# Roztaczać perspektywy



## dreamlike

Hi,

how would you render this expression in English - *roztaczać perspektywy*

I'm at my wits end, I've been looking for some equivalent for some time now, but to little avail. 

"create opportunities", however far from the original, is the best expression I can think of at the moment.


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## majlo

Some context would come in handy.


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## dreamlike

The thing is that "roztaczać perspektywy" can be used in numerous contexts, and the English expression will vary depending on it. I'm afraid there's no good equivalent to this expression in English, or at least not one that would appeal to me as much as Polish phrase does. Anyway, can you think of something better in this particular context? 

*Ta praca roztacza wiele perspektyw przed młodymi pracownikami - This job creates a lot of opportunities/prospects for young workers.*


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## majlo

In this context "to create opportunities" sounds excellent to me. But not necessarily in the following:

"Donald Tusk roztacza przed wyborcami piękne perspektywy, mówiąc, że Polska stanie się drugą Irlandią, gdy tymczasem wszyscy zdają sobie doskonale sprawę, że to wierutne kłamstwa".


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## LilianaB

This job offers a lot of opportunities for young workers,  or employees. ( It will depend on the context)


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## dreamlike

Majlo, in the sentence you provided "roztaczać perspektywy" means no more, no less than "deceiving"


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## majlo

I wouldn't say "deceiving". "Promising" perhaps.


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## dreamlike

Since it was a foregone conclusion that Tusk would renege on his promises, we can venture to call it "deceiving"


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## majlo

Whether or not it's a foregone conclusion is not known initially. After all those years we can say it was a deception but what he was basically doing was 'promising,' at the same time lying of course, but I believe the sense of his "roztaczanie perspektyw" is making promises.


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## guniang

dreamlike said:


> The thing is that "roztaczać perspektywy" can be used in numerous contexts, and the English expression will vary depending on it. I'm afraid there's no good equivalent to this expression in English, or at least not one that would appeal to me as much as Polish phrase does. Anyway, can you think of something better in this particular context?
> 
> *Ta praca roztacza wiele perspektyw przed młodymi pracownikami - This job creates a lot of opportunities/prospects for young workers.*



wydaje mi się, że w tym kontekście 'roztaczać perspektywy' jest bliskie wyrażeniu 'poszerzać czyjeś horyzonty'. Więc może 'this job broadens horizons of many young workers?

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dic...orizons#broaden-expand-widen-sb-s-horizons__1


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## dreamlike

I've known from the very beginning that he's not going to live up to his promises, but maybe it's just me and my prediction skills. With the benefit of hindsight, we all know the truth about Tusk and his inept government, so one might say it was a foregone conclusion, because he/she had a gut feeling that his government is going to prove disastrous. 

We're indulging ourselves with an off-topic, majlo, I hope we get away with it


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## LilianaB

Roztaczac perspectywy means to give opportunities, new perspectives to people. It is just another cliche not a real idiom, although I might be wrong. You can check a reliable dictionary to see if this is a fixed phrase and what it means. Otherwise it could mean whatever the auhtor intended.


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## guniang

according to the link I provided, it is a fixed phrase.


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## LilianaB

Yes, it is exactly what the dictionary says. Why look for sophisticated phrases? This is what it is in English, nothing fancy.


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## Thomas1

LilianaB said:


> Roztaczac horyzonty means to give opportunities, new perspectives to people. It is just another cliche not a real idiom, although I might be wrong. You can check a reliable dictionary to see if this is a fixed phrase and what it means. Otherwise it could mean whatever the auhtor intended.


;The Polish idiomatic phrase is 'poszerzać (czyjeś) horyzonty' and it means to 'broaden one's knowledge' (which in consequence gives new opportunities).


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## LilianaB

Yes you are right. It must have been too early. This is why I felt somehting was wrong with the phrase roztaczac horyzonty. It is _roztaczać perspektywy_ i _poszerzać horyzonty_.


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## dreamlike

There is no such phrase as "roztaczać horyzonty" as Thomas pointed out, it's a merge of "poszerzać horyzonty" and "roztaczać perspektywy", and these two expressions has little in common.



			
				LilianaB said:
			
		

> Yes, it is exactly what the dictionary says. Why look for sophisticated phrases? This is what it is in English, nothing fancy.




The beauty of English, or any other language for that matter, also lies in posh words and expressions. Such phrases have a certain appeal to me. Apart from looking and sounding nice, they are sometimes more helpful in conveying your thoughts or feelings more accurately.


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## Ben Jamin

dreamlike said:


> The thing is that "roztaczać perspektywy" can be used in numerous contexts, and the English expression will vary depending on it. I'm afraid there's no good equivalent to this expression in English, or at least not one that would appeal to me as much as Polish phrase does. Anyway, can you think of something better in this particular context?
> 
> *Ta praca roztacza wiele perspektyw przed młodymi pracownikami - This job creates a lot of opportunities/prospects for young workers.*



„Roztaczać perspektywy” nie można tłumaczyć jako „create opportunities”, jako że wyrażenie oznacza czynność sciśle werbalną. „Roztacza się perspektywy” w rozmowie, przedstawiając wizje, a nie tworząc coś. W tej sytuacji angielskie tłumaczenie mogłoby brzmieć „present visions of ...”.


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## LilianaB

The beauty of language lies in simplicity. OT. # 17


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## dreamlike

Let's agree to disagree, Liliana  

Ben Jamin - interesting point, I'll check it with acquainted linguist.


