sailing on a wind, ancestral knowledge

Spanish translation: navegando en el viento, aferrado al conocimiento ancestral

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:sailing on a wind, ancestral knowledge
Spanish translation:navegando en el viento, aferrado al conocimiento ancestral
Entered by: Mónica Algazi

21:47 Apr 5, 2013
English to Spanish translations [PRO]
Anthropology / Cultural phenomena
English term or phrase: sailing on a wind, ancestral knowledge
Here's the cotext:
how miraculous the sight of land would seem after precarious months on end cramped up with your neighbors and livestock in a canoe navigated by stars across the never-ending salt water of the Pacific, paddling through wild-waved storms and burning sun; LITERALLY SAILING ON A WIND, ANCESTRAL KNOWLEDGE, and a prayer toward small islands you hope will be there simply because old stories tell you it’s so.

"Wind" seems to be used in this case as an adjective modifying "knowledge". Perharps, and most likely, I am misinterpreting the sentence.
moksha
navegando en el viento, el conocimiento ancestral
Explanation:
y la oración que te lleva a pequeñas islas que esperas encontrarí simplemente porque aquellas viejas historias te dicen que están allí.

Beautiful text.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 20 mins (2013-04-05 22:08:05 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Woops! "encontrar" (without the final "i")
Selected response from:

Mónica Algazi
Uruguay
Local time: 02:12
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +3navegando en el viento, el conocimiento ancestral
Mónica Algazi
4 +1contando solo con el viento, el conocimiento ancestral y una plegaria
Wolf617
4 -1navegando a la deriva, aferrado a sus conocimientos ancestrales
Iván Luchiano


Discussion entries: 6





  

Answers


20 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +3
navegando en el viento, el conocimiento ancestral


Explanation:
y la oración que te lleva a pequeñas islas que esperas encontrarí simplemente porque aquellas viejas historias te dicen que están allí.

Beautiful text.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 20 mins (2013-04-05 22:08:05 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Woops! "encontrar" (without the final "i")

Mónica Algazi
Uruguay
Local time: 02:12
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Miguel Álvarez Sánchez
14 mins
  -> Thank you, Ornitology.

agree  Ruth Wöhlk
47 mins
  -> Danke, Ruth.

agree  Christine Walsh: ¿Qué te parece 'navegando con el viento del conocimiento ancestral'?
4 hrs
  -> Igualmente poética. Gracias, Christine.
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

31 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
navegando a la deriva, aferrado a sus conocimientos ancestrales


Explanation:
A mi entender este es el sentido de la oración:
...SAILING ON A WIND, (SAILING ON) ANCESTRAL KNOWLEDGE, and (SAILING ON) a prayer toward small islands you hope will be there simply because old stories tell you it’s so.

Example sentence(s):
  • ...navegando a la deriva, aferrado a sus conocimientos ancestrales y a una oración...
Iván Luchiano
Dominican Republic
Local time: 01:12
Native speaker of: Spanish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Wendy Petzall: Ni en la expresión inglesa original ni en el contexto parecen indicar que van "a la deriva", sino que el modo de orientarse en ese tiempo era precario.
16 hrs
  -> La frase "a la deriva" también se refiere a una situación precaria, yo la he escuchado en ese contexto. Si tienes dudas búscala en el diccionario.
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
contando solo con el viento, el conocimiento ancestral y una plegaria


Explanation:
Mi traducción sería: "...; contando solo con el viento, el conocimiento ancestral y una plegaria para encontrar unas pequeñas islas, que esperas que estén ahí solo porque asi lo cuentan las viejas historias."

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 17 hrs (2013-04-06 15:28:59 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Tal vez sea mas adecuado traducir "hope" como 'confiar' en lugar de 'esperar': "... que confías en que estén allí..."

No es la traducción exacta, pero creo que se adecua al sentido.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 17 hrs (2013-04-06 15:33:29 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Me refiero a que confía en la existencia de las islas porque confia en las viejas historias.

Wolf617
Argentina
Local time: 02:12
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Wendy Petzall
15 hrs
  -> Gracias, Wendy
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.


See also:
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search