Oct 7, 2004 14:14
19 yrs ago
7 viewers *
Malay term
Translating proverbs and idioms from Malay into English
Malay to English
Art/Literary
Linguistics
How do I translate proverbs, expressions and idioms from Malay into English correctly. For example " Ikut rasa binasa. ikut hati mati"
Proposed translations
(English)
4 | You have to know what proverbs & idioms are available in English |
Abd Latiff Bidin (X)
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Proposed translations
9 hrs
Selected
You have to know what proverbs & idioms are available in English
From my experience in the demanding 'sector' of translation you brought up, you have to do more than just translating the Malay idiomatic expression. It's so much more illuminating to the target readers in English if you could also give a very similar idiomatic expression in English. For example, for "rambut sama hitam, hati lain-lain", besides translating the meaning of it from Malay into English, you should provide the nearest English expression: "different folks, different strokes". The reverse is also true. If you have to translate "throwing out the baby with the bath water", providing the closest Malay version "marah nyamuk kelambu dibakar" would be meaningful.
For "Ikut rasa...ikut hati mati", you should link to 'hastiness" or 'soon to'(impulsiveness) eg "hasty bitch brings forth blind whelps", "haste makes waste", "haste trips up its own heels" or "soon ripe, soon rotten". The more English idioms/proverbs you have in your own repository, the better would you be able to translate Malay idioms & proverbs into English. That's why clients usually insist on "native Eng. speakers" for translation into English.
Sorry for the long discourse.
For "Ikut rasa...ikut hati mati", you should link to 'hastiness" or 'soon to'(impulsiveness) eg "hasty bitch brings forth blind whelps", "haste makes waste", "haste trips up its own heels" or "soon ripe, soon rotten". The more English idioms/proverbs you have in your own repository, the better would you be able to translate Malay idioms & proverbs into English. That's why clients usually insist on "native Eng. speakers" for translation into English.
Sorry for the long discourse.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Dear Mr. Latiff Bidin,
Please don't apologise. I appreciate your thorough explanation which I found very helpful. I will be purchasing a book on English & a book Malay proverbs to familiarise myself with various expressions so it will enable me to arrive with closest similarities when I am required to translate in situations like this.I have written a little something as my token of appreciation.
Daun selasih sekuning padi,
Mawar di laman harum mewangi,
Terima kasih sekalung budi,
Budi tuan saya sanjungi."
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