27/03/2009 by stefi.

Dear All,

Welcome back to our blog. As you know, I am fascinated by words, how they sound, what they mean, in all languages. My mother tongue is Italian, and often can recognise sounds and words in languages are not familiar when they come from Latin or Greek, or I can try to read them out when I recognise letter and sounds. I just try, and sometimes I am triked by false friends….

I am so fascinated by languages which do not use the Latin alphabet, as the characters are completely unknown to me. I just wished I could know more about them! It’s so interesting to see a page of Chinese or Arabic, for example, and not being able to recognise one single word. It is at the same time fascinating and gives me a great sense of ignorance. This is why I have decided to offer English into Arabic as a language combination to our clients. I do hope - one day - to learn some key phrases of it. We have a great team of translators, and I value their professionalism and help. One of my colleagues has provided me with a list of Arabic proverbs. You know from the blogs how much I love proverbs and idioms. Here is the list: guys, out there, can you add some more to our list?

(with great thanks to Muhammad Abdulraouf Wafa for his great research)

Arabic Proverbs Translation into English
من شبّ على شيء شاب عليه Always has been, always will be

وفسّر الماء بعد الجهد بالماء
After great effort, to define that water is water
الطيور على أشكالها تقع Birds of feather flock together
الأقربون أولى بالمعروف Charity begins at home
لا تلقوا بأيديكم إلى التهلكة Do not throw yourselves into destruction

(from the Holy Quran)
إذا تخاصم اللصان ظهر المسروق When two thieves differ, the stolen thing will be discovered.
إذا سلمت من الأسد فلا تطمع في صيده
If you managed to escape from the lion, do not try to hunt it.
من اغتاب الناس لديك، اغتابك لدي الناس Who chats to you, will chat about you
إذا قصرت يدك عن المكافأة فليصل لسانك بالشكر
If you have no money to reward people with, then say to them thank you.
إذا كان الكلام من فضة فالسكوت من ذهب If talking is made of silver, silence is made of gold
إذا كنت في كل الأمور معاتبا صديقك لم تلق الذي لا تعاتبه
If you blame your friend for every thing he does, then who will be your friend.
أرسل حكيما ولا توصه
Send a wise man as a messenger and no need to give him instructions
اطلبوا العلم من المهد إلى اللحد
Learn from cradle to grave
الأفعال أبلغ من الأقوال Actions speak louder than words
أقلل طعامك تجد منامك Eat less and sleep more
أكبر منك بيوم يعرف عنك بسنة
Those who are one day older than you, know one year more than you
أملك الناس لنفسه من كتم سره The most powerful man is the one who keeps his secret
إن السفينة لا تجري على اليابس
Ships do not sail on dry lands
إن كبر ابنك آخيه When your son gets older, then treat him as a brother not a son
. إن من البيان لسحرا Some rhetoric has the power of magic
أنا الغريق فما خوفي من البلل Why should I fear to get wet when I’m drowning in water?
‘ ادفع بالتي هي أحسن فإذا الذي بينك وبينه عداوة كأنه ولي حميم Repel the evil with one which is better (then verily he, between whom and you there was enmity, will become as though he was a close friend

