Challenges and Considerations in Song Translation
Exploring the complexities of translating songs, focusing on the balance between accuracy and singability. Songs present unique challenges with their concise yet rhythmically significant lyrics, requiring translators to preserve meaning and emotion while considering musicality. The dilemma lies in capturing the essence of the original lyrics without compromising the artistic integrity of the song.
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Exercise Translate Try to translate the chorus of Sur ma route . Sur ma route, oui Il y a eu du move, oui De l'aventure dans l'movie Think about what difficulties are particular to translating songs. Une vie de roots Sur ma route, oui Je n'compte plus les soucis De quoi devenir fou, oui Une vie de roots
My Translation On my way, yeah [On my route, yeah] There were some moves, yeah Adventure in the movie, yeah A life of basics. [A life of roots] On my way, yeah I no longer count my worries Make myself crazy, yeah A life of basics [A life of roots]
Overview We are moving into a slightly different section of the course. While we will still go over difficulties of grammar as they arise, we will now focus primarily on different types of translation. Song translation is both one of the simplest and the hardest. On the one hand, songs have very few words and lots of repetition. On the other hand, the words are both vague in meaning and fit into a particular pattern of rhythm.
Should Songs Be Translated? Sometimes, having understandable lyrics is not the most important aspect of a song. Oftentimes, the music is just as important to get the message across, combined with the particular sounds and poetry of the lyrics in their original language. If a translation would damage the emotional message the song is trying to convey, it might not be worth translating.
The Basic Dilemma of Song Translation Should you aim for accuracy of translation, or singability? If the translation is accurate, you can be sure that the audience will understand the lyrics the same way the original author intended to understand them. However, such translations might not work within the song itself. One loses the particular poetic inflection of the song.
Singability However, translating in such a way so as to maintain singability might actually be impossible. Words that have elegance in one language might simply be cumbersome sounding in another. Finding words in the target language that work might just result in the translator effectively rewriting the song.
Our Goal Today We are going to attempt to translate Black M s Sur Ma Route We have already tried working through the chorus. Now, we will try doing the two verses. As you work, think of singability (or rappability), but also try to maintain some sense of Black M s original meaning.
First Verse Sur ma route il y a eu un tas de bouchons Sur ma route La v rit j'ai souvent tr buch J'ai eu des moments de doute Est-ce que tu sais que quand tu touches le fond J'marchais sans savoir vers o J' tais t tu rien foutre Il y a peu de gens chez qui tu peux te r fugier Sur ma route J'avais pas de bagages en soute Tu peux compter que sur tes chers parents Et dans ma poche pas un sous Parce que les amis, eux, disparaissent un par un Juste la famille entre nous Oui il m'arrive d'avoir le front au sol Parce que Dieu est grand, et on est seul, on meurt seul
My Translation On my way there were a bunch of problmes. On my way, I often stumbled over the truth. I had moments of doubt. Did you know that when you touch the bottom I walked without knowing where to I was stubborn, didn t give a damn There are few people who can save you On my way You can only count on your dear parents I didn t have any checked bags And not a penny in my pocket Because friends, they disappear one by one Just family between us Yeah, I bow my head Because God is great, we are alone, and we die alone
Second Verse Ne me parle pas de nostalgie Parce que je t'avoue que mon coeur est trop fragile Sur ma route On m'a fait des coups en douce Je suis comme un pirate naufrag L'impression qu'mon coeur en souffre Oui mon quipage est plus qu'endommag Je s che mes larmes, je baisse les armes Mais je suis sous anesth sie J'veux m me plus savoir pourquoi ils me testent les autres Sur mon ch'min J'ai crois pas mal d'anciens Si y a plus rien a prendre je sais qu'il me reste une chose Ils me parlaient du lendemain Et ma route elle est trop longue pas le temps de faire une pause Et que tout allait si vite
My Translation Don t tell me about nostalgia On my way, Because I admit that my heart is too fragile I was stabbed in the back I am like a shipwrecked pirate The impression is that my heart suffers Yeah, my crew is more than damaged (corrupted?) But I am numb to it I dry my tears, lower my weapons On my path I don t even to know why others test me anymore. I m met many old timers They spoke to me of tomorrow If there s nothing left to take I know that I have still have one thing And that everything passes so fast And my way is too long to take a break
