Thread: Martin Luther King - I have a dream

Martin Luther King – I have a dream

Dear people, dear translators, could you help me with the original text of the greatest Kings’ speech ever been done? I am translating it to my native language for educational purposes, so I want translation be brought to infinitive perfection. There are some parts I am needed to be learned about more. Before we start, please visit:
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/spee...haveadream.htm

Now, let’s start:

1| At first, please make me clear about these words for these people living in America:

- Negro / the Negro
- Negroes / the Negroes
- black / the black / the blacks
- black people / the black people
- colored people

Could you line up these words according to their softness, starting from the most euphemistic to the most undignified one?

And could I be answered why probably Martin Luther King is using the word „Negro“, but not Negroes in his speech? May be for an effect of pars pro toto (rhetoric figure when the gross is changed with the part)? And why it is written by capital letter? Are in your lounge all types of races written by capital letter (e.g. Mustic...)? Thanks for this.

2| I have no idea how to translate this into my native language, however the same word exist in our lounge, but in this sentence it cannot be used in the way I thought:

Originally Posted by Martin Luther King

And so we’ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

Could you explain me it in other way, please? Thanks for this.

3| Word a promissory note make me angry. I am not able to sleep… still shouting “promissory note, promissory note, promissory note” out of my dream. I guess it means something like engaged note. Am I right? Say I am not for my better sleep:

Originally Posted by Martin Luther King

When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.

Thanks for this, guys.

4| Especially my hairs are getting a color of grizzly, when I do not exactly know how to be this translated:

Originally Posted by Martin Luther King

This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

- maybe right for happy being, being with happiness, without problems (being meant as life)?

5| Do the word vault means hiding-place or the special panzered place to keep money in which is called…hmmm…I have just forgot synonym for this.

Originally Posted by Martin Luther King

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.

Thanks, my friends.

6| Any explaining for this word in this context?

Originally Posted by Martin Luther King

This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.

Thank you, fellow-citizens of Luther’s native state.

7| Sweltering = not calm, full of fight or what else? Invigorating = calm or weak or what else?

Originally Posted by Martin Luther King

This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.

I am glad to know you, “good-soulded-beings”.

8| Hatred = ?*” !;”…ehm…very nice sounded word, isn’t it? But WHAT does it mean, please?

Originally Posted by Martin Luther King

Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

9| Inextricably = Nice to write, worse to read and the worst to translate.

Originally Posted by Martin Luther King

And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

10| Is this meant really?

Originally Posted by Martin Luther King

You have been the veterans of creative suffering.

What does creative mean in this context?

11| Are words interposition and nullification connected with Hitler’s idea of Uberman und total solution of Jews’ question?

Originally Posted by Martin Luther King

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama...

12| All flesh = sight, scent, taste… in this way?

Originally Posted by Martin Luther King

...and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."

13| Struggle together = fight against smb or smt together?

Originally Posted by Martin Luther King

With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

Thanks for this.

14| And finally, nice to sing, but at first nicer to know about what:

Originally Posted by Martin Luther King

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:
My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that:
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

Pilgrim's pride = any legend about Pilgrim and his pride?
curvaceous slopes = die kurve ???
molehill = a little hill everytime made when the mole is coming to !see! the blue, color of sky?

15| Gentiles = ?
the words of the old Negro spiritual: = …?

Originally Posted by Martin Luther King

...we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

16| Devotees of civil rights = not sure, something as keeping the civil rights?

Originally Posted by Martin Luther King

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?"

17| American dream = I think I know what it is...American dream, American pie… but have ever been this mentioned in any official doctrine, I do not know, maybe as other things in American Constitution? Who has started to use American dream and what does it contains (besides liberty, freedom and independence).

18| At last, the end: When the words slums and a ghetto is heard by you, native speakers, how do you understand it? What I mean: a ghetto has a italian origin according to the little street where one kind of people were holded, so is this word understood as the foreign? Because If you say slums you understant the word or its expesion? Because slums has become international expresion for poor areas of big-cities. And I have two ways how to translate it: like the word slums or I can write its expresion. Do you know what I mean? How it sounds to you? (I guess, for native speakers are word and expresion closly connected, but...who know)

Thank thee for consultations, sirs.

Originally Posted by Martin Luther King

My Fellow-citizens, Thank You A Lot

www.dictionary.com can anser 90% of your questions.

