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Mini-contest 2012: "Yogi Berra Quotes"»  Source text notes: English

Source text notes should be used to make comments only about the meaning of the source text, or its style, sense, etc. Source texts notes should not be used to discuss translation of the text.

A good source text note is one that clarifies something about the source text, and therefore would be helpful to a person translating that text into any language. The purpose of these notes will be to help those evaluating translations (in any pair) to make well-informed judgments.

Examples:
Source textPossible source text note
We're lost, but we're making good time.In US English, 'making good time' means 'making good progress' (not 'having fun').
If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be.Grammatically, a contradiction. This adds to the impact of the remark.
I'm not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia. Let them walk to school like I did.'encyclopedia' sounds like something you could ride to school on. (That's the only reason this quote is notable.)

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Source text segment #14

- "If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be."

Notes about this source segment

Rank by:
+26 | -9
To me (a speaker of US English), this sentence is equivalent to "If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be (perfect)." I can't see "be" meaning "exist" in this context.
+26 | -11
'be' can also mean 'exist'
+15 | -5
I agree with the sense of "exist": if the world were perfect, there wouldn't be a world (i.e., a perfect world is impossible).
+11 | -2
True, "be" could mean "exist", although I prefer the contradiction. Both are possible: it wouldn't exist/it wouldn't be perfect; the concept of perfection being highly subjective. SOMEONE would have something to gripe about.
+9 | -2
The world, as we know it, exists with its flaws.
+9 | -3
He is saying that imperfection is an essential part of life (as is the superfluous, according to Voltaire). Perhaps it is the imperfections which spur us on to better things, allow us to recognize and appreciate moments of perfection, etc.
+3
Guys, look at the context this sentence is written in! There are a series of paradoxes or illogical sentences. This is another one. "If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be (perfect)."
+4 | -1
So to you, the speaker of US English, Descartes' "I think, therefore I am" is unintelligible? Of course, "be" can mean "exist" in this context.
+1
"Be" reminds a phrase from the Bible: "Rachel is weeping for her children; She refuses to be comforted for her children, Because they are no more."
+1
I suppose that he meant that a perfect world would be dull, thus it wouldn't be perfect.
+3 | -2
Read the statement aloud: would you stress 'wouldn't' or 'be'?
You have to put the emphasis on 'be' if you want the 'exist' meaning to be present.
This would ruin the fun; instead of a paradox it would be pointless cosmological speculation.
"Be" reminds a phrase from the Bible: "Rachel is weeping for her children; She refuses to be comforted for her children, Because they are no more."
For me the last version of translation is near to the context of the original . The two first version are very good translated but they seems to me not in the children's language.
If the world is perfect, it would not be (the world). i.e. except God the Creator, everything else is imperfect.
Maybe the quality of the original sentence is that it could mean both 'be perfect' and 'exist'.
"If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be." Meaning nothing should be in access. Perfect is the enemy of good means perfectionist often ends up failing the good we have. The point is to be in constant search of perfection. Идеальное враг
+1 | -1
I wonder if, bending the rules of grammar a bit, 'be' here could have the meaning 'exist'.
+3 | -3
" I can't see "be" meaning "exist" in this context."
I can: If the world were perfect, it wouldn't exist. If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be perfect. The sentence means both at the same time, that is the point.
+1 | -2
The wording of the source quote leaves open the possibility that Yogi holds the converse view as well, ie. "If the world weren't flawed, it would be." (This is an argument for ruling out the interpretation of "be" as "exist".)
+1 | -2
I believe that "perfect" here means "finished", "past" (word play), as in "present perfect tense".
+2 | -3
The expression "it is perfect" means "I like it" or "it is suitable", but the literal meaning of "perfect" is "flawless". Berra means that if the world was flawless (i.e. perfect), we would not like it (i.e. not perfect).
+3 | -7
I think 'be' can definitely be translated as 'exist' in this particular quote

Source text

Full source text (2)

#1 - "I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous." (29)

#2 - "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." (18)

#3 - "You can observe a lot just by watchin'." (15)

#4 - "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded." (24)

#5 - "I can't concentrate when I'm thinking." (12)

#6 - "The future ain't what it used to be." (10)

#7 - "I'm not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia. Let them walk to school like I did." (19)

#8 - "We're lost, but we're making good time." (12)

#9 - "Half the lies they tell about me aren't true." (8)

#10 - "A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore." (10)

#11 - "It's like deja-vu, all over again." (8)

#12 - "It ain't over till it's over." (11)

#13 - Mrs. Lindsay: "You certainly look cool." Yogi Berra: "Thanks, you don't look so hot yourself." (10)

#14 - "If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be." (22)