Need Help With A Translation

[Rob A.]

So there must be a singular word in finnish that lends itself more to glory rather than honor.

There’s no requirement that two languages match 1:1 in the scope of meaning of their words. Quite to the contrary: when comparing two different languages, there will nearly always be some overlap, extra connotations, or those pesky too narrowly-defined or too broadly-defined “foreign concepts” for which there exists no single, compact word which would be the exact equivalent in the other language, with nothing added or nothing taken away. And it goes both ways. You work around these differences by adding more words, or by using a different expression altogether, or by letting the context suggest the correct interpretation.

Yes...which is why speaking a language without some grounding in one or more of the various cultures using the language will lead to communication difficulties.

If you where to say in English: "The bear was humongous."... this is different from saying: "The bear was enormous." The first version has an emotional quality to it. [...and I should add is not used in formal communication.]

But it's not only a cultural thing, it's also context. If the subject of the sentence were a mosquito, I would say both words would carry a similar meaning.... a kind of surprised emotional response to the subject's size.

Now how would you get this emotional aspect across in Finnish....and I'm sure wiktionary will be of very little help....It's probably not going to be this.... Karhu oli suunnaton / jättimäinen / valtava....???? .......isompi kuin leipälaatikko....Sorry for this last bit ...couldn't resist...not funny at all in Finnish, I'm sure....

[Jukka Aho]

If you where to say in English: "The bear was humongous."... this is different from saying: "The bear was enormous." The first version has an emotional quality to it. [...] Now how would you get this emotional aspect across in Finnish....and I'm sure wiktionary will be of very little help....It's probably not going to be this.... Karhu oli suunnaton / jättimäinen / valtava....????

All those are good expressions. But if I had to find something colorful (and unsuitable for formal communication), maybe I’d go for julmetun kokoinen, or even jumalattoman kokoinen. There’s also järkälemäinen.

julmettu = “brutally enormous” — the word probably has something to do with julma (“cruel”, “ruthless”, “savage”, “brutal”)

jumala·ton = “god·less”: often used as a mildly rude intensifier when describing something that is of enormous, incomprehensible size, volume, or intensity (out of this world, the works of the devil; something that God Almighty Himself must have turned His back on in order for it to grow into those dimensions, etc.)

järkäle = a (huge) block (of solid rock/stone, etc.)

[CH]

Lok'tar Ogar?

stand alone phrases like this are tough nuts to crack in Finnish.

Like it has already been explained, it is tough to translate such to any language, as languages don't translate 1:1. If you are trying to do that you really need first to get out of your head that notion. What you want to translate is the meaning, or rather... find some other phrase (in whatever language you are translating to) that would be used in the same situation (if such excists), because even though you could make an exact word for word translation, it might not mean anything to the reader, or at least not what you are trying to say.

To take a more extreme example... say you translated "!"#¤% hit the fan" to Finnish as "paska osui tuulettimeen". It's correctly translated word for word; the words have exactly the same meaning in both languages, the sentences have the same meaning in both languages, but what you are trying to convey with the saying is totally lost in Finnish (unless the reader knows the original English saying and what is meant with it). For more examples, go for instance to http://hanzismatter.blogspot.fi/ where people quite often want to have tattooed English language sayings into Chinese (or Kanji Japanese) and what they end up with from the point of a Chinese speaker is... hilarious.

As an exercise for you... translate "pilkunnussija" into English. The meaning is "someone who corrects meaningless or trivial things". You may go for the direct word for word translation (pilkku + nussia), or something that catches the meaning.

[Pursuivant]

Yes, indeed. Why don't you translate Finnish literally

- Day.
- Day.
- Aplogy Lord, but here is forbidden to be burning.
- Oh, I am in nonnoticingness. Aplogy, where is the tobacconization room?
- Left, do so good.
- Grateful.

- Health.
- Mornings.
- Have you learned how to say when the next train goes to Helsinki?
- There in a quarter distance.

[Pursuivant]

As an exercise for you... translate "pilkunnussija" into English. The meaning is "someone who corrects meaningless or trivial things". You may go for the direct word for word translation (pilkku + nussia), or something that catches the meaning.

Apropos in Dutch you have a kommaneuker. They also must have been exposed to German bureaucrats back in the day.

[Pursuivant]

Now how would you get this emotional aspect across in Finnish....and I'm sure wiktionary will be of very little help....It's probably not going to be this.... Karhu oli suunnaton / jättimäinen / valtava....???? .......isompi kuin leipälaatikko....Sorry for this last bit ...couldn't resist...not funny at all in Finnish, I'm sure....

I caused mirth at work using seven-bread-oven as a description of a womans posterior....

[Bavarian]

As an exercise for you... translate "pilkunnussija" into English.

I'm reminded of the Fingerpori which involves one of the characters as a vendor with a sign over the kiosk reading JUHANNUSSIMAA.

[cors187]

The Finnish word voima can mean "strength" or "power". The Finnish word kunnia can mean "honor" or "glory".

Just replying to complete my prior post

Power is a very interesting word,in using the phrase "power and" , it is perceived that "the power" is a force that does not contain a perimeter,therefore "power" is not "concluded" with the inner and outer or a portion of both or neither.Maybe even something continued beyond the outer which might be another dimension.

"Strength and" always reminds me of something understood and gauged, as if the strength is mentioned then you know its working, you understand the gauge in which the word is used , and that the perimeter of strength can be a conclusion.

In terms of interchangeability its possible in many ways i guess, i agree with you on that part .
I think the characteristic of "conclusion" changes the definition of each.And the conclusion factor might make strength or power to have vastly different perimeters.

[cors187]

Still though ,is the answer any closer for the OP's Strength and honor translation.

"dorka tatska"

i couldnt get google to translate????

[jahasjahas]

"Stupid tattoo".

[Jukka Aho]

dorka = (Greater) Helsinki slang for “stupid” — not too commonly encountered in other parts of the country
tatska = a colloquial short form for tatuointi, “tattoo”

[Sami-Is-Boss]

Jahasjahas, I wouldn't use voima ja kunnia for that as it gives a Biblical nuance that the English doesn't. As mentioned above, there's so many things you've got to watch out for translating, it's much more than just finding a word in a dictionary

edit- ah, i see this has been covered.

The fact that "voima ja kunnia" is also used in the Lord's Prayer shouldn't matter.

Maybe it's different in Finnish (I'm not Finnish), but when I see 'the power and the glory' or even 'power and glory', I immediately think of the prayer. It does matter because there's nothing religions in English about strength and honour

[jahasjahas]

Maybe it's different in Finnish

Yes, it is.

Thanks for the translation lesson. I still need some credits for my degree, but I'm not sure whether they'll accept this

[Sami-Is-Boss]

I stand corrected. Nice to see you not being a knobhead about it though

[cors187]

I need to print out a very simple and clean statement in finnish saying "No junk Mail" .
Of course i can Google or ask my friends but anyway!
regards