 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
His (Wittgenstein's) life was turbulent and troubled, and his personal force was extraordinary. He lived on milk and vegetables, and I used to feel as Mrs Patrick Campbell did about Shaw: 'God help us if he should ever eat a beefsteak.'
Source： The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell, v.2 chap. 1: The First War, 1968
More info.: https://russell-j.com/beginner/AB22-070.HTM
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‘God help us if he should ever eat a beefsteak.’ The nuance was initially misunderstood, but a dialogue with ChatGPT made me realise the misreading and correct it.
The dialogue with ChatGPT is given below.
Me: ‘’God help us if ...'’ Please give three example sentences that show the meaning and nuances of
ChatGPT Answer:
‘Sure, ‘God help us if ...’’ When English-specific expressions such as ‘God help us if ...’ are translated directly into Japanese, it can be difficult to convey the nuances. Here we give three example sentences in English with similar nuances and explain the meaning of each. This will make it easier to understand the ironic or emotional overtones of the expressions.
Example sentence 1: ‘God help us if it rains tomorrow.’
TRANSLATION: ‘If it rains tomorrow, we'll be in big trouble.’
Meaning: this is an expression that anticipates some trouble if it rains tomorrow. It contains the implication that rain will have a negative impact on events and plans. In this case, there is no direct expectation of ‘God help’, but rather an emphasis on anxiety about a difficult situation.
Example sentence 2: ‘God help us if the boss finds out what happened.’
TRANSLATION: ‘If the boss finds out what happened, what on earth will happen!’
Meaning: it suggests that if the boss finds out what happened, there will be serious consequences. Again, ‘God help’ is used as an emotional expression of fear of a worsening situation, rather than a request for actual help.
Example 3: ‘God help us if they ever win the election.’
TRANSLATION: ‘What will happen if they ever win the election?’
Meaning: it is used to emphasise the expected bad consequences of a certain political group or person winning the election. Again, ‘God help us’ expresses irony about the situation getting worse.
Commentary: what these example sentences have in common is that ‘God help us if ...’ does not directly translate to ‘God help us’. Rather, it expresses irony, anxiety or fear about a possible difficult situation. In English-speaking countries, this expression is idiomatic and is often used to emphasise emotions in particular.
When translating such English expressions into Japanese, consideration should be given to a natural translation that reflects the intention rather than a literal translation, due to the different cultural backgrounds that rely on ‘God’.
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