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 Translation
(Show all) 
Techniques 
Translation of proverbs
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Maxi Schwarz-Bastami |
Last Activity January 6, 2009 12:20 PM 235 replies, 16982 viewings |
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| Posted: November 26, 2008 9:07 AM | Post #163074—in reply to #163067 | |
| Liliana Boladz-Nekipelov Extreme Veteran   Mother tongues: Polish, English Posts: 712 Joined: September 13, 2008 Location: United States | Hi, Dodo. But they really do. Like Titanic, for example. they can sense the danger. They can probably also sense earthquakes. | |
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| Posted: November 26, 2008 10:36 AM | Post #163088—in reply to #163071 | |
Jacek Krankowski Mother tongue: Polish Joined: February 18, 2003 Location: Poland |
In Polish, both meanings exist, but they are phrased differently, although the 'black' is in both of them: - czarna robota is what I mentioned before: dirty work, spadework, donkey work (I find excellent Liliana's literal association with mining work); - pracować na czarno = to work illegally | |
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| Posted: November 26, 2008 2:51 PM | Post #163132—in reply to #163071 | |
| Dodo Kaipdodo TC Master  Elite Veteran Mother tongue: Lithuanian Posts: 814 Joined: August 8, 2007 Location: Lithuania |
I`ll try to explain the Lithuanian for this. Black (juodas) is used and understood differently in different idioms. As a rule, if black is the one that does the work, it means the one is working hard and is most probably being exploited; but if it`s the job (work, deed) that`s black, then it means the deed is not kosher. And the doer too, as often as not. | |
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| Posted: December 14, 2008 8:35 AM | Post #164624—in reply to #163132 | |
| Liliana Boladz-Nekipelov Extreme Veteran Mother tongues: Polish, English Posts: 712 Joined: September 13, 2008 Location: United States | Hi, Dodo. Do you know anything about this interesting proverb? Piktas kaip kukutis baloje: As angry as a hoopoe-bird in a swamp | |
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| Posted: December 14, 2008 1:53 PM | Post #164644—in reply to #164624 | |
| Dodo Kaipdodo TC Master Elite Veteran Mother tongue: Lithuanian Posts: 814 Joined: August 8, 2007 Location: Lithuania |
This is a simile, not a proverb, and it is most probably not about a bird. Kukutis might have to do with an ancient superstition, or rather a taboo, common to many cultures but especially strong in heathen Lithuania. You don`t utter certain names if you don`t want to attract attention of the something a name is essential to; you call the something something else. In this case the something would be a devil, because two other words in the phrase (piktas and bala) are often used instead of velnias, and swamps are where all kinds of evil beings live. So the user of the simile says (most probably in joke and certainly without anger) that somebody is as angry as a devil. One of the proverbs reflecting the taboo would be Vilką mini - vilkas čia (Talk of the devil, and he is sure to appear, only vilkas is wolf, not devil, so I think the French one - Quand on parle du loup, on en voit la queue - would be more appropriate in this case). There`s still more to the taboo: uttering the name can be dangerous not only to the speaker, but to the named too. Remember the old Lithuanian tale about Fir the Queen of Grass-snakes? | |
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| Posted: December 14, 2008 3:32 PM | Post #164654—in reply to #164644 | |
| Liliana Boladz-Nekipelov Extreme Veteran Mother tongues: Polish, English Posts: 712 Joined: September 13, 2008 Location: United States | Thank you, Dodo. I must read more about this Queen. | |
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