LiveJournal Translator talent pool

Hello everyone.
I am a oostgraduate in translation and I'm taking part in a literary translation contest for training translators. The translation test consists of a translation (into Italian) of a text taken from "The Pilgrim's Progress" by John Bunyan. This translation test includes part of the author's Apology for the book and there are a few lines which are a bit difficult to understand. If I can't grasp the exact meaning it will be difficult to provide a good translation. Will you please help me understand what the author means in the following lines? Please not that I am not interested in how it should be translated (that's my job!). I just need help to understand what it means. The lines I'm talking about are those in bold, but I'm also writing the previous lines so that you can have the context:

When at the first I took my pen in hand

Thus for to write, I did not understand

That I at all should make a little book

In such a mode; nay, I had undertook

To make another; which, when almost done,

Before I was aware, I this begun.

And thus it was: I, writing of the way

And race of saints, in this our gospel day,

Fell suddenly into an allegory

About their journey, and the way to glory,

In more than twenty things which I set down.

This done, I twenty more had in my crown;

And they again began to multiply,

Like sparks that from the coals of fire do fly.

Nay, then, thought I, if that you breed so fast,
I'll put you by yourselves, lest you at last
Should prove ad infinitum, and eat out
The book that I already am about.






Thank you!

Can anyone point me at an online Russian translation of Rudyard Kipling's poem "Hymn of Breaking Strain," if such a thing exists? I tried Google in both English and Russian, but since I had to use Google Translate to get the Russian version of the poem name I've no faith I was looking for the right thing. I'm told that lib.ru/KIPLING/ does not have it (the link doesn't work for me, so I can't check myself).

Do you know what an English idiom push up daisies mean? Well, now with WikIdioms, you can know in no time. WikIdioms is a new collaborative effort of translators and language lovers who have created first Internet multilingual dictionary of idiomatic expressions. It is both useful and fun! Everyone can also contribute expressions that he knows. Visit WikIdioms, educate yourself, translate idioms, contribute, have fun!

Idiom translation is one hardest translation-related tasks. Idioms cannot be translated literally, as it will result in non-sense. In order to translate an idiom one should find the equivalent expression in the second language. It requires deep familiarity with the language and knowing the specifics of its metaphorical speech. WikIdioms is in fact a multilingual dictionary of idioms, created by native language speakers.

Hey folks! :)

I'm a student at McGill University in Montreal, majoring in Psychology, minoring in Linguistics. For this term I’m doing a project on ... well, I wish I could tell you but that would ruin the purpose of my study. But I'll tell you later in case you're interested.
That's why I'm looking for English/German bilinguals*, English/French bilinguals*  and German or French natives acquiring English as a second language.

( Details and link to surveyCollapse )

Hello!

I'm working on a story which is supposed to contain a couple of lines in French (Québécois, if it makes a difference) if someone could please help with it.

The lines are "Oh, where is he?" and "Forgive my boyfriend; he's an idiot." Any help would be much appreciated!

X-posted to translateplease

I'm curious what these lyrics are saying:

Hi, I'm a fanfic writer and I'm currently writing a story where 2 of my (american) characters go undercover in São Paulo, and I will be having them both interacting with natives of the area. So I was just wondering if there was anyone who would be willing to translate some dialogue for me?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I'm a currently translating a book from English to Japanese. The title is MW, pronounced muu. It was recently made into a movie in Japan, but before that was a Manga, written by Tezuka Osamu. The book I'm translating is written by Tsukasaki Shiro and published June 10, 2009.

Summary (From the back of the book): 
      It started in Bangkok with a kidnapping of a Japanese person. The kidnapper escaped with a large fortune and leaving behind two dead bodies. 
     The superintendent of the the metropolitan police department in Tokyo, Sawagi, was given control of the criminal investigation and met with two men. One, an LA Shinseiki (meaning 'new century') Bank employee, Yuuki Michio (played by Tamaki Hiroshi) and one a clergy man at Yama no Te (Meaning 'mountain's hand), Garai Yuutaro (Played by Yamada Takayuki) . "We are the wrong side of one coin" . These two have lived burdened with the same past.
     Having gathered up all the data, Makino Kyoko began to have suspicions about a horrifying incident that occurred 16 years ago. Not only that, but the appalling past that the government had buried in the darkness, along with the truth of the two survivors.
     Tezuka Osamu's original work, the movie "MW" is made into a superb authentic novel.

Interested? You can find it here.

(x-posted)

 Hello!

I'm planning on getting a tattoo in the near future...and I'd like to use Magritte's "This is not a ____" in the design.

His Trechery of Images paintings said "Ceci n'est pas une ____", referring the fact that paintings can never be the objects they represent/words are arbitrarily assigned to objects, and I'd like to appy this to myself! (My name is "Renee".) 

So, I know Latin, not French. How would I change the grammar to reflect my gender/whatever else? Should I, or would that make the reference pointless?