Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Need help translating phrase into as many languages as possible!

buffettfan33

buffettfan33

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 7, 2005
56
0
Arlington, VA
Hello all! I need help translating two phrases, "Change We Can Believe In" and "Yes We Can" into as many different languages as possible for a DVD menu I'm creating for class.

I know there are plenty of free translators out there on the web, but from my own experiences with languages, a literal translation can be very different from what is actually trying to be conveyed.

Any help any of you could give me with this would be GREATLY appreciated! Also, please resist the urge to turn this thread into a political debate (see note below). Thanks in advance! :D


---For those of you that are wondering, the theme for my DVD menu is Barack Obama's campaign (broad, I know). I have a picture of a scoreboard from his rally at American University a few weeks ago, and I'm planning to make all of the different translations of one of his slogans (Change We Can Believe In or Yes We Can) roll across the bottom of the scoreboard like a sports/news ticker.---
 
"Cambio en el que podemos creer"

"Si se puede" or "Si podemos (which is more literal, but sounds less catchy IMO)"
 
Hehe...

... I hope the video doesn't draw the same expression from the audience, as I did with Obama...;)

...look at the attached clips from a Youtube video, see if you can spot me.

b28a8658.png


c1dfa1d3.png


e3eec086.png


Oh, the video can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdQqTpWunfU
 
In French:
Change we can believe in--Le changement dont nous pouvons avoir confiance
Yes we can--Oui, nous pouvons

That first one is tricky. That's the first time I had to pull out my trusty Larousse in a very long time. :D
 
German:
Change we can believe in: Veränderung, an die wir glauben können.
Yes we can: Doch, wir können.
 
In Portuguese:

"Change We Can Believe In": Mudança em que podemos acreditar

"Yes We Can": Sim, Nós Podemos
 
Luis said:
"Cambio en el que podemos creer"

"Si se puede" or "Si podemos (which is more literal, but sounds less catchy IMO)"
Click to expand...

Doesn't si se puede translate to yes he/she can. Si podemos in my mind makes more sense. Si se peude always reminds me of that Disney Channel Original Movie from long ago called Gotta Kick It Up. When they chanted Si Se Puede it never really made sense in my mind.
 
Daveman Deluxe said:
Change we can believe in--Le changement dont nous pouvons avoir confiance
Click to expand...

Wouldn't that mean "Change of which we can believe"? I'd be more tempted to say "Le changement dans laquelle nous pouvons avoir confiance." You're right, though. That's a tricky one. Due in part to American poor grammar in putting the preposition at the end of the sentence.
 
The French expression is "avoir confiance en quelquechose" or "avoir confiance de + infinitif." So the grammatical expression would be:
Le changement en qui nous pouvons avoir confiance. I would like this checked by a native French speaker, however, since there may be another way of saying this that is more idiomatic.
 
ErikCLDR said:
Doesn't si se puede translate to yes he/she can. Si podemos in my mind makes more sense. Si se peude always reminds me of that Disney Channel Original Movie from long ago called Gotta Kick It Up. When they chanted Si Se Puede it never really made sense in my mind.
Click to expand...

Si se puede doesn't really have a literal translation to english that I can think of; however, It is constantly used in this types of situations, for example the movie you mentioned and more imporantly it was the motto for our national soccer team in the 2002 world cup. Sort of a "Yes We Can" Costa Rica. Si podemos is the more direct translation (probably why it sounds better to you) of Yes We Can, but I personally think Si se puede is more appropiate for the intention it is going to be used for.

But even so, they're pretty much interchangeable.
 
Luis said:
Si se puede doesn't really have a literal translation to english that I can think of; however, It is constantly used in this types of situations, for example the movie you mentioned and more imporantly it was the motto for our national soccer team in the 2002 world cup. Sort of a "Yes We Can" Costa Rica. Si podemos is the more direct translation (probably why it sounds better to you) of Yes We Can, but I personally think Si se puede is more appropiate for the intention it is going to be used for.
Click to expand...

yes, you want to use "si se puede" it actually is a very known saying in spanish, it dates back to the 1970's used by Chavez for a campaign if I'm not wrong, good one Obama, must have been hard to come up with that ;)...(lol im just kidding, i don't really care at all about the whole situation and mean no offense to its followers or anything) united farm worker's took it from him (chavez) too many many years ago..
 
"Le changement en quoi nous pouvons croire" might be more idiomatic.

"Yes we can" might be best translated as "Si, c'est possible!", as if in rebuttal of a negative.
 
As for Italian, try "Cambiamento in quale possiamo credere" and "Si, possiamo", although "Si, si puó" has a certain catchy ring to it...
.
 
Re all the French posts:

I have seen dont used in these kinds of situations, though it's somewhat uncommon. I went with it in this case because it's meant to be a slogan and therefore short & snappy.

I would not use dans laquelle because dans is not used in French in this sense. It's used to indicate a period of time, a place, a part of a whole, an estimate, or a manner of doing something. Also, it should be lequel because changement is masculine.

I have problems with the use of croire in skunk's translation because it's generally used to refer to a religious belief or to say that one believes something that is being said.

Probably the best translation that I can think of would actually be "Nous pouvons avoir confiance en ce changement." The original word order has some pretty tricky ramifications in French. This last one changes the word order but makes it less stilted in French.
 
skunk said:
As for Italian, try "Cambiamento in quale possiamo credere" and "Si, possiamo", although "Si, si puó" has a certain catchy ring to it...
.
Click to expand...

Actually it should be either Cambiamento in cui possiamo credere or Cambiamento nel quale possiamo credere.

And (just to be nitpicky...) it should be spelt "Sì, possiamo" or "Sì, si può." I'd also like to suggest "Sì, ce la possiamo fare" or "Sì, possiamo farcela" as a possibility. It's a little wordy, but more idiomatic I think.
 
Macaddicttt said:
Actually it should be either Cambiamento in cui possiamo credere or Cambiamento nel quale possiamo credere.

And (just to be nitpicky...) it should be spelt "Sì, possiamo" or "Sì, si può." I'd also like to suggest "Sì, ce la possiamo fare" or "Sì, possiamo farcela" as a possibility. It's a little wordy, but more idiomatic I think.
Click to expand...
You are of course correct. My diacriticals are a bit rusty. Perhaps I should stick to French...
 
skunk said:
That is the whole point. It is supposed to be inspirational, not a bland assertion.
Click to expand...

Yes, yours works the best as as slogan, I think. And forgive me if I'm getting a bit rusty. It's been quite a few years since I've had anyone with whom to converse in French!
 
Norwegian:
Change we can believe in - Forandring vi kan tro på / Forandring å tro på (I prefer the last one, although the first is the literal translation)

Yes, We Can - Ja, det kan vi / Klart vi kan! (I really, really prefer the last one, it's a lot more catchy, but translated literally to english it means "Of course we can!")
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back