Willy-nilly

Reader question:

How to express the idea of something that is"不以人的意志为转移的"? Give examples.

My comments:

How about "there's nothing I can do about it".

Or "it's not up to us," or "whether you like it or not", or "willy-nilly".

Willy-nilly indeed, that's the question being asked. And I don't enjoy translation questions because first, I'm not a practitioner of the trade, second and frankly speaking, I don't always have a good answer to match the odd question. Yet, this particular question is interesting enough to merit an exercise. So here is my fumbling attempt.

In translating something from Chinese to English, one has to, first of all, understand the Chinese. That may sound obvious but it's not always easy of accomplishment. Take this, for example: "有关部门正在积极处理". How do you put that across in English? If you enjoy gobbledygook, you may say: "all departments concerned are actively working together to seek a resolution." If you prefer plain-speak, you might say "things are getting done". Or if you really see through the euphemism, you might point out bluntly that "nothing's yet to be done", because, you see, when "concerned departments" are "actively" working on something, it often means nobody's really doing anything at all. In short, whether you like it or not, it's up to you to read the situation and use your judgment in order to bring across the essential message.

Depending on the situation, then, "不以人的意志为转移的" may variously mean "there's nothing I can do about it", a favorite excuse of many, or "it's not up to us", or "whether you like it or not" in case of an unfortunate event, a happening that is independent of one's will or effort.

For example, the Earth moves hurtling round the Sun. That's something beyond human effort, or at the very least beyond the beliefs of medieval churches.

And this quote from Nikita Khrushchev, former Soviet leader to Western ambassadors at a reception in Moscow in 1956: "Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you."

Or to sound literary, try "willy-nilly", meaning "willingly or unwillingly".

This from an obituary of Norman Mailer, the American writer who died over the weekend at the age of 84 in the The Guardian Observer (The pugilist who wrote the story of America, November 10, 2007):

"When my first book, The Naked and the Dead, was published, it was like being shot out of a cannon. My life changed overnight," Mailer once said. "I was at the Sorbonne in Paris with my then wife, Beatrice, and my sister. I went into the American Express office and read a newspaper headline which said my book was a bestseller. It was a huge shock and very nice to behold. Willy-nilly I had become a celebrity."