Apr 22, 2014 15:07
10 yrs ago
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Turkish term
altı üstü
Non-PRO
May offend
Turkish to English
Other
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Idiom
Thıs phrase is found in a highly sexist piece I found online, about, I think what the writer wants a woman to be. Clearly he doesn't like the condition of pregnancy.
Here is an extract from this piece:- "
"Tek başını gece dışarı çıksan laf atacak kimse yok. Şort giysen bakacak insan yok.. Altı üstü bir adam olacaksın. Onu da olamıyorsan geber daha iyi."
I can't find this phrase anywhere. I hazard the guess that the sentence in which it occurs means something like:- 'All she'll get is a bloke. If she doesn't have him, dying is better...'
Here is an extract from this piece:- "
"Tek başını gece dışarı çıksan laf atacak kimse yok. Şort giysen bakacak insan yok.. Altı üstü bir adam olacaksın. Onu da olamıyorsan geber daha iyi."
I can't find this phrase anywhere. I hazard the guess that the sentence in which it occurs means something like:- 'All she'll get is a bloke. If she doesn't have him, dying is better...'
Proposed translations
(English)
5 | All you have to do... | Mehmet Ali Bahıt |
3 | only/just | Tuncay Kurt |
3 | all in all | ATIL KAYHAN |
Proposed translations
18 hrs
Selected
All you have to do...
This is a rather loose translation and a little bit of backround information is necessary:
I know the complete text and this piece is not sexist at all. Actually it criticizes the macho culture. It lists all the big and small problems women face in everyday life, especially in our culture, and goes on to say that as a man, you do not have to deal with those. All you have to do is... Well, now we came to the bit I wanted to discuss:
There is a pun of sorts here. The literal translation for "adam olmak" is "to be a man" but the connotation is different. In English, the phrase "be a man" is about stepping up and acting like a man (or being a manly man, depending on the context). However, in Turkish, that would be "erkek olmak, erkek gibi davranmak". If you say "adam ol" to a person, it would mean "behave!" or "act properly" or "be a proper/decent person" (not to be confused with "prim and proper", obviously).
I am not attempting to adapt the pun here and this translation is really loose, but I am trying to convey the idea. Think of it more as an explanation rather than an actual translation:
All you have to do is be a man (or rather, a decent person). If you cannot even manage that, just go and die.
I know the complete text and this piece is not sexist at all. Actually it criticizes the macho culture. It lists all the big and small problems women face in everyday life, especially in our culture, and goes on to say that as a man, you do not have to deal with those. All you have to do is... Well, now we came to the bit I wanted to discuss:
There is a pun of sorts here. The literal translation for "adam olmak" is "to be a man" but the connotation is different. In English, the phrase "be a man" is about stepping up and acting like a man (or being a manly man, depending on the context). However, in Turkish, that would be "erkek olmak, erkek gibi davranmak". If you say "adam ol" to a person, it would mean "behave!" or "act properly" or "be a proper/decent person" (not to be confused with "prim and proper", obviously).
I am not attempting to adapt the pun here and this translation is really loose, but I am trying to convey the idea. Think of it more as an explanation rather than an actual translation:
All you have to do is be a man (or rather, a decent person). If you cannot even manage that, just go and die.
Note from asker:
Thanks, Mehmet, so much! Your extensive explanation together with Tuncay's observation has made the meaning of the whole passage crystal clear. I thought it was sexist because of an article at pentir.com, which claims that this image of women reinforces the gender stereotype. Does altı üstü mean 'down up' literally? I cannot find this idiom in any dictionary I have, tureng included. |
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks to all as usual for their contributions Mehmet's was the fullest answer."
23 mins
only/just
"altı üstü" is not about a female but about a male here.
(Possibly) She is saying that you are not a female who has a problem like getting harrasment when going out alone at night or wearing shorts...you just need to be a man, that is all...
I hope this helps
(Possibly) She is saying that you are not a female who has a problem like getting harrasment when going out alone at night or wearing shorts...you just need to be a man, that is all...
I hope this helps
1 hr
all in all
All in all, you will be a man. If you can not be, you'd better die.
Discussion
prevail.
There are bits in there about bra clasps giving you trouble, plucking your eyebrows and other clichés listed as woes of being a woman and that is precisely what is being criticized about this piece in the pentlr article.
After all, we are talking about a culture where being a decent person is described with the words "being a man". That in itself says a lot...