saudade/saudades
English translation: below
| 20:47 Oct 21, 2000 |
| Portuguese to English translations [Non-PRO] Art/Literary | ||||
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|  Selected response from: Lia Fail (X) Spain Local time: 03:11 | |||
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| Summary of answers provided | ||||
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| na | homesickness, yearning, longing |
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| na | nostalgia |
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| na | No translation |
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| na | below |
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| na | The closest I think, is "having the blues", missing and longing for something or someone. |
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Answers
2 hrs
homesickness, yearning, longing Explanation: I believe those three terms reflect the actual meaning. |
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3 hrs
nostalgia Explanation: The first three are fine, but depending on the context you may want to use nostalgia. Estou com saudade (de você)is translated as I miss (you) |
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6 hrs
No translation Explanation: In fact, Saudade is the one word in Portuguese which you can't translate. Many poets have said it is the very soul of the Portuguese people. So, my advice to you is: in a poem, don't translate it. Maybe explain it in a preface note. In a more prosaic context, use the suggestions given above. |
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6 hrs
below Explanation: Yes, it's generally agreed that 'saudade' is a peculiarly Portuguese sentiment. However, if this is a poem, it must be translated, because a poem is language above meaning (use an English phrase/word and footnote it). If it's prose, you can use (and footnote) the original Portuguese word. 'Saudade' is frequently associated with 'fado'music - see Google: saudade+fado. Note this following excerpt, from one of the many entries: "The texts of the Fado (literally:fate) are based on saudade, a Portugese word that cannot be translated into any other language. Nostalgia, desire or a complete feeling of melancholy come closest. The urge to express this emotion is very highly developed among the Portuguese, who live by the sea and are used to waving farewell to loved ones.Hopeless love, pain, sorrow, the life at sea and the longing for home are the most common themes for the songs. They can be found in the poems of the 15th century poet Luis Vaz de Camoes but just as well in the lyrics by Jorge Fernando, Maria Manuel Cid and Manuel D'Andrade, some of the most important contemporary Portuguese songwriters." Given that it's so Portuguese it does NOT cross frontiers, i.e. essentially it's only crudely expressed in other languages. The following are the nuances, and note that a stong undercurrent of MELANCHOLIA underlies each: longing - a strong desire for something absent yearning - similar, possibly more romantic nostalgia - especially for times gone by homesickness - less romantic (a child away from its parents for a couple of days suffers this) and more literally for the home, home place or home country and all that these entail. |
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17 hrs
The closest I think, is "having the blues", missing and longing for something or someone. Explanation: Definitely a very romantic notion. Also, the basis for the music style called the "fado". Regards. Luis Luis |
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