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33rd translation contest: "Back to the playground" » English to Hungarian » Entry by Zsolt Beke


Source text in English

Translation by Zsolt Beke (#38392) — Winner

[...] “I have a proposal.” It leaned forward like my friend April does when she wants to tell a secret, even though none of her secrets are any good. Or even really secrets. “If you don’t tell anyone I am here, I can fix your eyes.”
“Get out of town!”
It blinked a couple of times. “That is what I am attempting to do.”
“What I mean is you can’t do that!”
“Why not?”
“Well, no one else has been able to fix my eyes, besides with glasses.”
“I have certain abilities. You will see, provided…”
“…I don’t tell anyone about you?”
“That is the heart of it, that is the nub.”
“How do I know you won’t blind me? You could be like one of those telemarketers making promises but totally lying.”
It started waxing on, waxing off again. “I would not do such a thing to a creature who has done me no harm.”
“Meaning if I harmed you, you could make me go blind?”
“That’s on a need-to-know basis.”
“And if you fix my eyes, and I don’t tell anyone about you, you’ll leave our fields?”
“That’s the heart of it!” [...]
[…] – Van egy javaslatom. – Előrehajolt, mint amikor April barátnőm egy titkot akar elárulni, bár egyik titka sem valami nagy szám, sőt, nem is igazán titkok. – Ha nem mondod el senkinek, hogy itt vagyok, helyrehozom a látásod.
– Na, menj már!
A lény pislogott párat.
– Éppen ezen igyekszem.
– Mármint nem hiszem, hogy képes vagy rá.
– Miért nem?
– Senki sem tudja helyrehozni a látásom, csak a szemüveg.
– Vannak képességeim. Meg is mutatom őket, feltéve…
–… ha nem szólok rólad senkinek.
– Alapjában véve igen, ez lenne a lényeg.
– Honnét tudjam, hogy nem vakítasz meg, hogy nem olyan vagy, mint azok a telemarketingesek, akik mindenféle ígérgetéssel akarják bepalizni az embert.
Megint úgy csinált a kezeivel, mintha polírozna valamit.
– Ha nem bánt valaki, azzal én sem teszek ilyesmit.
– Szóval, ha bántanálak, megvakítanál?
– Erre most nem válaszolnék.
– És ha helyrehozod a látásom, és nem mesélek rólad senkinek, akkor elmész a földünkről?
– Pontosan erről van szó! […]


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Discussion about 33rd translation contest: "Back to the playground" in English to Hungarian - Entry #38392
Gabriella Vento
Gabriella Vento  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 14:48
Member (2015)
English to Hungarian
+ ...
Enjoyable and accurate, except one part Jul 24

The "need-to-know basis" means that only those who have to know will be informed, "briefed" about it, that is, people who participate or are otherwise involved.
I think it is quite funny to use this expression here as "need to know" means "I answer the question if I kill you or not only before I (possibly) kill you".
"Erre most nem válaszolnék" does not reflect this amusing logic paradox. I am not sure though, if there is a better way in Hungarian to put it.
 
Denis Fesik
Denis Fesik
Local time: 00:48
English to Russian
+ ...
This is bureaucratic language Jul 24

What I found amusing about it was how the caterpillar's speech borrowed different things from different places in language; after all, it's an alien speaking, it's still not comfortable communicating to a human in completely human ways. "Need-to-know basis" is just one example. I think all translations into Russian have rendered it using naturally sounding expressions that didn't stand out as being a little bizarre (and neither did the Hungarian expression if I understood it correctly with the h... See more
What I found amusing about it was how the caterpillar's speech borrowed different things from different places in language; after all, it's an alien speaking, it's still not comfortable communicating to a human in completely human ways. "Need-to-know basis" is just one example. I think all translations into Russian have rendered it using naturally sounding expressions that didn't stand out as being a little bizarre (and neither did the Hungarian expression if I understood it correctly with the help of MT). That example of office speak has an equivalent in Russian but it wouldn't cut it in the context of the story, so I came up with another way of dealing with it in my translation (which has remained in my head only, because I didn't qualify to submit contest entries). I don't think "need-to-know" should be interpreted in the sense of "only before I (possibly) kill you." Maybe someone who's native in English will give a verdict that's different from mine

[Редактировалось 2024-07-24 12:49 GMT] ▲ Collapse
 

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