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Question - Function of "I say"

Martin

Martin

Active Member
So here's the deal. For my Bachelor's degree I'm translating a substantial part of Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, and I've stumbled upon something I just don't understand, as a non-native speaker of English.

What is the function of the term "I say" in the next excerpt?

... to let Friday understand a little what I would do, I called him to me again, pointed at the fowl, which was indeed a parrot, though I thought it had been a hawk; I say, pointing to the parrot, and to my gun, and to the ground under the parrot, to let him see I would make it fall, I made him understand that I would shoot and kill that bird;...
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I mean, he doesn't actually say anything.

All suggestions are highly appreciated!

Cheers
 
Not sure. He might be saying he said 'I say' which is sort of an exclamation of surprise. So, if it was a particularly large bird, or he wasn't expecting to see it he might call out 'I say!'

A bit like 'Zut alors!', though I have been told on many occasions that no one in France ever says that. I don't care. I still like saying it. Sacred bleu.

I suppose you could best equate it to an exclamation of 'Bloody hell', but that's if he meant that he was saying it. The sentence isn't really all that clear, and I haven't read the book.
 
I thought about that, but if that is the case, then the comma and semi-colon are the wrong way around. If he was making an exclamation about the bird, the sentence should go like this:

... though I thought it had been a hawk, I say; pointing to the parrot ...
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As it is, the semi-colon seperates the "I say" from the sentence about him spotting the parrot. So, all in all, it doesn't make sense. The "I say" is, essentially, in a new sentence in which an exclamation just doesn't fit.

Help?!

Cheers
 
Maybe, by the time he got to the end of the sentence he'd just forgotten about what he'd written at the start. You're right, he doesn't say anything, and he isn't making an obvious statement, but apart from those two options there isn't really anything that springs to mind. So I think he maybe made a bit of a booboo on that sentence and it never got corrected. Which is absolutely no help at all, but is there no scope for a little artistic licence when you reach something untranslatable?

My only other idea is that he's saying, and this is dodgy too, 'I say I made him understand...' and all the rest in the middle is a little aside.
 
That last suggestion isn't that bad an idea - I have read this book, and this man has elevated the 'little aside' to an artform.

Hmm, I'll have to mull over this for a while, but thanks a bunch for your suggestions! You're a lifesaver!

And if I don't figure it out, I'll tap into my supply of artistic license!

Thanks again, and any more suggestions are warmly welcomed!!

Cheers
 
I haven't read it :eek: but will go out on a limb to suggest that he could be saying things using his actions (pointing to the bird etc). That he is not verbally saying, but saying using his physical actions. ??
 
In older times wasn't "I say" used as a way to draw attention to something. "I say old chap, come look at this!" - said in a very posh British accent :)
 
Good point - especially considering that Defoe wrote this in 1719.

But how the hell do I translate that.

That was rethorical, by the way.

Thanks!

Cheers
 
Check another edition, there could be some punctuation printing errors, and it might be clearer if the punctuation was different.
 
I did - the punctuation doesn't change.

What I have sofar:

** ** ** ** ** **
The term ‘I say’ is something I have mulled about quite a bit, especially in the context of the following sentence, taken from the second paragraph:
“… I called him to me again, pointed at the fowl, which was indeed a parrot, though I thought it had been a hawk; I say, pointing to the parrot, and to my gun, and to the ground under the parrot, to let him see I would make it fall …”​
Usually this term indicates an exclamation, much like the french ‘zut alors’ (thank you, Litany), but in this context that does not make sense, because there is nothing to exclaim about in that particular sentence. A literal translation is also not an option, because the ‘I say’ does not indicate anything actually said by the character. This only really leaves one option. The narrator says ‘I say’ to indicate that he is explaining something to the reader, to draw attention (back) to it; this, to my knowledge, is best translated into Dutch by the deceptively simple ‘<insert nonsensical Dutch word which means nothing to you here>’:
"... bla bla bla bla bla ..."​
** ** ** ** ** **

How's that?

Cheers
 
i'm wondering if it isn't just a really long sentence, and he actually does manage to "say" something after all that?
 
Hang on, I'll post the entire sentence. Hold on to your hats!

By-and-by I saw a great fowl, like a hawk, sitting upon a tree within shot; so, to let Friday understand a little what I would do, I called him to me again, pointed at the fowl, which was indeed a parrot, though I thought it had been a hawk; I say, pointing to the parrot, and to my gun, and to the ground under the parrot, to let him see I would make it fall, I made him understand that I would shoot and kill that bird; accordingly, I fired, and bade him look, and immediately he saw the parrot fall.
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And this is a very short sentence compared to others I've seen and translated. Page-long sentences are nothing out of the ordinary. Damn the semi-colon to hell!

Oh, and he didn't actually say anything, did he?

Cheers
 
Hmmm from reading the entire quote, I'd be inclined to agree with Darren's suggestion
 
I think I'll stick with the answer I gave two or three posts above, in which I incorporated both Litany's and Darren's suggestions.

But thanks to anyone and everyone who helped me! Much obliged, and when you're in the neighbourhood, pop in for a beer! :)

Cheers
 
Does the translation have to stand on its own, or do you get a chance to justify any decisions that the marker doesn't agree with? Personally, I don't think there should be a problem with fudging around this particular sentence when it doesn't make much sense in its native language. There are so many examples of bits that don't quite make sense in older books due to printing errors and archaic language that it seems a bit unfair that you would be marked down for it.
 
I say, pointing to the parrot, and to my gun, and to the ground under the parrot, to let him see I would make it fall, I made him understand that I would shoot and kill that bird;...
Click to expand...

I've never read the book so I don''t know how Crusoe interacted with Friday. That sentence, to me, reads as if he's demonstrating something to Friday with his hands and not his words. Saying with his hands; like sign language.
 
im not a native english speaker, but in spanish we have somethin that could be correspondent, sometimes when you are explaining the motivations for something you did (especially when you are trying to justify yourself), you say, for example - digo, despues de todo el tenia razon - , which would translate as - i mean, after all he was right.- the literal translation of digo its i say.

hope there is something useful in that. :) but you should follow mi advice in the previous post :D
 
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