Přes zelené žitečko

Lenka Filipová has a tune, on one of her CDs, named Přes zelené žitečko.

Přes zelené žitečko teče voda.

Across the rye (field) flows the water.

Napoj mně mámílá mého koňa.

This second line confuses me greatly. I know either the person or the horse is being lured by the "drink" or voda, but which one?

The drink lures me away from my horse. (?)

or

The drink lures me and my horse. (?)

Any help would be most welcome. Thank you in advance.

Dan

 

Across the green rye (field) flows the water.

Napoj mně má milá mého koňa.
Feed my horse with water, my love.

koňa - dialect version of koně (from kůň - horse)

Napojit - in thic case - feed with water
Má milá - my love (girl).

 

eso,

I deeply appreciate the translation help.Thank you so very much.

I thought it was "ma-mi-la" and I failed to se " ma mi-la".

Yet I am looking for a more exact translation, as "Feed my horse with water, my love" is not wholly correct.

There is no "voda" and what about the "mně" "to me."

Water/feed my horse to me my love (??)

Thanks again,
Dan

 

water my horse FOR me my love

 

meluzino,

Moc Vám diky, stoktrát.

Dan

 

Yep, but there is the verb “napojit”. In Czech there are two different verbs for “feed with a drink” (=napojit ← nápoj=drink) and “feed with a food” (=nakrmit).
Strictly speaking there is nothing about the water, but it is the only drink expected for a horse, right?

In this case it means “for me” (for my pleasure/benefit).

The most literal translation could be:

Let/make for me my horse drink, my love/darling.
Give for me something to drink to my horse, my love.

The natural free translation is:

Water my horse, my love.

 

Just for information, there is also second, completely different meaning of "napojit" in Czech.

napojit - connect/link/attach

So, in theory, if mentioned horse was stabled in hi-tech stud farm and speaker would be client, who just connected his new horse to special computer sensor system, which control health and temperature stats in box and he talks to female operator in control room, then sentence could be translated like:

Napoj mně má milá mého koně.
Connect my horse in (system), my dear.

:twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

 

Thank you all for this most wonderful help. I deeply appreciate it.

I am learning Czech on my own so at times things are difficult.

If I were in a University class my questions could quickly and easily be answered by a professor.

So, thank you so much for taking the extra time, and words, to help me.

Most sincerely,
Dan

 

Napoj mně má milá mého koně.

mně...for me

I wonder why mne was used instead of mi
Zloděj mi ukradl kolo.
Koupil jsem jí prsten.

In dative I see there are two choices....mi and mně
Is this just stylistic choice?

 

Yes and no! :twisted:

There is a stylistic difference, the short form “mi” (ti, si) is neutral and the long form “mně” (tobě, sobě) is emphasized (~for nobody but me).

There is a regional difference, the Bohemians tend to use the short form according to the stylistic difference, the Moravians tend to use the long form ignoring the existence of the short form and of the stylistic difference.

And there is also a grammatical difference (but not influencial in this case). The short form’s position in the clause is restricted, because it is enclitic. Therefor the long form is often (esp. in poetry and songs) used to enable the free word order.

My advice for you: Don’t worry about it, you have different priorities in your Czech studies.



In this particular song, the form “mně” is used bacause it is in a Moravian dialect (see the form “koňa” instead of standard “koně”).

The same motif is frequent in other (both Bohemian and Moravian) songs.

A Bohamian song (the popular version):

Pod našimi okny
teče vodička
napoj mi má milá
mého koníčka.

Já ho nenapojím
já se koně bojím
já se koní bojím,
že jsem maličká.

Its Moravian variant (as used by Antonín Dvořák):

Okolo hájička teče tam vodička,
napoj mně, panenko, mého konička.
Já ho nenapojím,
já se tuze bojím,
že jsem maličká.

And its Slovak variant:

Široký jarčok, bystrá vodička,
napoj mi, milá, mojho koníčka.
"Ver ho něnapojím,
lebo se ho bojím,
že som maličká.

 

This is interesting.

I haven't listened to Lenka's CD in a long while. Yesterday I was only reading the lyrics printed on the CD insert, which were what I posted above.

I just now listened to Lenka sing that tune and what she actually sings is:

Ze zelené žitečko teče voda.
Napoj mi má milá mojho koňa.

Dan

 

Ze zelené žitečko teče voda.
Napoj mi má milá mojho koňa.

Most probably, she sings Cez zelené žitečko...

Cez is Slovak equivalent of Czech přes.

 

Yep, she sings:

Cez zelené žitéčko teče voda,
cez zelené žitéčko teče voda,
napoj mi, má milá,
napoj mi, má milá, mojho koňa.

 

Thanks again, everyone.

I had no idea that two lines of Czech could produce such a large thread.

I am so very grateful for how much I learned from this.

Thank you, my professors!

Dan

 

Hlboký potúčik, bystrá vodička,
napoj mi, milá, môjho koníčka,
Veru(že) ho nenapojím,
lebo sa ho bojím,
že som maličká.

If you want it in the standard modern Slovak and not in the Slovak dialect as written by František Ladislav Čelakovský before Ludevít Velislav Štúrt did start his work on the modern unification and codification of the Slovak language. :wink: :twisted: :twisted:

 

OK. I get it. But remember that there are those of us here, who consider themselves lucky to understand even the standard modern dialect, and wouldn't be able to recognize any other dialect (much less know the difference between them). :?

 

Well, I appreciate you are able to spot such nuances 8).

But I hope you understand we don’t modernize traditional songs. In English, you didn’t too, right?

In fact, even the modern songs are rarely in the standard Czech/Slovak.

 

That reminds me of a song I learned awhile back from one of the links posted here.
Here is a line from that song...

Ty by jsi mne musel kolebku dělati
do dřeva netěti.
So, the subtlety in using mne instead of mi is...
You would have to make for me(and only me, implying great fidelity)
a cabin out of wood.
Am I close?

By the way, I cannot find the link to that song. Somehow I lost it. It is very pretty.