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English to Spanish translations [PRO] Art/Literary - Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
English term or phrase:Oh, Fiddle-dee-dee
I know exactly what this means... But I am completely stumped as to how I should translate/transliterate this to Spanish... For now I am going to go with a very boring "me cachis en la mar salá"
The context is a novel, drama/mistery/intrigue. They are in South Carolina... here is the paragraph:
To her surprise Walker had ordered himself a Big Mac combo and a chocolate shake. But, as if to show opening her car door for her wasn’t a fluke, he had politely waited for her return before starting to eat. “Sir,” Penelope said in her best Scarlett O’Hara impersonation, “You have the manners of a true Southern gentleman.” “I’m from Miami,” Walker said with a shrug. “Which is about 600 miles south of Charleston. That almost makes you a Yankee to me.” “Oh, Fiddle-dee-dee,” Penelope said as she shook a napkin into her lap and took a bite of her sandwich.
Al volver le sorprendió ver que Walker había pedido un Menú Big Mac con un batido de chocolate. Pero, por si abrirle la puerta del coche no fuera suficiente demostración, había esperado educadamente a que volviera del aseo para empezar a comer. “Señor,” dijo Penelope con su mejor acento de Escarlata O’Hara, “Tiene los modales de un auténtico caballero sureño.” “Soy de Miami,” dijo Walker encogiendo los hombros. “Que está a más de 950 km de Charleston. Eso casi casi hace que para mí tú seas una Yankee.
I am having trouble gettin the whole feel of that little sentence across... I do remember an episode of the Simpsons where Homer says "Well, Fiddle-dee-dee" but for the life of me I can't remember which one or how on earth it was translated into Spanish.
Al final he optado por "Mire usted por dónde" Creo que en el contexto es lo que más se aproxima a lo que ha querido comunicar el autor (teniendo en mente el contexto del resto del libro que evidentemente no os he podido poner por motivos evidentes).
Chicos... geniales vuestros comentarios... Os diría que para otras líneas mejor ponéis el comentario y además pongáis una respuesta, pues algunas han sido muy interesantes y hubieran tenido más sentido para incluir en el glosario de KudoZ...
Al final he optado por "Mire usted por dónde" Creo que en el contexto es lo que más se aproxima a lo que ha querido comunicar el autor (teniendo en mente el contexto del resto del libro que evidentemente no os he podido poner por motivos evidentes).
Yes, you are on the ball as usual. It’s true, the phrase is not one that any Spanish reader would recognize (such as “to be or not to be...” or the one we have heard in the film and repeated in RNE, Radio Nacional de España: “Aunque tenga que matar, engañar o robar, a Dios pongo por testigo de que jamás volveré a pasar hambre”.) (This last one is very well known and amply repeated). I also like “sandeces” (like Pablo suggested already) and y love “zarandajas”... but I think that “¡Menuda estulticia!” takes the cake... but that may be due to the fact that... ¡soy un poquito sinaco! ;-)
(Pardon me if I stay in English, answering both Jessica and John.)
The screenplay of the film being quoted was translated long ago, of course, and this phrase was apparently rendered as Mercedes says, but as I understand it, Samuel is translating the novel and can choose whether or not to use that rendering. I'm not disagreeing with "¡Qué tontería!", and it's the right meaning; but after all, it's simply what the translator of "Gone with the Wind" chose at the time. That doesn't mean it's necessarily the best possible translation. Many people who've seen the film in English will remember Scarlett saying "Fiddle-dee-dee!" (that's the point of this passage: it's recognisable), but I doubt Spanish viewers remember that she said "¡Qué tontería!", so this phrase doesn't have the same status, and could be replaced with something else if one wished to. One argument for doing so is that this character in the novel is using an expression she probably wouldn't normally use in order to adopt the persona of an old-school southern lady, so there's a case for using a Spanish expression that reflects the adoption of such a persona. I like your latest suggestions, John.
Ah, ese tono medio “arcaico” no lo tiene “chorradas”... pero sí lo tiene “zarandajas” que es algo que diría mi abuela decimonónica... Solía decir también cosas como “¡qué poca lacha!”... (qué poca vergüenza...) Siendo ella la Directora de un colegio en la Mancha... allá a primeros del XX... “No seas sinaco...” http://www.frikipedia.es/friki/Diccionario_manchego “Sandeces” es una que creo que iría como anillo al dedo. Pero si la película dice “¡Qué tontería!”... lo dicho, eso va a misa. Curiosamente, puedo “visualizar” o “audiolizar” a la dobladora de Scarlett diciendo “¡Menuda estulticia!” en castellano rancio... o “¡Zarandajas!” Saludos cordiales.
