I am trying to translate the lyrics of the song "1970" from Czech to English. I will only post verse one: 1970 Nevím, jestli je to znát Možná by bylo lepší lhát Jsem silnej ročník sedmdesát Tak začni počítat Nechci tu hloupě vzpomínat Koho taky dneska zajímá Silnej ročník sedmdesát Tak začni počítat Tenkrát tu bejval jinej stát A já byl blbej nakvadrát Jsem silnej ročník sedmdesát Tak třeba například I don't know jestli je to znát(?) Maybe it's better to lie I am a strong class of seventy (assuming that "ročník" = "class of") So start counting I don't want to reminisce mindlessly whom it concerns today(this sounds awful) A strong class of seventy (what does 1970 mean in this context?) So start counting At that time you were a different nation And I was a silly square (is nakvadrát = square?) I am a strong class of seventy So maybe for example (I don't understand this sentence). I'll stop here for now. Any comments, criticisms? -Rene
I don't know jestli je to znát(?) I do not know if it can be seen, if it is aparent on something. maybe in this context, something along the lines of "i don't know if you can tell" might fit better ??? Koho taky dneska zajímá whom it concerns today(this sounds awful) maybe, and again in this context, "and who really cares today"???
Alexx a Meluzino, Moc děkuji za opravy a vysvětlení. Thanks for the corrections and explanation. Quick question: is the vocative of Alexx "Alexxu"? Tedka pokračuju překlad písně. Now I'll continue with the translation of the song. Here is the Refrain. 1970 Ref: Naši mi vždycky říkali Jen nehas, co tě nepálí Jakej pán, takovej krám Naši mi vždycky říkali Co můžeš, sleduj zpovzdálí A nikdy nebojuj sám Our (friends/relatives) always told me Only nehas(?) what tě nepálí(?) Such a man, such trash (or maybe: what a man, such trash)(??) Our (friends/relatives) always told me Follow from a distance what you can And never fear sám(?) Again, I am not quite sure of certain words, so please just bear with me
Yes, I would only prefer “I’m not sure” instead of “I don’t know”. I second this. At that time another state (read “regime”) used to be here. And I was stupid squared. na kvadrát = squared / to the second power One example (some examples) for all tak třeba ~ one/some for all tak třeba ~ to name but a few My parents always told me My parents used to say to me ~ Let sleeping dogs lie. literally: Don’t stop burning what is not burning you. literally: like master, like shop (the quality of the shop is adequate to the quality of the shop’s master) And never fight alone
I have never thought about it this way (I mean shop = krám (in this saying)), maybe because in Moravia we do not use work krám meaning shop. If I could travel in time, I would never use work krám (meaning shop) later then 1800) . Everytime I here it, it seems to me very bookish and obsolete, despite it is very popular in Prague (and maybe the whole Bohemia). For me "krám" is trash, some useles staff people store in the attic for decades. However there are similare sayings to this: Jaký pán, takový kmán (probably from latin Plane qualist dominus, talis est servus. Jaký pán, takový pes.
Strange. In Prague we commonly say: jít do krámu (= to go to the shop), zboží na krámě, krámek (obchůdek)
Jaký pán, takový krám. Jaký pán, takový kmán. Latin: Qualis dominus, talis et servus. Qualis rex, talis grex. Spanish: Cual es el rey, tal es la grey. Polish: Jaki pan, taki kram. Russian: Каков поп, таков и приход. Каков хозяин, таков и слуга. English: Like master, like men.
I’m pretty sure that all the idiomatic sayings operate with the meaning shop 8): Jaký pán, takový krám. (F. L. Čelakovský, Ohlas písní českých, 1839) Jaký kupec, taky krám. (F. Bartoš, Collection of North Moravian sayings, 1892) Aký pán, taký krám. (Slovak version) Jaki pan, taki kram. (Polish version) Wie der Krämer, so der Kram. (German original) mít na krámě zavřít/sbalit krám (shut up shop, put up the shutters) hodit se do krámu (German: in den Kram passen; English: suit’s books, serve one’s turn) Really? My grandmother was from North Moravia and she used it extensively. What about expressions like: krámek, kramář(ka), kramářství, kramařit, kramářská píseň, masný krám, krámská kniha, krámské váhy? For me too, but not only. Jaký otec, takový syn. Jaká matka, taková dcera. Jaký sluha, takový pán. Jaký muž, taková řeč. Jaké slovo, takový čin. Jaká mlatba, taková platba. Jaká mouka, takový chléb. Jaké hnízdo, takový pták. Jaký kroj, tak se stroj. Jaký hledal, takovou pohledal. … English: Like father like son. Like fault like punishment. Like host like guest. Like lips like lettuce. Like lord like chaplain. Like master like man. Like mistress like maid. Like mother like daughter. Like priest like people. Like wood like arrows. Like word like deed.
Thanks for all your comments! Here is my updated translation of the Refrain of the song 1970 1970 Ref: Naši mi vždycky říkali Jen nehas, co tě nepálí Jakej pán, takovej krám Naši mi vždycky říkali Co můžeš, sleduj zpovzdálí A nikdy nebojuj sám Our parents always told me (wer translated "my parents" but I see naši here...) Don't stop burning what is not burning you (let sleeping dogs lie, don't rock the boat) Like master, like shop My (our?) parents always told me Follow from a distance what you can And never fight alone (nikdy nebojuj sám - from the verb bojovat) -Rene
naši = the "ours" (in plural), like in Latin "nostri" the meaning depends on context: our people, our soldiers, our national team, our compatriots, my/our parents, etc. naši mi říkali (our parents told me) ... strictly it implies that you have brothers and/or sisters but the same phrase is used if you have no siblings at all and nobody cares: naši mi říkali (my parents told me) Now I realised that some Czech sentences sound Japanese: Naši mi to ušili. (nashimito ushili) :shock:
It’s interesting how the questions of the non-natives makes me think of Czech peculiarities I was never aware of. Perhaps the right interpretation could be “our family’s parents”. This could explain why an only child could use it to refer to its parents. In fact, “naši” functions as a family name whenever you refer to your own family: Novákovi, Svobodovi a naši literally: Nováks, Svobodas and ours This use of family names refers to a married couple, or eventually to the whole family. From the perspective of a child, it refers to the parents. Similarly, “vaši” refers to the family of the person you are speaking to. More on Czechoslovak-Japanese similarities.
OK, maybe just around Ostrava, none of my family nor friends uses it. Neither the other expressions. I would consider kramářství as a shop where krámy are sold. V Ostravě se nekramaří, vedeme normální systém nákupu a obchodu ;-).