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ClarissaMach

Joined: 18 May 2006 Posts: 644 Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 6:08 am Post subject: "traces a panorama" |
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Does this expression exists in English? Does it sound familiar? What could replace it?
"The author traces a panorama about this kind of business today" _________________ Stormy Weather. |
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redset
Joined: 18 Mar 2006 Posts: 582 Location: England
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Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 1:39 pm Post subject: |
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A panorama is a photograph or a painting that depicts a very wide (or tall, but usually wide) view. Figuratively you could say this is the big picture, the opposite of a narrow focus, or something which talks about many different things and creates a full scene for the audience.
I've not heard that specific phrase before, I searched on Google and got 1,280 results (this is a good technique, put the whole phrase in quotes) so a few people have definitely used it. You can think of it like a star in the sky - as it moves it traces a path, if it were a pen it would actually leave a line. Tracing a panorama sounds to me like following a path, relating a story etc. which in the end has outlined a detailed, wide-ranging picture. |
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ClarissaMach

Joined: 18 May 2006 Posts: 644 Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 3:05 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks Redset. About the google trick, I use it once and again, but it is a little risky - for example, I noticed that when I searched for "traces a panorama", the websites that came as a result usually were from Portuguese or Spanish speaking countries. It made me think that probably "traces a panorama" is not a common English expression but a rough translation from a common Portuguese/Spanish expression into English... _________________ Stormy Weather. |
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Lorikeet

Joined: 08 Oct 2005 Posts: 1877 Location: San Francisco
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Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2011 7:35 pm Post subject: |
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ClarissaMach wrote: |
Thanks Redset. About the google trick, I use it once and again, but it is a little risky - for example, I noticed that when I searched for "traces a panorama", the websites that came as a result usually were from Portuguese or Spanish speaking countries. It made me think that probably "traces a panorama" is not a common English expression but a rough translation from a common Portuguese/Spanish expression into English... |
Sounds like you paid attention, and you are probably right. I've never heard that expression before. |
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redset
Joined: 18 Mar 2006 Posts: 582 Location: England
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Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 10:51 am Post subject: |
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ClarissaMach wrote: |
Thanks Redset. About the google trick, I use it once and again, but it is a little risky - for example, I noticed that when I searched for "traces a panorama", the websites that came as a result usually were from Portuguese or Spanish speaking countries. It made me think that probably "traces a panorama" is not a common English expression but a rough translation from a common Portuguese/Spanish expression into English... |
Yeah I meant to say something like that, it's a good idea to look at the results and make sure some of them are from English-language countries, that the people using the phrase are using correct English (as far as you can tell), and so on. In all honesty a total of 1,280 uses on the entire Internet rings a few alarm bells! But like Lorikeet said you're obviously paying attention, so you have the right approach.
But grammatically the phrase is fine and it does make sense, even if people don't commonly use it. We'd probably say something like paints a panorama, which sounds more like someone creating a detailed scene. Tracing implies a basic outline, or following a path. |
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Lorikeet

Joined: 08 Oct 2005 Posts: 1877 Location: San Francisco
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Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 7:55 pm Post subject: |
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Oh! I hadn't thought about "paints a panorama". That sounds fine. The other one sounds odd, but it isn't wrong. |
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