this post was submitted on 09 Jan 2024
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Young people in China are becoming more rebellious, questioning their nation’s traditional expectations of career and family

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[–] FauxPseudo@lemmy.world 22 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Can a Chinese speaker clarify something? "Let it rot" in other sources is 摆烂 (Bải làn) which translates as "showed away" When I translate "let it rot" I get either 让它腐烂 (simplified) or 讓它腐爛.

What's the difference? How does showed away become let it rot?

[–] baseless_discourse@mander.xyz 102 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (4 children)

This is another case of a foreign word don't have a good translation in English (and vise versa). Both 摆烂 and 让它腐烂 don't have the same tone as "let it rot".

To me, "let it rot" means watching something collapse with a sense of enjoyment. I cannot recall a Chinese word with this exact sentiment of the top of my head. But I can try to explain both Chinese words.

"让它腐烂" is the literal translation of "let it rot", word for word. It don't have the cultural and sentimental meaning behind it, merely stating the fact. More like "let the leave rot in the compost pile".

"摆烂" is probably what the article is referring to. Its meaning is similar to civil disobedience, and 躺平 ("lay flat", another word that was popular couple years ago).

"摆" means put, "烂" means something poorly made, broken, etc. "摆烂", together as a word, means "displaying a broken (bad) attitude, no matter the outside influence". However, "烂" also means rot, which is probably where the translation "let it rot" came from.

The original usage is much more playful, like your cat would lay on the floor no matter what toy or treat you give it, then it is 摆烂. But with the recent increase in pressure for many young people in China. 摆烂 and 躺平 (lay flat) become more of a act of civil disobedience and refusal to participate in the broken system/economy.

So 摆烂 is not a exact translation for "let it rot", but they do share the meaning of "no action" and the sentiment of joy. And "let it rot" sounds much cooler and concise than my explanation.

[–] redhorsejacket@lemmy.world 41 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Hey I just wanted to say thank you for the breakdown. The intricacies of translation are interesting.

[–] slowwooderrunsdeep@lemmy.world 17 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Ditto. Respect for anyone who not only knows two languages well enough to explain one in the other, but is willing to share that knowledge.

[–] baseless_discourse@mander.xyz 15 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Thank you for your kind message. China is my cultural root, and both its culture and language are of great importance to me.

I was very active on r/translator before I left reddit. It is my great joy to see that I still have opportunity here to convey Chinese cultures to kind strangers on lemmy.

[–] FauxPseudo@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Is there a Lemmy community for that?

[–] baseless_discourse@mander.xyz 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I would love to have one, but I have yet to find an alternative.

[–] FauxPseudo@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)
[–] baseless_discourse@mander.xyz 3 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

I can, but unfortunately, I dont have much will to organize it...

[–] FauxPseudo@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago

Thank you for the commentary. I figured there was some cultural and lingual baggage that was the difference.

[–] Aabbcc@lemm.ee 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

The article title sounded like they were letting the system rot, but if they're laying flat then the metaphor is that the people are laying and rotting? Or did I misunderstand

[–] baseless_discourse@mander.xyz 7 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

That is what I mean when I say there is no exact translation.

摆烂 doesn't mean see the system collapse, merely displaying the lack of interest to participate. So the speaker is displaying the 烂 (bad attitude, rot), not the system. I believe 摆烂 is more akin to "civil disobedience" or "quit quitting", than "let it rot" (if anything, it is closer to the literal meaning of "let me rot").

I want to make it more clear in my original comment, but I was afraid it would be too verbose and distract the reader.

[–] FauxPseudo@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago

I also read that as "quiet quitting". Would you try to translate that from English to Chinese could cause all kinds of linguistic issues.

[–] whatwhatwutyut@midwest.social 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Would "just throw the whole thing away" (as in throw it into the trash) be a more fitting translation for the sentiment than "let it rot" then?

[–] baseless_discourse@mander.xyz 6 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Not exactly, 摆烂 is more mischievous noncompliance (like we typically think of a lazy cat), than confrontational sabotage.

But "throw it all away" certainly conveys the message well enough. It is quite common to have word in one language that dont have a exact match in another language. Even in European languages, let along between Chinese and English, which are widely different.

[–] whatwhatwutyut@midwest.social 2 points 10 months ago

Interesting! Thank you for the insight, I've always loved the topic of direct translation vs contextual translation ever since I dove into it in a Contemporary Japanese Literature course in college