Arabic term
مداسك
I'm working on a Libyan text, and this is a song that the mother sings to her son before he sleeps.
I just wanted to ask what people think if I were to translate مداسك as shoes? Or sandals?
أنا ياعليوه تمنيت كبدي مداسك، في النهار تعفس عليها وفي الليل تحت راسك
So something like:
I wish my liver, Aleywa, (or I might go with heart, as that's more used in English to express endearment) was your shoe,
for you to step on in the daytime,
and to lay your head down on it at night.
That's a very rough translation, but I appreciate any suggestions!
Alf shukr.
| 4 +1 | guiding light - pillow to lay your head |
Saeed Najmi
|
| 3 | Summer shoes or scandals |
Yassine El Bouknify
|
| 3 | I wish you owned my heart |
Assem AlKhallouf
|
| 3 | as a way for you |
Dalia Nour
|
Proposed translations
Morocco
Juggling languages: a science and an art
Native in: Arabic (Variants: Moroccan, Standard-Arabian (MSA)) 
, French
Works in: English to Arabic, French to Arabic, Arabic to English, and 3 more.
guiding light - pillow to lay your head
In the Arab culture, the liver is associated with intense love for one's kids but not in the western culture.
Shoes/sandals protect feet just as light shows the way and protects from taking the wrong turn or stepping into rugged terrain. At night, the same shoes or sandals serve the purpose of the pillow to lay one's head.
| agree |
Randa Farhat
: نعم قريبة من أولادنا أكبادنا تمشي على الأرض، هنا كلمة مداسك بمعنى (foothold) "موطئ قدمك"، أو where you would set your foot، تمنيت لو كبدي موطئ قدمك
5 days
|
Morocco
Literature,Marketing & Legal Translation
Native in: Arabic (Variants: Moroccan, UAE, Kuwaiti, Najdi, Standard-Arabian (MSA), Hassaniya) 
, Berber (Other) (Variants: Standard Moroccan Tamazight, Tarifit , Tashelhit , Riffian, Central Atlas Tamazight, Tamazight )
Works in: English to Arabic, French to Arabic, Arabic to English, and 21 more.
Summer shoes or scandals
القبال او المداس (المصطلح يختلف حسب المدينة) تعني الصندل او الحذاء الصيفي الذي يكون مفتوح من الامام في العادة
https://ar.mo3jam.com/term/قبال مداس
MA, PhD, NAATI, APTS.
Native in: Arabic (Variants: Syrian, Standard-Arabian (MSA), Egyptian, Kuwaiti, Saudi , Yemeni, Jordanian, Palestinian, UAE, Iraqi, Lebanese) , English (Variants: British, Scottish, UK, US)
Works in: Arabic to English, English to Arabic, Arabic, and 1 more.
I wish you owned my heart
I wish you owned my heart.
So you would make it your favourite toy,
Forever, day and night.
[Functional Translation]
"A translation that achieves the intended purpose may be called 'functional', which means that a text (in this case, a translation) 'works' for its receivers in a particular communicative situation, i.e., in the way the sender wants it to work."
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/1013929X.2002.96...
"A functional approach to translation would therefore favor message over form. It emphasizes that the aim of most translation enterprise is not structural or lexical ..."
https://www.academia.edu/521097/Towards_A_Functional_Transla...
"And lyin' there, oh, my child, my joy My love and heart's desire"
https://genius.com/Meryl-streep-gartan-mothers-lullaby-lyric...
Original suggestion:
"My heart is yours, and so am I, Aleywa. I am but a slave of your love day and night."
Note from asker:
"Thank you so much for this rendition! It's beautiful. The only issue is that this is a mother singing to her son, so 'slave of your love' is a bit out of context. But I completely understand where you going with this!"
Response:
"I agree.. My answer doesn't suit a mother's lullaby! I just missed that part in your comment. I will try to propose a better one."
| Thank you for this! It was extremely helpful. :) |
Egypt
Accuracy Matters!
Native in: Arabic (Variants: Lebanese, Syrian, Standard-Arabian (MSA), Sudanese, Egyptian, Saudi , UAE)
Works in: English to Arabic, Arabic to English, Arabic
as a way for you
So, the translation could be,
I wish Alewa if I can make my heart as a way for you to walk through it in the daytime ...
I wish Alewa if I can my my heart as a downfoot for you to walk through it in the daytime ...
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Note added at 2 days 22 hrs (2021-06-29 11:59:17 GMT)
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Also, it could mean, As a shoes for you to walk with it ...
تمنيت لو أجعل قلبي كحذاء لك تسير به ...
تمنيت لو أجعل قلبي كطريق لك تسير فيه ...
https://www.almaany.com/ar/dict/ar-ar/%D9%85%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B3/
http://https://www.almaany.com/en/dict/ar-en/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B3/
Discussion