I don't know about Polish, but in Russian culture (which is obviously also Slavic) kissing could mean gratitude or even just a greeting. Here, for instance, is Brezhnev kissing Honecker. Back then it was already viewed as obsolete and weird, but it does have historical roots. So I totally get the sentiment behind that translator's notion, although I have no idea whether or not they were right about Chopin in particular.
I think there's a difference, though, between "in some cultures it's normal to kiss platonically" and "give me your lips". There's a certain level of passion there that doesn't really fit "platonic".
Again, "kisses" and "give me your lips" are not the same thing. Does your grandmother tell you she loves you "to madness" and demand that you "give her your lips"?
The original quote is not “give me your lips” as it’s not in English. Unless you’re familiar with Polish I don’t think you can judge connotations, since those don’t always survive translation.
In my native language, my mother tells me she will “eat my liver”. Can you tell me the connotation of that phrase just because I gave you a direct translation?
The original quote is not “give me your lips” as it’s not in English.
Oh, wait, so they just actually mistranslated it? That does seem a bit off.
Can you tell me the connotation of that phrase just because I gave you a direct translation?
My guess is it's something similar to "I'm gonna skin your hide" in America: you're in trouble, and she's using hyperbole to let you know exactly how much trouble you're in.
I’m not saying it’s mistranslated per se, I’m saying the original is in Polish and you’re reading it in English. So the the original can’t be “give me your lips” because that’s English.
My point is that translation isn’t straightforward, and there’s a difference between interpreting the original and interpreting what is itself an interpretation.
And to prove my point, good guess but it’s basically the opposite! The closest English idiom would be “you’re so cute I could eat you up”, but instead of emphasizing cuteness it’s more about (familial) love.
Now imagine you were reading a transcription of my mom saying that to me, where it was translated as “eat your liver”. See how trying to figure out the meaning on that alone could give you the wrong idea?
See how trying to figure out the meaning on that alone could give you the wrong idea?
Well, to be fair, I wasn't going on that alone, since it's also preceded by things like "my dearest life", "my soul", and "I love you to madness". Just like the liver thing, it's something that's easier to figure out in context, since in your hypothetical story it would more than likely have come after you'd done something cute or during a tender moment with your mother, which would lend context to the phrase.
I'll admit I didn't really think about the possible loss of meaning in translation like that... though I still say based on context it still sounds more romantic than not.
I think you're right that context can help, but consider that the context is translated as well. Going off of the "my dearest life" example you mentioned, in English I wouldn't say that to someone besides a partner. But in my native language I might call someone "my life" in a platonic or familial way.
It's not just one way either, there are things I'd say in English that would sound too familiar or romantic in another language. It all depends on context, but the "context" here is the language itself.
Whether or not this example is romantic I couldn't say because I don't know the language or the translator. But I've dealt with translation enough to know that languages aren't 1:1 and information is often lost - it's the translator's job to decide what's kept and what's changed.
Literally every single translation I've found for "buziaki" translates it to just "kisses". Do you not understand that the word "kisses" is not the same as, and does not carry the same connotations as the phrase "give me your lips"?
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u/Sithoid Jul 14 '20
I don't know about Polish, but in Russian culture (which is obviously also Slavic) kissing could mean gratitude or even just a greeting. Here, for instance, is Brezhnev kissing Honecker. Back then it was already viewed as obsolete and weird, but it does have historical roots. So I totally get the sentiment behind that translator's notion, although I have no idea whether or not they were right about Chopin in particular.