Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Russian term or phrase:
на сходе первого десятилетия
English translation:
as the first decade ... wanes
Added to glossary by
Viachaslau
Nov 1, 2009 18:21
14 yrs ago
Russian term
на сходе
Russian to English
Art/Literary
Poetry & Literature
Сегодня, ***на сходе*** первого десятилетия нового века, «все течет, все изменяется» намного быстрее
Proposed translations
(English)
Proposed translations
+6
14 mins
Selected
as the first decade ... wanes
I like verbs.
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Note added at 39 mins (2009-11-01 19:00:52 GMT)
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Reply to asker:
There are some verbs which, I think for semantic reasons, are just as comfortable in the simple present as the progressive. "As the decade is waning...", "As the decade wanes..." - to me, "wanes" just sounds simpler, and more elegant. One syllable vs. three. And, no, it's not because of the old soap opera, "As the World Turns", although notice that it was not titled "As the World Is Turning."
But the other good reason to use the simple present, is that you are not translating one prepositional phrase, but a whole sentence. I don't know how you plan to write «все течет, все изменяется», but the whole will likely sound better, if you use simple in one place and progressive in the other: "... as the first decade ... wanes, 'everything is flowing ...' much faster." Or, the other way around, although, no, I just don't like the sound of "is waning".
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Note added at 44 mins (2009-11-01 19:06:07 GMT)
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Evidence of why "to wane" might be stuck in one's head in the simple present:
THESEUS. Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour
Draws on apace: four happy days bring in
Another moon; but O! methinks how slow
This old moon wanes; she lingers my desires,
Like to a step-dame, or a dowager
Long withering out a young man’s revenue.
-- A Midsummer Night's Dream, I, 1
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Note added at 46 mins (2009-11-01 19:07:25 GMT)
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See, Shakespeare's moon wanes in the simple present, even though the comparison, "a dowager ... withering" is in the present progressive.
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Note added at 54 mins (2009-11-01 19:16:10 GMT)
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For whatever reason, the form "waning" is strongly adjectival in my mind. Just now, I had the notion that maybe "wanes" or "is waning" was in an anniversary memorial speech which Senator Edward Kennedy gave for his brother in the 1980s. I just looked that up, but it was the adjectival form:
"On bright summer afternoons at Cape Cod, or in this waning season of the year, how often we still think of him in all his vigor and say to ourselves, 'We miss you, Jack, and always will'."
(President Kennedy was killed in late November.)
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Note added at 39 mins (2009-11-01 19:00:52 GMT)
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Reply to asker:
There are some verbs which, I think for semantic reasons, are just as comfortable in the simple present as the progressive. "As the decade is waning...", "As the decade wanes..." - to me, "wanes" just sounds simpler, and more elegant. One syllable vs. three. And, no, it's not because of the old soap opera, "As the World Turns", although notice that it was not titled "As the World Is Turning."
But the other good reason to use the simple present, is that you are not translating one prepositional phrase, but a whole sentence. I don't know how you plan to write «все течет, все изменяется», but the whole will likely sound better, if you use simple in one place and progressive in the other: "... as the first decade ... wanes, 'everything is flowing ...' much faster." Or, the other way around, although, no, I just don't like the sound of "is waning".
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 44 mins (2009-11-01 19:06:07 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Evidence of why "to wane" might be stuck in one's head in the simple present:
THESEUS. Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour
Draws on apace: four happy days bring in
Another moon; but O! methinks how slow
This old moon wanes; she lingers my desires,
Like to a step-dame, or a dowager
Long withering out a young man’s revenue.
-- A Midsummer Night's Dream, I, 1
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 46 mins (2009-11-01 19:07:25 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
See, Shakespeare's moon wanes in the simple present, even though the comparison, "a dowager ... withering" is in the present progressive.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 54 mins (2009-11-01 19:16:10 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
For whatever reason, the form "waning" is strongly adjectival in my mind. Just now, I had the notion that maybe "wanes" or "is waning" was in an anniversary memorial speech which Senator Edward Kennedy gave for his brother in the 1980s. I just looked that up, but it was the adjectival form:
"On bright summer afternoons at Cape Cod, or in this waning season of the year, how often we still think of him in all his vigor and say to ourselves, 'We miss you, Jack, and always will'."
