translation: "it can be done"

[brusselsprouts]

I have some Japanese friends who are being unfairly laid off. I'm trying to translate an old Mexican protest phrase for a rally we're holding. The English equivalent is "It can be done" or "Yes we can" (Sí se puede).

Can someone please translate that phone•NET•ically and also include the Kanji for it?

Sorry for the random question, hope I don't get yelled at.

 

[fishbulb]

"dekiru" is the verb for "be able to" or "be capable of"

"Yes we can" is "Hai, dekimasu" It's pronounced like "Hi, decky mass".
はい、出来ます

I don't know if it fits the context though. The direct translation may not work in this case. I'm not a native speaker or anywhere close to being fluent.

EDIT: Just using the hiragana is probably fine too: はい、できます

 

[Sakunyuusha]

Problem #1: the yes in "Yes, we can" has an assertive character to it in American English. (I'm guessing the si in your Spanish example has a similar gusto to it in Mexican.) はい ("hai", yes) is your standard affirmative. It's like a normal English "yes" and doesn't really carry the oomph which the "yes" in "Yes, we can" carries. Japanese already has its own grammatical terms which fulfill this role, e.g. よ or ぞ as sentence-ending particles, or other conjunctions which can signify that the speaker is sternly and robustly informing the critical listener that he can do whatever it is that he's set out to do.

Problem #2: the we in "Yes, we can" makes it clear that the speaker is familiarizing himself with us and saying that we (and possibly others, too) can do whatever it is he's alluding to. That's totally absent from はい、出来ます. The sentence might mean, "Yes, I can." Or it might mean, "Yes, we can." Or it may even mean "Yes, he can." All it literally says (in English) is the word "yes" (はい) and the present tense form of the verb "to be able to do" or "[to] can do" (出来る). Translation: "Yes, can do." Is it I can do? We can do? He can do? ^^; It's unclear. And in Japanese, the necessary means by which to render the case more clear are going to make the slogan feel awkward and unnatural.

Problem #3: when one translates, he strives to translate meanings, not words. This is because communication itself, both oral and written, is simply a means to an end: and the end is conveying and receiving ideas from yourself to your audience and from your audience to you. I think you may get caught up in this tricky matter if you try to literally translate "yes, we can" into Japanese. While it may be grammatically correct, it doesn't feel like something I would expect to hear at a Japanese rally. I would expect to hear things like やるぜ！ or 一緒、やれ！or some such. Sayings whose verb tenses don't make much sense when translated back into English but which feel right at home in Japanese.

But then again, I'm not Japanese, either; and I'm not fluent, either. So take what I've said with a grain of salt, too, I suppose.

 

[guy]

Problem #4: Even if you can successfully translate the meaning of a phrase from one language to another, there is no guarantee that the usage is the same. For example, although "Sí se puede" might be an appropriate phrase to use at a job-loss rally in Mexico, the phrase "Yes we can" in English doesn't fit quite right. Most of its vernacular usage has been in expressing partisan or race-relation views. At a job-loss rally in America, one would expect to hear "What do we want? [demands]. When do we want it? Now!".

Likewise, while やるぜ ("Let's do it") or 一緒やれ ("Together we can") might carry the same idea in Japanese, I'm not sure it would actually make sense to use it at a job-loss rally. Those phrases can certainly be used in context where a leader tries to inspire everyone to work together (eg: at a company trying to complete a big project; at school during a sports competition; etc), but at a rally I think it would just be confusing ("Let's do what?", "Together we can do what?"). To me, やるぜ and 一緒やれ would more likely be used among the ralliers themselves, to get themselves pumped up before they go out and start rallying.

More specifically, the intended usage of "it can be done" or "yes we can" is really vague. What is the "it" that can be done? Getting jobs back? Proving that the company needs the employees? Working out a settlement? Forming a worker union?



One other nitpick, while the English word "yes" can be used as an evocative/emphatic statement as well as a response to a question, the Japanese word "はい" is almost always used as only a response (to a preceding question). For example:
はい？ Yes, you called my name?
はい？ I'm sorry, I didn't quite understand, could you repeat yourself?
はい！ Yes, I agree with you.
はい！ Yes, I understand what you are saying.
は～い！ Coming! (Wait just a minute)
はい、はい Yeah, sure (I got it, I got it) [sometimes sarcastically]

So in the context of a job-loss rally, one can only surmise what the preceding question might have been:
誰か、この仕事やってくれない？ Is there somebody who wants to do/take this job?
はい、できる！ Yes, I agree or confirm that I/we can do it.

Fun stuff.

 

[Sakunyuusha]

You're absolutely right. I pictured the ralliers saying those words amongst themselves in the crowd, and I can't picture the event organizer saying it. Now that you put it that way, you're right that it'd be a misfit for the campaign slogan.

Btw, your "other nitpick" is what I was saying in my Problem #1, but you used clearer technical terms than I did. "Evocative," very nice.
[hide](Also, you focused more on explaining what the Japanese "yes" can do while I focused more on what would be ... well, not evocative, certainly, but ... I keep coming back to the word "assertive." How would you classify よ-like grammar forms? Particles and/or conjunctions which convey to the listener the message, "I am informing you of this, and I am doing so in a way that presupposes you either didn't know it or didn't believe it", e.g. "Is there really a dog in your backpack?" "Yes, there really is a dog in my backpack.")[/hide]