espontaneidade

[nnozomi]

Listening recently to Elis Regina sing Ih! Meu Deus do céu, a fantastic song that I tend to forget about in favor of “Amor até o fim” or “Aguas de março” and so on. “Espontaneidade eu sou, eu sou / Na misticidade eu vou, eu vou…” jeez.

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).

Poll #32655

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 11

View Respondents

What should I translate next?

View Answers

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.

Comments

[tinny]

I know some of these songs \o/

i like wang xia tiao a lot. i admit i've never listened very closely to chongqi, i should probably do that and see what you meant about the harmony!


I love the color contrasts in the photos - the red+white, the orange+green. Beautiful!

[nnozomi]

You definitely know some of these songs! ;) The LTR ones are so good.

and glad you liked the photos <3 I can't take any credit for the color contrasts, nature did that all by itself.

[maggie33]

A lot of texts in your poll looks very interesting. And after googling a few of those names I've just ordered Li Kotomi's book - The Island Where Red Spider Lilies Bloom, because that's the only book of hers translated into Polish. I'm very curious if the Polish translation will be good.

And that last pic is so cute. Heh, a very stealthy kitty. :DDD

[nnozomi]

I've just ordered Li Kotomi's book - The Island Where Red Spider Lilies Bloom,
oh, neat! Let me know what you think of the book and the translation, when you get around to it. Most of her novels actually sound too dark for me (although there's a short one I like), but her essays are fascinating.

and yup, stealthy kitty ;)

[maggie33]

I just wanted to tell you that I got the book and read the 1st chapter. I'll probably write more about the book in my dreamwidth when I'm finished reading it, but I can already say that I find it fascinating. And based on that first chapter it looks like the translation is good.

[nnozomi]

Oh neat! (and wow, that's fast delivery). I'll look forward to hearing what you think. Especially glad the translation sounds good. (I wonder if it was translated straight from the Japanese, or via English?)

[maggie33]

I wonder if it was translated straight from the Japanese, or via English?

It was translated from Japanese. And IMO the translator did a really good job with it. Of course I can't compare it to the original, although in this case I'd love to do it. Because the author does really fascinating things with the way languages are used in this book.

[nnozomi]

Good to hear the translator did nice work! The author really likes playing with language (in a serious way)--fascinating to read, a headache (but a fun one) to translate...

[chestnut_pod]

Spoiled for translational choice! It was too difficult to pick; please consider my vote carte blanche!

[nnozomi]

Will do! At least I know I'm not going to run out of things to translate any time soon.

[trobadora]

Thank you for sharing the farmboy words and the favourite songs! And good luck with getting your translation published!

[nnozomi]

My pleasure, and thank you too <3

[sakana17]

五花八门

I love this phrase.

Did the machinery manual mean if the machine was upended? I can't help imagining a sensitive machine that doesn't want its feelings hurt. Poor thing.

LTR has the best soundtrack going as far as I’m concerned

It's one that I'm never tired of. So, so good.

I love Jiang Dunhao's solo of 麦芒 (but the group version is always fun).

♥____♥ plum blossoms. Awwww, the cats. I like the composition and mix of textures in the one of ?stairway?, chain-link fence, plants, and wooden building.

ETA to add: I voted in the poll, but all of the choices sound interesting!

[nnozomi]

五花八门
I love this phrase.
Me too!

Did the machinery manual mean if the machine was upended?
Yup, we think that's it. Poor sensitive machines. (And I think we've seen a few of them, both upended and sensitive ;) )

The LTR soundtrack is so good. I didn't even link the Iron Triangle song or Bai Haotian's cute little one either...

I love Jiang Dunhao's solo of 麦芒 (but the group version is always fun).
<3 <3 <3

and glad you liked the photos! I had fun with the weird stairway one, it was such a collection of different things in one space.

[meikuree]

哇塞, which just means “wow,” I heard this in the voice of my relatives and laughed irl! due to regional inflections they pronounce it more like wa4 sei, it's almost onomatopoeiac.

all of those translation options sound delectable, I had a hard time picking. I chose Li Kotomi in the end, but I think I'd enjoy anything about seeing Japan or its history through the eyes of the periphery (here broadly meaning people who've lived on its edges or are connected to its shadow histories) and/or cross-cultural exchanges translated by you. The Hasuike Kaoru, Hara Takeshi and Akasaka Mari writings all sound great.

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

I felt this, so much. someone (a Korean --> English translator) once described it to me that translation is like solving an open-ended puzzle -- the structure is already in place and out of your hands, you're more concerned about linguistic or literary fidelity.

[nnozomi]

due to regional inflections they pronounce it more like wa4 sei, it's almost onomatopoeiac.
yeah, I think I've heard both! It's very fun.

Japan or its history through the eyes of the periphery (here broadly meaning people who've lived on its edges or are connected to its shadow histories) and/or cross-cultural exchanges
yup, all this is VERY relevant to my interests ;) At least I know I won't run out of things to translate any time soon!

translation is like solving an open-ended puzzle -- the structure is already in place and out of your hands, you're more concerned about linguistic or literary fidelity.
Yes, precisely! Nice. <3

[marycrawford]

I love your photos, you've such a good eye! That indignant kitty, aw. And the plum blossoms, so brave & early.

[nnozomi]

So glad you liked them <3 More plum blossoms should be on the way!