Translation time!

[elaby]

My first successful translation in, like, forever! I tried an Under17 song a few weeks ago and got so discouraged in the first stanza that I gave up. But I got through this song without a single snag (not to be confused with uncertainties, of which I have plenty) and some things even fell into magical place like they used to when I was actually studying Japanese at school.

So :)

Niji, "Rainbow", by Masaharu Fukuyama.

kiite hoshii uta ga aru yo
itsuka iitakatta kotoba ga aru yo

I have a song I want you to listen to
There are words I once said



sore wa tokubetsu na koto nanka(1) janai nda
sou sore wa muzukashii koto nanka janai nda

This isn't anything special
Yeah, this isn't anything complicated

tada chizu o hirogete(2)
tada kaze o matteta nda kotae mo naku(3)
ima boku wa iku no sa
IMEEJI(4) no mukou gawa e boku no mukou(5) e to
saa tobitatou

Just unfold a map
I was just waiting for the wind, without answer
I'm going now
To the other side of my image
And to the other side of me
Come on, let's take flight

kimi ga kimi dake ga oshiete(6) kureta yo
itsumademo iroasenai akogare ga aru yo

You showed me, you alone
I've got a longing that will never fade

dakara ikanakucha
SAYONARA no kawari ni kimi ga kureta nda
kono yuuki o kureta nda

So I've got to go
You gave this to me in exchange for a goodbye
You gave me this courage

tada ame ni utare(7)
tada niji o matteta nda utagai mo sezu ni
ima boku wa iku no sa
IMEEJI no mukou gawa e sora no mukou e to
kono tsubasa de

Just let the rain pound you
I was just waiting for a rainbow, without suspicion
I'm going now
To the other side of my image
And to the other side of the sky
On these wings

boku ga itsuka kaze o oikoseru sono toki(8)
boku ga itsuka niji o te ni ireru sono toki
kimi wa waratte kureru no ka na(9)
mata aeru ka na

Someday I'll be able to overtake the wind, and at that moment...
Someday I'll obtain the rainbow, and at that moment...
I wonder if you'll smile for me
I hope we'll meet again

tada chizu o hirogete
tada kaze o matteta nda kotae mo naku
ima boku wa iku no sa
IMEEJI no mukou gawa e boku no mukou e to

Just unfold a map
I was just waiting for the wind, without answer
I'm going now
To the other side of my image
And to the other side of me

tada ame ni utare
tada niji o matteta nda utagai mo sezu ni
ima boku wa iku no sa
IMEEJI no mukou gawa e kimi no sora e
boku no niji e tobitatsu no sa

Just let the rain pound you
I was just waiting for a rainbow, without suspicion
I'm going now
To the other side of the image
To your sky
To my rainbow
I'll take off




Before I get into specific notes, two things:

"nda" - There are a lot of phrases that end with -nda in this song. This generally indicates that you're saying something by way of explanation. In English, you can translate this as "The fact is..." or "The reason is..." That sounded awkward here, though, so I just left it out.

"no", "no sa" - This is another thing at the end of a lot of phrases. I know that sometimes putting "no" at the end of a sentence indicates a question ("doushita no?" "What's the matter?") but I think it can be also used as verbal emphasis, so I didn't translate it as a question.

1. Nanka - This means "something," and from what I was taught, a more wordy translation of the line "sore wa tokubetsu na koto nanka janai nda" would be something like "this isn't really something special or anything." That seemed kind of babbly, so I cut it down.

2. Hirogete - Oh, there were so many cool ways I could have translated this! Unfold, open, spread out, roll out. I chose "unfold" because I liked the way it sounded marginally better than "spread out" and they had the same meter so it ended up sounding similar.

3. Kotae mo naku - I'm really not positive that this fits into the sentence like I translated. I know it literally means "there is no answer," but I wasn't sure how it went with the rest.

4. IMEEJI - Image! Yay for loanwords! This particularly means "one's image" if I can believe Jeffrey's J/E Dictionary, which I always have.

5. Mukou - This literally means "opposite side" or "other side" but it can also mean "future." I'm toying with translating it as "my future" as opposed to "the other side of me."

