the English means if someone is happy with a situation let them be, don't say something that would make them upset.
we can also say, "Don't rock the boat" it means close to the same thing, but concentrates on the situation, where this sentance concentrates on the person.
we don't intend to leave the problem in this case until tomorrow, We intend to not deal with it.
for example, if a child gets carrots in his lunch, instead of telling his mom he doesn't like them. he secretly puts them in the garbage. he might say to himself, "its best to let sleeping dogs lie," as long as his mother thinks he is eating carrots everyone is happy, and the issue is not dealt with.

Oh, thank you very much for drawing my attention to this. Indeed, my translation is wrong.

"Lhemm n uzekka ejj-it i uzekka" literally means "Leave tomorrow's problem until tomorrow".

In this case, "Let sleeping dogs lie" would be just translated with the following saying: "Ejj anu s tadimt-nnes." (Let the well [covered] with its cover] - don't uncover the well).

Actually, I have never heard "Ejj anu s tadimt-nnes" in Amazigh, however, we say it in local Arabic (xelli lbir b ɣṭa-h). Of course, most local Arabic proverbs have equivalents and/or are translated into local Amazigh.

Tanemmirt

ye3jeb-iyi tidiomt-a.

Im not sure if you are aware that in English this is an idiom, litterally it means "don't tell anyone the secret" it implies that there is a big secret and once people find out it will change everything, so its important to keep it quiet. Its like a wild street cat, once you let it out you cant put it back inside, and it can make a mess.


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Yes, you're right. This translation dates back to the period when I used to read, translate and type very quickly. Yet, I think that even then, I knew that it was an idiom, but since I saw it translated more or less literally in other European languages, I thought it was OK to translate it like this even in Tamazight. Anyway, I guess that "Ejj anu s tadimt-nnes" [literally: Let the well (covered) with its cover] might be an equivalent of the English idiom. What do you think?




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You used this same idiom to translate "let sleeping dogs lie" the idiom about the dogs implies people dont know there is a secret and will never known, so its better never to tell them.
it also may refer to a small secret that a person may make a big issue out of if they found out, while the cat idiom is usually used for big secrets. a small secret may be that your wife is putting healthy things in your cookies and not telling you. you are eating them and not making an issue. She decides never to tell you because if she does you will be upset and make her make them the unhealthy way.
a big secret may be something sinful, or unwanted, an afair, secret relationship, failed exam, use of alcohol.

in the idiom, dont let the cat out of the bag the people may be suspecting something. also it might refer too something that the people will find out later anyway. in this way i think the cat idiom has a broader meaning while the dog idiom implies ignorance, and that the secret is really not a big deal.

Im not sure what the exact implications of ejj anu s tadimt ness is


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Thanks for your detailed explanation.

In my language, we have a lot of idioms and proverbs, and I think that sometimes, the same proverb might be used in two different contexts, especially when they're close.

I consider the translation of proverbs and idioms as a difficult part of literary translation. Here, we usually resort to "equivalents", even if they don't really match 100% with those of other languages. In the best French-English dictionaries that I use (Hachette-Oxford, for example), when they translate a proverb, they sometimes put the signe "~" to indicate that such a translation is approximate and not necessarily accurate. In my humble opinion, I still think that "Ejj anu s tadimt-nnes" can be used as an equivalent to this English idiom.

For more clarification, I'll try to get in touch with an Amazigh translator who lives in the US. She's the friend of a poet who's a friend of mine, and she translated a collection of poetry to that friend. I'll see whether there's a better suggestion from her.









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I was thinking this might be the case. but gave you a detailed explanation just to make sure the same idiom was appropriate for either situation.


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OK. I've opted to translate it with "Ejj anu s tadimt-nnes".


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In Algerian Arabic, we also have "ṣṭer ma ṣṭer Llah", literally, "cover what God has covered" or "keep secret what God has kept secret", i.e. if nobody knows, don't reveal it, don't tell anyone about it, but it seems that we don't use its translation into Amazigh as a proverb.


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