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Tramandare sé stessa

English translation: perpetuate itself

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18:59 Feb 5, 2012

Italian to English translations [PRO]
History / Holocaust

Italian term or phrase: Tramandare sé stessa

In un certo qual modo, anche in quella dimensione del non-essere che era rappresentata dalla (ir)realtà del ghetto, la comunità compiva, attraverso l'accettazione della selezione imposta dai nazisti, l'ultimo disperato sforzo di tramandare sé stessa, di preservarsi il più a lungo possibile proteggendo i propri caratteri più idonei alla sopravvivenza.

In a way, even in that dimension of not-beingwhich the (un)reality of the ghetto represented, accepting the selection imposed by the Nazis was the last desperate effort that the Jewish community made in order to be able to keep a hope for the future and preserve itself for as long as possible through the protection of the traits which were necessary to survival.

E' una traduzione a dir poco "letteraria". Non riesco ad esprimere il concetto di "tramandare sé stessa"!

papelito

English translation:perpetuate itself

Explanation:
One of many possible translations.

Selected response from:

Marco Solinas
Local time: 10:55

Grading comment

Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

3 +3

perpetuate itself

Marco Solinas

4 +1

Transcend itself

LaraBarnett

sustain itself

gallagy2

to survive themselves

James (Jim) Davis

to be passed down

Glinda

to hand itself down to the future

Michael Korovkin

to outlive itself/to outlast itself

texjax DDS PhD

to leave a legacy

Kari Foster

Answers

7 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +3

perpetuate itself

Explanation:
One of many possible translations.

Marco Solinas
Local time: 10:55
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English,

Italian
PRO pts in category: 4

Grading comment

Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

50 mins confidence:

to be passed down

Explanation:
Un'altra opzione.

Glinda
Local time: 19:55
Native speaker of:

Italian

Notes to answerer

Asker: ;) grazie, ci avevo pensato a dire il vero. credo che tradurrò: "perpetuate itself"

54 mins confidence:

to survive themselves

Explanation:
It isn't quite the same thing technically, but perhaps it translates the spirit of the Italian.

James (Jim) Davis
Italy
Local time: 19:55
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 47

Notes to answerer

Asker: thanx. i think i'll use "to perpetuate itself"

1 hr confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

Transcend itself

Explanation:
This looks like a literal translation, but was the first idea I had on reading the text. I think it suits the context and is of the correct register, often being used in philosophical and academic explanations such as this.

The dictionary definitions below show its meaning both with and without object.

"Transcend
verb (used with object)
1. to rise above or go beyond; overpass; exceed: to transcend the limits of thought; kindness transcends courtesy.
2. to outdo or exceed in excellence, elevation, extent, degree, etc.; surpass; excel.
3. Theology . (of the Deity) to be above and independent of (the universe, time, etc.).
verb (used without object)
4. to be transcendent or superior; excel: His competitiveness made him want to transcend."
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/transcend?qsrc=2446

Example sentence(s):

"The fourth requirement is to sensitise the educational functionaries outside the schools to appreciate the need to TRANSCEND generations, while determining and understanding the needs of the schools,..."
"Our Mission: To nurture a unified Jewish Community that TRANSCENDS generations and neighborhoods."

Reference: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article2370016.ece
Reference: http://www.orlandojewishfed.org/page.aspx?id=209560

LaraBarnett
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:55
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 4

Notes to answerer

Asker: thanx, i'm undecided. maybe i'll use "perpetuate itself" of your option ;)

3 hrs confidence:

to outlive itself/to outlast itself

Explanation:
Iy might work

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2012-02-05 22:04:30 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

iy=it

Example sentence(s):

They wrote of their intentions for their diaries to outlive themselves and defy any Nazi future cover up. Herman Kruk illuminated this in his astoundingly detailed diary from the Vilna Ghetto

Reference: http://dtl.unimelb.edu.au//exlibris/dtl/d3_1/apache_media/L2...

texjax DDS PhD
Local time: 13:55
Native speaker of:

Italian
PRO pts in category: 14

Notes to answerer

Asker: grazie. mi piace molto la tua proposta, non se se userò questa o "perpetuate itself".

5 hrs confidence:

sustain itself

Explanation:
another option, similar to your own "preserve".

They wanted to keep hope alive and so sustained themselves as well as possible by protecting and maintaining as many of those character traits which would help them survive as they could...

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/sustain

sustain - lengthen or extend in duration or space; "We sustained the diplomatic negotiations as long as possible"; "prolong the treatment of the patient"; "keep up the good work"
keep up, prolong
keep on, retain, continue, keep - allow to remain in a place or position or maintain a property or feature; ..."We kept the work going as long as we could"; "She retained her composure"; preserve, uphold, carry on, continue, cause to remain or last; "continue the family tradition"; "Carry on the old traditions"

gallagy2
Ireland
Native speaker of:

English

Notes to answerer

Asker: thanx. maybe i'll use "ti perpetuate itself"

14 hrs confidence:

to leave a legacy

Explanation:
Not an exact translation by any means, but possibly appropriate in the context?

Kari Foster
Local time: 19:55
Native speaker of:

English

Notes to answerer

Asker: pretty good, actually. maybe i'll use it, or "to perpetuate itself"

13 hrs confidence:

to hand itself down to the future

Explanation:
Somewhat wordy but, in my view, a more straightforward alternative. Other versions that come to mind strike me as though they either may connote becoming obsolete or sound too paradoxical.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 days (2012-02-10 10:00:22 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

To tell you honest truth, "to perpetuate" was the first thing I thought of too. But then (giuro, in tempi non-sospetti!) I reconsidered. Perpetuation denotes existential contunuiity. And yet a particular ghetto may die physically but hand itself down to the future (or, at least, to history) through some of the individuals of whom it was comprised. For example, the Warsaw ghetto was eliminated altogether and yet it has handed itself down to both the future and history; and through that legacy had started anew in more places than just one.

Michael Korovkin
Local time: 19:55
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English,

Russian
PRO pts in category: 16

Notes to answerer

Asker: i like your suggestion, the only problem is that it's too long. i think i'll use "to perpetuate itself". cheers

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Tramandare sé stessa

English translation: perpetuate itself

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Tramandare sé stessa

English translation: perpetuate itself

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KudoZ™ translation helpThe KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

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The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.