(the Holy Quran)
تعدو الذئاب على من لا كلاب له Wolves attack people who do not have dogs
الجار قبل الدار
Choose your neighbor before you choose your home.
هل جزاء الإحسان إلا الإحسان ‘Is there any reward for good other than good?
(the Holy Quran)
الحب أعمى
Love makes lovers blind
السكوت علامة الرضا Silence is a gesture of consent
الشكوى سلاح الضعفاء Complaint is the only weapon the weak ever use.
طمع إبليس في الجنة
Even Lucifer dreams to enter paradise!
العتاب خير من الحقد to blame is better than to harbor grudge
عثرة القدم أسلم من عثرة اللسان The slip of a tongue is worse than the slip of the foot
عدو عاقل خير من صديق جاهل
A wise enemy is better than a foolish friend
عصفور في اليد خير من عشرة على الشجرة
A bird in one’s hand worth two in a bush
علم بلا عمل كشجر بلا ثمر
Knowledge without actions is like a tree without fruits.
النفس بالنفس والأنف بالأنف والسن بالسن Life for life, eye for eye, nose for nose, ear for ear, tooth for tooth
(the Holy Quran)
فاقد الشيء لا يعطيه How can one give what he does not own?
فلان قد ركب الفيل وقال لا تبصروني
If you want to hide from the people do not ride an elephant
قليل في الجيب خير من كثير في الغيب Little money in the pocket is better than much in the foreseen.
كطالب الصيد في عرين الأسد Do not hunt in a lion’s dean
كل ما تشتهي والبس ما يشتهي الناس
Eat what you want but get dressed in what the people want
كلب جَوَّالٌ خير من أسد رابض
A live dog is better than a dead lion
كما تزرع تحصد
You shall harvest what you have planted
لا تؤجل عمل اليوم إلى الغد What you can do now, do it now
من جعل نفسه عظما أكلته الكلاب Those who make themselves as bones will be eaten by dogs
من جهل قدر نفسه كان بقدر غيره أجهل
How can you know others while you do not know yourself
من يخشى البلل لا يصطاد السمك Those who fear to get wet, should not go for fishing
من يزرع الشوك لا يجني به العنب
If you plant thorns, do not expect to harvest grapes.
الوَحْدَةُ خير من جليس السوء Loneliness is better than sitting with a bad companion.
يخاف من خياله A coward man fears his shadow
اجتنب مصاحبة الكذاب فإن اضطررت إليه فلا تُصَدِّقْهُ
• Avoid the company of a liar. And if you can’t avoid him, don’t believe him.

حذر عدوك مرة وصديقك ألف مرة فإن انقلب الصديق فهو أعلم بالمضرة Be careful of your enemy once and of your friend a thousand times, for a double crossing friend knows more evil. (or knows more about what harms you)

عَدَم الجَوَاب جَوَاب No answer is an answer
ضَرَب عَصْفُورِين بِحَجَر To kill two birds with one stone

رِحْلِة الأَلْف مِيل تَبْدَأ بِخَطْوَة
From small beginnings come great things
مَنْ تُصادِقْهُ بِـالهَدايا يَبيعُكَ بِـالهَدايا

A friend that you buy with presents will be bought from you.
مُعْظَمُ النّـارِ مِنْ مُسْتَصْغَرِ الشَّرَرِ
A little neglect may breed great mischief
أَحْسِنْ إِلى النّاسِ تَسْتَعْبِدْ قُلوبَهُمْ
Do good to people in order to enslave their hearts.
شَجَرَةٌ جَرْداءٌ خَيْرٌ مِنَ العَراءِ
A bad bush is better than an open field
يزيد الطين بلة Add fuel to the fire
خاطب الناس على قدر عقولهم Address people in the language they can understand
لافرق بين رجل حكيم وأحمق عندما يقعون في الحب There is no difference between a wise man and a fool when they fall in love
الغريق يتعلق بحبال الهواء A drowning man will catch at a straw

References:

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Charity+begins+at+home

http://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AD%D9%83%D9%85_%D9%88%D8%A3%D9%85%D8%AB%D8%A7%D9%84_%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A9

http://simple.wikiquote.org/wiki/Arabic_proverbs

http://www.egyptianarabic.com/proverbs.htm

http://www.phrasebase.com/archive2/arabic/arabic-proverbs.htm

http://majdah.maktoob.com/vb/majdah18747/l

http://vb.7cc.com/t101831.html

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14/03/2009 by stefi.

Hello,

it has been an exciting week at WLS. We have launched the new multilingual website. Just visit www.translate-it.org to see how many little flags on the homepage! Select the flag you wish to read the text in the language of that specific country. For me, it’s a good practice to have quick answers for my kids’ homework….”mum, what are the colours of the German flag?” - asked the other day Desperate-to-finish-her-homework daughter. Luckily, I had our homepage on the screen, and I could answer in 2 nanoseconds. Saved!!!!!

The website was translated by our associates, and I take the opportunity to thank all who contributed to its development, with their suggestions and improvements. The design is - as usual - a fantastic brainchild of mediandmore. Thanks, guys!

And now….I look forward to receive your news! If you want to see other languages, or if you are a language student who would like to earn some money and translate the text into another language (taking advantage of our training team!), give me a shout!

Stefania

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