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Are famous quotations in English, as "famous" in other languages?
For example, Neil Armstrong saying "One small set for (a) man, etc....", surely that would have been translated more or less instantaneously into the languages of the many other countries watching the live broadcast.
Did the translator use the correct phrasing, could there have been a better way to say it? Important speeches are normally reviewed and re-written many times in order to sound as good as possible, however, a translator would have no such luxury.
Also, the whole point of a quotation, is the actual words uttered by the famous person.....not by the translator
If we look at it the other way around, when Diego Maradona famously scored using his hand, he called it "la mano de Dios", which is a fairly straightforward translation into English - "the Hand of God"
However, can we consider words which do not have a direct translation e.g. Nixon saying "I am not a crook". "Crook" could be described as a slang phrase in English, which perhaps does not have an exact equivalent in other languages
Also, for languages which use different characters (e.g. Chinese), surely there are many ways that English phrases could be written — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jaseywasey ( talk • contribs) 11:31, 9 September 2012 (UTC) Jaseywasey ( talk) 11:33, 9 September 2012 (UTC)
My old Petite Larousse edition has a "Locutions Latines et Étrangères" section printed on pink pages. It's brief expressions, not long quotes, but it gives an idea of what phrases Frenchmen of 50 years ago might be expected to be familiar with. English phrases include "All right", "At home", "English spoken"[sic], "For ever!"[sic], "Go ahead", "God save the King!", "Honest Iago", Much ado about nothing", "Remember!", "Rule, Britannia", "Self-made man", "Shocking", "Struggle for life", "That is the question", "The right man in the right place", "Time is money", "To be or not to be", and "Up to date". AnonMoos ( talk) 14:06, 9 September 2012 (UTC)
The following is one of the passages in The Human Bondage by W. S. Maugham. Please teach me the meaning of “To what base uses…” Thank you in advance. -- Nobuhiko
"I see you're a journalist," said Philip. "What papers d'you write for?" "I write for all the papers. You cannot open a paper without seeing some of my writing." There was one by the side of the bed and reaching for it he pointed out an advertisement. In large letters was the name of a firm well-known to Philip, Lynn and Sedley, Regent Street, London; and below, in type smaller but still of some magnitude, was the dogmatic statement: Procrastinationis the Thief of Time. Then a question, startling because of its reasonableness: Why not order today? There was a repetition, in large letters, like the hammering of conscience on a murderer's heart: Why not? Then, boldly: Thousands of pairs of gloves from the leading markets of the world at astounding prices. Thousands of pairs of stockings from the most reliable manufacturers of the universe at sensational reductions. Finally the question recurred, but flung now like a challenging gauntlet in the lists: Why not order today? "I'm the press representative of Lynn and Sedley." He gave a little wave of his beautiful hand. "To what base uses..." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 118.5.231.89 ( talk) 11:35, 9 September 2012 (UTC)
Hi, I've been creating userboxes for Irish radio and television recently, and would like to do one for TG4; and because the channel is predominantly Gaelic speaking I thought it would be good to use Gaelic language for the box. So, how would I say "This user watches TG4"? Cheers Paul MacDermott ( talk) 12:01, 9 September 2012 (UTC)
What's it called when a language's spoken form has changed to the point where it doesn't match up with the written form any more (e.g. Tibetan)? -- 168.7.236.91 ( talk) 16:31, 9 September 2012 (UTC)
In this appearance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwfodiDYpBI of Peggy Lee on the original What's My Line?, she affects German speech to disguise her voice. When she pronounces ja wohl she 'trills' her ells. How is this described phonetically? Is it typical for German? μηδείς ( talk) 18:24, 9 September 2012 (UTC)
The best example is just after 2:00 in the video, but it is worth watching from the beginning, which is why I didn't specify a time. She explains after they guess her identity that she was interested in accents, and that she grew up around German immigrants. To me its an almost perfect Marlene Dietrich impersonation [1], although the trill seems like a stage voice. One of the zexiest appeawances I haff seen on TV in a long time. μηδείς ( talk) 20:14, 9 September 2012 (UTC)
In Shakespears Play, Twelvth Night, ther is a reference to a word i am unfarmilar with. When asking Sir Toby Belch If their conspiricy devices have worked successfully to Mislead Malvolio,He is specifically asked"Did it work" and he replied, " Like Aquavitie to a Midwife". What did Shakespear have reference to when using the word, AQUAVITIE? The word is Pronounced, AQUA-VEE-TY, in the Play, but i am unsure of the proper Spelling — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.6.134.244 ( talk) 22:06, 9 September 2012 (UTC)
Language desk | ||
---|---|---|
< September 8 | << Aug | September | Oct >> | September 10 > |
Welcome to the Wikipedia Language Reference Desk Archives |
---|
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages. |
Are famous quotations in English, as "famous" in other languages?
