Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2010 April 22#Translation

The name of an Italian TV show is Ciak... si canta!. What does this mean in English? The show is essentially a contest among singers. I can't seem to find an English translation for the first word (Ciak) anywhere. Thanks! (64.252.65.146 (talk) 01:32, 22 April 2010 (UTC))

:If it's the same usage, Ciak (Italian magazine) could just be a name they made up. I doubt that the letter K is used that much in Italian. The si canta part has to do with singing. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:40, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

::OK, this might be it. Ciak is a clapperboard, as per the Italian wikipedia which conveniently translates it to English.[http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciak] The magazine title probably comes from that also. If you think about how ciak would likely be pronounced, "chock", it's probably imitative of the sound a clapperboard makes. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:45, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

:::An Italian expert needs to step in here, but I'm guessing that the meaning they're conveying to their audience would be something like, "Ready... sing!" ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:48, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

: Ciak... si canta is a pun on Ciak, si gira, wich means "action!" (on a film set), ciak being an onomatopeia (native Italian words usually don't have JKWXY, but onomatopoeias are an exception). "Si canta" means, more or less, it's singing time!.--151.51.15.200 (talk) 02:03, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

Great! Thanks for the feedback ... it was very helpful. Now, it makes sense. Thank you! (64.252.65.146 (talk) 22:30, 26 April 2010 (UTC))

Les rois de Chypre le portèrent ensuite, ou l'attribuèrent à leurs fils cadets. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Queen Elizabeth II's Little Spy (talk • contribs) 05:38, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

:"The kings of Cyprus then carried it, or bestowed it on their younger sons" (probably referring to one of the appanages of Jerusalem/Cyprus?) Adam Bishop (talk) 06:10, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

:sounds more like a name or title than a physical object. --Xuxl (talk) 17:23, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

::Correct, must be about a title. --Lgriot (talk) 05:28, 23 April 2010 (UTC)

::: The sentence is from the French Wiki http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_des_princes_d'Antioche Liste des princes d'Antioche, "it" refers to the title of Prince d'Antioche (Prince of Antioch). — AldoSyrt (talk) 06:56, 23 April 2010 (UTC)