Originally Posted by Pejko

1| At first, please make me clear about these words for colored people:

- Negro / the Negro
- Negroes / the Negroes
- black / the black / the blacks
- black people / the black people
- colored people

OK, in American history, there have basically been five big terms for blacks (in decreasing order of offensiveness): N*gger, Negro, Colored, Black, African-American.
N*gger-- this one is fairly old (and probably Negro is from approx. the same time?) and is nowadays VERY offensive (if you use it, you're probably going to start a fight). You'll see this in 19th century stuff like "Tom Sawyer."
Negro -- is slightly less offensive, but still something you don't say today very often. There's the United Negro College Fund, but that's the only "official" use I can think of. It's probably offensive to some people.
Colored -- I think came after Negro was no longer acceptable, and is still somewhat offensive to some. I think this one's a bit flexible, though, since you can technically throw any "brown-skinned" minority into it -- Mexicans, etc.
Black -- used to be the post-desegratation standard AFAIK, and isn't offensive nowadays. You can basically use it interchangably with African-American, which is the most politically-correct form.

I'm sure there are people who know more about this than me, and who will probably be vocal about it...

3| Word a promissory note make me angry. I am not able to sleep… still shouting “promissory note, promissory note, promissory note” out of my dream. I guess it means something like engaged note. Am I right? Say I am not for my better sleep:

Originally Posted by Martin Luther King

When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.

Thanks for this, guys.

A promissory note is a note that promises something. Usually, it's a "promise to pay a debt." (If I told you Pejko, that I liked your car, but didn't have the money with me today, you could tell me to just sign a promissory note that I would pay you $xxxx.xx for it). Here, though, it's something different -- he's just saying that these documents guarantee human rights and equality to ALL Americans for ALL time.

4| Especially my hairs are getting a color of grizzly, when I do not exactly know how to be this translated:

Originally Posted by Martin Luther King

This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

- maybe right for happy being, being with happiness, without problems (being meant as life)?

This is a direct reference to a very famous part of the Constitution. There's an interesting history to the last guarantee of "pursuit of hapiness." I don't remember why precisely, but Thomas Jefferson edited that part when he wrote that portion of the clause (it was based on John Locke's Second Treatise on Govenment which advocated "life, liberty, and the pursuit of property"). The overall meaning is basically the same, though, if less materialistic sounding. I would say that "pursuit of hapiness" means that every person has the opportunity to pursue the goals and enterprises that they wish -- they are not to be dictated or constricted by kings and queens essentially...

There are 3 answers. Pejko, please do not post such large questions any more -- it's just too much to deal with in one post. I hope that helps.

Иногда, особенно среди негров, слово "n"gger" не оскорбительно, например, когда говоришь с друзьями. В этом случае, я сказал бы, что оно аналогично слову "ｂro".

"Yo, n*gga, wassup." - Sometimes I heard this translated in Russian when close friends greeted each other.

OK, today it's not PC to say "colored". Don't say it.

Да. Такие фразы часто слышатся в гангстерском рэпе.

1. Pretty much every term on that list is controversial somewhere. Blacks, and African-Americans are the most accepted terms, although you still hear colored an awful lot too, especially among southerners, black and white. At the time of Dr. King, they were pretty much all acceptable terms. Negro isn't as much offensive as it is out-dated, as far as I can tell.
In translation, I don't think I would use African-Americans, mainly because Dr. King was a bit against the hypenated words, from what I can tell he was more along the lines of "we are all Americans", but that's just my opinion. I'd stick to blacks, and possibly the colored, although that does tend to be used in reference to anyone of darker skin now.

2. In this context I believe he is saying to point out, indicate, highlight, something along those lines.

5. Yes. Basically referring to the wealth of opportunity in America.

6. Gradualism. Same as incrementalism, basically. Step by step. A small amount at a time.

7. Sweltering. Very hot, as in hot enough to make you dizzy. Hatred means extreme dislike.

13. Yes. To fight together, to work together through hard times.

Pilgrim's Pride. The pilgrims were the first settler's from Europe to America (for the most part). We are, and they were, proud of them (for the most part.) They worked pretty hard to just stay alive, and it took them a while to actually start to exist here in any real way.

Moles are little mammals, close to mice in size, that dig tunnels close to the surface of the ground. They leave tiny hills, EVERY where. Especially in Mississippi.

15. Gentile is a reference to the Bible. They are/were, essentially the opposites of Jews. He was saying that everyone regardless of differences should/will get along and exist together peacefully.

