Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Arabic term or phrase:
اخذ نفسه بفعل شيء
English translation:
He took it upon himself to do something
Added to glossary by
ArabInk
Aug 26, 2004 11:52
19 yrs ago
3 viewers *
Arabic term
اخذ نفسه بفعل شيء
Arabic to English
Art/Literary
Poetry & Literature
وقد كنت اخذت نفسي بأن أحدِّث السيد الجواد عن حواشي الحوادث وبسائطها، أكثر مما أخذت نفسي بالتعمق في صميمها.
This is Gulliver talking about his discussions with his host, the talking horse. I can divine the general meaning, but I'm not sure precisely how to translate this phrase. Maybe "confine myself to"? But that doesn't work so well with the second use. Wehr glosses " أخذ نفسه " reading "nafas", as "to draw breath"; I don't think that is the sense here.
This is Gulliver talking about his discussions with his host, the talking horse. I can divine the general meaning, but I'm not sure precisely how to translate this phrase. Maybe "confine myself to"? But that doesn't work so well with the second use. Wehr glosses " أخذ نفسه " reading "nafas", as "to draw breath"; I don't think that is the sense here.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 5 +3 | Take on oneself to do something |
paleozon
|
| 5 | take it upon my self to do somthing |
Arabicstart
|
| 4 | decided |
ena
|
| 1 +1 | suggestion |
Randa Farhat
|
Proposed translations
+3
1 hr
Arabic term (edited):
��� ���� ���� ��
Selected
Take on oneself to do something
Take upon oneself
Promise oneself
Force oneself
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Note added at 1 hr 3 mins (2004-08-26 12:56:14 GMT)
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Nafas wouldn\'t work.It must be a diacritical error. It should be NAFS in both cases.
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Note added at 2 days 6 hrs 51 mins (2004-08-28 18:43:26 GMT)
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Note:
I only translated the expression: \"اخذ نفسه بفعل شيء\" knowing that the original text, in question, was published in 1726, in English, as part of Jonathan Swift\'s work titled: Gulliver\'s Travels.
Promise oneself
Force oneself
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr 3 mins (2004-08-26 12:56:14 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Nafas wouldn\'t work.It must be a diacritical error. It should be NAFS in both cases.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 days 6 hrs 51 mins (2004-08-28 18:43:26 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Note:
I only translated the expression: \"اخذ نفسه بفعل شيء\" knowing that the original text, in question, was published in 1726, in English, as part of Jonathan Swift\'s work titled: Gulliver\'s Travels.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks, this seems about right. I also considered "undertook", but your suggestion explicitly includes "oneself" which I think better matches the original."
+1
1 hr
Randa Farhat
Lebanon
Lebanon
Native in Arabic
Works in field
Lebanon
Science, UN agencies, NGOs, Corporations
Native in: Arabic (Variant: Standard-Arabian (MSA))
Works in: English to Arabic, Arabic to English, Arabic
Related KudoZ points
:
42
Arabic term (edited):
��� ���� ���� ��
suggestion
Declined
لا يوجد هذا التعبير بالعربية، ولكن نقول آخذت نفسي (بالألف الممدودة) و أخذت على نفسي بمعني عاتبتها. ويمكن تحويلها بمعنى أخذت أحدثه (بمعنى قمت أحدثه) عن الحواشي والأمور الهامشية بدلاً من توجيه نفسي للتركيز على صميم الأمور
i took to talking about marginal and simple events rather than taking profound thinking in their true meanings
i took to talking about marginal and simple events rather than taking profound thinking in their true meanings
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Ghina
1 day 6 hrs
|
| neutral |
paleozon
: The expression is proper in Arabic, see example: تفرض حجماً من الكتابة أكبر، لذلك، اخذت نفسي بالايجاز، الذي سيبدو احياناً مخلا http://alnaserynewspaper.tripod.com/awdah.htm.
2 days 4 hrs
|
Comment: "Thanks; I considered this initially, but the author is a highly literate and careful writer, so I assume that a usage like this has a specific meaning beyond what you suggest. The text is about 100 years old, so this idiom may be archaic."
10 hrs
Arabic term (edited):
��� ���� ���� ��
decided
Declined
decided
Comment: "Thanks. This is tempting for its simplicity; but see my comment to paleozon."
4 days
Arabicstart
Native in Arabic
Accurate and dependable
Native in: Arabic 
Works in: English to Arabic, Arabic to English, English to French
Related KudoZ points
:
2
Arabic term (edited):
��� ���� ���� ��
take it upon my self to do somthing
Declined
good luck
Comment: "Thanks, Zarka. I'd give you the points, except paleozon's suggestion is pretty much the same and he got there first."
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