strategies of work
inside and outside the environment played in the translation of texts already in English or
Spanish. In addition we must have direct scores of what we do and what we learn.
METHOD STRATEGY TECHNIQUE
The method usually
represents an instrumental
means by which the works
that are done daily are
realized.
It can refer to a planning of
something that is proposed
by an individual or group to
carry out and achieve a
certain purpose.
A technique is a procedure
that is performed to execute
a certain task; in addition
many tools are used, in order
to realize the objectives of the
responsibility acquired.
Taken from: http://linguapress.com/advanced/amish.htm