Impariamo l’italiano II: Esca 001

Impariamo l'italiano I: Esca 000
Impariamo l'italiano III: Esca 002
Un'alba minacciosa sui mari del sud.

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PAGE 1 (Four panels)

Panel 1: CAPTAIN IVAN DRUMMINGDALE (“Drummingdale’) stands at the bow of his ship, the RV SEAGOON. Drummingdale is a gaunt, tall, naval-looking man. He wears a short-sleeved white shirt with captain’s epaulets and a seaman’s cap. It is dawn in the tropics. Drummingdale is staring out to sea and speaks without turning around.

Drummingdale (1): You’re up early today, Professor Turpentine.

Translation (1): Oggi si è alzato presto, Professor Trementina.

Panel 2: Drummingdale stands on the rail next to PROFESSOR EUSTACE TURPENTINE (“Turpentine”). Turpentine is a short, fat man with a white mustache and a white fringe of hair around a head which would otherwise be bald. However in this panel he is wearing a pith helmet and a twin-pocketed shirt. He looks relaxed. Drummingdale, still staring over the rail out to sea, looks anything but.

Turpentine (2): It’s a big day for us, Captain Drummingdale. Our first attempt.

Translation (2): È un grande giorno per noi, Capitano Drummingdale. È il nostro primo tentativo.

Drummingdale (3): Oh, aye.

Comment (3): “Aye” is “yes” with an archaic or maritime flavor. To to the extent possible, the translation should reflect this.

Translation (3): Oh, sì.

Panel 3: Close-up on Drummingdale’s face. His jaw is clenched.

Drummingdale (4): Can’t say I approve of what you’re going to put those girls through.

Comment (4): “Can’t say” here means “I can’t say.”

Translation (4): Non posso dire di approvare quello che vuoi far passare attraverso quelle ragazze.

Panel 4: Close-up on Turpentine, though not quite as close up as on Drummingdale in the previous panel. Turpentine’s expression is one of jolly unconcern.

Turpentine (5): They both signed the release, Captain.

Turpentine (5): A “release” in this context is a legal document in which one person agrees not to sue another person for certain damages that might be incurred in an activity both are involved in.

Translation (5): Entrambe hanno firmato la liberatoria, Capitano.

Turpentine (6): They understand what they’re doing.

Translation (6): Capiscono quello che stanno facendo.

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2 thoughts on “Impariamo l’italiano II: Esca 001

  1. (living in Italian here, have been bilingual – not with English – for the last ~20 years)
    far passare attraverso quelle ragazze means literally passing something through the girls, e. g. a knife (put through those girls in English, I think). Making them experience something would be quello che vuoi fargli passare. Perfect otherwise.

  2. Native speaker here. This… is understandable, except for the glaring mistake pointed out in the comment above (technically a word order mistake), but could easily be made smoother.

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