mazorca y espiga de liberación
English translation: germ and spike of liberation / seed and ears of liberation / kernel and substance of liberation
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| 15:40 May 6, 2018 |
| Spanish to English translations [PRO] Social Sciences - Government / Politics / Nicaraguan newspaper article | |||||||
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|  Selected response from: JohnMcDove United States Local time: 23:24 | ||||||
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| Discussion entries: 7 | |
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Answers
8 hrs confidence: 
ear and spike of liberation Explanation: Following the discussion, including María Teresa's comment about mazorca and espiga meaning 'ear,' I think this might be a good option, even if the connection between ear and spike may not be as easily understood as in the source text. Like tender corn on the cob, gleaming beneath the sun, the Sandinista Front was born, [as] the ear and spike of liberation. -------------------------------------------------- Note added at 9 hrs (2018-05-07 01:24:42 GMT) -------------------------------------------------- Hola María Teresa: Following your lead with respect to 'ear,' I think 'ear and spike' work, both semantically and stylistically, perfectly fine, as they appear to be synonyms in the same way as the source text's mazorca y espiga, and, very importantly, translating it this way would allow for 'chilotito tierno' to be rendered as 'tender corn on the cob,' as it's important to retain as much of this (extended) metaphor as possible. Como un chilotito tierno, fulgurante bajo el sol nació el Frente Sandinista, mazorca y espiga de liberación = Like tender corn on the cob, gleaming beneath the sun, the Sandinista Front was born, as the ear and spike of liberation. Michael Hanne on translating metaphors: “Translating metaphor is one of the most fascinating challenges for translators of journalistic and literary texts, since it requires us to draw on a great range of our imaginative, cultural and linguistic resources” ('Metaphors for the Translator' in (Susan Bassnett and Peter Bush) "The Translator as Writer" quoted in 'Metaphor and Agency' 2015: 47). Metaphor and Agency in the English-Spanish Translation of Texts in the Social Sciences (2015) https://figshare.com/articles/Metaphor_and_agency_in_the_Eng... I hope this helps. Cheers from Honduras :-) -------------------------------------------------- Note added at 1 day 2 hrs (2018-05-07 17:45:05 GMT) -------------------------------------------------- Now that I´ve examined this a bit more, I think a literal translation may, in fact, be not only possible but preferible, at least for mazorca y espiga, even if that means using a target language term that may not be as frequently used as its equivalent in Spanish. milpa s. f. Méx. AGRICULTURA Maizal, terreno sembrado de maíz. https://es.thefreedictionary.com/milpa tapizca [sic]>>tapisca s. f. Amér. Central AGRICULTURA Recolección del maíz. https://es.thefreedictionary.com/tapisca spike 1. an ear, as of wheat or other grain. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/spike (see several entries, at this same URL, from different dictionaries, all or many of which stating "ear" and "spike" are synonyms) If this small part can be translated more or less literally, which apparently it can, I´d render it in this way to convey the full force of this extended metaphor. Como un chilotito tierno, fulgurante bajo el sol nació el Frente Sandinista, mazorca y espiga de liberación. Cada grano fue una bala para conquistar la paz. Y levantamos la milpa, para la tapizca de la libertad = Like tender corn on the cob, gleaming beneath the sun, the Sandinista Front was born, as the ear and spike of liberation. Each kernel [was] a bullet to achieve [or "bring about"] peace. And we harvest our fields of maize/corn, gathering the crops of freedom. |
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2 days 1 hr confidence:
heart and soul Explanation: 'Vanguard' could be substituted for soul, which would make it closer to the meaning of the original, but it does not sound too well in English. https://books.google.com/books?id=5FwUAAAAYAAJ Isaac Frederick Marcosson - 1917 - Soviet Union Those were the years of research and he spent the greater part of 1904 and the beginning of 1905 in London working in the British Museum. But the Voice of Revolution was calling to, him from his native land. He returned to Petrograd with summer and devoted himself heart and soul to the liberation movement which was ... Heart and soul: meet the UK groups changing activism | openDemocracy https://www.opendemocracy.net/.../heart-and-soul-meet-uk-gro... Oct 2, 2015 - We can't change where we're from, but building a mass movement means confronting power and privilege. Sisters Uncut May Day action. Credit: Eilidh Macpherson. Building movements that are truly liberating takes heart and soul. Recently, from #BlackLivesMatter to the Scottish Independence Campaign |
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5 hrs confidence:
germ and spike of liberation / seed and ears of liberation / kernel and substance of liberation Explanation: I am giving a "medium" level of confidence, more on the side of understanding the Spanish than in terms of suggesting a translation. But I want to mention that in my last link here I include the "old" Byelorrusian emblem, just to note that these "cobs" and "ears" are clear Communist symbols, and the metaphor is then more understandable. To note also that "mazorca" has an additional meaning (as noted in DRAE, for Guatemala, but easily extrapolated to Nicaragua: 5. f. Guat. Grupo de personas íntimamente relacionadas. http://dle.rae.es/?id=OhBfC8z In other words, the Frente Sandinista is no just a germ, but also a "hard core" group of individuals. So the song plays with both the literal and figurative secondary meaning (but a connotation fully applicable here) of "mazorca". Also, "espiga", despite the literal meaning, it has also a war-like connotation, as it is also defined as (per DRAE), espiga 5. f. Parte superior de la espada, en donde se asegura la guarnición. So, if the above is understood (and the one thousand and one nuances that that "poetic" discourse may imply), then you can try with terms in English that may include these different nuances and connotations, which would sound meaningless, unless we put them in the revolutionary-Communist context. Here are some definitions that may help (check also the synonyms, as Allegro notes in the Discussion, or any other Thesaurus) Defn 2 here, https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/kernel Definitions 2.1 and 2.2. here, https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/germ spike1 NOUN 1 A thin, pointed piece of metal, wood, or another rigid material. Synonyms prong, barb, point, skewer, stake, spike 2 NOUN Botany A flower cluster formed of many flower heads attached directly to a long stem. Origin Late Middle English (denoting an ear of corn): from Latin spica (see spica). https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/spike Wheat ears surround the central device, with flowers on each ear; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emblem_of_the_Byelorussian_Sov... At any rate, this sounds like an interesting challenge. I hope I gave some inspiration and additional ideas to fully understand the original, and thus, render it in English to the best of your abilities. Saludos cordiales. -------------------------------------------------- Note added at 5 days (2018-05-11 21:22:28 GMT) Post-grading -------------------------------------------------- You're welcome. :-) ¡Buen fin de semana para ti también! |
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Reference comments
21 mins peer agreement (net): +2 |
| Reference Reference information: Cómo un chilotito tierno fulgurante bajo el sol. Nace el frente sandinistas mazorca y espiga de liberación. Cada grano fue una bala para conquistar la paz. Y levantamos la milpa, para la tapizca de la libertad. https://www.musixmatch.com/es/letras/Carlos-Mejia-Godoy-Los-... 'milpa' also means 'maize' or 'corn'. |
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