6. Oshiete - This has several possible translations, such as "teach," "tell," or "show". I thought "showed" was the most apt in this case, but I liked "taught" too.

7. Utare - I THINK this is the imperative, thus the "you" in the English. I'm really not sure.

8. Sono toki - This means "at that moment" or "at that time." This confused me because "itsuka", in the phrase right before it, means "some day," and in English they sound redundant together. Then I had a flash of insight and thought that maybe since the "sono toki" was repeated, it might connect to the phrases at the end of the stanza, so that's how I translated it.

9. Ka na - This is another fun one I'm never quite sure about. "Ka na" can mean "I wonder," or "I hope," or "should I?", or maybe even things like "I bet" or "probably". I translated it differently in the two lines because of the possibly questioning "no" in the first one and the lack of "no" in the second.


Does anybody on my f'list speak Japanese? If you do, please let me know if there's anything I translated weirdly or wrong! I really want to know :)

YAY, I feel all accomplished.

Comments

[caitirin.livejournal.com]

FAN FREAKING TASTIC!!

[elaby.livejournal.com]

Awwww, you n_n *shuffles*

[kniblet.livejournal.com]

If you don't find a Japanese speaker, we can refer you to someone on our f'lists.

[elaby.livejournal.com]

Oooh, thank you :) I might take you up on that!

[kniblet.livejournal.com]

aadroma - we've only met him once irl but he's really nice and a huge language geek, especially with Japanese. I'm sure he'd be happy to read your translation.

[elaby.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Wonderful ^_^

[poelaramont.livejournal.com]

Translating songs? That's neat. 8-)

[elaby.livejournal.com]

It's fun! I love to do it :) Especially when it doesn't give me fits!

[aadroma.livejournal.com]

Hi, I believe I was summoned? ^_-

On your translation:

itsuka iitakatta kotoba ga aru yo

Itsuka = "Sometime, someday", and "iitakatta" = "wanted to say." Because of the prior line, this is more likely, "It has words that I've wanted to say to you (but couldn't, etc.)."

Your translation of "nanka" as "anything" or "something" is correct; keep in mind, though, sometimes "nanka" is filler and has no meaning.

tada chizu o hirogete

Here this isn't a command, but in the -te form to indicate that other connected actions follow. Also I'm thinking that "tada" in this case is more of "... but", or "... though", so this line and the one following are more, "... But I opened the map, but I waited for the wind. Finding not even answer, I'm going."

IMEEJI(4) no mukou

Hehehe, this is the super-fun part of Japanese -- words that are clearly English loan words that don't have QUITE the same meaning in Japanese. Though it's clearly "image," imeeji is ... wow, how do I explain this. Okay, if you look at a sale paper in Japanese, you may see an item with an asterisk by it, and the bottom text reads, "* IMEEJI DESU", indicating that this is perhaps a product mock-up and the real product doesn't look QUITE like this. So an image is something that has some basis in reality but doesn't QUITE sync up the way something actually IS. Does that make sense? This line is thus something like, "Towards what I want to be" or "towards what I dream of being".

You're quite right on "ka na" -- it's like a "... I think," or a "perhaps."

tada ame ni utare
tada niji o matteta nda utagai mo sezu ni

Same as the above similar stanze. Here I believe "utare" is like a noun and NOT a command. "... though the rain beat down upon me, though I wait here for a rainbow, Without any sort of doubt I go."

Hope this helps clarify things!

[elaby.livejournal.com]

Aaaah, thank you so, so much! I have a terrible time trying to distinguish between the "-te" form when it's an imperative and when it's meant to signify that the thought is continuing. And thank you for explaining about imeeji! That makes so much more sense.

And, duh, iitakatta :) I neglected the "ta", I guess! Thank you again :)

[coastal-spirit.livejournal.com]

This is so interesting! I want to come back and read it again when I have more time to really try to absorb some of it. :) Good job, smart girl. *huggles*

[elaby.livejournal.com]

Awwww, thank you n_n Another nice LJer helped me out with it, too. I have to edit it so the corrections are in the one in my post :)