numinoso
English translation: (so that the) spiritual force/influence/ numen (be reached/achieved)
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| 21:54 Nov 18, 2007 |
| Portuguese to English translations [PRO] Social Sciences - Social Science, Sociology, Ethics, etc. | |||||||
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|  Selected response from: Michael Powers (PhD) United States Local time: 00:04 | ||||||
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| 5 | numinous |
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| 4 | (so that the) spiritual force/influence/ numen (be reached/achieved) |
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| Discussion entries: 2 | |
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Answers
1 hr confidence: 
numinous Explanation: "to attain the numinous" This is best because: (1) it's short (as in pithy, which is the right tone for this 'grasp-the-stone-from-my-hand-Grasshopper' stuff) http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q="grasp the stone from m... (2) the substantivized adjective ("the numinous") likewise sounds 'deep', echoing other substantivized adjectives in this metaphysical vein such as "the sacred," "the profane," "the divine" Indeed, "the numinous" is used a lot (instead of the "numen") because what we're talking about here is more of a quality (an adjective) than a thing (a noun): http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q="the numinous"&btnG=Sea... (3) "Attain" is the best translation of "alcançar" -- better than alternatives such as "reach" and "achieve." "Reach" isn't bad although it is bit too prosaic for something as transcendent as "the numinous". (You reach Pittsburgh, you attain the numinous.) And if you think about it, you'll see that we really can't "achieve" the numinous: it's something outside us we can maybe get (close) to, not something we ourselves could actually "achieve." This is because "achieve" carries a bit of the sense of "accomplish" or even "bring about" and we have nothing to do with bringing about the numinous -- being transcendent and all, it's pretty much independent of us. If we were to "achieve" it, then it would somehow be a bit too associated with us -- which it definitely can never be, as it was originally defined as being precisely that which is 'wholely other': http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numinous (Although I'm citing web references here, I'm not getting these nit-picky points from dictionaries; I'm getting this from being a part-time hippie-dippie touchy-feely American who happened to read a lot of books on metaphysics.) (4) Finally, the source term was admittedly in the passive voice, so if you wanted to be totally faithful to the original you could say "so that the numinous can/could/may be attained" -- but I think short is better here, and in a literary translation you're allowed to do little things like switching from the passive to the active voice if it helps get the overall tone right. Plus, putting it in the active voice allows us to avoid making a difficult (and actually needless) choice among can/could/may, all of which are a bit too specific -- and indeed all of which are entirely lacking in the original, which only has the auxiliary verb "be" (simply to create the passive) -- ie, it wasn't "para que pudesse ser alcançado o numinoso." |
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28 mins confidence: 
(so that the) spiritual force/influence/ numen (be reached/achieved) Explanation: Mike :) -------------------------------------------------- Note added at 29 mins (2007-11-18 22:24:11 GMT) -------------------------------------------------- numinoso adjectivo relating to noumenon or numen; numen One entry found. numen Main Entry: nu·men Listen to the pronunciation of numen Pronunciation: \ˈnü-mən, ˈnyü-\ Function: noun Inflected Form(s): plural nu·mi·na Listen to the pronunciation of numina \-mə-nə\ Etymology: Latin, nod, divine will, numen; akin to Latin nutare to nod, Greek neuein Date: 1616 : a spiritual force or influence often identified with a natural object, phenomenon, or place -------------------------------------------------- Note added at 4 days (2007-11-23 12:55:53 GMT) Post-grading -------------------------------------------------- My pleasure, Olivia - Mike :) |
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