Apr 27, 2006 02:14
18 yrs ago
3 viewers *
English term
How do you do, how do you do.
English to Spanish
Art/Literary
Cinema, Film, TV, Drama
Hi ^_^,
Again this comes from a play set in late 19th century Ireland. The main character repeats this phrase several times. The lack of question mark is not a transcription error.
(talking about the fighting in Dublin)
THOMAS: The city is full of death. The city is full of death.
ANNIE: Look at the state Papa is in - it's no night for a visitor.
THOMAS: How do you do, how do you do.
The following lines are unrelated to this phrase, and he is not talking to the visitor. It is as if he is asking himself "how can you accept this" or "how is this possible".
It should be noted that THOMAS is in an asylum, and spends quite a bit of the play raving, but in the sections where this occurs, he appears lucid.
Any help with a suitable translation would be greatly appreciated,
thank you :)
Again this comes from a play set in late 19th century Ireland. The main character repeats this phrase several times. The lack of question mark is not a transcription error.
(talking about the fighting in Dublin)
THOMAS: The city is full of death. The city is full of death.
ANNIE: Look at the state Papa is in - it's no night for a visitor.
THOMAS: How do you do, how do you do.
The following lines are unrelated to this phrase, and he is not talking to the visitor. It is as if he is asking himself "how can you accept this" or "how is this possible".
It should be noted that THOMAS is in an asylum, and spends quite a bit of the play raving, but in the sections where this occurs, he appears lucid.
Any help with a suitable translation would be greatly appreciated,
thank you :)
Proposed translations
(Spanish)
Proposed translations
+1
2 hrs
Madeleine Pérusse
Accurate, quick and creative
Native in: French 
Works in: Spanish to French, English to French, French, and 5 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
4
Selected
qué desastre/ qué lío/qué cosa
Creo que por ahi puede ir la cosa. A"How-do-you do" significa "an awkard situtation" (ref. wordreference) o a " mess "(I found this in my Robert Collins English-french Dictionary). Aplicandolo a tu caso, podría aplicar perfectamente.
http://www.wordreference.com/definition/how-do-you-do
http://www.wordreference.com/definition/how-do-you-do
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Gracias por tu respuesta. Como ya decía en la explicación, el personaje no se dirije a nadie, por lo que no creo que sea correcto traducir esto por "¿Cómo está usted?" o "mucho gusto". Muchas gracias a tí, Madeleine Pérusse, y a todos lo que habéis colaborado ;)"
+1
6 mins
¿Cómo hacemos?/¿Qué hacemos?
¿Que te parece? Van por ahi los tiros...
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Marta Fernandez-Suarez (X)
: pues ¡claro!
8 hrs
|
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Gracias Marta - teju :)
|
15 mins
cómo está/n, cómo está/n
si la obra ya fue traducida al castellano, quizá te convenga averiguar cómo enfrentaron esta frase anteriormente.
Note from asker:
| No, estoy segura que no ha sido traducida anteriormente :) |
+4
14 mins
Marcelo González
United States
United States
Native in English
United States
PhD in Translation Studies
Native in: English (Variant: US)
Works in: Spanish to English, English to Spanish
Related KudoZ points
:
8
¿Cómo le va a usted? / ¿Cómo está usted?
It sounds as if he's ritualistically practicing a way in which to greet people (for those precious moments in which he has an opportunity to do so, given his restricted environment).
How do you do = ¿Cómo le va a usted? / ¿Cómo está usted?
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Note added at 17 mins (2006-04-27 02:31:54 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Since "How do you do?" comes off as very formal (at least in the US), the best translation may be an equally formal structure in Spanish.
How do you do = ¿Cómo le va a usted? / ¿Cómo está usted?
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 17 mins (2006-04-27 02:31:54 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Since "How do you do?" comes off as very formal (at least in the US), the best translation may be an equally formal structure in Spanish.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Marianela Melleda
: especialmente considerando el lugar en que se desarrolla la obra
22 mins
|
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Muchas gracias, Marianela!
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| agree |
Maria Bedoya
1 hr
|
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Muchas gracias, Maria!
|
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| agree |
Egmont
7 hrs
|
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Gracias de nuevo, Egmont!
|
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| agree |
Patricia Mesa
12 hrs
|
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Muchas gracias, Patricia!
|
3 hrs
mucho gusto, mucho gusto
Formalmente, "how do you do?" (pregunta retórica que no requiere de respuesta) en realidad se hace cuando conoces a alguien por primera vez - como le enseñan a decir a Eliza en Pygmalion (o My Fair Lady) cuando le presentan a la gente en sociedad.
Si quieres mantener esta idea (en particular ya que no trae signo de interrogación), en español sugiero: "mucho gusto", que es lo que dirías al conocer a alguien... (y sigue la sensación "rara" del diálogo)
how do you do? = A conventional phrase used in greeting (Chambers Dictionary)
how do you do ?
A conventional greeting used mostly after being introduced to someone, as in And this is our youngestsay "How do you do" to Mr. Smith. Although it is a question, it requires no reply. Originally, in the 1600s, this expression was an inquiry after a person's health or standing, how do you do meaning "how do you fare?" Today we usually express this as How are you? or How are you doing? or How goes it? or How's it going? Even more general are the slangy locutions How are things? or How's tricks? All of these greetings date from the first half of the 1900s.
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=how do you do
how do you do? used when meeting somebody for the first time
http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/how%20are%20you.html
Incluso, Encarta marca la diferencia entre "how do you do" y "how are you (doing)":
how are you (doing)? used to ask about somebody's health, or simply as a greeting when you meet somebody, especially somebody already known
http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/how%20are%20you.html
Si quieres mantener esta idea (en particular ya que no trae signo de interrogación), en español sugiero: "mucho gusto", que es lo que dirías al conocer a alguien... (y sigue la sensación "rara" del diálogo)
how do you do? = A conventional phrase used in greeting (Chambers Dictionary)
how do you do ?
A conventional greeting used mostly after being introduced to someone, as in And this is our youngestsay "How do you do" to Mr. Smith. Although it is a question, it requires no reply. Originally, in the 1600s, this expression was an inquiry after a person's health or standing, how do you do meaning "how do you fare?" Today we usually express this as How are you? or How are you doing? or How goes it? or How's it going? Even more general are the slangy locutions How are things? or How's tricks? All of these greetings date from the first half of the 1900s.
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=how do you do
how do you do? used when meeting somebody for the first time
http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/how%20are%20you.html
Incluso, Encarta marca la diferencia entre "how do you do" y "how are you (doing)":
how are you (doing)? used to ask about somebody's health, or simply as a greeting when you meet somebody, especially somebody already known
http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/how%20are%20you.html
8 hrs
María López
Native in Spanish
Works in field
Native in: Spanish 
, Catalan
Works in: English to Spanish, Catalan to Spanish, Spanish to English
Related KudoZ points
:
8
¿Qué vamos a hacer?
Pienso que es lo que más se ajusta al contexto...
Note from asker:
| Tu respuesta también me parecía buena :) |
12 hrs
¿Cómo le/te va? ¿Qué tal?
Es una sugerencia diversa, ¿si te ayuda....?, Buena suerte!!!!
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