Glossary entry

Swedish term or phrase:

det röda

English translation:

the socialists

Added to glossary by Tara Chace
Aug 19, 2006 20:10
18 yrs ago
Swedish term

det röda

Swedish to English Social Sciences Government / Politics young adult novel
"Det handlar hela tiden om att man föraktar någon annan. Att man känner sig bättre än någon annan. Viktigare. Ärligare. Eller något. Det svarta blocket är lite tuffare är det rödsvarta som är lite tuffare än det röda som er lite tuffare än det gröna. Hiphoparna föraktar hårdrockarna som föractar punkarna som föraktar alla. Det är ju bara… löjligt. Det är bara en lek."

Discussion

Tara Chace (asker) Aug 19, 2006:
explanation to make sense to American teenagers In this context, the author means "det svarta blocket" as the anarchists (especially the ones who wear black balaclavas and black clothes and smash store fronts) and "det rödsvarta" as the anarcho-syndicalists. "Det röda" is referring to a group with a shared political belief, but I'm not sure how best to describe this group to American teenagers (the target audience of this book).

Proposed translations

+3
2 hrs
Selected

the socialists

Given your further explanation, I don't see any reason not to simply use the term "the socialists."
Peer comment(s):

agree Eva-Marie Adams
2 hrs
Thanks, Eva-Marie!
agree Elizabeth Lyons : Leftists?
3 hrs
Thanks, Liz! I felt that "socialists" would be more understandable to American young people than "leftists," but that may not be true. Both are good translations otherwise. :-)
agree Alfa Trans (X)
10 hrs
Thanks, Marju!
disagree Charlesp : could be, but why not communists? (to respond to your note)- precisely why Socialists wouldn't be correct here . as the Social Democrats are to the right of the Greens, and this list (the text) goes in graduations of radicalism (left to more left).
1 day 16 hrs
(1) The fact remains that "Communists" is a much narrower term than "de röda." (2) "Communists" also has connotations in English that "de röda" lacks in Swedish. (3) It's a scale, but not necessarily gradations of radicalism, IMO.
agree Roald Toskedal
1 day 23 hrs
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you so much!"
-1
1 day 20 hrs

the commies

given the colloquial tone of the text
Peer comment(s):

disagree Mårten Sandberg : leftists/reds and communists are hardly synonymous.
14 hrs
fair enough but "the reds" in would not be understood in English. You would say lefites, not leftists. I still think commies serves its purpose here.
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1 day 19 hrs

the communists

with a small c.

I am not so sure they are socialists..

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Note added at 1 day19 hrs (2006-08-21 15:49:25 GMT)
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Thinking about it, you could call them the Reds. That would be understood.

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Note added at 2 days4 hrs (2006-08-22 00:46:20 GMT)
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as the communists are to the left of the Greens, and this list (the text) goes in graduations of radicalism (left to more left)
Peer comment(s):

neutral Mårten Sandberg : communists sounds too specific and maybe too strong/reds are much better; as you know there is an exact Swedish equivalent word for communists.
6 hrs
agreed. but the language here is strong, and communists (small c) is sort of a general group...
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