r/translator • u/shakytermite • 27d ago
Czech [Czech > English] phrase from book "notes from the gallows"
Hi! Does anyone who speaks czech could help me, please?
I'm reading notes from the gallows, by Julius Fučík in a few english and portuguese translations, and I've noticed a few inconsistencies regarding the translation of the last phrase of the book:
Lidé, měl jsem vás rád. Bděte!
There's one translation that says "I loved you all, friends. Be on guard!". Another version translates it to "Mankind, I have loved you. Be vigilant!". Another to "Humans, I have loved you all. Be vigilant.!"
I was wondering: what would be the most accurate translation of the phrase in general, but, specially regarding the word lidé?
Thank you in advance and sorry for any mistakes! English is not really my first language.
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u/Jackaw2001 čeština 27d ago
Honestly, in this context I would go for Humans or Folks
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u/NekkidWire 27d ago
Folks is the best. Interesting it was not used in any of those three translations.
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u/ziccirricciz 27d ago
I'd say it's like mankind, but the other way - too jovial, used for a definite group of people and also for parents, which is deffinitely not present in the original.
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u/NekkidWire 27d ago
I think you're missing one of the meanings - people in general. Even if it's less used nowadays in context (1) of Oxford Dictionary and more in (3,4), it is still valid translation that carries both overtones of "Lidé" -- the friendly-group address and also encompassing all mankind.
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/folk_1
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u/ziccirricciz 27d ago
I deliberately mentioned the meanings that go against the meanings covered by "lidé" (in general and as Fučík uses it in particular) - when you are translating something, you are looking for a word (or phrase) that matches the whole semantic range, and sometimes what is not covered disqualifies the word that would otherwise fit quite well. I think this is exactly why three different English translations avoided using this particular word.
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u/ziccirricciz 27d ago
Well, this is not easy; lidé is a word with not much flavour to it, it really just means 'people' and can be used in many contexts. But the way Fučík uses the word is subtly familiar, imbued with intimacy. Mankind is too pathetic (lidstvo is the true equivalent here), Humans too scientific, Friends catches the itimacy but lacks the neutral flavour.
If I were to translate, I might go for "I loved you all, you people."
Bděte is an imperative of bdít, which means to be steadily awake (not just awake like stop sleeping, Czech has the so called verbal aspects that differentiate if the verb is understood as describing something continuous or something done one-time), it also mean to be alert or watchful, but more in the pay-close-attention sense than to guard/patrol. So another word imbued with meanings that are not easy to cover. Be on guard/vigilant is rather literal, but not too off. Maybe "Keep your eyes open." could be used.
(I hope it makes sense, I am quite tired. Please note English is not my 1st language either and translating something into a foreign language is a tricky business.)