Dec 4, 2006 19:20
17 yrs ago
3 viewers *
Portuguese term

menina e moça

Portuguese to English Other Tourism & Travel
To tell the truth, I'm struggling with the meaning of these two sentences. Any help would be appreciated.

Cidade, menina e moça, inspirada na história e sentida no Tejo. É assim a Lisboa que dispensa apresentações mas não se escusa a receber novos motivos de adoração.

Proposed translations

+2
43 mins
Selected

a girl and a child

Just a hint, perhaps you can find a better solution. This is based on a novel by Bernardim Ribeiro and there's also a "fado" song called "Menina e moça".

Here's a translation:
A girl and a child, I was taken from my father's house to distant lands; as for why I was taken away .... I was little, I didn't understand.
http://idiocentrism.com/meninatr.htm

Menina e moça me levaram de casa de meu pai para longes terras; qual fosse então a causa daquela minha levada, era pequena, não na soube.
http://www.idiocentrism.com/meninatx.htm


As for the second sentence, I think it means that Lisbon is a city which doesn't need introduction, but that it always has new reasons to be visited, to attract people (I mean, not just the traditonal/known reasons).

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Note added at 3 hrs (2006-12-04 22:38:01 GMT)
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Forgot to add that "menina e moça" is just a way to reinforce that she's a little girl... But "girlish Lisbon" wouldn't work, I think. Perhaps you could use something like "this city, a girl and a child, along the lines of the popular Bernardim Ribeiro's novel, "Menina e Moça"...
Peer comment(s):

agree Teresa Bento
16 mins
Obrigada, Teresa
agree Clara Duarte : Aqui, só mesmo quem conhece a cultura portuguesa poderia fazer a localização desta expressão.
6 hrs
Obrigada, Clara :-)
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "I used this answer because I liked the literary reference...I think that's what they were referring to.... thanks, Cristina, and to everyone else for your suggestions."
31 mins

fresh yet mature

The writer here (IMHO, a bad one!) seems to be making use of a literary device, anthropomorphism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropomorphisms, scroll down to "In rhetoric"), attributing human features to a city. Lisbon, in this case, becomes a woman who's both young and experienced, well known and fond of praise. I'd go for an adaptation, depending on the tone of the text in general and the needs of the client. If it's a touristic brochure, you might want to get rid of the metaphorical innuendo altogether, and focus on action imagery, like "the city is inviting, sensuous, and a rich depository of history". Up to you, really!
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+1
4 hrs

a young girl and a virgin

mo.ça
[m'osA] s. f. young woman, girl, lass, gal.

me.ni.na
[men'inA] s. f. girl, maiden, young woman, miss.
Peer comment(s):

agree Ivaneide : (check your mail)
18 hrs
okay
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+1
5 hrs

City, childish and young,

My idea is that it is giving qualities to the city isn´t it?
Peer comment(s):

agree Henrique Magalhaes
7 hrs
Thanks
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2 days 21 hrs

innocent and youthful

"An innocent, youthful city, inspired in the..."

Cidade, menina e moça, inspirada na...



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Note added at 2 days21 hrs (2006-12-07 17:06:21 GMT) Post-grading
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I think the reader will be more concerned with whether the text makes sense than whether it uses a literary reference which virtually no English reader would inherently 'get', and which may or may not have been intended by the writer of the Portuguese.

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Note added at 2 days22 hrs (2006-12-07 17:27:22 GMT) Post-grading
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No worries, Amy. Best wishes.
Note from asker:
Sarah, you may well be right about this...but unfortunately I had to turn in this job several days ago.
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