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May you give us light Give us power Give us wisdom And give us love

Russian translation: see


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14:04 Aug 1, 2011
English to Russian translations [Non-PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature / grammar
English term or phrase: May you give us light Give us power Give us wisdom And give us love
I translated it as
Дай нам свет,
Дай нам силу,
Дай нам мудрость,
Дай нам любовь.
However, my Russian friend gave me a suggestion that it is not good to repeat the same words or sentences in Russian and she reviced it as
Дай нам свет, силу, мудрость, и любовь.
When I tried to speak it out, I felt the first one did not sound bad. (but I am not native.)
Is it wrong??

can somebody give me advice whether it is really bad idea to repeat same words in Russian in every situation? And for instance, how about songs, agreements, .....??
thothtak
Japan
Local time: 07:55
Russian translation:see
Explanation:
I think repetitions are absolutely OK in poetry; they emphasize the intended meaning. As far as I know, they serve the same purpose in English poetry. So if repetitions are a part of the original, I would also leave them in the translation, like you did.
Yet, I do not think that repetitions are common in agreements or any formal documents.
Selected response from:

Oksana L.
Local time: 01:55
Grading comment
thank you very much!!
Now I feel at ease.
Many things became clear for me.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5may you give us light give us power give us wisdom and give us love
Dariia
3see
Oksana L.
Summary of reference entries provided
songs are fine, but agreements - ???
Fernsucht

Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


46 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
may you give us light give us power give us wisdom and give us love
may you give us light give us power give us wisdom and give us love


Explanation:
Your translation sounds like the Bible verse. The repetition is coomon in prayers. Your friend's translation is good too. It's more informal speech and that's why we don't need the rythm and all these repetitions. So it depends on the style.


Dariia
Local time: 01:55
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian, Native in UkrainianUkrainian
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
may you give us light give us power give us wisdom and give us love
see


Explanation:
I think repetitions are absolutely OK in poetry; they emphasize the intended meaning. As far as I know, they serve the same purpose in English poetry. So if repetitions are a part of the original, I would also leave them in the translation, like you did.
Yet, I do not think that repetitions are common in agreements or any formal documents.

Oksana L.
Local time: 01:55
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian
Grading comment
thank you very much!!
Now I feel at ease.
Many things became clear for me.
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)




Reference comments


2 mins
Reference: songs are fine, but agreements - ???

Reference information:
.

Fernsucht
United States
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian
PRO pts in category: 4
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