"spleen"
English translation: melancholy, melancholic nostalgia
| 16:13 Dec 4, 2004 |
| Italian to English translations [PRO] Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature | |||||||
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|  Selected response from: Antoine Cassar (X) Local time: 08:10 | ||||||
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| Summary of answers provided | ||||
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| 4 +2 | melancholy, melancholic nostalgia |
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| 5 | malinconia/umor nero |
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| 4 | definition |
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| 4 | nausea |
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| 3 | world-weariness |
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Answers
11 mins confidence: 
| spleen malinconia/umor nero Explanation: Dal Devoto-Oli: Atteggiamento sentimentale caratterizzato da umor tetro e malinconico... |
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14 mins confidence: 
| spleen definition Explanation: Sentimento di noia esistenziale, d'inquietudine e di malinconia che trovò espressione poetica nel romanticismo inglese e francese. da www.sapere.it -------------------------------------------------- Note added at 15 mins (2004-12-04 16:29:08 GMT) -------------------------------------------------- www.sapere.it/gr/ ArticleViewServlet?tid=1159911&rid=1159911&from=Categories |
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25 mins confidence:
| spleen nausea Explanation: Since Baudelaire, the term "spleen" has been used in French and Italian poetry to mean a certain kind of chronic melancholy, a desperately ill yet insuperable feeling of tedium which invades both body and soul. It is quite close to the Spanish word "hastío", but I would say slightly stronger. Perhaps "nausea" may be the nearest equivalent in English. Another choice, should you wish to specify a little more, would be to use "spiritual nausea". Best regards, Antoine Cassar. |
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49 mins confidence:
| spleen world-weariness Explanation: This is the English term I would pick as being closest to the definitions provided by Sympholangue and Antoine, as well as to the French use of "spleen". I confess that I am not very familiar with the word in Italian. -------------------------------------------------- Note added at 1 hr 3 mins (2004-12-04 17:16:57 GMT) -------------------------------------------------- Another possibility: the French \"mal du siècle\" is not unknown in English. Like \"spleen\" in Italian, it is obviously exotic, which is actually an advantage. |
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1 hr confidence: peer agreement (net): +2
peer agreement (net): +2| spleen melancholy, melancholic nostalgia Explanation: Looking back at the sentence in Italian, as Richard has pointed out, the translation "nausea" is indeed rather too strong. Given the context (and at least the apparent tone of the sentence), I would say that "melancholy" would be a good choice. "Melancholic nostalgia" may be another option and be slightly more exact in rendering the meaning, but does sound a little tautological. I doubt that the author is directly referring to the poetic value of the word "spleen", but using it as a commonly accepted word, the meaning of which has naturally shifted and become somewhat a synonym of "malinconia" and "nostalgia". The true strength of the word "spleen" in its purest poetic sense seems to have been lost. Best of luck, Antoine Cassar. |
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