Talk:Nemzeti dal

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An individual covered by or significantly related to this article, Nemzeti dal, has edited Wikipedia as Korossyl (talk · contribs)

I just got around to thinking we needed this page! Kudos to the translator but I feel like the version here misses out on a lot due to the lack of rhyming and emphasis... I do have a version that does not have copyrite issues on it that takes care of this, would anyone have a particular preference? (Quick example, the refrain in this version is "to the God of the Magyar we swear to thee, we swear to thee, that slaves we shall no longer be.") Just a thought. Andromeda321 00:28, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

I'm really opposed to rhyming or lyrical translations of poetry. A translation is a translation, and a poem is a poem. If you translate something and force it into a rhyming scheme, then you not only are adding your own ingenuity and creativity to the piece, making it not entirely the author's, and also you almost always have to change words and sentences in order to force them to fit. A good example of this is the (in my opinion) absolutely atrocious translation to be found of the Himnusz: "With Thine aid his just cause press / Where his foes to fight appear." I dunno; I'm certainly not the voice of consensus on this one, but if we do add another translation, I would suggest leaving this one in as well.
Korossyl 20:22, 6 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Rhyming Translation

There is at least one good rhyming translation of the first verse: "Magyars rise! Your country calls you! Meet this hour, what'er befalls you. Shall we free men be, or slaves? Choose the lot your spirit craves!" I do not know whom to credit with this translation, but this is a fair use excerpt.

[edit] Retitle to Nemzeti dal

I'm quite sure the real title of the poem is "Nemzeti dal", so the current title "Nemzeti Dal" is wrong. However, the title is also mentioned a few times in the article, which is making me uncertain. Could anyone please either confirm which title is correct? If there's no answer in some time, I'll fix the title in the text and move the article. – b_jonas 21:21, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

No no; you're absolutely right. I just got carried away with American naming conventions, and having written the article, repeated the mistake throughout. Thanks for noticing! Korossyl 14:18, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

Ok, I think I'll edit it and then move. – b_jonas 17:20, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Where the poem "Nemzeti dal" was first read to the public

The author of the article says : "Petőfi read the poem aloud on March 15 in Vörösmarty Square in Budapest to a gathering crowd, which by the end was chanting the refrain as they began to march around the city, seizing the presses, liberating political prisoners, and declaring the end of Austrian rule." There are two problems with this sentence.

The first is, that Vörösmarty tér was not existing in 1848 at all. There was a square more and less at the same location called Színház tér (Theater Platz), but it was definitely not the same as the present one. The present sqare had gradually been built during the second half of the 19th century and it became the same as we know it today only by 1870 (with the completion of the so-called Haas-building, which was demolished during WW2). The square was then named "Gizella tér" (named after the elder daughter of Emperor Franz Josef the 1st). In 1908 the statue of the Hungarian poet Vörösmarty Mihály was erected in the middle of the square and in 1925 the whole square was renamed after him.

The second problem is, that according to all Hungarian history books, stories, etc. and also common knowledge the poem was first read by Petőfi on the stairs of the National Museum to the crowd gathering in the garden of the building. This legend, however, has never been proven by reliable historical sources, but as kind of a canonized legend it is known even by children and the act is repeated every year at the same place during the official celebrations on March 15 (the coreography of the event changes year by year, but a common point is, that Nemzeti dal is read from the stairs). Historians sometimes doubt whether the poem was read to the public at all, some for example sais that it was only performed by Cafe Pilvax, where Petőfi and friends (the so-called "Márciusi ifjak", meaning March Youth) were gathering during the morning of March 15, 1848. But in case it had been read at all, this should probably have been occured somewhere else than at the then Tehater Platz as the crowd gathered at the National Museum and if they later crossed Theater Platz (going to the Buda Castle to meet the Resident Council or "Helytartótanács" in Hungarian, and to free another poet and national hero, Táncsics Mihály) at all, they probably did not stop there at all, as there was no point to do so.

All in all I suggest to change the sentence in the article as follows (certainly, my English may be brushed without any prior consent:-) : "According to the legend Petőfi read the poem aloud on March 15, 1848 from the stairs of the National Museum to a gathering crowd...." —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Selmeczig (talk • contribs) 20:48, 18 February 2007 (UTC).