Alabada seas, niña... ¡Bendita seas!

English translation: May God bless you, you poor thing, and keep you.

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Spanish term or phrase:Alabada seas, niña... ¡Bendita seas!
English translation:May God bless you, you poor thing, and keep you.
Entered by: Yvonne Becker

14:44 Nov 11, 2005
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Religion
Spanish term or phrase: Alabada seas, niña... ¡Bendita seas!
"XXX: (LLORANDO Y RECUPERANDO A SU HIJO)
¡Déjenme, déjenme mi bebé! ¡Yo soy la tumba de mi bebé! (LO ABRAZA) ¡Yo soy la tumba de mi bebé! (AL BEBÉ) Ven amor, sin apretarte, porque las tumbas no aprietan; sin hablarte, porque las tumbas son mudas. Ven... (LO MANTIENE CONTRA SU PECHO) Yo soy tu tumba, hijo. Yo soy tu tumba...

XXX QUEDA EN EL CENTRO DE UN CÍRCULO QUE SIN PRETENDERLO FORMARON LAS PROSTITUTAS MIENTRAS LLORAN DESCONSOLADAMENTE. LA COCINERA ES LA PRIMERA EN ACERCASE A ACARICIARLA Y LA BESA A ELLA Y BESA AL MUERTECITO.

COCINERA: (LLORANDO)
**Alabada seas, niña... ¡Bendita seas!**"

XXX es una mujer que acaba de ver morir a su bebé (niño) y lo carga muerto en brazos. La escena describe un grupo de personas en un prostíbulo que tratan de consolarla. Lo de niña es una forma cariñosa de llamar a la madre desconsolada. Mi problema es con las expresiones "alabada seas" y "bendita seas".

Muchas gracias por adelantado por sus sugerencias.
Yvonne Becker
Local time: 11:55
May God bless you and keep you.
Explanation:
"Alabada seas" literally means, "May you be praised" and is generally applied only to God. A literal translation here would sound terrible. The two communications are essentially exhortations to the divinity to "praise" and "bless" the child, and combining the two, as I have suggested, preserves this sense. In addition, this phrase has biblical resonance.

Suerte.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 11 hrs 4 mins (2005-11-12 01:48:42 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Jane has a point about length and formality. Translation of the two phrases here poses a very thorny problem in terms of getting both the register and emotional tone right. The cook is grief-stricken at the sight of a dead baby and she is *exclaiming* her words. As Jane points out, my original suggestion may be a bit too formal. However, I don't think saying "Bless you...bless you" to a dead child strikes a very authentic note either. Perhaps what would work, in terms of reflecting the original sense of exalting the child (alabada seas) and commending her spirit to God above, and taking into account the tension of the moment, words that are exclaimed and a speaker lacking formal education, would be something like:

You are with God now! You are with God. (said desparingly and while sobbing).

Bob
Selected response from:

Robert Forstag
United States
Local time: 11:55
Grading comment
Muchas gracias
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +10May God bless you and keep you.
Robert Forstag
5God bless you, child!
Paula Morabito
5Bless you, child....Bless you
Jane Lamb-Ruiz (X)


  

Answers


2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
Alabada seas, niña... ¡Bendita seas!
God bless you, child!


Explanation:
Saludos

Paula Morabito
Argentina
Local time: 12:55
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
Alabada seas, niña... ¡Bendita seas!
Bless you, child....Bless you


Explanation:
I haven't read your whole script....but short is better

in English: Bless you is usually said without God because it is implied..

this "reads' better...and so does the repitition, IMO

Jane Lamb-Ruiz (X)
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 4
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8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +10
Alabada seas, niña... ¡Bendita seas!
May God bless you and keep you.


Explanation:
"Alabada seas" literally means, "May you be praised" and is generally applied only to God. A literal translation here would sound terrible. The two communications are essentially exhortations to the divinity to "praise" and "bless" the child, and combining the two, as I have suggested, preserves this sense. In addition, this phrase has biblical resonance.

Suerte.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 11 hrs 4 mins (2005-11-12 01:48:42 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Jane has a point about length and formality. Translation of the two phrases here poses a very thorny problem in terms of getting both the register and emotional tone right. The cook is grief-stricken at the sight of a dead baby and she is *exclaiming* her words. As Jane points out, my original suggestion may be a bit too formal. However, I don't think saying "Bless you...bless you" to a dead child strikes a very authentic note either. Perhaps what would work, in terms of reflecting the original sense of exalting the child (alabada seas) and commending her spirit to God above, and taking into account the tension of the moment, words that are exclaimed and a speaker lacking formal education, would be something like:

You are with God now! You are with God. (said desparingly and while sobbing).

Bob

Robert Forstag
United States
Local time: 11:55
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 52
Grading comment
Muchas gracias

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  George Rabel: very good. I totally agree
2 mins
  -> Thanks, George.

agree  JaneTranslates: Me too. A literal translation is culturally impossible. You might want to add something like "Honey" or other endearment (maybe "you poor thing"?) to represent "niña."
11 mins
  -> Thanks. I like your suggestion. Perhaps, "my baby" would work best. ;-)

agree  Maria Paz Mella
20 mins
  -> Thank you, Sweet Blue.

agree  Roxana Cortijo
27 mins
  -> Gracias, Roxana.

agree  Idoia Echenique
29 mins
  -> Thanks, Ido.

agree  Carmen Riadi
38 mins
  -> Gracias, Carmen.

agree  Paola Giardina
1 hr
  -> Gracias, Paola.

agree  María Teresa Taylor Oliver: I like Jane's suggestion of "you poor thing" for "niña" (the mother). Saludos :)
1 hr
  -> Gracias, Mate.

agree  Stephen McCann
2 hrs
  -> Gracias, Stephen.

neutral  Jane Lamb-Ruiz (X): This is much too long here...really and who would say that like that these days>
5 hrs

agree  Jonia Tamburi: I think you nailed this one.
7 hrs
  -> Thanks, Jonia!
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