very highly motivated 怎么说?

zhenlijiang
June 16, 2010, 10:52 AM posted in I Have a Question

I was trying to say here, "what the North Korean team is is very highly motivated"--as in their performance in the World Cup can really make extraordinary differences in their lives. I said 他们进取心强得很 but think I may have been quite wide of the mark. What should I have said instead?

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xiaophil
June 16, 2010, 11:39 AM

I am very interested in knowing this as well. I have looked up motivated several times in the dictionary and have always come up with 志气, but it never seems to go over well when I try to use it. I have the feeling there are particular Chinese words that suit several mutually exclusive situations, whereas 'motivated' would suffice for all of them in English.

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changye
June 16, 2010, 11:55 AM

很有积极性,积极性很高

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xiaophil

Is it really that simple? I guess it could be. I think of enthusiasm and motivation as slightly different, but come to think about it,差不多.

Thanks Changye

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bababardwan

Can't comment on the Chinese but I agree with you xiaophil when it comes to the English difference between enthusiasm and motivation. I think it's possible to be highly motivated to achieve some goal even though you may not be enthusiastic about what's involved in the journey [ a succeed at all costs type attitude]. But it certainly helps if you are enthusiastic also.

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orangina

I would say "motivated" is very different than "excited." For example when my boss told me if I was late one more time I would be fired I was highly motivated, but hardly excited. nciku says 动机, and mandarin popup says 促动。Those look pretty good to me.

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xiaophil

I don't know, orangina. I checked around a little. The examples for 动机 weren't all that convincing to me. They seemed more like 'motive' than 'motivation'. I couldn't find a decent example of 促动, but it seems to be more related to physics. I still think Changye's translation is best for most cases as we usually are motivated and enthusiastic at the same time.

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bababardwan

Well I got the same as orangina...动机 with several trial sentences into a translator. Sure it seems to often mean motive rather than motivation but it seems it can also mean motivation or motivated. I think that motive is a little closer in meaning potentially than enthusiasm. You can certainly be enthusiastic about something without there being an element of motivation. Just think about when you're talking about your favourite rock band. Ok,you might find it gives you inspiration or helps your motivation with your own musical endeavours,but for most fans they just love their fav bands music for the enjoyment sake only. A kid can be enthusiastic about his upcoming trip to Disneyland without any motivation being involved [unless the trip is contingent on his school grades or behaviour or something,lol....but then he would be motivated to get good grades,hehe ]

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changye

Hi guys

Actually, you face the same problem when translating "motivated" into Japanese. "Motivated" is usually translated as "やる気がある" (= full of drive, be on it), while "politically motivated" should be translated as “政治的な動機を持つ” (have a political motivation) or something like that. FYI, "motivation" are "動機 (动机)”,“やる気”,and “意欲” in Japanese.

I think the same is true for Chinese. "Be highly motivated" can be simply translated as “很有积极性”, but "politically motivated" should be “具有政治动机” or something like that. There are also several counterparts of "motivation" in Chinese, such as “动机”, “动力”,“诱因”,“积极性”,“刺激” and “干劲”. You can select proper one on a case-by-case basis.

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zhenlijiang
June 18, 2010, 01:40 AM

Thank you everybody for all your input here!
I wanted to know specifically about the case I described, because as you guys have said, the English word "motivation" has different senses that we distinguish from context. As Baba points out, the differences with "motivation" have a lot to do with enthusiasm, and mood.

I want to refer to Xiaophil's expressing emotions list (we haven't completed it yet!) and #29 - I feel motivated this morning.
This "motivation" is entirely different from my North Korean soccer team case. Xiaophil said on his sentence I know the word 动机, but all the examples I have seen don't really express what I want to express. I simply want to say, "This morning I have the energy and willingness to work."
I'd made two suggestions for this:
今天干劲十足(!)
今天(工作)积极性很高!
Hadn't had feedback on them there, but I guess Changye above seems to say these are OK translations, for Xiaophil's sentence ... ? (this is definitely an example of やる気)

Back to my question here, what I'm talking about specifically with the North Korean soccer team is not just the prospect of extraordinary (= motivating) rewards if they do well, but also the threat of consequences--punishment--should they embarrass the Dear Leader and demoralize the People. Both. Orangina made that point with the story of a boss threatening to fire her getting her highly motivated.

When I see 动机 the first thing that comes to mind is motive as in crime-solving, ulterior motives, or yes, politically motivated behavior (I imagine it's the same as the Japanese word).
This is obviously not what I want to discuss with the NK soccer team. What I want to say is that these people are both desperate, and intensely driven toward achieving glory, that their motivation level is probably incomparably higher than most others'. They are unusually motivated (because of the dire circumstances for anyone born in that country), in a way teams from countries not under the rule of desperate regimes just can not be. So I wonder what is the appropriate way to express motivation in this case.

(What have I managed to say then, with "进取心强得很"--?)

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changye

Hi zhenlijiang

How would you say that in English? I'm afraid I can't come up with an appropriate word and phrase to say that even in my native language. If I were 古舘 announcer, I would say, "見よ、あの悲壮感漂うまでの闘争心。お土産なしでは帰れない、待っているのはマンションか、はたまた凍て付くラーゲリか?", hehe.

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zhenlijiang

wahahahaha, very good Changye! Those are the kind of sentiments I mean (even though ラーゲリ doesn't ring a bell for me ...).

In English I would say "the North Korean team is is very highly motivated", or "extremely motivated" or something like that, perhaps with italics; it would be ironic, and readers should understand that from context and background knowledge regarding life as a North Korean soldier / flagbearer.

OK maybe I'm asking for something that doesn't exist, esp if Chinese don't do irony.

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changye

How about "highly motivated, like it or not"?

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zhenlijiang

How do you say that in Chinese?

I'm thinking over the different ways to express what I meant. The point, as you say, I guess is "lack of free will".

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changye

like it or not 不管愿不愿意

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changye
June 18, 2010, 02:01 AM

HI zhenlijiang

How would you say that in English? I'm afraid I can't come up with an appropriate word or phrase even in my native language, Japanese. If I were 古館アナウンサー, I would say “見よ、あの悲壮感漂うまでの闘争心、お土産なしでは帰れない。お国で待つのはマンションか、はたまた凍て付くラーゲリか” hehe.