Stop the world, I want to get off!
This week I started putting together a page of translations of the phrase “Stop the world, I want to get off”. I was looking through my page of ‘useful’ phrases and noticed that I have a Spanish version of this phrase. I wondered if I could find translations into other language, and so far have found a few. Could you supply versions of this phrase in any other languages?
I’ve also added a new section to my site - Can o’ Songs - a collection of songs that I’ve learnt in Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Welsh, with English translations, background info (where available), links to other versions of the songs and lists of albums which include the songs. I plan to add recordings of me singing the songs and/or playing them on the tin whistle, and I’ll be adding quite a few other songs to this section when I have a spare moment or two. If any of you feel inspired to send in recordings you’ve made of any of the songs already there, or would like to suggest any other songs I could have a go at, please let me know.
23 Responses to “Stop the world, I want to get off!”
Lau on 10 May 2007 at 9:28 pm #
Danish: Stop verden, jeg vil af.
Colm on 10 May 2007 at 10:10 pm #
Wow, that’s a tough one. Perhaps:
Cuir an domhan ina stad, ba mhaith liom teacht anuas!
T-Moor on 11 May 2007 at 3:33 am #
Real tough one:
Dunyoni to’xtatib turing, men chiqib ketmoqchiman - Uzbek language
BG on 11 May 2007 at 5:56 am #
Latn: siste mundum, volo exponere.
This last word is quite difficult, there are many words that are close, but none seem to quite match. Most of the close words have to do with getting off a ship. The word I choose (exponere) might not be the best word.
Polly on 11 May 2007 at 6:33 am #
Western Armenian:
Ashkharhu getzour tarnalen, hos gouzem yelel:
I’ll provide Arm. script when I get to a PC that supports it.
Polly on 11 May 2007 at 6:55 am #
“que se pare el mundo, que me quiero bajar”
I think this phrase in Spanish might convey the idea better. I tried the phrase from the phrase section and the Spanish speaker I told it to was completely confused.
TJ on 11 May 2007 at 7:42 am #
أوقف العالم، أريد النزول!
Polly>> do you have to wait? I remember you can download some Armenian supporting material (and maybe from Microsoft site itself!)
I remember I added them long time ago…and I don’t know if they are now added with the default set in Windows. Google it, I bet you’ll find it! :)
céline on 11 May 2007 at 9:46 am #
Tiny little circumflex accent missing in your French translation: it’s “Arrêtez”, not “Arretez”.
Ronald Kyrmse on 11 May 2007 at 12:53 pm #
To BG:
In Portuguese (the Brasilian variety at any rate), we use the verb “desembarcar” (cognate to “disembark” in English and to “barco” - boat - in Portuguese) for getting off most kinds of vehicles. It would sound strange to use it e. g. of a bicycle, but it works with cars, planes, trains etc. besides vessels. So maybe a similar expression would work in Latin too. I do not think I can be of further help, as my Latin-that-never-amounted-to-much is a bit rusty.
In colloquial Brasilian Portuguese, the phrase Simon has on his page works splendidly. It’s short and to the point. The kind of thing a native speaker would say - and many have, in my hearing. 8^)
Joseph Staleknight on 11 May 2007 at 4:16 pm #
German: Hält der Welt, ich will raus!
Ephrat on 11 May 2007 at 4:23 pm #
Hebrew:
Itsru (eetz-ru) et Ha’olam, Ani Rotze Laredet!!
Ephrat on 11 May 2007 at 4:23 pm #
and in Hebrew script:
עצרו את העולם, אני רוצה לרדת!
Daydreamer on 11 May 2007 at 6:03 pm #
To Joseph Staleknight’s suggestion:
“Hält der Welt” will not be understood by a German, as it sounds like “Held der Welt” = “hero of the world”, while “ich will raus” is a rather impolite demand.
