Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
as long as they survive at all
Chinese translation:
语言要想能存活下来
Added to glossary by
Mark Xiang
Sep 6, 2004 06:00
19 yrs ago
English term
idler (X)
as long as they survive at all
English to Chinese
Art/Literary
Poetry & Literature
Does language really exist in the singular, like music, or are there only languages which must remain permanently foreign to each other, as long as they survive at all?
真有象音乐那样自成一类的语言？或者说真的有永远无法彼此沟通的孤立的语言能存留下来？
真有象音乐那样自成一类的语言？或者说真的有永远无法彼此沟通的孤立的语言能存留下来？
Proposed translations
(Chinese)
| 5 -1 | FYI |
Mark Xiang
|
| 4 +1 | 一种说法 |
Wenjer Leuschel (X)
|
| 4 | 语言确如音乐那样单一存在吗？或语言只要存留下来，则必定是永远全然互异呢？ |
Ritchest
|
| 3 | FYI language (in the) singular = 语言单数形式; languages (plural)语言复数 |
chica nueva
|
Proposed translations
-1
19 mins
Mark Xiang
Native in Chinese
20 YRS AS MECHANICAL/TECHNICAL ENGINEER!
Native in: Chinese 
Works in: English to Chinese, Chinese to English
Related KudoZ points
:
56
Selected
FYI
真的存在象音乐那样的单一(通用)语言吗？还是说语言要想能存活下来, 就必须永远保持彼此独立？
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Ritchest
: It seems a bit away from the original.
57 mins
|
| disagree |
Last Hermit
: 这句话的意思其实是：莫非各种语言就不能像音乐那样达至大一统，而非要以形同陌路的方式存在不可吗？因此，窃以为可以这样译：难道像音乐那样达至大一统的语言就真的没有？还是只要有语言存在，彼此之间就注定要形同陌路？
8 hrs
|
|
Ｄisagree: Where your 水火不容 comes from? do not understand. Added Comment: 语言不是有生命的人，语言之间＂形同陌路＂是什么意思？是不是就是彼此独立？
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks!"
+1
21 mins
一种说法
语言真有像音乐那样单一无二的吗？或只有那些只要仍然存留便注定是永远无法彼此沟通的孤立语言？
1 hr
语言确如音乐那样单一存在吗？或语言只要存留下来，则必定是永远全然互异呢？
Focus: existing status of language ; condition and result
或只会有这种语言， 它们只要存留下来，则必定是永远全然互异的呢？
或只会有这种语言， 它们只要存留下来，则必定是永远全然互异的呢？
17 hrs
chica nueva
Native in English
Specializes in field
http://youtube/iraVWQu3Zf8
Native in: English (Variants: New Zealand, British)
Works in: Chinese to English
Related KudoZ points
:
126
FYI language (in the) singular = 语言单数形式; languages (plural)语言复数
language singular语言,单数形式
languages plural 语言复数(形式)
as long as = for as long as
=> for as long as they survive at all (because many languages are dying out).
at all = still
= for as long as they still survive
still survive = 还在存在;仍在存在;还在
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Note added at 18 hrs 36 mins (2004-09-07 00:36:35 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------
must = 必然
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 18 hrs 38 mins (2004-09-07 00:38:59 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------
Put the comma 逗号 after \'languages\', 以便 clarify the meaning a little...
Does language really exist in the singular, like music, or are there only languages, which must remain permanently foreign to each other as long as they survive at all?
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 19 hrs 28 mins (2004-09-07 01:29:09 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------
必然相互陌生;必然互相沟不通
foreign to = unfamiliar to someone (对某人)陌生的 eg He\'s a very good person. Unkindness is foreign to his nature.(朗文进阶词典)
foreign to (formal) = Something can be described as foreign to a particular person if it is unknown to them or not within their experience. eg The whole concept of democracy, she claimed, was utterly foreign to the present government. (Cambridge Advanced Learner\'s Dictionary)
languages plural 语言复数(形式)
as long as = for as long as
=> for as long as they survive at all (because many languages are dying out).
at all = still
= for as long as they still survive
still survive = 还在存在;仍在存在;还在
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 18 hrs 36 mins (2004-09-07 00:36:35 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------
must = 必然
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 18 hrs 38 mins (2004-09-07 00:38:59 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------
Put the comma 逗号 after \'languages\', 以便 clarify the meaning a little...
Does language really exist in the singular, like music, or are there only languages, which must remain permanently foreign to each other as long as they survive at all?
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 19 hrs 28 mins (2004-09-07 01:29:09 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------
必然相互陌生;必然互相沟不通
foreign to = unfamiliar to someone (对某人)陌生的 eg He\'s a very good person. Unkindness is foreign to his nature.(朗文进阶词典)
foreign to (formal) = Something can be described as foreign to a particular person if it is unknown to them or not within their experience. eg The whole concept of democracy, she claimed, was utterly foreign to the present government. (Cambridge Advanced Learner\'s Dictionary)
Reference:
Discussion
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Think twice or thrice, the sentence is not complicate at all.
I would take Last Hermit's interpretation with a slight tuning.
His translation for this sentence is all right.
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there are only languages which must remain permanently foreign to each other, as long as they survive at all
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