Ήρθατε τόσο δρόμο και να μη μπείτε να σας κάνω ένα καφέ!

[Theseus]

Two sailors have come late at night to a village in Cyprus to see a mother to bring her news of her son (who is also in the navy & a friend of theirs). The mother bids them come in with the above words. It is pretty clear that she means something like 'you have come all this way & the least I can do is make you a cup of coffee'. Is it literally 'and shouldn't you come in for me to make you a cup of coffee'? To me it is an unnatural idiom but clearly not so in Greek. Can someone explain the anatomy of this idiom--it's two of those words (να μη) that I find tricky.

 

[Irini]

Think of it as "after you came all this way to not come in so I can (at least) make you a coffee would be a shame/unthinkable/out of the question ". Does this help?
The last part is implied/is the answer to the question she is posing.

 

[Theseus]

Thanks, Irini! Excellent explanation. As I have said, these linguistic particles are the ones that can cause most confusion.
(Good luck in the US presidential elections: the excitement has been very much in evidence here. We all hope that the successful candidate would tackle the massive issues that face civilised countries with foresight & sensitivity. To me at any rate, the environment & global warming are paramount among them.)

 

[Philip]

It's the same Greek syntax as να ζει κανείς ή να μη ζει; , if that helps. to be or not to be - "not to have a cup of coffee", roughly

 

[Theseus]

Thanks, Philip, for the explanatory note. There seem to be many translations into demotic Greek of this speech from Hamlet. If you don't already know of these various renderings, see:- http://www.lifo.gr/articles/theater_articles/99509.

 

[daeman]

... There seem to be many translations into demotic Greek of this speech from Hamlet. If you don't already know of these various renderings, see:- http://www.lifo.gr/articles/theater_articles/99509.

To be, or not to be, that is the question


Thanks, Theseus. That thread was missing a much sought fiber, the Cacoyannis translation, which I'm adding there presently along with the rest that we didn't have until now, to nicely round that thread-cum-rope.
Κόκκινη κλωστή δεμένη, στου Αμλέτου τυλιγμένη το λαιμό.