Jul 24, 2020 09:15
3 yrs ago
32 viewers *
Arabic term
وشلي بهالدوخه
Arabic to English
Art/Literary
Poetry & Literature
Iraqi dialect
Hello everyone,
Context: Novel excerpt. Two friends are discussing why they never acted upon their romantic feelings for each other. This is the man talking. The dialogue is in Iraqi dialect.
"عبالكي ما لفتني جمالكي؟ بس أيامها كنتو غارق حتى الأذنين في حب بنت عمي سونة ، وبعدين قلتو لنفسي شتسوي بيه أنا مسيحي وهي مسلمة وشلي بهالدوخه"
I can't work out what وشلي بهالدوخه is supposed to mean. I know that in Fusha, دوخة means dizziness/vertigo, but perhaps the word is being used in a different way here?
Any clarification much appreciated!
Anam
Context: Novel excerpt. Two friends are discussing why they never acted upon their romantic feelings for each other. This is the man talking. The dialogue is in Iraqi dialect.
"عبالكي ما لفتني جمالكي؟ بس أيامها كنتو غارق حتى الأذنين في حب بنت عمي سونة ، وبعدين قلتو لنفسي شتسوي بيه أنا مسيحي وهي مسلمة وشلي بهالدوخه"
I can't work out what وشلي بهالدوخه is supposed to mean. I know that in Fusha, دوخة means dizziness/vertigo, but perhaps the word is being used in a different way here?
Any clarification much appreciated!
Anam
Proposed translations
(English)
Proposed translations
+1
9 hrs
Arabic term (edited):
وشلي بهالدوخه؟
Selected
Who needs such a headache?
You are right. دوخة means dizziness. Here it stands for a potential quagmire of endless distress, the kind that feels like a whirlwind in which you never know what will come next. It will exacerbate any physical affliction you might already have (hypertension, ulcers, migraines, etc.), and probably bring on new ones. If you smoke, it will make you smoke more, and if you drink, . . . etc. So "dizziness" here is a code word for a pondora's box (or jar) that had better be left unopened.
The sentence is interrogative, but we know that the question is rhetorical. In the translation of literary material, it is a good idea to keep a similar stylistic stance. You can construct a good number of rhetorical questions that all mean the same thing:
Who needs such a headache?
What a pandora's box would that be?
Can you imagine such a whirlwind?
Do I really want a mess like that?
Why would I want such a headache?
And so on, and so forth.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you for this thorough explanation. It makes much more sense now! "
+4
9 mins
Morano El-Kholy
Egypt
Egypt
Native in Arabic
Works in field
Egypt
31 years of Experience. Available 24/7
Native in: Arabic 
Works in: English to Arabic, Arabic to English
Related KudoZ points
:
24
What can I gain with all this dilemma/mess/disorder.
دوخة هنا لا تعني معناها الحرفي وبالتالي لا ينبغي ترجمتها: dizziness/vertigo
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والله أعلم
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والله أعلم
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
TargamaT team
1 hr
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Thank you a lot.
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Youssef Chabat
9 hrs
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Thank you a lot.
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| agree |
Salwa Awaad
15 hrs
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Thank you a lot.
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Abdullah Ahmad
3 days 8 hrs
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Thank you a lot.
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3 hrs
It's complicated
He means that all these stuff are complicated to him, and he doesn't intend to be part of them which could cause trouble to him.
English speakers don't use punch of words to express their feelings, so one word might be enough.
English speakers don't use punch of words to express their feelings, so one word might be enough.
Note from asker:
| Good point, Mai. An entire English phrase may not be necessary here. Thank you for bringing it up :) |
1 day 1 hr
I have brought this all on myself!
وشلي بهالدوخه literally is وإيش إلي بهذه الدوخة, as in, what good could it be for me, all this (figurative) headache/dizziness/heartache.
It means that he has brought on himself such a complicated situation (which could have been avoided from the start... but now that he is facing the situation, he has to deal with the consequences).
It means that he has brought on himself such a complicated situation (which could have been avoided from the start... but now that he is facing the situation, he has to deal with the consequences).
Example sentence:
It\'s your own fault. You brought it upon yourself. You brought it all on yourself.
Note from asker:
| Thanks for this, Salma! It has helped me to come up with a solution :) |
2 days 2 hrs
adel almergawy
Egypt
Egypt
Native in Arabic
Egypt
legal translator
Native in: Arabic (Variants: Saudi , Egyptian) 
Works in: English to Arabic, Arabic to English, Arabic, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
6
What on earth, I got exhausted.
Oh my God
Something went wrong...