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71 months ago

Barbara Cochran (a guest user) asked this question:

This question has already been answered and rated. Therefore, no new answers can be given.

71 months ago

   wrote:

to put his country back on its feet /to help his country recover

The asker rated this answer best

71 months ago

   wrote:

improve the fortunes of his country

My references:

Web occurrence (same sentence in 3 different websites):

" 'Hunt the Banker' by Alexander Lebedev | Waterstones ":

https://www.waterstones.com/book/hunt-the-banker/alexander-lebedev/9781846893032

"Lebedev reveals his access to inside sources of information, with policemen and secret policemen slipping him memoirs and transcripts of episodes which would otherwise have remained unknown. It is ultimately a portrait of a political system which ensures that genuine attempts to ***improve the fortunes of his country*** and its citizens are built on sand."

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It is also what my good-quality automatic translator had given me: https://mymemory.translated.net/en/Italian/English/All%27inizio-del-1763%2C-terminato-il-conflitto%2C-nel-corso-del-quale-si-era-fatto-conoscere-e-aveva-svolto-diverse-importanti-missioni-diplomatiche%2C-comcinci%C3%B2-a-pensare-cosa-avrebbe-potuto-fare-per-risollevare-le-sorti-del-suo-paese.

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WordReference IT-EN: https://www.wordreference.com/iten/sorte :

COLLINS page: "sorte [ˈsɔrte]: sf (fato) fate, destiny; (caso) chance"

WORDREF. page: "tentare la sorte = tentare la fortuna : to temp fate, to tempt the fates"

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"FORTUNE" in English explanatory dictionary: https://www.thefreedictionary.com/fortune :

"b. fortunes: The turns of luck in the course of one's life."

"5. fortunes: varied occurrences that happen or are to happen to a person in life."

"plural noun: destiny, life, lot, experiences, history, condition, success, means, circumstances, expectation, adventures. E.g.: She kept up with the fortunes of the family."

(EN>ES) "he restored the company's fortunes: restableció la prosperidad de la empresa, devolvió el éxito a la compañía"

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Comments by other colleagues on this answer:

71 months ago

   wrote:

Barbara, Apparently there is a standard translation for this, as mentioned in the Collins section of WordReference: "risollevare le sorti di qc : to ***improve the chances of*** sth" => "improve the chances of his country". I had answered "improve the fortunes of his country": "fortune" is synonymous with "luck" (thus "chance") and "destiny, fate", so my translation was just a little bit more literary, which might fit the style of your text. I guess "improve the situation in his country" could work too, it all depends if it's internal politics or foreign affairs... See Wordreference for "risollevare": https://www.wordreference.com/iten/risollevare and see the meanings for "fortune" in English: https://www.thefreedictionary.com/fortune (like the main meanings of "fortune" in French: https://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/fortune - so it does not only mean "wealth").

71 months ago

Josephine Cassar   wrote:

what he could do to sort out the mess his country was in

My comment:

Depending on the register though-or what he could have done to

Comments by other colleagues on this answer:

71 months ago

   wrote:

Josephine, The Collins dictionary in WordReference says: "risollevare le sorti di qc : to ***improve the chances of*** sth": https://www.wordreference.com/iten/risollevare ."Sorting out the mess" is a bit different.

71 months ago

Josephine Cassar   wrote:

exagete-true but no need to be literal here and, as I said, depends on context