Forum - View topicHouse of 1000 Manga - Chihayafuru
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Maidenoftheredhand
 Posts: 2633 |
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^ So the bilingual editions keep the poems in romanji. But like I said both editions contain translations of all 100 poems (50 per book) in the back.
And it looks like they have completely different translations from the above. This is poem 9 (Translation really is fascinating and I always agree with those who say it is somewhat of an art). I sit in my room all alone, Enveloped in endless rain; Faded like the cherries, Spending my days in vain. |
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hpulley
 Posts: 408 |
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After seeing 5 different translations for poem 9 you can see why I prefer to just read it in Japanese myself...
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Maidenoftheredhand
Posts: 2633 |
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If I could read Japanese I'd buy all the manga in a heartbeat but sadly I do not have that ability. Still even with 5 different translations the meaning of the poem doesn't really change for me. |
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hpulley
Posts: 408 |
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And karuta is old style Japanese. So you can think of it sounding more like Shakespeare than modern poetry. By simply converting it to meaning, you lose all of that. I suppose you could kind of make it into fake Shakespeare to give it a bit of that feel but even that would be fake, doesn't give you the essence of old Japanese, sounding like old English. |
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Maidenoftheredhand
Posts: 2633 |
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The issue with translation is nothing is ever going to be translated 100% perfectly because languages are different. Some words do not translate or we do not have that same concept in our language. So yeah someone reading Shakespeare in a different language is never going to be able to read it the way it was originally written but that doesn't mean it invalidates the experience because the stories Shakespeare created or also special even if you experience them without the language. As for the double meaning of the poems I think it comes through in ALL the translations about the fading colors of the flowers (the one poem uses cherry but they could have been referring to Sakura) is equal to her fading youth & beauty. But is also a poem on the fading of time itself. In terms of Chihayafuru the meaning behind the poems is important to me because sometimes the poems used in the chapter/episodes help illustrate the themes of Chihayafuru itself. Also it is great that you understand how to read Japanese. I am sure everyone would want to be able to read these poems in their original language but if that is not possible that doesn't mean we are unable to appreciate the poetry. |
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hpulley
Posts: 408 |
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Understand the poems through translations, sure. Appreciate their sound, their lyrical quality separate from most meaning, sure. The same as appreciating poetry overall? I'm not sure. It is like modernized Shakespeare as I said, and I don't really think it works... even in English to English: http://nfs.sparknotes.com/sonnets/sonnet_1.html If all you learned was the abomination on the right hand side I don't think you could say you were truly appreciating Shakespeare. |
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Maidenoftheredhand
Posts: 2633 |
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I don't know that sounds condescending to me. I'd love to learn Japanese (beyond some basic conversation) but it takes a lot of commitment, work, and time that I personally don't have at the moment. And I know I don't spend hours and hours watching anime or reading manga, but when I do it is a break from work. Anyways a lot of fans do learn Japanese and that is wonderful but I don't think that makes them better fans or more appreciative of the work then those that don't. I think that is just silly. And maybe some people are more into the stories & character themselves than the cultural aspect which also doesn't make them any less of fans. As for Shakespeare I can read Shakespeare in its original language but I have seen Japanese interpretations of his work (for example Throne of Blood by Akira Kurosawa) and it was one of the best Shakespeare adaptions I've seen and yet it does not use the original language. |
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hpulley
Posts: 408 |
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Not meaning to sound condescending. It is a lot of work. If not for my obsession and being able to use it for work I wouldn't be able to stick with it. I just expected to find more with this (perhaps even unhealthy) obsession in these circles. There are a few but very, very far between. And I didn't say there can't be excellent adaptations, even better than the original. Just that I'm not sure you can use Throne of Blood to appreciate Shakespeare, that was my only point. Which I'm now playing like a broken record. So I will stop... |
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Maidenoftheredhand
Posts: 2633 |
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Then I apologize if I misinterpreted you. Trust me I do admire you and others who have put the commitment in to learn Japanese and in fact I don't think I would have this hobby if it wasn't for people who learned the language and could translate the works for me. And yes I realize there is always going to be something "lost in translation" that is just how it goes when you are a fan of international media. I unfortunately like a lot of things from different countries. I'd love to watch and understand anime in Japanese but hey I'd love to be able to read Les Miserables in French too but even though I can't I still feel a good story (or poem as in the original discussion) transcends language barriers.
I think where we disagree is that you need the "language" to appreciate Shakespeare. Don't get me wrong I do think the language is an important part of Shakespeare but it is not the only part and thus my point was people can get an appreciation for Shakespeare even without the language. Are they missing out on an aspect, sure. But better to miss out on one aspect than miss out completely. |
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Meygaera
 Posts: 324 Location: Maryland |
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K time to dust off my old laptop and import some Chihayafuru from the Land Down Under. It feels strange importing something licensed in a different country and different DVD region, in order to get a DVD from an entirely different country in an entirely different DVD region. Oh and for anyone who has watched the Siren Visual's Australian release, how are the subs? Are they the same as Crunchyroll's, especially how they translate the poems being read? |
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Banken
Posts: 1280 |
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If you use VLC it basically ignores region protection.
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