> 父は何か **につけて** 、若いころ外国で過ごした思い出を語る。

Is this sentence best translated as "My father would sometimes talk about his
memories as a young man travelling abroad".

If yes, what is the difference between 何かにつけて and something simpler like 時々、時に
etc.?
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2016-11-28T02:39:39.347
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question
grammar
Translation of 何かにつけて
According to weblio:

> 機会があるたびに、または何事にも関連付けて、いつもそれを行うさま。「何かと」。

時々 or 時に would just imply "from time to time", "occasionally", "sometimes",
etc. showing _how often_ he talked about his experiences.

Using「何かに付けて」 shows that "whenever he had an opportunity" he would talk about
the subject, and he may even try to _make_ an opportunity to talk about it
from an unrelated conversation.

<http://www.weblio.jp/content/%E4%BD%95%E3%81%8B%E3%81%AB%E3%81%A4%E3%81%91%E3%81%A6>
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2016-11-28T02:49:45.413
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> Is this sentence best translated as "My father would sometimes talk about
> his memories as a young man travelling abroad."?

I would definitely have to say **NO**. The word choice of "sometimes" does not
reflect the meaning and nuance of 「何かにつけて」 at all.

That translation basically says " ** _Someone does something at a certain
frequency_**." It sounds very neutral and it is that neutrality that is the
problem here because the expression 「何かにつけて」 is **_not_** neutral. It is
indeed fairly **_negative_**.

「何かにつけて～～する」 means " ** _to never miss a chance (to do something)_** ", " **
_to take every opportunity (to do something)_** ", etc.

This father speaks about his memories more often than his family want to
listen. That is the nuance of the original Japanese sentence and the
expression 「何かにつけて」 .
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2016-11-28T03:13:01.500
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2016-11-28T03:25:46.200
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answer