Let the People Have More Feelings of Gaining

[GoodTaste]

Does the phrase "Let the People Have More Feelings of Gaining" sound positive in English?

Source: Chinese-English translation by me. The original Chinese text is by Xi.

Why this thread? It seems to me that "let you have more feelings of something" has the possibility of hallucinating you, which would be negative. I am not sure. The original Chinese is fairly positive.

PS. I originally translated it into "Let the People Have More Feelings of Acquisition" - yet later thought of "No pain, no gain" - so "Let the People Have More Feelings of Gaining" got the top priority.

 

[5jj]

Does the phrase "Let the People Have More Feelings of Gaining" sound positive in English?

It means very little to me without context.

 

[tedmc]

"Feelings of gaining" is unnatural.
Let people feel they stand to gain?
It depends on the context of course.

 

[GoodTaste]

OK. The context is that - the opposite of the intention of the phrase: a feeling of coming home empty-handed. If you have earned a lot of money or had a lot of properties (like becoming the owner of 3 houses), then you have more feelings of gain than ordinary people (you have come home full-handed).

Now the question is: How to rephrase "Let the People Have More Feelings of Gaining" to make sense?

 

[tedmc]

Who is the sentence meant to be said to?

I don't think feeling of gain/gaining works, to describe people who have become wealthy.
I would say " feeling materialistically successful" or "feeling accomplished".

 

[GoodTaste]

The targeted audience is the people in general in China.

I would say " feeling materialistically successful" or "feeling accomplished".

Your translation doesn't appear to have conveyed the essence of the original, because such a translation sounds to be a lie since China is still a developing country.
Here's the Chinese: 让人民群众有更多获得感.
Bing Translated it into "Let the people have more sense of gain" - I am not sure if it works in English.

 

[tzfujimino]

Does this have anything to do with your query?
https://youtu.be/njshJ-joAy4

 

[GoodTaste]

Yes. That video is closely related to the phrase.
the "sense of gain" in the general public is an important parameter.
Who would like to rewrite the phrase in the OP?

 

[tedmc]

Apparently, the phrase "sense of gain" is used mostly by the people in China. I don't think it can be translated literally to English to sound natural.

My suggestions are:
Let the people feel they stand to benefit/gain (from China's rapid development).
Let the people feel they have much to benefit/gain (from China's rapid development).

 

[emsr2d2]

Is it talking about the present or the future? Does it mean that someone (the government?) wants the general public to feel, and appreciate, that they have gained a lot in the last few years, or are they looking to the future and promising that the public will feel more like they've gained a lot in the next few years?

 

[GoodTaste]

Is it talking about the present or the future? Does it mean that someone (the government?) wants the general public to feel, and appreciate, that they have gained a lot in the last few years, or are they looking to the future and promising that the public will feel more like they've gained a lot in the next few years?

From the way you inquired above, I can see how hard it is to translate Chinese into English.
The government led by Xi wants the general public to have a genuine feeling that they have gained a lot in the last few years and will have gained a lot in near future. Please note I am not sure I've expressed the Chinese correctly here. In the original Chinese, it doesn't mean that the government wants to force the feeling in the people. Rather, Xi meant that the government should work hard and effectively to put more money into Chinese people's pockets; and with more money in their pockets, they would naturally feel a stronger sense of gain (again, the phrase "sense of gain" appears to be Chinglish and I don't know how to improve it with idiomatic English).

 

[emsr2d2]

Well, you're certainly right that "sense of gain" doesn't work in my variant of English.

 

[GoodTaste]

Well, you're certainly right that "sense of gain" doesn't work in my variant of English.

This information is useful indeed. But more useful information is: What is the correct English there?

 

[tedmc]

Apparently, the phrase "sense of gain" is used mostly by the people in China. I don't think it can be translated literally to English to sound natural.

My suggestions are:
1. Let the people feel they stand to benefit/gain (from China's rapid development).

2. Let the people feel they have much to benefit/gain (from China's rapid development).

How about my suggestions above from post No. 9?
Or are there better ways (as in conveying the same message in natural English) to express what Premier Xi said to inspire his people?

 

[GoodTaste]

How about my suggestions above from post No. 9?
Or are there better ways (as in conveying the same message in natural English) to express what Premier Xi said to inspire his people?

Xi is President, not Premier.

The translations of yours above appear to have stuck in the rut of "Chinese-English Transliteration": the phrase "Let the people feel" is suspicious of manipulating the people's feeling and thus sounds hypocritical - I am not very sure, because I've not reached the level of seeing through any English text as I wish to. The original Chinese, though in the same form of the English phrase, doesn't invoke such suspicion.

 

[tedmc]

Xi is President, not Premier.

The translations of yours above appear to have stuck in the rut of "Chinese-English Transliteration": the phrase "Let the people feel" is suspicious of manipulating the people's feeling and thus sounds hypocritical - I am not very sure, because I've not reached the level of seeing through any English text as I wish to. The original Chinese, though in the same form of the English phrase, doesn't invoke such suspicion.

I don't agree with you on the above. There is nothing suspicious or hyprocritical with saying "Let the people feel". You are over-interpreting the phrase, which is not a literal translation of the original version in Chinese. The original in Chinese is "let the people have the sense of...".

 

[GoodTaste]

How do you define the word "let" in your translations then? Define it as "allow", "permit" or "make", or even "give a command"?

 

[tedmc]

How do you define the word "let" in your translations then? Define it as "allow", "permit" or "make", or even "give a command"?

Allow, or give them the liberty.

 

[GoodTaste]

Allow, or give them the liberty.

That would have meant "grant the authorization to feel", thus hinting at the hypocrisy of the government.

 

[tedmc]

That would have meant "grant the authorization to feel", thus hinting at the hypocrisy of the government.

That is not what 'let' means. It is too formal a phrase to use.