Oliver Simões (asker) Sep 26, 2021:

@Yvonne Thank you for your input. Unfortunately, the second "who" has to stay because it's part of the quote. Those are his actual words. In translation, I guess I have the option to omit it.

Yvonne Gallagher Sep 23, 2021:

@Oliver yes, in this context I'd go with the Guardian example but preferable with: "Considered exceptional are those who have... " Note that this type of foregrounding is stylistic and changes the tone. Note the difference between this and the more "normal" structure "Those who have been given opportunities and have had the strength and presence of mind to seize them are exceptional (individuals)" (And note that second "who" is unnecessary)

Oliver Simões (asker) Sep 23, 2021:

Hi folks, How does this sound to you in back-translation?
"Exceptional are those who have been given opportunities and who have had the strength and presence of mind to seize them."

I've read it in translation a few times, and I think it sounds to the point. I found some examples with similar structures in EN. The last one is telling me that adjective-only is the way to go ("excepcionais" rather than "os excepcionais").
1) "As it is most teachers who are considered ** exceptional are those ** who work every evening in the week and most of the Sunday." (The Guardian)
2) "Quite ** exceptional are those ** who are not punished in this life, but only afterwards. " (St. Augustine)

I did find "the exceptional" as a unit of meaning; however, it's referring to a special-needs group (unlike the Gladwell quote).
3) "** The exceptional are those ** who differ from the average to such a degree in physical or psychological characteristics that school programme designed for the majority of the children do not afford them the opportunity for all round adjustment and optimum progress and who, therefore, need either special instruction or in some cases special ancillary services or both..." (Teacher Ed)

Oliver Simões (asker) Sep 23, 2021:

Ruth, I also find etymology fascinating. It's always interesting to see how words originate and how they evolve. In this particular case, I'm pretty much set on "excepcionais" as an adjective only. Now responding to your question, I would say that "as pessoas excepcionais" is somewhat ambiguous in Portuguese. It could mean both "out-of-the-ordinary people" and "special needs individuals" as related to their mental development. I would stay away from it for this very reason. By replacing the noun with an adjective in Portuguese, I believe I came up with a good translation. Apparently, the use of the article changes the meaning to a different category of people! I chose not to use the article, you'll see why in my next post.

Yvonne Gallagher Sep 23, 2021:

@ Ruth No, "the exceptional" doesn't work on its own either as it needs to be followed by something else e.g. "...in our society/...in the field/class, or by a noun. I don't believe that "people" is implicit at all! If you Google "The Exceptional" you'll find it followed by a noun, including Scotch, grain, TV show and child. The latter, of course, is what Oiver mentioned in terms of Portuguese as meaning special needs child. https://www.amazon.com/Exceptional-Child-Inclusion-Childhood...
However "the poor" and "the needy" is a different matter entirely as established collective nouns

Ruth Hill Sep 22, 2021:

@Yvonne I definitely agree with you that "exceptionals" wouldn't sound right, but what I suggested was "the exceptional", which I think is a different matter. "The" can be used with pretty much any adjective in this way I think; e.g. "helping the poor and needy" is a perfectly legitimate phrase but you couldn't speak of "helping poors and needies". I think "people" is implicit after the adjective in this sort of construction.

Yvonne Gallagher Sep 22, 2021:

@ Oliver Yes, an adjective is an awful lot easier to choose than a noun although you seemed inistent on "one word" As I explained one word can't fully get the idea of this context across as it's really talking about exceptional individuals as I said with the meaning of SINGULAR, UNIQUE, REMARKABLE, OR NOTABLE along with the other words in the thesaurus link I gave you. OUTSTANDING people in fact. In some contexts you might get away with the noun SUPERSTAR.
However, I really disagree with the noun "exceptionals" in this context mainly because I see it commonly used only in an accountancy context in English for exceptional items. It is a term also used sometimes to describe people with a criminal record (exception here being negative in that they are excluded) who could be given a chance by employers. Definitely think an adjective is best

Ruth Hill Sep 22, 2021:

@Oliver That's interesting about the etymology - I always find etymologies fascinating! So, if I understand right, "os excepcionais" would refer to people with special needs, but "as personas excepcionais" would mean "exceptional people" in the same sense as English?

Oliver Simões (asker) Sep 22, 2021:

Thank you all ! I set my mind on "excepcionais" (PT for "exceptional") as an adjective in the plural. By doing so, I was able to keep the intended meaning. Another reason for choosing "exceptional" is the derivational similarity between the two words. Compare:

outlier: c. 1600, "stone quarried and removed but left unused," from out- + agent noun from lie (v.2).

exception: late 14c., excepcioun, "act or fact of leaving out or the excluding of" from the scope of some rule or condition

Source: Etymonline.com