For example, Neil Armstrong saying "One small set for (a) man, etc....", surely that would have been translated more or less instantaneously into the languages of the many other countries watching the live broadcast.
Did the translator use the correct phrasing, could there have been a better way to say it? Important speeches are normally reviewed and re-written many times in order to sound as good as possible, however, a translator would have no such luxury.
Also, the whole point of a quotation, is the actual words uttered by the famous person.....not by the translator
If we look at it the other way around, when Diego Maradona famously scored using his hand, he called it "la mano de Dios", which is a fairly straightforward translation into English - "the Hand of God"
However, can we consider words which do not have a direct translation e.g. Nixon saying "I am not a crook". "Crook" could be described as a slang phrase in English, which perhaps does not have an exact equivalent in other languages
Also, for languages which use different characters (e.g. Chinese), surely there are many ways that English phrases could be written — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jaseywasey ( talk • contribs) 11:31, 9 September 2012 (UTC) Jaseywasey ( talk) 11:33, 9 September 2012 (UTC)
My old Petite Larousse edition has a "Locutions Latines et Étrangères" section printed on pink pages. It's brief expressions, not long quotes, but it gives an idea of what phrases Frenchmen of 50 years ago might be expected to be familiar with. English phrases include "All right", "At home", "English spoken"[sic], "For ever!"[sic], "Go ahead", "God save the King!", "Honest Iago", Much ado about nothing", "Remember!", "Rule, Britannia", "Self-made man", "Shocking", "Struggle for life", "That is the question", "The right man in the right place", "Time is money", "To be or not to be", and "Up to date". AnonMoos ( talk) 14:06, 9 September 2012 (UTC)
The following is one of the passages in The Human Bondage by W. S. Maugham. Please teach me the meaning of “To what base uses…” Thank you in advance. -- Nobuhiko
"I see you're a journalist," said Philip. "What papers d'you write for?" "I write for all the papers. You cannot open a paper without seeing some of my writing." There was one by the side of the bed and reaching for it he pointed out an advertisement. In large letters was the name of a firm well-known to Philip, Lynn and Sedley, Regent Street, London; and below, in type smaller but still of some magnitude, was the dogmatic statement: Procrastinationis the Thief of Time. Then a question, startling because of its reasonableness: Why not order today? There was a repetition, in large letters, like the hammering of conscience on a murderer's heart: Why not? Then, boldly: Thousands of pairs of gloves from the leading markets of the world at astounding prices. Thousands of pairs of stockings from the most reliable manufacturers of the universe at sensational reductions. Finally the question recurred, but flung now like a challenging gauntlet in the lists: Why not order today? "I'm the press representative of Lynn and Sedley." He gave a little wave of his beautiful hand. "To what base uses..." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 118.5.231.89 ( talk) 11:35, 9 September 2012 (UTC)
Hi, I've been creating userboxes for Irish radio and television recently, and would like to do one for TG4; and because the channel is predominantly Gaelic speaking I thought it would be good to use Gaelic language for the box. So, how would I say "This user watches TG4"? Cheers Paul MacDermott ( talk) 12:01, 9 September 2012 (UTC)
What's it called when a language's spoken form has changed to the point where it doesn't match up with the written form any more (e.g. Tibetan)? -- 168.7.236.91 ( talk) 16:31, 9 September 2012 (UTC)
In this appearance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwfodiDYpBI of Peggy Lee on the original What's My Line?, she affects German speech to disguise her voice. When she pronounces ja wohl she 'trills' her ells. How is this described phonetically? Is it typical for German? μηδείς ( talk) 18:24, 9 September 2012 (UTC)
The best example is just after 2:00 in the video, but it is worth watching from the beginning, which is why I didn't specify a time. She explains after they guess her identity that she was interested in accents, and that she grew up around German immigrants. To me its an almost perfect Marlene Dietrich impersonation [1], although the trill seems like a stage voice. One of the zexiest appeawances I haff seen on TV in a long time. μηδείς ( talk) 20:14, 9 September 2012 (UTC)
In Shakespears Play, Twelvth Night, ther is a reference to a word i am unfarmilar with. When asking Sir Toby Belch If their conspiricy devices have worked successfully to Mislead Malvolio,He is specifically asked"Did it work" and he replied, " Like Aquavitie to a Midwife". What did Shakespear have reference to when using the word, AQUAVITIE? The word is Pronounced, AQUA-VEE-TY, in the Play, but i am unsure of the proper Spelling — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.6.134.244 ( talk) 22:06, 9 September 2012 (UTC)