The official rendering of “Stop the world, I want to get off!” as the title of a movie (or was it a book?) is “Haltet die Welt an, ich möchte aussteigen!”
suchosch on 11 May 2007 at 6:40 pm #
Czech: “Zastavte svět, chci vystoupit.”
dmh on 11 May 2007 at 7:01 pm #
Could you say this in Chinese?
停世界， 我要下
Polly on 11 May 2007 at 9:10 pm #
Ashkharhu getzour tarnalen, hos gouzem yelel:
Աշխարհը կեցուր թարնալէն, հոս կուզեմ ելել:
The world stop(cmd.) from turning, Here I want to get off.
I don’t think there’s any way to translate this, in any meaningful sense, into Russian. A literal translation would probably sound like giberrish.
@TJ: Thanks for the suggestion. I couldn’t find anything on Microsoft, unfortunately.
It’s very inconvenient and odd that Armenian is left out while every other country in the same region is included: Georgian, Turkish, Azeri, etc.
Satyarthi on 12 May 2007 at 12:57 pm #
Firstly, a Big Hello there to all you fellow language enthusiasts!
The phrase in Tamil could perhaps be translated something along the lines of the following:
தயவு செய்து இந்த உலகம் சுற்றுவதை நிறுத்திவிடு, அதை விட்டு எனக்கு உடனே இறங்கிவிடவேண்டும்.
(dayavu seydu inda ulagam suRRuvadai niRuttiviDu; adai viTTU enakku uDanE iRangiviDavENDum!)
- lit: ‘Please stop this world from spinning; I want to get off it right now!’
[NB: Capital letters in the above transcription represent long-vowels/retroflexes etc.]
It is interesting to note that the World here is employed metaphorically as a moving vehicle on board which we are travelling passengers.
This same metaphor extends to the verbs used in conjunction with it, i.e. ‘niRuttu’ (vt ’stop’) Vs ‘iRangu’ (vi ‘get down from, disembark, alight), which could just as equally be used in the subsequent construction:
‘inda kArai (vAhanattai) niRuttiviDu; enakku uDanE iRangiviDavENDum!’ –> (’Stop this car; I want to get off right now!’).
As an aside, I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate Simon on a truly wonderful website - comprehensive, informative, interactive and most of all, eternally inspiring! Hats off to you and wish you continued success with your noble linguistic endeavours…
Alexei Vinidiktov on 13 May 2007 at 10:29 am #
Russian: Остановите мир, я хочу сойти.
(I’d use “сойти” here instead of “выйти” found in the translation on http://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/stoptheworld.php)
Polly on 13 May 2007 at 4:50 pm #
@Alexei:
I tried this phrase on a friend:
Стой мир я хочу сойти
They didn’t get my meaning at all. So, I didn’t want to post anything. Would this work as well?
BG on 14 May 2007 at 5:43 am #
@Ronald Kyrmse: This Latin words might theoretically work for cars, planes, and trains, but considering the Romans didn’t have any of them, it’s hard to know. Although interestingly enough there are Latin words for car, which is “automobile” and train, “hamaxostichos” (both in the modern sense), but these were probably invented later. I guess there would also be words for getting off horses and chariots.
Ronald Kyrmse on 14 May 2007 at 3:16 pm #
To BG:
For getting off a horse we say “desmontar” in Portuguese, but that’s cognate to your well-known “dismount”. Anyway, not a good word to use, for “desmontar” also means “disassemble”. Leads to all kinds of puns about disassembling horses etc.
;-)
[ Talk about getting off-topic! ]
Josh on 14 May 2007 at 5:43 pm #
For some reason “descendre” doesn’t sound right to me with the french translation— I can’t tell why. I would say “desembarquer” instead.
Bengu on 15 May 2007 at 1:59 am #
Turkish:
Durdurun dunyayi inecek var.
We use this phrase a lot in Turkish. Durmak: to stop, dunya: world, inecek var: there is someone who wants to get off, tourists in Turkey would know this, since it is used in dolmus - public transport, if you want to get off you say “inecek var”.