emlék

English translation: "memory" vs. "a memory"

21:27 Nov 10, 2011

Hungarian to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Social Science, Sociology, Ethics, etc. / Memory studies

Hungarian term or phrase: emlék

Context: academic text book. I need to (or rather would like to) distinguish between emlékezet and emlék (mémoire and souvenir in French). To use souvenir in English seems wrong (I'm translating an academic work, and "souvenir" seems too much like a trinket to remind you of your holidays).

Examples: "kollektív emlékezet"
"tisztán egyéni emlék nem létezik"

I've looked at parallel texts (Nora: Between Memory and History) and it seems that he has used EVENT, which was probably évenement in the original French but would be my synonym of last resort if "memory" leads to too much ambiguity. In English is there a way to distinguish between the capacity to remember (mémoire) and the things/events which are remembered (souvenir in French)?

Thanks,
Richard

Richard Robinson KudoZ activity Questions: 18 (none open) (1 without valid answers) (2 closed without grading) Answers: 12
Local time: 01:07

English translation:"memory" vs. "a memory"

Explanation:
English disambiguates so well with the indef. article that I think it's almost impossible to confuse the two meanings. Similarly with "recollection" and "a recollection."

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Note added at 1 hr (2011-11-10 23:10:32 GMT)
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...with "memories" being the plural only of the latter, so your second sample sentence is "There are no purely individual memories" or "There is no such thing as a purely individual/private memory."

Selected response from:

Jim Tucker (X)
United States

Grading comment

Yes, thank you, there should be a smiley that says "why didn't I think of this" :-)

Summary of answers provided

4 +3

"memory" vs. "a memory"

Jim Tucker (X)

Answers

1 hr confidence:

peer agreement (net): +3

"memory" vs. "a memory"

Jim Tucker (X)
United States
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 7

Grading comment

Yes, thank you, there should be a smiley that says "why didn't I think of this" :-)

Notes to answerer

Asker: @juvera: actually "remembrance" is already in use, with a slightly different meaning, the manifestation of our conscious, willful remembering (e.g. I write this a few days after Remembrance Day, 11 November).

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English translation: "memory" vs. "a memory"

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