testify

English translation: witness the belief

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:testify
Selected answer:witness the belief

08:21 Sep 7, 2020
    The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2020-09-10 17:54:12 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)


English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature
English term or phrase: testify
What could be the meaning of “testify” in the context of a kind of revolutionary rock and roll 60’s concert in the USA?

This belongs to the introduction done by a speaker just before the MC5 start the first song of their set (it can be heard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONGBe0QLj_M).
“Brothers and sisters! I want to see a sea of hands out there! [...] The time has come for each and every one of you to decide whether you are gonna be the problem or whether you are gonna be the solution! You must choose, brothers! It takes five seconds, five seconds of decision. Five seconds to realize your purpose here on the planet. It takes five seconds to realize that it's time to move, it's time to get down with it! Brothers, it's time to testify, and I want to know, are you ready to testify? Are you ready? I give you a testimonial-- the MC5!”

Many thanks
Ion Zubizarreta
Spain
witness the belief
Explanation:
The term was, and is, widely used by popular Christian preachers. An invitation to the congregation to offer witness of their belief.
Selected response from:

Michael Sarni
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:39
Grading comment
Thank you all for the answers.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +4witness the belief
Michael Sarni
4 +2affirm/give affirmation/demonstrate
Yvonne Gallagher
4 +1show your truth
Silvia Tratnik
4to declare in testimony
Anastasia Andriani


Discussion entries: 9





  

Answers


9 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +4
witness the belief


Explanation:
The term was, and is, widely used by popular Christian preachers. An invitation to the congregation to offer witness of their belief.

Michael Sarni
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:39
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
Thank you all for the answers.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  José Patrício
5 mins

neutral  Yvonne Gallagher: it's a rock concert, not a prayer meeting//you're over translating by bringing in other stuff that is not here. Certainly NO "preaching" involved here. Please explain what "witness the belief" means? What Belief? This is an audience not a congregation
51 mins
  -> Oh my. Have you lived through the second half of the 60s surrounded by rock? Well, I have. It was a religion. Take a minute to go through some of the works in the bibliography (see discussion note). The call is an 'invitation to offer' witness.

agree  Serhan Elmacıoğlu
4 hrs

agree  philgoddard: It's usually used in a religious context, though not here.
5 hrs

agree  Sajad Neisi
5 hrs
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59 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
to declare in testimony


Explanation:
In this sentence Testify means to make a solemn declaration under oath or affirmation for the purpose of establishing a fact ; give testimony.

other definition related to this term : To give proof of something / to show that something is true or real


    Reference: http://merriam-webster.com
Anastasia Andriani
Indonesia
Local time: 20:39
Native speaker of: Native in IndonesianIndonesian

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Yvonne Gallagher: hardly correct in this context. It's not legal.//However, this is what Asker chose into Spanish!
1 day 6 hrs
  -> thank you, Yvonne
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
affirm/give affirmation/demonstrate


Explanation:


show us that you are all here, that we are here, that our music is great,
by raising your hands in the air.

Show you are truly alive and here in this moment

"bear witness to the fact..." is the more biblical meaning..."give proof" the more legal meaning

But since this is a rock concert it's really more about show/prove//attest to the fact that we are all here now having a great time and fully alive

other synonyms
certify/make evident



Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 13:39
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 317

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  B D Finch
3 hrs
  -> Many thanks:-)

agree  Althea Draper: Yeah, it's more of a stand up and be counted or show your appreciation type thing rather than a witness of belief
6 hrs
  -> Many thanks:-)
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
show your truth


Explanation:
This is my suggestion, a CTA with simple concert vocabulary and it keeps the meaning, in my opinion.

Silvia Tratnik
Local time: 10:39
Native speaker of: Portuguese

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Abdikadir Sanah Muse: it means to establish some fact(s)
17 hrs

neutral  Yvonne Gallagher: This is English?
1 day 4 hrs
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