# individuare



## trikilitrakala

hi everybody, 
I'm writing a scientific paper, I have to say "io individuo due tipi di spiegazione strutturale", and I mean on one hand that i share the structural explanation in two kinds, on the other that I define those two kinds for the first time, elaborating with these definitions two new concepts....

any suggestion about how should I say "individuare" in this context?

thanks,
Laura


----------



## Einstein

First of all, not *share ... in* but *divide ... into*.

I always find "individuare" difficult, it depends on the context. Here, what about "envisage"?


----------



## TimLA

I like "envisage", but you might consider a multi-word description, again as stated by Einstein - depending on context:

I will divide this discussion...
It is important to consider two aspects...
The two important considerations in this discussion...
Two important parts...

and a few others...


----------



## GavinW

In line with the jargon used in academic and scientific studies and discussions, I would simply say: "I see two...." (or "I identify two..", but I don't like this so much). 

Alternatively, changing the tense of the verb: "I have found two..." or "I have identified two..."


----------



## trikilitrakala

TimLA said:


> I like "envisage", but you might consider a multi-word description, again as stated by Einstein - depending on context:
> 
> I will divide this discussion...
> It is important to consider two aspects...
> The two important considerations in this discussion...
> Two important parts...
> 
> and a few others...


 
unlukily the context is none of these...
just to make it clear: there is a set, the set of structural explanations, and I _individuo_ within this set two different categories. 
given that this is the first time that the set is divided into these two groups, _individuare_ means even that i'm defining this difference for the first time. 

maybe GavinW is right and I should simply say "I have found two.."

thanks a lot everybody


----------



## af2415

This is the original italian phrase:

Attraverso/grazie ai legami che alcuni accademici intrattenevano/intrattennero con i grandi poeti del tempo, una ricerca su questa accademia può consentire di individuare nuove tracce del loro percorso.

My try:

Through/ Thanks to the links that some academicians entertrained with the great poets of that period, a research on this academy could permit/allow to individualize new traces of their paths.

Could it be correct? I am doubtful about the use of individualize (and path also).
Many thanks if you would like to help me


----------



## Angel.Aura

Ciao af2415 e benvenut@ al Forum 

Per _individuare_ userei _to single out_ o _to identify_.
Ma attendi anche altri pareri.


----------



## bubz

Distinguish?


----------



## af2415

*M*any thanks! *Y*ou've been really kind!


----------



## ChickenChicken

Ciao,

Per quanto riguarda invece individuare un oggetto? Per esempio un oggetto che ti è caduto (chiavi, ecc...)? 

"To locate" o "to spot" potrebbero andar bene? Grazie.


----------



## london calling

Cioè, la frase da tradurre sarebbe qualcosa del genere:

_Devono essermi cadute le chiavi e non riesco ad individuarle_ (?)

I must have dropped my keys somewhere and now I can't find them .

_Locate_ va bene, ma parlando non lo direi mai.


----------



## Einstein

Thats a bit strange! Does it mean that you've dropped your keys into a mass of other keys and you can't *make *yours *out*? Otherwise it seems an odd use of "individuare".


----------



## ChickenChicken

london calling said:


> Cioè, la frase da tradurre sarebbe qualcosa del genere:
> 
> _Devono essermi cadute le chiavi e non riesco ad individuarle_ (?)
> 
> I must have dropped my keys somewhere and now I can't find them .
> 
> _Locate_ va bene, ma parlando non lo direi mai.



Thanks. Is it ok if I use "locate" in written English? While writing a story for example?


----------



## ChickenChicken

Einstein said:


> Thats a bit strange! Does it mean that you've dropped your keys into a mass of other keys and you can't *make *yours *out*? Otherwise it seems an odd use of "individuare".



Yeah, in Italian is quite common to say "individuare" when you look for something you lost. 

- "Avevo messo le chiavi qui, ma ora non le trovo, puoi aiutarmi ad individuarle (trovarle)?" 

Yeah, maybe "individuare" is a bit formal, but not that odd.


----------



## Alessandrino

ChickenChicken said:


> Yeah, in Italian is quite common to say "individuare" when you look for something you lost.
> 
> - "Avevo messo le chiavi qui, ma ora non le trovo, puoi aiutarmi ad individuarle (trovarle)?"
> 
> Yeah, maybe "individuare" is a bit formal, but not that odd.


To be honest, I don't think I've ever heard someone use _individuare_ like this, and I would find it a bit odd. But if you use it, then I guess it's fine.


----------



## Einstein

So if individuare can mean trovare, that's a help for translation in other contexts. The dictionaries say "identify", which certainly isn't always right.


----------



## london calling

Put it this way, Ale, I was going on what Chicken said. I also find it a wee bit odd (but I didn't ask the question, so I'm taking no liability! ) . The last word is yours, of course. 

Chicken, per curiosità, perché non scrivi la frase che avevi in mente quando hai postato la tua domanda?

However, _individuare (localizzare) _can mean  locate.


----------



## Alessandrino

london calling said:


> However, _individuare (localizzare) _can mean  locate.


