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puente holandes
Dec 12, 2012 12:28
11 yrs ago
2 viewers *
Spanish term

La mejor improvisación es la que se prepara con antelación.

Spanish to English Art/Literary Poetry & Literature
Actually taken from a sales procedure manual (Spain). This quote appears on one of the pages and is attributed to one William Shakespeare!

I thought this would be an easy find, but I've had no luck so far in finding the original quote in English.

Any help much appreciated!
Proposed translations (English)
5 The best improvisations are prepared beforehand.
4 +4 The best improvisations are improvised beforehand
4 +1 The best improvisation is the one that was well-prepared.
References
Source

Discussion

Charles Davis Dec 12, 2012:
Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde, who both wrote many clever things, are credited with many more that they didn't write. And the Internet being what it is, it's not very surprising to me that a false attribution to Shakespeare should have spread virally. I'm not saying there's nothing like this in Shakespeare; I don't know his complete works by heart. But in view of Jane's discovery, this looks very much like a quote in search of an attribution (who's heard of Nathan Sheppard, after all?), and Shakespeare is an obvious peg on which to hang things like this.
Will Griffin (asker) Dec 12, 2012:
For "la que se prepara con antelación", "best served cold" keeps coming to mind, though that's another quote entirely :-)
Lindsay Spratt Dec 12, 2012:
I agree, Simon. But it's strange that none of the entries for the quote in Spanish refer to a source. Perhaps it's from one of his poems/sonnets.
Simon Bruni Dec 12, 2012:
If it does exist, it could be very different, which might explain why nobody can find it. After all, it was written in 16th/17th C English and could have included metaphor or other literary devices and the words 'improvise' and 'prepare' or their derivatives were not even involved.
Robert Forstag Dec 12, 2012:
@Lindsay So it seems that the misattrribution has at least taken root in Ibero-America. My guess is that a version could be found in Catalan as well....

An interesting possibility is that the Spanish/Portuguese represents a loose translation of an English-language quote that came from someone other than Shakespeare. But one who would hope to get the bottom of that had better be prepared for some time-consuming digging....
Lindsay Spratt Dec 12, 2012:
Portuguese Robert, I found the same quote attributed to Shakespeare in Portuguese: "As improvisações são melhores quando se as prepara". No sources though.
Robert Forstag Dec 12, 2012:
@Will As far as I can see, the attributions to Shakespeare are only in Spanish (and perhaps other languages as well; this might be worth looking into for those who have the time and qualifications). Perhaps it is just one of those things that has taken hold in the Spanish-speaking world and remained uncorrected over the course of decades or centuries--like the Sherlock Holmes quote you cite....
Will Griffin (asker) Dec 12, 2012:
Thanks Robert, I had toyed with that idea, but remain somewhat confused as to why it is attributed to Shakespeare repeatedly on the Internet, and not just in this particular document.
Lindsay Spratt Dec 12, 2012:
Strange I've found a lot of examples of the quote in the form Simon posted above but none of them actually include a reference to the play/poem etc. Perhaps it's been misattributed? The only English quote I found which is close is attributed to Paul Simon - "Improvisation is too good to leave to chance".
Will Griffin (asker) Dec 12, 2012:
Entirely possible. It does come up quite a bit in Spanish, so we should be able to find it in English, though I'm guessing it's quite different, hence the problems we're having!
Simon Bruni Dec 12, 2012:
I wonder if this really was in a Shakespeare play. It might be a bit like "elementary my dear Watson", which never actually appeared in a Sherlock Holmes story.
Will Griffin (asker) Dec 12, 2012:
Yes, thanks Simon, I had seen it, and indeed should have included it in my original post :-(
Simon Bruni Dec 12, 2012:
A more common version "Las improvisaciones son mejores cuando se las prepara"

Proposed translations

1 day 3 hrs
Selected

The best improvisations are prepared beforehand.

The use of "prepared beforehand" instead of the previously suggested "improvised beforehand" is a more accurate translation and reads more clearly in English as well.
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks very much to everyone for all their hard work!"
+1
40 mins

The best improvisation is the one that was well-prepared.

I found a single reference to the above English quote, but no reference to the Shakespeare play in which it supposedly appears. I think that, as others have said here, it is a misattribution.

Other versions would be:

The best improvisation results from careful preparation.
The best improvisation is the product of careful preparation.
etc.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 40 mins (2012-12-12 13:09:45 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Reference for posted translation:

www.theprintcoach.com/2010/10/outcome-based-selling

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 47 mins (2012-12-12 13:16:23 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Will:
If it should prove that (as seems evident) the quote is not from Shakespeare, you can correct the error in the translation by removing attribution to Shakespeare, with a note to your client.
Peer comment(s):
agree Frances Riddle : The best improvisation results from careful preparation.
1 day 2 hrs
Something went wrong...
+4
1 hr

The best improvisations are improvised beforehand

It's not Shakespeare, it's Nathan Sheppard.

Example sentence:

As Nathan Sheppard wrote in a long—forgotten handbook for public speakers: "the best improvisations are improvised beforehand."

Reference:

http://www.rbc.com/aboutus/letter/august1961.html

Peer comment(s):
agree Charles Davis : Bingo!
11 mins
agree Marian Vieyra
52 mins
agree patinba
1 hr
agree Evans (X)
1 hr
Something went wrong...

Reference comments

2 hrs
Reference:

Source

Nathan Sheppard, Before an Audience, or, The Use of the Will in Public Speaking. Talks to Students of the University of St. Andrews and the University of Aberdeen (New York and London: Funk & Wagnalls, 1886), p. 134:

"The memory gets its culture out of this rehearsal. I repeat that the best improvisations are improvised beforehand. The best impromptu speeches are committed to memory."
http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/nathan-sheppard/before...

Earlier, on p. 74, is this quotation, attributed to the actor Edmund Kean: "All is studied beforehand. The speeches which, to my certain knowledge, sounded most impromptu were the most carefully studied beforehand."
http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/nathan-sheppard/before...

This has got to be it.
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