CZ to EN translation

V únoru plánujeme s richardem svatbu, no a počítám, že tak do roka zvednu kotvy. uvidíme.

I have:

In February, we plan with richard a wedding, indeed and I count, so that within a year I will raise anchors. we will see.

I'm not sure if this is the correct translation, and not sure what raise anchors means... can someone please double check this translation and if you can explain raise anchors... is this a czech saying?

 

you've got the ist of it


i would translate it as


Richard and I are planning our wedding for February and, well, I'm counting on raising anchors within about a year. We'll see.


raising anchors I think might even be used in English? http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index ... 726AATBs3j

 

actually, on second thought, i believe the idiom used more often in english (at least in u.s. english) is "to pull up stakes"

 

Now a British English perspective:

I puzzled over "raising anchors" and then realised that the British English expression would actually be "weighing anchors". To weigh in that expression is another word for raise, not weigh as in seeing how heavy it is. However, I have never heard the phrase used other than when literally referring to ships.

Neither did "to pull up stakes" sound familiar. I think we would say "up sticks":

So it would read: Richard and I are planning our wedding for February and, well, I'm counting on upping sticks within about a year. We'll see.

However, I personally would just use "move"!!

 

Richard and I are planning our wedding for February, and well, I suppose I’ll leave in about a year. We'll see.


My dictionary says that the English idiom is “to pull up one’s roots”, but I suppose it applies only in some context. We have no context for this sentence, hence I would prefer to get rid of all idoms.

 

I agree. But I think I would use move instead of leave, wer, in case it looks as though she's planning to leave Richard! :shock:

 

…as it looks in the Czech original.

It is totally out of context, maybe she wants to leave Richard, maybe her parent’s house, maybe she wants to leave her work for maternity leave, maybe she wants to leave her home country and to live with Richard somewhere in Tararingapatam…

 

'Anchors aweigh'....Like Polenidkova says is a maritime, sailors expression.

Meaning 'raise anchors!', or 'the anchors have been raised'
depending on whether it's said as an order, or a confirmation.

I think in Brandon's translation it means, 'so in a year I will move, set off, abandon this place'.....pretty vague

 

Anchors Aweigh, my boys, Anchors Aweigh.
Farewell to foreign shores, We sail at break of day, of day.
Through our last night on shore, Drink to the foam,
Until we meet once more. Here's wishing you a happy voyage home!

US Navy Song

 

i know i'm going off topic and i'm sorry


basically all the idioms mentioned, i.e., pull up stakes, upping sticks, pull up roots, are synonymous - meaning basically any of a variety of "pack up and leave" (whether with a person or without a person)

i also couldn't resist trying to suss out the anchor bit in english - and yes, it is a nautical expression, but i did find references to "pull up anchor" used in a non-nautical sense (in several u.s. newspaper articles actually) ... and again used in the sense to move/leave/ etc.



as a side note - and it's not that important in this case, but i think that when translating, one should at least try and "adopt" the style of the source language writer/speaker - e.g., if they use idioms, try to find one that best matches...

 

A czech version of the Beach Boy's song 'Sloop John B' was posted a while back under the multimedia section.

They chose to call it 'Zvedněte kotvy'

Some idioms make no sense in other languages but still interesting to learn them and once you get the meaning they all make sense.

I would lasso the moon for you.
Take and fling a rope around the moon and capture it for you.
That image might escape a lot of people that are not familiar with lassoing cattle, like in the old american west.

 

In Czech is similar "přinesu ti modré z nebe" - I will bring you the blue from the sky

 

and SOME translations are just bloody horrible:

for example: the movie 'Harold and Kumar go to White Castle'

If you go to a Video půjčovna place and look for it.. you'll find it under:

ready?

Zahulime i uvidime

what? are you kidding me? Let's get high and we'll see? lol.. I know White Castle restaurants don't exists in CR but what kind of movie title adaptation is that? Dude where's my car has a funny movie title translation too.

 

Přinesu ti modré z nebe. That captures the exact same feeling.
Offering to do a fanciful impossibility to show how much you love someone.

Zahulíme a uvidíme....That sounds like a real quality film there Milton. :lol:

Chlapče, Kde je moje auto?

 

actually its :
hele vole kde mám káru :lol:

 

You are funny, wer. I do so admire someone who can be funny in their second language!

 

I shall expect you to sing it to us when you're next in Prague, Glenn! :wink:

 

Interesting point, Mel. I'm not sure I agree with you, though. I always ask myself the question when I'm translating something into English: "What would we say?" so that the finished translation sounds like it was written originally in English and isn't a translation.

 

i'm not saying to do a literary translation - i'm saying to adopt the style...

personally, i don't use many idioms at all - but if you are translating a conversation where idiom's are used (or slang, or impolite words for that matter) - i think the translated version should match that style...


take for example scrimshaw's "Chlapče, Kde je moje auto" - which is fine - and compare to milton's "hele vole kde mám káru "


both mean the same thing, but would you translate them the same way to the way you would say something if, for example, they are lines in a film?

in this case, the "anchor" idiom does seem to have actually been adopted for non-nautical use (i found several articles that used it in the u.s. press - the "pull up anchor" version in relation to company's moving their shops, people leaving their jobs, and a few others - which is why it sounded familiar to me)

again, in this case it's not important, but if it were a line in a book or in a film, i would think that an idiom should be used - as that is a part of the character's personality and style - which should be maintained


along the same lines, one thing i found very odd is "Crocodile Dundee" speaking literary czech in the dubbed version of the film - i would have thought it would be a better "fit" so to speak if he spoke a different dialect of Czech

 

Czech distributors often change names of movies, because they want to attract viewers with something more "spicy".

Like:
Die hard -> Smrtnosná past (Deadly trap)
Bad Santa -> Santa je úchyl (Santa is pervert)
Nikita -> Brutální Nikita (Brutal Nikita)
American Pie -> Prci prci prcičky (I believe forum software doesn't permit such words