Feb 2, 2023 17:28
1 yr ago
27 viewers *
English term
Serbia
Banking, finances, law (gen.&corporate)
Native in: Serbian 
Works in: English to Serbian, Serbian to English, Spanish to Serbian
To teach a pig to sing
English to Serbian
Art/Literary
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
proverbs and sayings
Nekako mi nauciti svinju da peva ne ide.
Proposed translations
(Serbian)
| 3 +2 | učiti svinju da peva |
Lingua 5B
|
| 4 +2 | (ne) bacati bisere pred svinje |
Milan Nesic
|
| 3 | учити шепавог да трчи / мутавог да пева / слепца да препознаје боје |
Daryo
|
References
| Some context first ... |
Daryo
|
Proposed translations
+2
15 hrs
Selected
učiti svinju da peva
po citatu koji ste naveli, u pitanju je alegorija. ne znam zašto ne bi išao doslovan prevod. zbog te druge rečenice u kojoj se isto spominje svinja. to je kao neka simbolična slika
jer možete vi reći: ne forsiraj nikog u nešto što ne želi, ali šta onda sa drugom rečenicom? Ona može biti: izmoriće se, a vi ćete protraćiti vreme.
Ja lično bih doslovno.
jer možete vi reći: ne forsiraj nikog u nešto što ne želi, ali šta onda sa drugom rečenicom? Ona može biti: izmoriće se, a vi ćete protraćiti vreme.
Ja lično bih doslovno.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Daryo
: "izmoriće se, i samo ćete protraćiti vreme" = to je sastavni deo cele priče -- ne štima s "biserima"
7 hrs
|
| agree |
Slobodan Kozarčić
7 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks"
+2
1 hr
(ne) bacati bisere pred svinje
"Једна од најчешће коришћених је и изрека „Не бацају се бисери пред свиње!“ Шта то, у ствари, значи? У оригиналу ова реченица гласи: Margaritas ante porcos, а користи се у језику за незналицу којој не треба ни објашњавати ни казивати оно што не цени."
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Vesna Maširević
: https://www.encyclo.co.uk/meaning-of-margaritas_ante_porcos
58 mins
|
|
Hvala :)
|
|
| neutral |
Daryo
: That would be another saying: 'Throwing diamonds at pigs' / 'Throwing pearls before pigs' // There is some similarity but it's not quite the same.
1 hr
|
|
Može i na srpskom. Razumemo se.
|
|
| agree |
Jelena Delibasic
12 hrs
|
|
Hvala :)
|
23 hrs
учити шепавог да трчи / мутавог да пева / слепца да препознаје боје
учити шепавог да трчи / мутавог да пева / слепца да препознаје боје је чисто губљење времена ...
"the difficulty and pointlessness of communicating a lesson that an individual is unwilling or unready to learn"
OK - my proposed translation is more about people being incapable of learning [as opposed to people unwilling to learn] so only CL3.
"the difficulty and pointlessness of communicating a lesson that an individual is unwilling or unready to learn"
OK - my proposed translation is more about people being incapable of learning [as opposed to people unwilling to learn] so only CL3.
Reference comments
45 mins
Reference:
Some context first ...
Never Attempt To Teach a Pig To Sing; It Wastes Your Time and Annoys the Pig
Mark Twain? Robert Heinlein? Paul Dickson? Anonymous?
Dear Quote Investigator: Teaching a pig to sing is a futile task that aggravates the porcine student according to a popular saying. Luminary Mark Twain and science fiction author Robert Heinlein have received credit for this adage. Would you please determine the accurate ascription and the original context?
Quote Investigator: In 1973 Robert Heinlein published “Time Enough for Love” featuring a main character, Lazarus Long, who appeared in several other novels by the author. Long was a colorful individualist who had been genetically selected to live for centuries. He delivered the adage during a discussion of avarice and deceit. Emphasis added to excerpts by QI:[1]
I have never swindled a man. At most I kept quiet and let him swindle himself. This does no harm, as a fool cannot be protected from his folly. If you attempt to do so, you will not only arouse his animosity but also you will be attempting to deprive him of whatever benefit he is capable of deriving from experience. Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.
Thus, the context was the difficulty and pointlessness of communicating a lesson that an individual is unwilling or unready to learn.
The implausible ascription to Mark Twain occurred in recent decades and is unsupported.
A different saying with a distinct meaning is sometimes confused with this adage. QI has a separate article on this topic:
Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2017/07/10/sing-pig/
Mark Twain? Robert Heinlein? Paul Dickson? Anonymous?
Dear Quote Investigator: Teaching a pig to sing is a futile task that aggravates the porcine student according to a popular saying. Luminary Mark Twain and science fiction author Robert Heinlein have received credit for this adage. Would you please determine the accurate ascription and the original context?
Quote Investigator: In 1973 Robert Heinlein published “Time Enough for Love” featuring a main character, Lazarus Long, who appeared in several other novels by the author. Long was a colorful individualist who had been genetically selected to live for centuries. He delivered the adage during a discussion of avarice and deceit. Emphasis added to excerpts by QI:[1]
I have never swindled a man. At most I kept quiet and let him swindle himself. This does no harm, as a fool cannot be protected from his folly. If you attempt to do so, you will not only arouse his animosity but also you will be attempting to deprive him of whatever benefit he is capable of deriving from experience. Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.
Thus, the context was the difficulty and pointlessness of communicating a lesson that an individual is unwilling or unready to learn.
The implausible ascription to Mark Twain occurred in recent decades and is unsupported.
A different saying with a distinct meaning is sometimes confused with this adage. QI has a separate article on this topic:
Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2017/07/10/sing-pig/
Note from asker:
| You are correct. The setting is religious narrative, in which people are taught how to profess their faith without being forced to (as if teaching a pig to sing), but rather by understanding them. What perplexed me was that the text only contained a portion of Mark Twain's wisdom, i.e "Don't try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of time, and it irritates the pig." When translated with no reference, it feels awkward. |
Discussion
U povom slucaju je ipak bolji doslovan prevod, jer bacati bisere pred svinje znaci traciti vreme/znanje na nekoga ko toga nije vredan, a uciti svinju da peva/svira znaci terati nekoga da radi nesto sto je previse tesko za tu osobu, za sta nije sposobna. Hvala svima. Many thanks to all.
"To teach a pig to sing" се односи на нешто друго: учити слепог да препознаје боје, шепавог да трчи, тј. учити неког нешто што они нису способни да ИКАД науче.
THAT is the relevant context for your text
"people are taught how to profess their faith without being forced to (as if teaching a pig to sing)"
I would understand it as "don't profess your faith to people not capable of understanding what you're talking about" as it would the same as "teaching pigs to sing [= you'll be wasting your time and it annoys them].