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- "Ĉu esti aŭ ne esti, tio esta…
"Ĉu esti aŭ ne esti, tio estas la demando."
Translation:To be or not to be, that is the question.
38 Comments
Ĉu ĝi estas pli nobla en la menso suferi la ŝtonĵetiloj kaj sagoj de neordinara fortuno...
While this sentence does match the English form, the actual phrase from Zamenhof's translation of Hamlet is "Ĉu esti aŭ ne esti,—tiel staras/ Nun la demando."
By his own admission, Zamenhof didn't speak English very well. I'd imagine that he was translating from a translation, so the Duolingo version is more accurate.
409
Yes, Zamenhof translated Hamlet from German. But contrary to the present exercise his translation preserves the pentametric rhythm. Obviously he had to make compromises for that:
Ĉu esti aŭ ne esti – tiel staras
nun la demando: ĉu pli noble estas
elporti ĉiujn batojn, ĉiujn sagojn
de la kolera sorto – aŭ sin armi
kontraŭ la tuta maro da mizero
kaj per la kontraŭstaro ilin fini?
That leads to an interesting question: what metre suits Esperanto most naturally? The English blank verse or iambic pentameter, the French alexandrine, something different?
- 619
No, that would be closer to "which (one of those) is the question." Hamlet is saying, "To be or not to be?" THAT is the question.
2017-07-24 17:18 U.S. Eastern Time (ISO Date/Time)
I wondered this too. But early on in this thread it occurred to me why it was "tio" rather than "tiu". Using "tiu" would render the sentence as "Which is the question?" with the implication being "Which one of those two is the question?"
@Klinpo | Thanks for the question.
@stevenvarner | Thanks for the good explanation.
I guess so, but it is still weird to me, because there is no question mark in the sentence in either english or esperanto (at least in the way duolingo wrote them)
- 441
I get what you're saying, but think of it this way:
Horatio: Hey, Hamlet, what's that question you're obsessed with?
Hamlet: My question involves the fundamental existential dilemma: "Under miserable conditions, should one continue to endure his life, or should one choose suicide?".
Horatio: In other words, "To be, or not to be?" - THAT is your question.
Regardless of being a question, "Ĉu" not only marks questions, but serves as "Whether." Although the word isn't present in the original English, the grammatical setup is the same, and Zamenhof chose to include it when translating.
The fact that I laughed at this so quickly is awesome proof of how much I've learned!
- 1104
Whether 'tis nobler to achieve without goals,
Or make tracks for the beach,
Is much beyond the ken of mere wageslaves.
Nun mi devas traduki tion
"tio estas la demando: ĉu vi estas pli nobla en la menso suferi La klingojn kaj sagojn de indigniga fortuno, Aŭ preni armilojn kontraŭ maro de problemoj kaj kontraŭstari ilin?.... And boldly go where no one has gone before...." or something like that. It was quite a few years ago that I had to do Shakespeare.... and I have felt better ever since.
- 441
Now that you no longer "have to do Shakespeare" maybe you can go back and do Shakespeare for fun!
Why wouldn't this be "Cxu estas aux ne estas"? Isn't "To be" in the present tense?
- 1104
Because it would then say: "Is or not is."
- Estas = is.
- Esti = to be. It's in the infinitive, which is neither past, present, or future, but can modify all of them.
I translated it with an "is" at the beginning, why would this be wrong?
- 1104
Because the sentence translates to: To be or not to be, that is the question.
Remember that ĉu is a marker for a question, or is used to mean whether. It does not mean is. And esti is the infinitive of (to) be. It can mean is, but only in certain circumstances.
Refer to my response to Sage1029
