Help With Translation for a Tattoo Honoring My Grandpa

rreimers
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Joined:2014-01-07, 20:27
Help With Translation for a Tattoo Honoring My Grandpa

Postby rreimers » 2014-01-07, 20:44

Hello!

I am hoping to get some help with a translation. My mom's side of the family is French Basque (from the Basque Pyrenees in the vicinity of Arette, France) and unfortunately the only family member who is still living and knows the language, is my Grandpa who has dementia and is unable to communicate. He is an amazing man and has always been one of my heroes. In his honor, and my family's honor, I would like to get a tattoo in Basque. Which brings me to the purpose of this post...

Is anyone able to translate this into Basque for me:

"Shall we dance?"

The significance of this phrase is twofold:

1- When I was a little girl, the same Grandpa I mentioned above used to dance me around with me standing on the tops of his feet as he sang "Shall We Dance?" to me from "The King and I." You can listen here: http://youtu.be/ZdfAM4L6ceg :)

2 - As a newly wed, the phrase is also a metaphor for being in sync with your partner. In this way, "Shall We Dance" is asking to sharing your life together, in sync with one another.

In any case, any help with a translation or suggestions for where I can get a reliable translation would be most appreciated.

Thank you! :)
Last edited by rreimers on 2014-02-21, 16:29, edited 1 time in total.

arabarra
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Country:CHSwitzerland (Schweiz / Suisse / Svizzera / Svizra)

Re: Help With Translation for a Tattoo Honoring My Grandpa

Postby arabarra » 2014-01-08, 18:12

That's a beautiful goal for a translation (although it's sad about your grandpa's dementia, sorry to hear that).

I'd use the expression:

"dantzan egingo al dugu?"

This is correct, but maybe you want to wait and see if somebody appears with a deeper knowledge of French Basque and can give you the sentence translated the way your grandpa would have constructed it.... Do you now which province he was from? They might show enormous dialectal variations....

arabarra
Posts:509
Joined:2007-06-08, 14:16
Gender:male
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Country:CHSwitzerland (Schweiz / Suisse / Svizzera / Svizra)

Re: Help With Translation for a Tattoo Honoring My Grandpa

Postby arabarra » 2014-01-08, 18:15

by the way, you can get a shorter tatoo using:

"dantzatu nahi?"

which is equally valid (and even sounds more colloquial and conveys more proximity)

rreimers
Posts:3
Joined:2014-01-07, 20:27

Re: Help With Translation for a Tattoo Honoring My Grandpa

Postby rreimers » 2014-01-17, 2:09

arabarra wrote: Do you now which province he was from? They might show enormous dialectal variations....


Thanks so much for your help! I do know which province he is from, however I can't recall off the top of my head right now. I will have to look it up and come back here and add that information to see if that helps. Thank you for the suggestion and your translation!

rreimers
Posts:3
Joined:2014-01-07, 20:27

Re: Help With Translation for a Tattoo Honoring My Grandpa

Postby rreimers » 2014-02-21, 16:36

arabarra wrote:Do you now which province he was from? They might show enormous dialectal variations....


I was able to update my original post with information about where my family is from. If it helps at all with a translation, my family is from the Basque Pyrenees in the vicinity of Arette, France.

Thanks! :)

arabarra
Posts:509
Joined:2007-06-08, 14:16
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Country:CHSwitzerland (Schweiz / Suisse / Svizzera / Svizra)

Re: Help With Translation for a Tattoo Honoring My Grandpa

Postby arabarra » 2014-02-23, 10:49

the Basque Pyrenees in the vicinity of Arette, France.


It's Zuberera dialect then. And that at the periphery of the sociolinguistic center (Ereta is not even Basque Country!). Hard stuff. I'll ask some friends that now about dialectology. My guess is that

Dantzan egin nahi?

is general enough and should be fine, a more local version being

Dantzaturen dügüa?

but I wouldn't tell anybody to write it on their skin until I'm certain it's correct...

In the forum we used to have some participants specialized in Zuberera, hope they also show up and give their advice...


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