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- "Scrivo circa un libro all'an…
36 Comments
Around is a fine translation, and it send the right message across. Nobody writes siting around a book, nobody would think that. But "approximately " would be the best word to use. "About" can actually be confusing, because it could mean that you write something related to a book every year, especially if you use "a" instead of "one", and " every" instead of "per"
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The hen lays about/around an egg a day. He has no cruise control but drives about/around 40 miles an hour.
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"Around" can also be used to mean "approximately." Though I'd say it's more likely to be used in casual speech than in formal writing, it's perfectly correct. See Merriam Webster's definition number 6, here: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/around
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Circa is so easy to remember as around. It is so close to circle. Children go around a circle Circa 1540, a phrase used by scholars, means the year is uncertain--around 1540. We round numbers up or down.
As for writing a book per year, consider Alexander McCall Smith or Janet Evanovich who each write a popular detective series. My argument for around, which I suppose is from Anglo-Saxon, is the easy cognate circle to circa. Too many years of reading. Approximately however does work nicely in this sentence.
"Quasi" carries a connotation of falsity in English.