Of course it can!
But what about this context:

A- _Ho perso le chiavi, mi aiuti ad individuarle?_
B- _Eccole lì, le ho individuate! Sono dietro al portapenne_.

EDIT: I hadn't noticed the example was yours!  Not that it makes much difference... you're an almost-native speaker


----------



## ChickenChicken

london calling said:


> Chicken, per curiosità, perché non scrivi la frase che avevi in mente quando hai postato la tua domanda?



Non avevo una frase da tradurre, era solo per curiosità... nel caso il termine mi servisse in futuro, ma credo che a questo punto sia meglio usare "find" che "locate".


----------



## london calling

Alessandrino said:


> A- _Ho perso le chiavi, mi aiuti ad individuarle?_
> B- _Eccole lì, le ho individuate! Sono dietro al portapenne_.


Which I would translate with "find" (or "locate" in a more formal situation....). And to be honest, I think I'd have used "trovare" (both in these sentences and in the one I made up), wouldn't you?  Doesn't it come to you more naturally than "individuare" here?


----------



## Alessandrino

_Trovare _is the most natural solution here (IMHO). I'd never [well, there might be some contexts... but let's try not to be pedantic] say _individuare _when looking for a set of keys...


----------



## WordsWordWords

Hello everyone,

OK, my turn to have trouble with this word!

In the following sentence, I am tempted to think that "individuare" may mean "assemble" or "select":

La Divisione medica ha il compito di valutare la richiesta di trasporto sanitario, individuare il team medico che effettuerà il trasporto fino in Italia, attingendo tali risorse dal Policlinico Militare di Roma “Celio” 

My version is:

The medical division evaluates the request for medical transport and assembles the medical team which will repatriate the patient, drawing upon resources from the Celio Policlinico Militare hospital in Rome.

Thank you for any input!


----------



## london calling

WordsWordWords said:


> In the following sentence, I am tempted to think that "individuare" may mean "assemble" or "select":



Seek and find! It means to look for and then select the members of the team, you're right (I wouldn't say "assemble").


----------



## WordsWordWords

london calling said:


> Seek and find! It means to look for and then select the members of the team, you're right (I wouldn't say "assemble").



Hi London! (I was imagining that you might be the first to chime in! )

Thanks for the confirmation that I was on the right track. In AE we would also use "assemble" to indicate something abstract, like a team of specialists! I also thought of "put together" but decided it may be too informal sounding for the context.

What about "form"?


----------



## Giorgio Spizzi

I'm all for _select_.

GS


----------



## longplay

Giorgio Spizzi said:


> I'm all for _select_.
> 
> GS



Scusami GS, ma 'selezionare i medici' (o la squadra medica) mi pare un po' sopra le righe.Finché si selezionano i farmaci...vabbé...! Forse 'suggest', a meno
che non si tratti "dare l' incarico', militarmente parlando.


----------



## london calling

longplay said:


> Scusami GS, ma 'selezionare i medici' (o la squadra medica) mi pare un po' sopra le righe.Finché si selezionano i farmaci...vabbé...!


Stiamo parlando di _select_ in inglese, non _selezionare_ in italiano. You can choose/select the members of any kind of team in English.


----------



## longplay

Ah, LC! "Choose carefully' non si può tradurre con 'selezionare'? Una scelta accurata di vini, per esempio, dovrebbe essere una selezione di vini. Mi sento molto
imbarazzato...Quando in Italia si fa la 'scelta' del medico di base, in fondo, è soltanto burocrazia (non criterio qualitativo, generalmente). Grazie, però.


----------



## WordsWordWords

Hi guys,

Ahem, we're still talking about how to best translate "individuare" in the end, in the context of a military office which receives requests to send a medical team to pick up injured military personnel. The people in this office will form / select / assemble / determine / the team of medical specialists that will be dispatched.

What is best for this context? I am leaning more and more towards "form"....



Hey, what about "coordinate"?


----------



## Fooler

What about _The medical division evaluates the request for medical transport and seeks out the medical team_..... oppure _picks out_ (WR lo dà come _individuare fra la gente_ e magari lo si può usare come _tra la gente/parte di un team medico_) ?

I've just tried


----------



## WordsWordWords

Fooler said:


> What about _The medical division evaluates the request for medical transport and seeks out the medical team_..... oppure _picks out_ (WR lo dà come _individuare fra la gente_ e magari lo si può usare come _tra la gente/parte di un team medico_) ?
> 
> I've just tried



Thank you Fooler, I do appreciate it! But: "seeks out" is not right for my context as it gives a sense of "to find", and here they know exactly _where _their medical staff are, they just need to decide _who _to send 

"Picks out" is the right sense but too colloquial for the tone of the article.

For now I've decided to use "form" or "coordinate"


----------



## Alessandrino

WordsWordWords said:


> Thank you Fooler, I do appreciate it! But: "seeks out" is not right for my context as it gives a sense of "to find", and here they know exactly _where _their medical staff are, they just need to decide _who _to send
> 
> "Picks out" is the right sense but too colloquial for the tone of the article.
> 
> For now I've decided to use "form" or "coordinate"


All things considered, I'd probably use _decide_.


----------