Charles, I certainly see your point. It it were the novel itself being translated, the ideal would be to seek some appropriate genteel 19th century expression in Spanish. Now that the book has been translated, though, and the movie dubbed, I would expect that a Spanish speaker imitating Scarlett would use terms taken from the translations, or possibly even use the original "Fiddle-dee-dee."
"Fiddle-dee-dee" is a quaint, old-fashioned expression. My grandmother said it now and then (she was born in 1901), and for all I know people may still say it in places like South Carolina, but it's not heard much elsewhere. It's clear to me that she is still doing a Scarlett O'Hara impression when she says this. The "Sir" is very much in that vein too. In other words, ideally it shouldn't really be expressed in a general-purpose colloquial register, but with something approximating to that old-world gentility that characterised southern speech (and remember Gone with the Wind is set in the nineteenth century).
It expresses a certain irritation. The meaning is really "don't be silly".
Bueno, otras opciones coloquiales (no para este contexto, pues aquí hay que usar lo que dice Scarlett, dado que Penélope está imitándola...) (A Dios pongo por testigo...)
(Otra nota de mi opinión personal subjetiva, no usaría “Señor” en castellano, sino algo como “Oiga”, si le habla de usted... “—¿Señor? —¿Caballero?” en un diálogo teatral vale, pero en tu contexto, el “Señor” me suena casi como “Señor = Dios”).
En fin, incluyo estas opciones/versiones por el beneficio de tener la latitud de elección en futuros contextos... en este como digo, lo que indica Mercedes (Mmento), va a misa.
My suggestion,"¡Qué tontería!, was based on the translation of the film. I put the links to the English and the Spanish excertps from the same film "Gone with the wind = Lo que el viento se llevó"
Perhaps someone on this site has a copy of "Lo que el viento se llevo'" and can see how it was translated in the book. This, or the movie translation, would resound with Spanish-speaking readers familiar with the work, even if it were not the most accurate choice. I do see, when messing about on line, that Spanish-speaking commentators are mentioning "Fiddle-dee-dee," so perhaps it was not originally translated at all. (Just as we don't translate "Ay Ay Ay" when the Frito Bandito or someone says it.)
Había propuesto "¡Pero qué disparate", que era el mejor eufemismo que se me había ocurrido (porque el sentido de la expresión es "Déjate de decir macanas/pavadas".) Pero me pareció que quizás en España no fuera válida mi respuesta y por eso la quité.
Antes habia una respuesta por aqui... y ha desaparecido :( Jooo... No recuerdo como era tu nombre, pero tu aportación estaba bien... me ha servido para pensar... Y la gracia de esto es que luego la gente pueda buscar y ver todo lo que hemos ido divagando para llegar a la mejor conclusión... :(
Automatic update in 00:
Answers
47 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +1
oh, fiddle-dee-dee
ah, caramba
Explanation:
quizá no tan castizo como la mar salá...
ah, vaya como opción muy neutral
si quieres algo pasado de moda ah, cáspita
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 50 minutos (2014-03-06 13:09:53 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
versión chusca: carambita (Flanders)
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 55 minutos (2014-03-06 13:14:47 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Si te gustó cáspita, caracoles y repámpanos seguro que pueden ser otra opción :-)
Pablo Cruz Local time: 11:39 Meets criteria Native speaker of: Spanish PRO pts in category: 2
Grading comment
Al final he optado por "Mire usted por dónde" Creo que en el contexto es lo que más se aproxima a lo que ha querido comunicar el autor (teniendo en mente el contexto del resto del libro que evidentemente no os he podido poner por motivos evidentes).
Muchas gracias a todos por participar ;)
Notes to answerer
Asker: De momento he puesto esto:
“Pues recórcholis, Señor,” dijo Penelope con retintín,
Pero "cáspitas" me chifla también.
La mar salá era un "first draught" y no ha durado ni dos minutos en el word :P
Asker: Chusca... Me parto contigo Pablo :P
Por fin alguien un poco coñón por aquí... Que la gente a veces es muy estirada :D:D:D
Asker: Pónmelas como respuestas anda y lo dejamos a ver qué opinan los demás ;)