https://www.proz.com/kudoz/spanish-to-english/poetry-literature/6993451-spanish-saying.html
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PROTEÍNA COLÁGENA
Aug 24, 2021 13:28
2 yrs ago
56 viewers *
Spanish term

Spanish saying

Spanish to English Art/Literary Poetry & Literature
I think I came across this phrase for the first time in a compilation of popular phrases from different cultures. That is to say, that I don't really know if it's from Spain or somewhere else. But the thing is that is stuck in my mind.
It seems pretty straightforward in Spanish, but somehow I can't find the right words in English.

"Lo poco que sabemos, lo sabemos entre todos."

Could somebody help?
Proposed translations (English)
4 +3 What little we know, we know together
4 The little we know, we know it among all of us.
4 What little we know, we know as a collective
3 Ignorant we may be, but ignorance is a shared resource
2 Two heads are better than one

Discussion

Marcelo González Aug 27, 2021:
@ormiston - "to do the rounds" An interesting saying or idiom (and one that rings a bell), though its associations include 'rumors' and bits of information, rather than knowledge and its development over time. And in the minds of some, a slightly different meaning may be evoked, involving people who might 'do the rounds' as part of their jobs, or even as part of their social routines at work, going around the office spreading joy y saludos. ;))

@Rafael - Next time, post the source text (ST) directly. Something like "Spanish saying" is covered by the language direction and the options on the dropdown menu. (I hope there's one for Sayings/Idioms.) I'm not sure if or how search results are affected if the glossary entry is just modified accordingly, after the fact, but the standard practice is to post the ST (of course).
Marcelo González Aug 25, 2021:
@Chema - agreed It's consistent with the notion that nothing is new, that what little we know, we know it thanks to the collective efforts of humanity, including of course those who came before us. And I agree about 'among us all' and thought of this as well, but I think it's important that the translation clearly reference this idea of how knowledge is obtained, as opposed to it (simply) being shared.
ormiston Aug 25, 2021:
To do the rounds. Definition chiefly British, of a rumor, a piece of news, etc. : to be passed from one person to another person and become widely known
Chema Nieto Castañón Aug 25, 2021:
What little we know, we know among us all Por añadir una posible variación con respecto a otras respuestas planteadas (we know together; we know as a collective; we know among all of us).

Aquí los angloparlantes seguro podrán valorar mejor qué expresión resulta más fácilmente comprensible en tanto que referencia a un conocimiento que no le pertenece a nadie individualmente sino que pertenece a o se sostiene en la humanidad como colectivo de individuos atemporales; a un conocimiento distribuido versus centralizado o individualizado.

Proposed translations

+3
4 mins
Selected

What little we know, we know together

That is how it is translated. It means that one person alone does not know everything, but rather the knowledge we have is not known by one person, but by all of us.
Note from asker:
I agree with "What little we know", but for the second part of the sentence, although it seems more literal, "we know it among all of us" or "we know it among us all" seems to adjust better to the original phrase.
Peer comment(s):
agree Michelle Handley
17 hrs
agree ormiston : Maybe 'does the rounds'? There doesn't seem to be an equivalent saying in English
20 hrs
agree philgoddard
1 day 1 hr
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3 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "I think the final version could be: "What little we know, we know it among us all""
2 hrs
Spanish term (edited): Lo poco que sabemos, lo sabemos entre todos.

The little we know, we know it among all of us.

frase atribuida al musicólogo catalán Felipe Pedrell
otra forma de traducirla, más al pie de la letra
"the little we know, we know it among all of us",
entre todos no es exactamente juntos/together (que sugiere unidos, colaborando en equipo)
se puede entender como conectados, pero diría que es una conexión trascendental: psíquica o espiritual (psique=alma)
no algo decidido, organizado o voluntario.

no me resisto a recordar las proverbiales palabras de Mairena/Machado

Cuando el saber se especializa, crece el volumen total de la cultura. Esta es la ilusión y el consuelo de los especialistas. ¡Lo que sabemos entre todos! ¡Oh, eso es lo que no sabe nadie!



Note from asker:
No conocía al autor de la frase, así que te lo agradezco porque es una frase que me gusta mucho. ¡Un saludo!
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2 hrs
Spanish term (edited): Lo poco que sabemos, lo sabemos entre todos

Ignorant we may be, but ignorance is a shared resource

Paradoxically, the writer of the La Vanguardia article doesn't know exactly where he had been born: 'Nací en Las Palmas de Gran Canaria*s* y vivo en Alicante.'
Example sentence:

Once treated as the absence of knowledge, ignorance today has become a highly influential topic. Sharing the Resources of Ignorance, Stuart Firestein

Education is a system of imposed ignorance. Noam Chomsky.

Reference:

http://www.lavanguardia.com/lacontra/20130717/54377855693/lo-poco-que-sabemos-lo-sabemos-entre-todos.html

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1 day 6 hrs

Two heads are better than one

Not quite the same thing, but THIS IS an actual saying in English.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Marcelo González : Hello Christian. You're right. It's not the same. This saying in English just conveys the notion that solutions are more easily found with 'two heads' rather than one -- a far cry from the essence of the ST here, which is knowledge development over time.
1 day 6 hrs
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12 hrs
Spanish term (edited): Lo poco que sabemos, lo sabemos entre todos

What little we know, we know as a collective

Or '... we know from our collective effort'


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Note added at 12 hrs (2021-08-25 01:51:59 GMT)
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It's the idea that we know thanks to the efforts of all ---- past and present.

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Note added at 2 days 12 hrs (2021-08-27 02:25:52 GMT) Post-grading
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The meaning behind 'entre,' and even the meaning that underlies 'sabemos', is: what little we know, we've acquired (or come to know) thanks only to the collective efforts of humanity; indeed, rather than knowledge that is simply shared by everyone, i.e., among us all (as natural as that sounds), it's more akin to this idea of knowledge being acquired and developed by humanity as the fruit of collective effort over time and space.
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