Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Italian term or phrase:
Comm’ \'o cecato nun garrava a via,
English translation:
like a blind man who could not find his way
Added to glossary by
Fiorsam
Mar 17, 2010 00:21
14 yrs ago
Italian term
Comm’ 'o cecato nun garrava a via,
Italian to English
Art/Literary
Poetry & Literature
Neopolitan song
I' translating a set of Neopolitan songs. Knowing Sicilan dialect myself, I can interpret most of the text. I nees a confirmation to the above verse:
"Like a blind man who could not find his way."(?) I got stuck on the word "garrava". I'll have more to come before I'll'be finished.
"Like a blind man who could not find his way."(?) I got stuck on the word "garrava". I'll have more to come before I'll'be finished.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +1 | like a blind man who could not grasp his way |
Daniel Frisano
|
Proposed translations
+1
24 mins
Daniel Frisano
Italy
Italy
Native in Italian
Works in field
Italy
100% human translation, always
Native in: Italian 
Works in: English to Italian, French to Italian, German to Italian, and 14 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
20
Selected
like a blind man who could not grasp his way
I think you need 'grasp' here. The original verb is something close to the Spanish 'agarrar' (roughly equivalent to Italian 'afferrare'), meaning 'seizing, grasping'... with the obvious meaning for a blind man who sometimes needs to find his way with his hands.
Cfr. also Carme' Carme' by Totò where 'garro' means 'understand, catch':
Pure st'anno 'a primmavera,
me trasuto dint'o core
cu na smania'e fa l'ammore
cu nu fuoco 'e giuventù,
quanno veco a na figliola,
me va o sango dint'a ll'uocchie
po' me tremmano 'e denocchie
e nun **garro** niente cchiù?
Cfr. also Carme' Carme' by Totò where 'garro' means 'understand, catch':
Pure st'anno 'a primmavera,
me trasuto dint'o core
cu na smania'e fa l'ammore
cu nu fuoco 'e giuventù,
quanno veco a na figliola,
me va o sango dint'a ll'uocchie
po' me tremmano 'e denocchie
e nun **garro** niente cchiù?
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Sonia Hill
7 hrs
|
| neutral |
ARS54
: ...no, come dicono i colleghi (meridionali e/o napoletani) in discussion, il senso di "garrare" è qui meglio reso da "find"..., -)
1 day 9 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Grazie Arrigo, e grazie a voi tutti per i vostri "preziosi" commenti."
Discussion
"Like a blind man who could not find his way."
Ngarrava è "trovava", e non come è stato suggerito "gasp" che è più a livello mentale, il comprendere, il capire.. "ingarrare" è anche quello.. non ho "ingarrato"la risposta giusta (indovinato, scelto), ma in questo caso trovare va benissimo.
"Comm’ 'o cecato nun garrava a via,
m’avrìa potuto perdere pe 'tte;
ma tu vuliste farme cumpagnia
tutta cuntenta e nun me fa cadè."