Jan 13, 2002 16:55
22 yrs ago
2 viewers *
Portuguese term
Soubessemos nos .........o sobreiro
Portuguese to English
Art/Literary
(Sorry for the missing accents - my sheet is missing just now!)
Sentence reads: "Soubessemos nos o que representam 60 milhoes de anos e perceberiamos ha quanto tempo por ca anda o sobreiro, esse Quercus suber que e o verdadeiro heroi deste libro, pois e ele que suporta, como sua casca, a cortiça preciosa."
It is the first half of the sentence that I am having trouble with.
Sentence reads: "Soubessemos nos o que representam 60 milhoes de anos e perceberiamos ha quanto tempo por ca anda o sobreiro, esse Quercus suber que e o verdadeiro heroi deste libro, pois e ele que suporta, como sua casca, a cortiça preciosa."
It is the first half of the sentence that I am having trouble with.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 5 +1 | ver em baixo |
Elisa Capelão (X)
|
| 5 +1 | If we but knew what 60 million years stand for, and we would realize for how long the "sobreiro" has |
Francis Aubert
|
| 4 | if we knew... |
Daniel Marcus
|
Proposed translations
+1
52 mins
Selected
ver em baixo
here are a few possibilities:
If we knew what 60 million years truly represent/are/mean then we would understand/know (since) how long the cork-oak has been around...
had we any idea of what 60 million years truly represent, we would understand how long the cork-oak has been around (meaning in the world or depending on the context it could also mean in a particuar area of the world)
por cá anda is a way of saying "has been around". Of course, here it simply means "exists".
Please note that the word truly is not present in the Portuguese text but in English to create an emphasis similar to the one that is contained in the Portuguese text you need to add it it in English.
The expression "soubessemos nós" mean exactly the same as "se nós soubessemos", its just a literary way (slightly more dramatic) of saying the same thing. It corresponds to something like: if only we could have an idea (of what 60 million years really are/mean/represent...)
hope it helps you a bit!
If we knew what 60 million years truly represent/are/mean then we would understand/know (since) how long the cork-oak has been around...
had we any idea of what 60 million years truly represent, we would understand how long the cork-oak has been around (meaning in the world or depending on the context it could also mean in a particuar area of the world)
por cá anda is a way of saying "has been around". Of course, here it simply means "exists".
Please note that the word truly is not present in the Portuguese text but in English to create an emphasis similar to the one that is contained in the Portuguese text you need to add it it in English.
The expression "soubessemos nós" mean exactly the same as "se nós soubessemos", its just a literary way (slightly more dramatic) of saying the same thing. It corresponds to something like: if only we could have an idea (of what 60 million years really are/mean/represent...)
hope it helps you a bit!
Reference:
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Many thanks, Elisa, It is abit "heavy" but it is a literary piece. Your para 2 seems to me to sound better and your explanations are very good and I much appreciate your time."
+1
39 mins
Francis Aubert
Works in: Portuguese to English, Portuguese to Norwegian (Bokmal), English to Portuguese, and 3 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
52
If we but knew what 60 million years stand for, and we would realize for how long the "sobreiro" has
... been with us ....
6 hrs
if we knew...
Wondering about the 'e'... If we knew what 60 million years means and [really]understood how long the cork tree has been around, then it's quercus suber that is the real hero of this story...
I feel that perceberiamos should be percebessemos. Makes more sense this way, I feel.
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Note added at 2002-01-13 23:33:05 (GMT)
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What I mean is that I feel the author has made a mistake and that we should read the sentence as if they had put \'percebessemos. The \'e\' suggests this.
I feel that perceberiamos should be percebessemos. Makes more sense this way, I feel.
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Note added at 2002-01-13 23:33:05 (GMT)
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What I mean is that I feel the author has made a mistake and that we should read the sentence as if they had put \'percebessemos. The \'e\' suggests this.
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