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## majlo

I like Benjamin's suggestion very much. 

Dreamlike, we might even be clairvoyants. It doesn't mean we can translate what wasn't said. 

P.S. I wouldn't adore language so much if the beauty of it lay in simplicity.


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## dreamlike

Benjamin's suggestion seems pretty reasonable, but I think it might be permissible to say that a job "roztacza perspektywy" - this would take on figurative meaning. The Polish expression appeals to me very much and I wanted to learn the English counterpart, is there anything amiss with this?


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## LilianaB

Majlo, no offense, I do not mean anything bad at all,; maybe you do not understand what simplicity means. Some people tend to confuse simple with simplistic. OT. Simple in reference to language or style is closer to clear and to the point, than to using few words. It is using what is necessary and appropriate to express what one wants to express.


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## kknd

you mean 'making things as simple as possible, but not simpler'?  (in translation i think i'd like more accuraccy than simplicity btw. ) good point ben jamin—as for me i'd go with anything containing 'prospects'…  though i couldn't find any collocations with it! i was just sure that there was something popular with this meaning of _roztaczać perspektywy_… strange…


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## dreamlike

@Liliana - why would @majlo take any offence? He simply doesn't share your view, and he's not the only one, about the beauty of language lying in simplicity. We can have different opinions about that, you don't have to explain yourself saying that you didn't mean anything bad. 

@Benjamin - you were quite adamant that "Roztaczać perspektywy" can be used only when describing some activity, just like "Snuć opowieść". My Polish teacher in school, who has linguist education told me that it is not quite true. She claims that the usage of this phrase is not confined to naming activity, and can be used figuratively. 

Wyjazd do zagranicznego klubu roztacza wiele perspektyw przed młodymi graczami.
Studiowanie na uznanej, zagranicznej uczelni roztacza nieskończone perspektywy przed studentami.
etc.

I think we should not take my teachers' word for it, and ask this question at Poradnia językowa PWN.


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## Thomas1

To tell the truth something doesn't quite add up there to me either. I think that it's more about 'visual aspects' being in question, and these are our images of what we think could happen in the future. For instance: if you say 'mieć coś w perspektywie', that really doesn't mean that you've got the opportunity to do this. It means that this person is tinking about doing something. Also compare the following example:





> *Agencje prasowe  obszernie relacjonują piątkowe expose premiera Donalda Tuska. "Tusk  roztacza przed Polską perspektywę bolesnych reform" - wybija dpa.  "Polski premier zapowiada zajęcie się długiem publicznym w drugiej  kadencji" - informuje Associated Press.*
> http://fakty.interia.pl/raport/nowy...e-agencje-prasowe-o-expose-tuska,1723827,7771


Clearly, no 'opportunities' are meant in the passage. This sense comes from a more literal meaning of 'perspektywa', _i.e._ 'view', e.g. _Perspektywa na Dolinę_ _Pięciu Stawów_. 
If there is a propitious context, like the one in the samples given in the previous post, people do, however, tend to take such presentations as a shortcut for something more concrete, hence the 'opportunity' interpretation. This is, nonetheless, overmuch. The situation is sorta similar to some phrases used in some commercials, as in: _zadzwoń pod numer 98740978250 i wygraj xyz._ Many people called, but some were deeply disappointed when the truth revealed itself, although the 'perspektywa' was different.


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## dreamlike

Having googled it and read your post, Thomas, I am less certain that it can be used the way I suggested. The only results are that of this thread. I guess my outlandish idiolect might be coming into play, but I will make sure asking this question at Poradnia językowa PWN later.


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## LilianaB

In this case _presents a vision _would be better. You have to take into consideration the context of the original sentence plus whether the author used it properly. It is hard sometimes, because we assume that the author used it the way it should be used, which is not always the case.


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## Ben Jamin

dreamlike said:


> Let's agree to disagree, Liliana
> 
> Ben Jamin - interesting point, I'll check it with acquainted linguist.



Słownik języka polskiego PWN podaje następujące znaczenie słowa perspektywa:
1. «rozległy widok»
2. «to, co się daje przewidywać w przyszłości»
3. «odległość w czasie umożliwiająca właściwą ocenę zdarzeń»
4. «punkt widzenia, z jakiego coś jest przedstawiane lub oceniane»
5. «przedstawienie trójwymiarowych przedmiotów na płaszczyźnie, tak aby patrzący na rysunek miał wrażenie głębi»
6. «metoda odwzorowania figury geometrycznej na płaszczyźnie za pomocą prostych rzutujących o wspólnym wierzchołku»
W wyrażeniu „roztaczać perspektywy” sens ma tylko użycie w znaczeniu 2.
Roztaczać według tego samego słownika to:
*1*. «rozłożyć, rozprostować coś zawiniętego, stulonego»
2. «ukazać, przedstawić coś»
3. «rozsiać coś wokół siebie, na jakiejś przestrzeni»
4. «spowodować udzielenie się innym jakichś uczuć, nastrojów itp.»
5. «rozwiercić średnice otworów»
Tutaj oczywistym jest użycie w znaczeniu 2.
Czyli „roztaczać perspektywy” to: „ukazać, przedstawić to, co się daje przewidywać w przyszłości”. Chyba więc już nie powinno być wątpliwości co do znaczenia wyrażenia, i lingwista nie będzie potrzebny.


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## dreamlike

Język ma to do siebie, że czasem wymyka się z ram słownikowych i to co pozornie wydaje się błędne wcale takim nie musi być...


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