(President Kennedy was killed in late November.)
Note from asker:
oh, here is when "nativeness" manifests itself. Your variant sounds wonderful! ;-) |
And if i put it into the progressive form? Grammatically, it should be correct. But it is not for the first time that native speakers use simple tense forms where i would probably choose to use continuous ones. Appreciate your help and clarifications, Rachel :-) |
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Maria Fokin
1 min
|
Thanks, Maria.
|
|
agree |
irssy
: I couldn't think of a better translation! Accurate and beautiful.
17 mins
|
Thank you.
|
|
agree |
Jim Tucker (X)
: Simple present.
20 mins
|
Thanks, Jim.
|
|
agree |
Jack Doughty
1 hr
|
Thanks, Jack.
|
|
agree |
Judith Hehir
1 hr
|
Thanks, Judith.
|
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agree |
Rinnel
10 hrs
|
Thanks, Jekaterina.
|
|
neutral |
Libero_Lang_Lab
: I'm going to buck the trend here, and say that I don't think 'wane' - lovely as it is - works for temporal expressions. Literally, it is used to refer to the moon; metaphorically, it can be used in relation to influence etc but not time I think.
18 hrs
|
Thanks for the discussion, Dan. But in my view it would be a mistake to think of "to wane" as strictly lofty/poetical/lovely. It's a common concept for periods of time: "the waning of the year", famous history book "The Waning of the Middle Ages", etc.
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Rachel, thnank you very much!!! "
+1
3 mins
on the turn of the first decade
.
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Alla_K
: ECOLOGICAL PARASITOLOGY ON THE TURN OF MILLENNIUM http://www.zin.ru/conferences/eps/
3 mins
|
agree |
Andrew Vdovin
12 hrs
|
disagree |
Libero_Lang_Lab
: Firstly it would be 'At the turn', not 'On the turn'... and this would imply the start of the decade not the end of the decade... 'At the turn of the 20th century' means at the start of the 20th century
17 hrs
|
5 mins
on the expiry (of)
after - тоже вариант
-1
2 hrs
fading away
...
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Note added at 2 hrs (2009-11-01 20:25:35 GMT)
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or descending
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Note added at 2 hrs (2009-11-01 21:00:39 GMT)
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as the first decade decreases
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Note added at 2 hrs (2009-11-01 21:08:49 GMT)
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outgoing, outcoming,
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Note added at 2 hrs (2009-11-01 20:25:35 GMT)
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or descending
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Note added at 2 hrs (2009-11-01 21:00:39 GMT)
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as the first decade decreases
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Note added at 2 hrs (2009-11-01 21:08:49 GMT)
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outgoing, outcoming,
Peer comment(s):
disagree |
Libero_Lang_Lab
: I don't think a decade would fade away, and it certainly wouldn't decrease
17 hrs
|
15 hrs
as the first decade of the new century is sliding away
Poeddic, eh?
or "on the break of the second decade" – same difference
or "on the break of the second decade" – same difference
17 hrs
....draws to a close/as the curtain falls...
Perhaps I'm being overly pedantic - habits of a journalist/editor - but I think you need to be careful about mixing metaphors, even in the context of poetic language. I don't think a decade or any other period of time can 'wane'.
Hence, I would opt for: as the first decade of the new century draws to a close....
If you want something more poetic you could go for:
As the curtain falls on the first decade of the new century....
I would opt for a more neutral phrase here. The most obvious one being end/close.
Hence, I would opt for: as the first decade of the new century draws to a close....
If you want something more poetic you could go for:
As the curtain falls on the first decade of the new century....
I would opt for a more neutral phrase here. The most obvious one being end/close.
Discussion