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  3. Poetry & Literature

поить-кормить

English translation: warmed and filled

08:09 Feb 26, 2011
Russian to English translations [PRO]
Poetry & Literature
Russian term or phrase: поить-кормить
We are currently translating a series of short stories about Russian village people. This is one of them. The time of the story is not specified, but apparently simple English characteristic of country people is preferred.

The very line is full of sadness, and the phrase to be translated is very emotional: it conveys all the sorrow and gratitude for the stove while Ivan (protagonist) associates it with the source of life.

Context:
"Ему обидно, что директор из-за дочки на него зло затаил, невмоготу видеть слезы матери и прощаться с печкой, которая его ***поила-кормила***"

Thank you!
Sergei Krotov
Portugal
Local time: 06:55
English translation:warmed and filled
Explanation:
Or "warmed and fed." It's kind of a mother-image for the stove, no? But I agree that "gave food and drink" sounds incongruous. But if you keep the food part, and substitute the other nurturing activity of a stove, namely keeping people warm, then you could use this Biblical phrase.

James 2:16. "Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled."
There, it's entirely metaphorical, but no matter. Also, it's sometimes translated as "warmed and fed."

In general, I think you might use some Biblical expressions for the "simple but profound" language of village people. The problem, of course, is to have a good enough ear to make sure these blend in with the overall register of their speech as you have it in English, so that these don't pop out of the text as out-of-place one-liners.
Selected response from:

Rachel Douglas
United States
Local time: 01:55
Grading comment
Thank you, Rachel!
We thought this variant to be the best as it reflects the Russian image.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +3pls see below
Yuri Larin
3 +3bake (his) bread
Susan Welsh
3 +3warmed and filled
Rachel Douglas
4nurture (him) good and well
Jive
3To feed (well-fed)
PaulinaK


Discussion entries: 4





  

Answers


14 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +3
pls see below


Explanation:
(1) .... that put bread on the table for smb.
(2) provided a livelihood for ... (...was the only livelihood for smb.)
(3) gave food and drink to smb (biblical, etc.)




Yuri Larin
Ukraine
Local time: 08:55
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian, Native in UkrainianUkrainian
PRO pts in category: 16

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  cyhul
1 hr
  -> Thanks!
neutral  Susan Welsh: I think you need to choose one. See Kudoz rule 3.3: "In general, an answerer should submit no more than one answer per question. Occasional exceptions are allowed, but users are not permitted to make a habit of providing multiple answers..."
4 hrs
  -> Thanks, Susan! I wasn't aware... So much stuff will go in the garbage now :)
agree  Ingunite: "gave me food and drink" - simple and to the point
9 hrs
  -> Thanks
agree  Leigh Mosley: I like "that put bread on his table"
1 day 10 hrs
  -> Thank you, Leigh!
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
nurture (him) good and well


Explanation:
Nurtured несет в себе смысл не только "кормила и поила", но и более широкий, связанный с интерпретацией печки как источника жизни. Это отличает nurture от feed. "Good and well" - попытка передать стиль оригинала, но можно эти слова и опустить. А можно еще попробовать вместо или вместе с ними в какой-то конфигурации слово "right".





Jive
Local time: 07:55
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Susan Welsh: "Good and well" sounds either archaic or just plain strange.
38 mins
  -> Thanks for your comment Susan. In my explanation, I did say that I wasn't quite sure about good and well, attempted to capture the source style, which is rather archaic in the "поила-кормила" part, an old expression used in fairy tales and poetry.
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +3
bake (his) bread


Explanation:
Some other proposals sound a little strange (a stove does not provide a livelihood (unless the person is a chef or something like that), and it does not put food on the table (people do that, or a wage, or a job, but not a stove). I don't see a comparable image for поить, so I left it out. You could say "and warmed his drink," but I don't think it works very well.

Susan Welsh
United States
Local time: 01:55
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 40

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  G Charles: sounds good to me
3 mins
  -> Thanks, G Charles
agree  DTSM
39 mins
  -> Thank you, Dimak
agree  LanaUK
3 days 5 hrs
  -> Thanks, Lana
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7 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +3
warmed and filled


Explanation:
Or "warmed and fed." It's kind of a mother-image for the stove, no? But I agree that "gave food and drink" sounds incongruous. But if you keep the food part, and substitute the other nurturing activity of a stove, namely keeping people warm, then you could use this Biblical phrase.

James 2:16. "Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled."
There, it's entirely metaphorical, but no matter. Also, it's sometimes translated as "warmed and fed."

In general, I think you might use some Biblical expressions for the "simple but profound" language of village people. The problem, of course, is to have a good enough ear to make sure these blend in with the overall register of their speech as you have it in English, so that these don't pop out of the text as out-of-place one-liners.

Rachel Douglas
United States
Local time: 01:55
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 384
Grading comment
Thank you, Rachel!
We thought this variant to be the best as it reflects the Russian image.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Susan Welsh: I like it
8 hrs
  -> Thanks, Susan.
agree  Inna Edsall
21 hrs
  -> Thanks, Inna.
agree  Angela Greenfield
1 day 23 hrs
  -> Thanks, Angela.
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13 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
To feed (well-fed)


Explanation:
I would just keep it simple.
(see examples below)



Example sentence(s):
  • He could not bear to part with the stove, which had always fed him.
  • He could not bear to part with the stove, which had always kept him well-fed.
PaulinaK
United States
Local time: 22:55
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian, Native in EnglishEnglish
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