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08:53 Oct 23, 2009
Italian to English translations [PRO] Journalism / art
Italian term or phrase:emule di Pollicino
Same context as before (a piece about man's creative urge/the role of our past plays in creating art, among other things).
Here's the context:
"Nel mezzo del cammino, ho scoperto che le tracce del mio percorso pulsano non solo nella donna che sono divenuta crescendo ma anche in ciò che ho seminato e che altri hanno raccolto; e che, viceversa il polline soffiato in me da venti favorevoli ha rigogliosamente germinato. **Emule di Pollicino**, sentendomi anch’io un po’ smarrita, sono andata alla ricerca di quei semi/segni che si materializzano in oggetti forse senza importanza, che riemergono inaspettati a volte preannunciati da strane coincidenze"
Pollicino seems to be a children's fairytale character called "Hop o' my thumb" (??) and I'm wondering if some other character might be more familiar to an English speaking readership. I'm also a little stumped as to the relevance of Pollicino in the given context.
Can anyone enlighten me?
Explanation: Tom Thumb - in the version by the Brothers Grim - has Tom dropping first pebbles and then bread crumbs to find his way home. But he also makes the best of what he finds on his way to get ahead.
I suggest "Emulating Tom Thumb", but if that's too high brow, you could say "mirroring" or simply "like". Fit it to the tone of the whole article :-)
In the Italian fable of Pollicino, the child marks his way by throwing crums on the ground so he can retrace his steps. So the author of your paragraph is trying to find her way by looking for those "traces" that she has left behind. In this context, "emule" can be simply be translated with "like" Pollicino, or "like" Hansel and Gretel" or whichever character you prefer in a similar context.
Like many other fairy tales, there seem to be lots of different versions of Tom Thumb, some with the breadcrumb/pebble trail reference, some without. While I figured the breadcrumb/pebble trail was important, as the author of the text was trying (I think) to underline the importance of going back through one's past, or retracing one's steps. I went for Tom Thumb in the end, as I'd never heard of Hop o'my Thumb, and Hansel and Gretel, well, aren't thumb-sized :) As for "emule" - if it had been "emula", it would have made perfect sense to me. Thanks to everyone for their help!
According to Il Devotino, 'emulare' means 'impegnarsi per uguagliare o superare qcn (e i propri maestri, il coraggio, l'eroismo di qcn'. So I would be pulled towards "emulating Hansel and Gretel".
Well, since I'm thinking of fairy tales, and reading the entries about being "Gretle", perhaps the author made a simple mistake and meant "Pollicina" who is Thumbelina in English.
Thumbelina is a famous Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale.
She's born from a tulip (similar to Tom Thumb) and is tiny. Her mother makes her a boat and she sails around. She meets a toad who wants to marry her, but she runs away. In the end of trials and tribulations she is saved by a swallow who takes her to the prince of flowers. The Prince asks her to marry him. The end.
Tom Thum is the son of a woman who wanted a son so much, she said it would be fine "even if he were no bigger than a thumb". She gets her wish and her tiny son begins a heroic life, facing challenges and always coming out on top (the story is folklore, so it varries based on where you hear it). Some popular versions have him save the Queen of the Farries and she promises him her daughter in marriage.
The thing is in both sotries Tom is a hero who comes far from his humble beginnings, making the best use of what he finds around him to lead him to success.
How you ant to fit that with this comment's all up to you! I don't want to hazard a guess right now (I've got to go get lunch ready for my "Tom Thumb" who just got home from school!).
Have fun!
Grim's version: Tom thumb gets taken to the forest to get "lost" by his poor father. The first time he makes it back (with his 6 brothers) because he uses pebbles. The next time he uses bread and they get lost. But then they find an Ogre's house and are taken in by the wife. She feeds them and puts them to bed with her 7 daughters (who wear gold crowns), protecting them from her husband. In the night the Ogre decides to kill them anyway, but Tom hass switched the crowns and the brothers are safe. The brothers escape and the Ogre tries to catch them wearing 7-league boots. But the ogre gets tired and sits down to rest. He's near the bothers, so Tom Thumb takes the boots. Tom sends his borthers off towards home (they get there safely) and he goes back to the ogre's house. Tom tells the ogre's wife that the ogre is in trouble and he needs gold and silver to save him. She gives it to him. He goes home with the money and the family starts doing better. Then he uses the 7-leauge boots to help the King in battle. The king, to reward him gives him lots of money and sets the family up well.
So - why the allusion to "emulating" (behaing like) Tom Thumb?
Hi Nina. That's what I thought too, but apparently Pollicino, like Barbara points out below, is cast into the woods and has to try to find his way home using breadcrumbs/pebbles. That sounds like Hansel and Gretel to me. "Emule", anyone?
Hi Carly, I may be wrong here, but I think Pollicino is Tom Thumb... I have no idea how this fits into your context though: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Thumb
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Answers
38 mins confidence:
As Hänsel and Gretel did
Explanation: Anche loro avevano seminato qualcosa lungo la via per ritrovare la strada. Forse in un contesto anglosassone sono più conosciuti.
cynthiatesser Italy Local time: 05:31 Works in field Native speaker of: Italian
Explanation: Tom Thumb - in the version by the Brothers Grim - has Tom dropping first pebbles and then bread crumbs to find his way home. But he also makes the best of what he finds on his way to get ahead.
I suggest "Emulating Tom Thumb", but if that's too high brow, you could say "mirroring" or simply "like". Fit it to the tone of the whole article :-)
Kimberly Wastler Italy Local time: 05:31 Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 4
Reference information: Pollicino (Le Petit Poucet) è una celebre fiaba di Charles Perrault, originariamente pubblicata nei Racconti di Mamma Oca nel 1697. Alcune traduzioni italiane la riportano con titoli diversi, come Buchettino.
Un boscaiolo e sua moglie, non avendo più di che sfamare i loro sette figli, decidono di abbandonarli nel bosco. Il più piccolo dei fratelli, Pollicino, avendo udito per caso la conversazione dei genitori, si riempie le tasche di sassolini bianchi. Il giorno dopo, quando i genitori conducono i figli nella foresta con una scusa, Pollicino lascia cadere i sassolini dietro di sé; seguendo questa traccia riesce a riportare i fratelli a casa. Il giorno dopo la cosa si ripete, ma questa volta Pollicino ha a disposizione, per segnare il sentiero, solo briciole di pane, che vengono mangiate dagli uccelli. etc.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 3 hrs (2009-10-23 12:23:31 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Reference: One starts with Dante and ends up with 'Pollicino'...
Reference information: The only other tale reference I can think of is Hansel and Gretel. In both tales (H&G and Hop o' My Thumb), there are pebbles and breadcrumbs left in the wood as a trail to find their way home.
Good luck with this, Carly, and good day.
Barbara
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 47 mins (2009-10-23 09:41:28 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
For some reason, the tales of Pollicino as Hop o' My Thumb and Tom Thumb are totally different
(http://www.authorama.com/grimms-fairy-tales-24.html).
For consistency (!?!), I'd stick to the HoMT or Hansel and Gretel, and the pebble/breadcrumbs reference.
'Emule' means 'imitate'. What she means that like H&G she traced back the signs/seeds (a fairy-tale misquote, here, I'm afraid) that made her what she is.
'He that does not sow, does not mow', as the proverb goes.
A linguistic note on 'emule'. As a woman, the speaker ought to have said 'emula', 'emulo' being the masculine. Also, given the meaning in Italian (which matches the English 'emulate'), she overdoes it a bit...
The translation workplace 
