# to znaczy



## zzjing

Ów aneks do pierwszego solarystycznego rocznika znałem, to znaczy, wiedziałem o jego istnieniu, ale nie miałem go nigdy w ręce, przedstawiał bowiem czysto historyczną wartość. Natomiast o jakimś Ravintzerze ani o jego Małym apokryfie nigdy nawet nie słyszałem.​
What's the best English translation for "to znaczy" here?


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## zaffy

'That is' or 'I mean'.


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## anthox

It might also be rendered in this context as “..., which is to say, ...”


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## zzjing

anthox said:


> It might also be rendered in this context as “..., which is to say, ...”


That's basically what the new English translation did: "that is to say". My editor changed it to "by that I mean" in my Chinese translation, and I'm wondering if it's appropriate.


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## zaffy

zzjing said:


> that is to say



"That is", which I suggested, is a shortened version of "That is to say".

I don't think "by that I mean" is idiomatic in English.


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## zzjing

zaffy said:


> "That is", which I suggested, is a shortened version of "That is to say".
> 
> I don't think "by that I mean" is idiomatic in English.


It wasn't meant to be English, but Chinese. Maybe I should say: "what I mean is".


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## jasio

zzjing said:


> It wasn't meant to be English, but Chinese. Maybe I should say: "what I mean is".


You can select any phrasing which you find natural in your target language. 

In short, "to znaczy" is a mere stylistical tool to introduce an explanation of what the narrator actually meant by "znałem (rocznik)" ("I knew the annal") = 'I knew it existed but I've never touched it'. Whether it's 'that is', 'what I mean is', 'I mean' - is a purely artistic choice, because they all basically mean the same.


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## zzjing

jasio said:


> You can select any phrasing which you find natural in your target language.
> 
> In short, "to znaczy" is a mere stylistical tool to introduce an explanation of what the narrator actually meant by "znałem (rocznik)" ("I knew the annal") = 'I knew it existed but I've never touched it'. Whether it's 'that is', 'what I mean is', 'I mean' - is a purely artistic choice, because they all basically mean the same.


That clears it up. Thanks for the explanation. It seems that I don't have to fight against this change.


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