¡° not so much what he wanted them to say, as what they would want to say if they

English translation: attempt!

08:40 Dec 2, 2004

English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature

English term or phrase: ¡° not so much what he wanted them to say, as what they would want to say if they

Analyzing this, Weil attributed it in part to His tendency to interpret what people told him as ¡° not so much what he wanted them to say, as what they would want to say if they shared his outlook.¡±

what's the meaning of this sentence?

discourse

Selected answer:attempt!

Explanation:
Actually I don't think the sentence itself is very complicated linguistically, it just seems to be the product of a very twisted mind.. anyway:
I agree with Dusty that it would help to know if Weil, 'his' and 'he' are the same person.
When 'He' interpreted what people told him he usually interpreted it as follows:
They are telling me what they would say if they had the same opionion as me. They are NOT just telling me what I want them to say.
Hope that makes more sense.

Selected response from:

Nesrin
United Kingdom
Local time: 04:21

Grading comment

Thank you very much!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED

4 +2

attempt!

Nesrin

3 +1

See comment below...

Tony M

3 -1

when understanding/seeking the meaning in other people's words,

CMJ_Trans (X)

Answers

5 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): -1

when understanding/seeking the meaning in other people's words,

Explanation:
he was NOT influenced by his projection of what they were saying but instead he was influenced by his own ides, in other words he was influenced by what he would say in their place

CMJ_Trans (X)
Local time: 05:21
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 52

1 hr confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

¡° not so much what he wanted them to say, as what they would want to say if they

attempt!

Nesrin
United Kingdom
Local time: 04:21
Native speaker of: Arabic
PRO pts in category: 80

Grading comment

Thank you very much!

1 hr confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

¡° not so much what he wanted them to say, as what they would want to say if they See comment below...

Explanation:
Instead of realizing that people told him what they thought he would like to hear (= 'yes men'), 'he' assumed that the things people said represented their opinions based on a similar viewpoint to his own.

The interpretation may vary a bit, depending on whether 'Weil' and 'He' are the same person, and/or the general attitude being expressed (positive/negative, approving/disapproving etc.)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs 2 mins (2004-12-02 11:42:53 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Nesrin has brought up an interesting point about that conditional \'would...if...\', and I must admit it hadn\'t even occurred to me to read it that way.

To clarify my own reading (whilst not disputing Nesrin\'s), I think the crux of the matter is what is the motivation behind the things these \'people\' say to him. Did they say (he believed) what they thought he wanted to hear; or did they say what would be logical to say, assuming they shared his outlook?

I believe the author is saying that his interpretation was so self-centred, he saw their remarks as echoing his own feelings because they shared his viewpoint, rather than simply mirroring what he wanted them to say. In other words, he was really deceiving himself into believing that they actually did share his opinions (when in fact maybe they didn\'t)

I rather fear that has made my thinking even LESS clear than before!

Tony M
France
Local time: 05:21
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 260

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English translation: attempt!

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