Druckbare Version
I needed a thread to ask translation questions. So here it is ;-)
What is
O'Neill: Witness if you will: Squat.
supposed to mean?
I do not get the sense at all. Its from 2.19 "One false Step" an in the german version Jack says something totally different.
Hi,
Squat`s going to be some kind of slang, cuz i didn`t found something useful in the dictionary....
My dictonary said, that "squat" means "Hocke, Unterschlupf".
I think your sentence translated into german would sound that way:
"Wenn du Zeuge sein willst/ zuhören möchtest: Duck dich!/ Geh in die Hocke!"
Hope I'm right and it will help you.
Yeah, I think that it means something like that. But what sense does that make?
Just ask the urban dictionary Link
nothing or not meaning anything
"that doesnt mean squat"
a very small amount; often used with diddley
"Foo', you don't know squat 'bout nothin'."
I got an answer from an native speaker:
Zitat:
Squat is also an Americanism meaning "nothing". "I've got squat" means "I've got nothing".
I'd hazard a guess from the context that that's how it's meant here.
"Witness if you will... squat" would then mean "Take a look... absolutely nothing is happening."
Does it make sense now?
I don't know the scene by heart so what does he say in the german version?
In german he says concerning the plant "Vielleicht ist sie schüchtern... oder schämt sich". Doesn't fit to the english sentence at all.
It now makes sense for me. Translated I would say it meas "Bezeuge doch was du willst - da ist nichts" as a start for the dispute which envolves between Jack and Daniel afterwards.
A way to enforce the squat is to say "Jack squat...." the closest to german would be "nix" oder "gard nix" for the stronger version. If you want to learn the correct placement of a lot of these lovley slang words (Though this isn't really slang anymore since it's commonly used in any kind of conversation by now) I suggest watching supernatural in the english orginal.
:)