Languages, The cornerstone of communication! But as there are many different countries, territories and cultures all across the world, not everyone speaks the same language. So, very often, we need translations. Popular books, movies, programs and websites, mostly everything gets translated today. But how do you make a good and faithful translation?
I have to somewhat translate my blog posts, as my native language is not English. I'm not sure translating is the right word though, I know the English language, I can think in it, so to speak. But still, mostly I think in German, my native language.
As it is my native language, it is easier for me to read books in it, especially more difficult books. I have been reading Romeo and Juliett in German (Schlegel-Tieck-Translation), and I was very pleased with it. You can still feel the old-fashioned way of speaking and writing, but I'd imagine it was easier for me in my native language. I watch most movies and TV series in English, as it's often way better in Original, simply because you cannot translate everything exactly, especially not jokes, even if the German translators try their best. They are very proficient in their field though, especially nowadays, and sometimes, I had the feeling the German dub was actually better/nicer than the Original (JoJos Bizarre Adventure Part Three had a truly great translation), but of course, this is always up to opinion. And again, as said, a joke will resonate more if it makes sense in the language.
I recently watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail in the original, English version; it was nice, but I had the feeling I would have enjoyed the German version more. I saw a clip on YouTube of the insulting Frenchman in German, and I found it way funnier. Probably because the English jokes/insults just don't hit as much resonate with me. It was still very fun and enjoyable, don't get me wrong. I just remembered being very amused by Life Of Brian, which I watched in German, with their "Schwanzus Longus" instead of "Biggus Dickus". (great movies!)
Let's get back to the translations. As of now, I have released three German covers of non-German songs (one was even Japanese originally!) (#1 (Emotions), #2 (Raise up your bat), #3 (Birdbrain)). And well, obviously I have noticed that I couldn't exactly translate them one to one. The hardest one was definitely Emotions/Kidoairaku , I had the feeling sometimes the Japanese said way more with less words/characters, so I had pretty thin space; I had to get creative with my rhymes. Also, I changed some verses completly; I oriented myself at the English translation of Freedom T1 subs; I got to be honest, I wasn't sure what a batting center was at first, and I feel like it would have been awkward in the lyrics. I have the feeling they aren't as common here. I know of them because of Yakuza 0.
So, generally I tried to get the general feeling and message across, not the exact same lyrics. It definitely worked better in some places. I also noticed this with Raise Up Your Bat and Birdbrain. With Birdbrain, the space was so thin, I had to change the lyrics completly. It was also interesting, because I translated my German translation back into English for my English viewers; it was fun to see how some things I could say much briefer in German, and others in English.
I feel like translations are a real art, and I enjoy making them. There was actually another song, I just threw out the love of my dreams, by Weezer, that I also translated to German using UTAU. But I think I decided against releasing it, I did the best I could, but I just wasn't too happy, I had the feeling it sounded awkward at times, and sometimes I tried to be too abstract/picturesque. Listening to it right now, I think it's better than I remember. I could probably release it. Hmm...
So, to summarize, translations are hard, and an art. Sometimes you have to say something entirely differently, as you cannot get the same phrase across like that. I think I once saw something about real life translators, like those working for politicians, also often say something like "The president made a joke, please laugh", because jokes are so hard to translate. If it's a pun, a play of words, of course it won't work. A good german example would be: Treffen sich zwei Jäger. Beide tot. (en: Two Hunters meet. Both dead.). The joke is that treffen means 'meeting' and 'hitting" in german, like if you hit a shot with a rifle, you are 'hitting something', 'du triffst!', same as meeting someone ('Wir treffen uns!').
Also, I have the feeling writing songs for me is easier in German. German is a harder language, especially with its cases, I have the feeling you can get away with more in English. (Stay tuned for my new UTAU album releasing soon btw! :>)