Thread: A mystical translation

Like da man says .. 'translate this' !

"I want to become what I am."

я хочу стать , .... , errr что я ем !? шутка

And in case you think that's nonsensical, so there's no need for a translation, don't forget the bible "I am that I am" .. or if you're not religious, try Gloria Gaynor "I am what I am, and what I am, needs no excuses, I deal my own deck, sometimes ..... oops got carried away there

I think you have to change the literal translation to 'I want to become that, who I am' Still doesn't make much sense to me, I'm afraid...
So this'll be something like: ya khochu stat' tem, kem yavlyayus'
(most probably awful Russian)

Originally Posted by Jasper May

ya khochu stat' tem, kem yavlyayus'

Absolutely correct.

I am what I am. - Я тот кто я есть

Originally Posted by waxwing

"I want to become what I am."

я хочу стать , .... , errr что я ем !? шутка

Confusing as it is, "есть" (meaning "to be") does not conjugate in Russian. In the present tense, it is always "есть", no matter what person, gender and number. This strangeness is covered by and is related to the extreme infrequency of this verb in the present tense.

I didn't even know you could use есть in the 1st person singular as well... But I think I wasn't taught that because students of Russian would otherwise be using есть the whole time. For some reason it just looks ugly to me as well, in any other person and number but 3rd sing and pl.

Originally Posted by Jasper May

I didn't even know you could use есть in the 1st person singular as well...

It can be used in all persons sing. and pl. but mostly in idiomatic expressions and usually can be substituted.

Как хорошо, что ты есть! (=Как хорошо, что ты существуешь!)
Кто мы есть? (=Кто мы такие?) (philosophical aspect here)
Признавайся, кто ты есть на самом деле. (кто ты такой на самом деле)

I just realized that "есть" is the standard Russian way to say "there is/are" and "smb. has". У меня есть друг. У него есть собака. Есть люди, которые любят собак. I think any other use of this verb is either idiomatic or emphatic.

is the original of this Nietzsche's "werdet der, der du bist"?

No, the original was just me wanting to come up with a smart-alec remark
I guess I dredged it up from the writings of Sri Ramana Maharshi, or some other mystic..
I tried to read Nietsche but he just annoyed me.

On the subject of есть being used for all persons, why does it give, in my <<русский язык - практическая грамматика с упражнениями >> (пулькина) on p. 229:
"In some cases the third person singular есть 'is' and, less frequently,
the third person plural суть 'are' are used."

Intriguing business. So you can say я есть? Do people actually talk like that? I guess not, right?

Originally Posted by waxwing

Intriguing business. So you can say я есть? Do people actually talk like that? I guess not, right?

They do, but there are severe limitations and caveats. It is used mostly in both educated and emphatic speech. You can get away without ever using it (except in the impersonal and possessive paradigms I mentioned above).

Originally Posted by bad manners

I just realized that "есть" is the standard Russian way to say "there is/are" and "smb. has". У меня есть друг. У него есть собака. Есть люди, которые любят собак. I think any other use of this verb is either idiomatic or emphatic.

Не забывайте о другом значении глагола "есть" - "кушать".
У меня есть друг. У него есть собака. Есть люди, которые любят есть собак.

No comments on суть then?

Originally Posted by waxwing

No comments on суть then?

What comments do you want? Yes it is used, in educated speech. In less emphatic speech you can often see an "interjection" "по-сути": "Это, по сути, ошибка" -- "this is, essentially, a mistake". "Это суть ошибка" is very emphatic ~ "this really is a mistake". Remember that the main meaning of "суть" is "meaning" and that should help you in most cases. Again, you don't have to use it just yet, leave it to the Russians, listen and learn.

I thought суть meant 'heart', 'essence'. Это суть дела: "This is the heart of the case".

Originally Posted by Jasper May

I thought суть meant 'heart', 'essence'. Это суть дела: "This is the heart of the case".

Also correct.

Returning to the main topic of discussion... Why not translate "I want to become what i am" as "я хочу стать самим собой"?
And don't confuse "суть" in different contexts. There is a number of homonyms: "суть" as essense (of a problem), "суть" as 3rd pl of "to be" Аз есьм, ты еси, он есть, мы есьмы, вы (еще что-то), они суть.
So ist es.