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pessoa do bem

English translation: law-abiding citizens

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Portuguese term or phrase:pessoas de bem
English translation:law-abiding citizens
Entered by: veratek

15:27 Aug 24, 2007
Portuguese to English translations [PRO]
Social Sciences - Social Science, Sociology, Ethics, etc. / police, security
Portuguese term or phrase: pessoa do bem
Essa situação ocasionou diversos pronunciamentos, aliás, algumas vezes equivocados, provocando confusão entre os cidadãos em geral, que se perguntam se as armas são necessárias ou não para a defesa pessoal, e se as pessoas de bem podem ter o direito de portá-las
stevenharper
Local time: 07:05
responsible citizens
Explanation:
law-abiding citizens

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 days20 hrs (2007-08-27 11:39:56 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Salloz: Yes. Honest / good / righteous PEOPLE. The text doesn't say cidadaos.
46 mins
-> Thank you, Sallioz! Right, no reference to "cidadãos"

=============

I guess you don't know what citizen means.

Here is one of the main definitions of "citizen:"

a civilian, as distinguished from a soldier, police officer, etc.

It's obvious that this paragraph is not talking about soldiers carrying arms, it's a question for citizens and citizenship, what is legal and what is not, for law-abiding civilians or citizens.

So, it's quite incorrect to say they are not referring to "citizens" when that is exactly who they are referring to.

People is incorrect, because it's not just anyone - soldiers are people, and yet that's not who they are addressing.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/citizen


Selected response from:

veratek
Brazil
Local time: 07:05
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +2responsible citizens
veratek
4 +1righteous people
rhandler
4law-biding people
Karen Vincent-Jones (X)
4 -1honest people / good people
Salloz


Discussion entries: 3





  

Answers


21 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
righteous people


Explanation:
It should be "pessoa DE bem".

This is a better answer. Some examples:

Perilious Times: Will the true righteous people please Speak Up ...
Perilious Times: Will the true righteous people please Speak Up - Reader comments on article: What is Jihad?
www.danielpipes.org/comments/15325

apophenia: righteous people
righteous people. There's nothing more joyous than finding counter examples that show weaknesses in my people-related stereotypes and mental models. ...
www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2003/06/19/righteous_peo...

BBC - Ouch! - Features - Disability Bitch vs Self Righteous people ...Disability Bitch vs Self Righteous people who make knee-jerk reactions about telly.
www.bbc.co.uk/ouch/features/b1tch/010607.shtml



rhandler
Local time: 07:05
Works in field
Native speaker of: Portuguese
PRO pts in category: 52

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Salloz: Yes. Honest / good / righteous PEOPLE. The text doesn't say cidadaos.
46 mins
  -> Thank you, Sallioz! Right, no reference to "cidadãos"
agree  Maria Prado Menga
4 hrs
  -> Obrigado, Judymenga!
disagree  veratek: see my note - it's not just anyone they are referring to here //rhandler -and you erased your previous answer of *righteousness people*! as long as you have incorrect or problematic suggestions, everyone has the right and the duty to disagree :-)
2 days 19 hrs
  -> Your disagreeing withy my answers is becoming a common-place. You shouldn't disagree when you are suggesting another answer, it's not very ethical. Besides, your comments have nothing to do with the linguistics aspects of the question. Please, behave.
disagree  Karen Vincent-Jones (X): Exactly! This was precisely my point! If the author had meant 'good people' s/he would have used 'boas pessoas', but did not. We should translate what's there.
3 days 1 hr
  -> And what is there? "pessoas de bem", which means "righteous people". No mention to citizenship, as the answer you agreed with, three days before posting your own.
agree  R. Alex Jenkins
5 days
  -> Thank you, Richard! Good to see you here!
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
honest people / good people


Explanation:
:)

Salloz
Mexico
Local time: 04:05
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Karen Vincent-Jones (X): Again, I don't think there is a moral qualification referred to here, I think it just means ordinary law-abiding citizens with no criminal record.
3 days 1 hr
  -> Sorry, Karen, but I don't see why you may disagree with calling them "honest people". As a TRANSLATOR, I find it to be a huge leap from "pessoa do bem" to "law-abiding citizen".
agree  rhandler: Amazing how some people make improper comments. This is a translation question, not an ideological debate. This lady should read the Kudoz rules before making any comments.
3 days 9 hrs
  -> Thank you, Rhandler. Let's do our job.
disagree  veratek: see Karen's comments
5 days
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3 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
pessoas de bem
responsible citizens


Explanation:
law-abiding citizens

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 days20 hrs (2007-08-27 11:39:56 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Salloz: Yes. Honest / good / righteous PEOPLE. The text doesn't say cidadaos.
46 mins
-> Thank you, Sallioz! Right, no reference to "cidadãos"

=============

I guess you don't know what citizen means.

Here is one of the main definitions of "citizen:"

a civilian, as distinguished from a soldier, police officer, etc.

It's obvious that this paragraph is not talking about soldiers carrying arms, it's a question for citizens and citizenship, what is legal and what is not, for law-abiding civilians or citizens.

So, it's quite incorrect to say they are not referring to "citizens" when that is exactly who they are referring to.

People is incorrect, because it's not just anyone - soldiers are people, and yet that's not who they are addressing.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/citizen




veratek
Brazil
Local time: 07:05
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Adi Brock
12 mins
  -> Thank you.
agree  Enza Longo: law-abiding
1 hr
  -> Thank you.
agree  Karen Vincent-Jones (X): Law-abiding
2 days 18 hrs
  -> Thank you.
disagree  rhandler: Sorry, but do you mean that soldiers are not citizens? You are wrong. The original says "pessoas", and this means "people", both civilian and military.
5 days
  -> Pls read the dictionary rhandler, in fact, the entry is posted above - that is exactly the distinction in one meaning of citizens - and they are not talking about police and military in this context
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5 days   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
pessoad de bem
law-biding people


Explanation:
If you look at parallel texts in the target language (in this case English) dealing with the same issue, i.e. who should have the right to carry guns, you will find that if there is any kind of restriction proposed, that is, if it is not seen as the right of all adult citizens, it is framed specifically in terms of the respectable or the law-abiding. It seems likely that by this is meant those without a criminal record, rather than those who are good or nice people. So I would go for something like 'law-abiding', rather than something along the lines of 'decent folk'

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Note added at 5 days (2007-08-30 12:55:17 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Whoops, typos alert! I mean of course:
pessoas de bem
law-abiding people

Example sentence(s):
  • Thirty-three states currently have “right-to-carry” laws, which allow the law-abiding to obtain a permit if they are above a certain age and pay a fee. Half of these states require some training. We should encourage more states to pass such law, and p
  • "The fifth and last auxiliary right of the subject, that I shall at present mention, is that of having arms for their defense, suitable to their condition and degree, and such as are allowed by law. Which is also declared by the same statute I W. & M. st.
Karen Vincent-Jones (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:05
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4
Notes to answerer
Asker: Yhanks for your help. Steven Harper


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  rhandler: Here's what the Webster's says (no religious conn.): righteous adj. 1) acting in a just, upright manner; doing what is right; virtuous [a righteous man]; 2) morally right; fair and just [a righteous act] 3) morally justifiable [full of righteous anger].
2 hrs
  -> No, I personally would not, because the term 'righteous' has Biblical/religious/moral connotations that do not appear, from the text, to be intended here.
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