The words of the old Negro spirituals refers to the lines/words/verses of old hymns song and put together, basically a mix between old southern hymns, and African-orginated music. They were sung early in our history, by slaves, and were mostly passed from one generation to the next only orally. African-Americans are proud of them, I guess that's what I mean.

16. Devotees are someone who are dedicated to something. Passionate followers.

18. Slums and ghettos, to me at least, are pretty much the same things, poor neighborhoods, and often plagued by crime.

Originally Posted by Guitari609

1. Pretty much every term on that list is controversial somewhere. Blacks, and African-Americans are the most accepted terms, although you still hear colored an awful lot too, especially among southerners, black and white. At the time of Dr. King, they were pretty much all acceptable terms. Negro isn't as much offensive as it is out-dated, as far as I can tell.

You still hear "colored" used in SC? I thought that was basically extinct and fairly offensive. The only places I thought you MIGHT still hear it were a)films set in the pre-Civil Rights era and b) MAYBE from some really old people, who just hadn't changed their vocab...

Originally Posted by Guitari609

1. Pretty much every term on that list is controversial somewhere. Blacks, and African-Americans are the most accepted terms, although you still hear colored an awful lot too, especially among southerners, black and white. At the time of Dr. King, they were pretty much all acceptable terms. Negro isn't as much offensive as it is out-dated, as far as I can tell.

You still hear "colored" used in SC? I thought that was basically extinct and fairly offensive. The only places I thought you MIGHT still hear it were a)films set in the pre-Civil Rights era and b) MAYBE from some really old people, who just hadn't changed their vocab...

Yup. Alot of civil rights leaders still use it as well. I've heard Jesse Jackson use it. Again, they tend to use it in reference to all people of darker skin, not just blacks. I don't hear a lot of folks here use it as much as I do civil rights workers. Al Sharpton throws it in every now and then as well.

Originally Posted by Guitari609

Originally Posted by Barmaley

Originally Posted by Guitari609

1. Pretty much every term on that list is controversial somewhere. Blacks, and African-Americans are the most accepted terms, although you still hear colored an awful lot too, especially among southerners, black and white. At the time of Dr. King, they were pretty much all acceptable terms. Negro isn't as much offensive as it is out-dated, as far as I can tell.

You still hear "colored" used in SC? I thought that was basically extinct and fairly offensive. The only places I thought you MIGHT still hear it were a)films set in the pre-Civil Rights era and b) MAYBE from some really old people, who just hadn't changed their vocab...

Yup. Alot of civil rights leaders still use it as well. I've heard Jesse Jackson use it. Again, they tend to use it in reference to all people of darker skin, not just blacks. I don't hear a lot of folks here use it as much as I do civil rights workers. Al Sharpton throws it in every now and then as well.

No self-respecting black person calls themselves "colored" in this day and age. What you hear Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and others say is the phrase "people of color", or similar phrases. This is an umbrella phrase to encompass all ethnic minorities in America. It may be subtle, but there is a difference.

Yeah, in the south you may encounter some older whites who still use the term colored, but its pretty offensive.

First, to all: I do NOT want to say something unkind, or rude to some people with some words written some links above. If it has happened, I say one big sorry to all PEOPLE.

Second: thank You a lot, for your help. I was so necessery be helped. (I am not sure about my last sentence...its grammatic)

Third: there are some tasks still open. Could anybody else help?

9, 10, 11, 12, 14 (curvaceous slopes), 17

Originally Posted by Guitari609

18. Slums and ghettos, to me at least, are pretty much the same things, poor neighborhoods, and often plagued by crime.

So the word ghetto does not sound to you as a foreign one? Because, for me both are foreign, but do not mean the same in my language. We do not have any ghetto there, in Slovakia, but little hamlets full of gipsy people (how do you call gipsy people in your country, maybe sinties?)

Originally Posted by Guitari609

18. Slums and ghettos, to me at least, are pretty much the same things, poor neighborhoods, and often plagued by crime.

So the word ghetto does not sound to you as a foreign one? Because, for me both are foreign, but do not mean the same in my language. We do not have any ghetto there, in Slovakia, but little hamlets full of gipsy people (how do you call gipsy people in your country, maybe sinties?)

Ghetto here is often used in certain circles the same way as slum is used. It is frequently used in ganster rap in reference to poor neighborhoods in the inner cities.