Translation
From: Diane Fox <dnfox70@gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2021 10:05 AM
To: Marie Gibert <marie_gibert@hotmail.com>
Cc: Tuan Hoang <tuannyriver@gmail.com>; Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: [Vsg] translation
My clear memory(though from long ago) is that friends and colleagues would explain this figuratively, often with an arch expression that suggested they were looking for a shocked response from me.
fwiw
Diane
(Diane Fox, anthropology, retired)
From: Marie Gibert <marie_gibert@hotmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2021 1:40 AM
To: Hue-Tam Tai <hhtai@fas.harvard.edu>
Cc: Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>; Tuan Hoang <tuannyriver@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Vsg] translation
Dear Hue-Tam,
Thanks a lot for your interest in my work on Phu Nhuan’s neighborhoods and for your suggestion regarding the translation of the famous Vietnamese saying.
To me « selling » (ban) and « buying » (mua) should not be understood in a literal way but with a metaphoric / figurative sense (as « to buy somebody ») and I agree with Tuan, the general meaning is " "Better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off. »
Best wishes,
Marie
---------
Marie Gibert-Flutre
Associate-Professor in Geography
Head of the Vietnamese studies department
University of Paris, Department of East Asian studies
Researcher at CESSMA
Office 478C, Letter box D4
5, rue Thomas Mann, 75013 Paris, France
marie.gibert@u-paris.fr
http://www.cessma.univ-paris-diderot.fr/spip.php?article778
From: Hue-Tam Tai <hhtai@fas.harvard.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2021 12:55 PM
To: Tuan Hoang <tuannyriver@gmail.com>
Cc: Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>; marie.gibert@u-paris.fr
Subject: Re: [Vsg] translation
The report is on the IIAS website. Phu Nhuan is just a few streets away from my home.
I'm reminded of the Vietnamese practice of dropping prepositions, leading to statements such as "di kham bac si" or "di an tiem xyz"..When I was learning Vietnamese as a ten year-old, such phrasings struck me as hilarious.
Hue Tam Ho Tai
Harvard University emerita
From: Tuan Hoang <tuannyriver@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2021 12:42 PM
To: Hue-Tam Tai <hhtai@fas.harvard.edu>
Cc: Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>; marie.gibert@u-paris.fr
Subject: Re: [Vsg] translation
Thanks to Hue-Tam for pointing out the differences without those prepositions!
I looked it up in Google Books and found that English translations typically (and erroneously) leave out "to" and "from." An exception is Ly Tuong Van's chapter in Southeast Asia and the Cold War (2012), which renders the phrase non-literally: "Better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off."
Is there an online link to this report?
Cheers,
~Tuan
Tuan Hoang
Pepperdine University
From: Hue-Tam Tai <hhtai@fas.harvard.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2021 7:38 AM
To: marie.gibert@u-paris.fr; Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>
Subject: [Vsg] translation
Dear Marie and fellow vsgers
In her report on her team's research on the Phu Nhuan market in HCMC, Marie quotes a Vietnamese saying (apologies for the lack of diacritics): "Ban anh em xa, mua lang gieng gan" which Marie translates as "sell siblings who live far away, to buy neighbors who live next door."
I'm afraid this translation suggests the sale and purchase of human beings! I offer a different translation: "sell TO siblings who live far away, buy FROM neighbors who live close." It's more faithful to both the meaning and the rhythm of the saying.
Aside from that, the report makes very interesting reading. Kudos to Marie and her team.I hope they are able to continue their research. The pandemic has altered this pattern of transaction of selling far, buying near, as more Vietnamese city- dwellers have resorted to online purchases and delivery services, just like residents of American cities. Amazon is benefitting mightily. In HCMC, small shopkeepers and street vendors have suffered from the lockdown and closed shop for good. What will this do for neighborhood markets and street life in general?
Hue Tam Ho Tai
Harvard University emerita