espontaneidade
Latest farmboy words: 劈叉, the splits; 哇塞, which just means “wow,” usually positive, but I like the way it sounds; 大波斯菊, cosmos flowers (literally “large Persian chrysanthemums”); 熟鸡蛋, boiled eggs (literally “mature eggs” although technically that’s a different usage); 克隆人, clone (a transliteration); 五花八门, all different kinds of something (literally “five flowers and eight doors”)
My friend A-Pei is also a technical translator, in her case from English to Chinese, and the English source texts she receives are sometimes not what they might be. The other day she texted me a line from an agricultural machinery manual: “This combination will reduce the risk of serious injury or death, should the machine be upset.”
We agreed that the machine would certainly pose greater risks if it got emotional or lost its temper. (机器难过时风险变大，请大家注意安全!) It took both of us a moment to arrive at what the source text actually meant to say…
At the Saturday juku last week I happened to work with two siblings in a row, seventh-grade Yuki and his ninth-grade sister Satsuki (pseudonyms). She said cheerfully “My brother’s smarter than me, his English grades are better than mine were in seventh.” Me: Well, how much time did you spend studying English every day in seventh grade? Satsuki: Maybe ten minutes? Me: How about your brother? Satsuki: I don’t know, half an hour, no, an hour? Me: Are you sure this is a question of who’s smarter than who?
I have temporarily (?) finished revising the translation of the Miura Shion novel I’ve been working on (revising a translation is SO MUCH easier than revising my own writing, I don’t have to worry if the plot or structure or emotional beats work, just make sure the words are where they should be, phew); next comes the far more difficult process of trying to figure out how to get it published, oh God. In the meantime, I need something new to translate! Based on past lists of possibilities, if interested please cast a vote or two below? (I have never made a DW poll before, I hope it works).
What should I translate next?
Akasaka Mari’s essays on Japan’s struggles immediately postwar
0 (0.0%)
Letters and diaries of Chujo (Miyamoto) Yuriko and Yuasa Yoshiko in the 1920s
0 (0.0%)
One or more of Hara Takeshi's books about trains, emperors, 1970s Communism, and history in general
0 (0.0%)
Haraguchi Takeshi’s book on the Osaka day laborers’ district and its history and sociology
0 (0.0%)
Hasuike Kaoru’s accounts of his abduction to North Korea, eventual return to Japan, and later visits to South Korea and work as a Korean to Japanese translator
0 (0.0%)
Imaizumi Takayuki’s book on his imaginary city maps
1 (9.1%)
One or both of two random books about falling in love with Finland and Finnish, by Inagaki Miharu and Takahashi Erika
0 (0.0%)
Kisaragi Kazusa’s YA book about a boy who figures out he has a good singing voice in the guise of a girl
0 (0.0%)
Komatsu Ayako’s YA book about a high school girl who discovers Arabic calligraphy and Islam through her sister’s half-Turkish classmate
0 (0.0%)
Kuroiwa Hisako’s biography of Sakai Toshihiko
0 (0.0%)
Li Kotomi|Li Qinfeng's essays about foreignness and language and sexuality
5 (45.5%)
Maekawa Masayuki’s book about bicycling around South Korea and revisiting its colonized history
1 (9.1%)
One or more of Miyabe Miyuki’s mystery novels involving telepathy and/or time travel
0 (0.0%)
Nakajima Atsushi’s letters to his wife and young children from the South Pacific in 1940 or thereabouts
1 (9.1%)
Tai Shotaro’s diary of a year working as a conductor on the Osaka city trams in 1930 or so
1 (9.1%)
Hiko Tanaka’s MG trilogy about the first year of junior high school
0 (0.0%)
Tawada Yoko’s essays on language, writing and translation
1 (9.1%)
Yamamoto Yukihisa’s novel about a bus tour guide, her company problems, and the power of Pino ice cream
0 (0.0%)
Yonehara Mari’s novel and essays about her childhood at a Soviet school in Prague and its effects on her later life as a Russian interpreter
1 (9.1%)
Various present and prewar oral histories
0 (0.0%)
Favorites from my Chinese song list, part 3 of 3. Three from Liu Chang: 再睡五分钟, making “let me sleep in another five minutes” sound extremely sexy (and 我以为是伦敦时间 always makes me laugh); 谢谢你来听我唱歌, with its lovely syncopations and wistful lyrics on 不怕轻易受伤; and 雨人 (this particular video has a terrific English translation), with the long sad note on 不闻不问 and the way 天大地大的 almost comes out as scat syllables. Along with that one, LTR has the best soundtrack going as far as I’m concerned: 往下跳 still makes me sad, the grief all the way through actually emphasized by the major third of 笔记已合上, and the title song 重启 is for my money some of the best singing Zhu Yilong’s ever done, from the playful-wistful catch in 人们在追寻答案 to the short phrases making up 河川自由奔流会流向哪里, where the melody is major but the harmony wanders into the minor and his voice knows it. Elsewhere, 灵光 because it’s the only sodagreen song I know where you can imagine a whole arena full of people singing along (and probably crying); the way Wu Qingfeng hits the chorus on 霎时灵光拨弄我心弦 is dazzling. Two different versions of 麦芒, fast and loud (warning for flashing lights) and sung by all ten people (this is the farmboys) with each one’s style distinct (and I do like syncopations, okay, the verse makes nice use of them), plus a quieter version sung by Jiang Dunhao solo, where his lower range is lovely. Finally 水星记; the version I really like best is Liu Chang and Wang Leda fooling around, but there are a lot of others, so I’ve linked Shan Yichun. The rising phrase on 还有多远才能进入你的心 does me in, along with the sudden minor on 那个人; I could listen to that so many times.
Photos: This year’s first plum blossoms, some other assorted outdoor moments, a cat that will complain loudly about how cold it is but not actually let you do anything about it, and Jiji-chan thinking I can’t see her.
Be safe and well.