#musings on translation

[metamorphesque]

Have you ever been frustated with your own translations because its not the same in other language?

It has different meaning (cultural?) or just don't have a word in english and you have yo use another

Worse if there is a pun or a play or words that you literally can't translate cuz its loses its meaning?

Yes, yes and yes to all of those questions.

Of course, things are bound to get lost in translation – sadly, it’s a given, and one must come to terms with it. But, let me tell you, Armenian and English are two very different languages. I never really noticed most of those differences until I started translating literature. Armenian is more forgiving when it comes to writing poetry.

Let me illustrate what I mean: in Armenian, you can often change the positions of words in a sentence, and the meaning will remain the same. This is because we have seven different grammatical cases, which makes learning the grammar quite difficult, but in return, the language becomes more flexible and less rigid. In English, however, there are only two cases: the common case and the genitive case.

In English, for example, you say:

“My heart will never forget you.”

However, you cannot change the positions of the subject and the object without switching to passive voice. You cannot say:

“You will never forget my heart” and keep the meaning of the previous sentence.

In Armenian, on the other hand, it’s not only possible but this trick is used quite often in literature to make sentences and lines sound more poetic. This is because words have different forms as subjects and objects of sentences. For example, the word “you” is “du” if it’s a subject, and “qez” if it’s an object.

Speaking of “you,” in Armenian it has two forms: “du” is “you” as singular, and “duq” is “you” as plural. The plural form is also used when talking to someone one respects or is not familiar with. This nuance, sadly, gets lost in translation.

These are just two minor differences. There are so many more. Don’t even get me started on the words that don’t have accurate equivalents in English. Armenian poets also tend to make up new words in their poems – another beautiful hurdle.

But I guess the thing that I find the most challenging, especially while working with classic poems, is keeping the rhymes of the original. A lot of beauty lies in the way the words sound next to one another, the way the lines sound following each other, and the way the poem overall sounds. I try to stay as faithful as possible to the sound of the original work.

Having said all of this, through translating Armenian poetry I rediscovered the beauty of my native tongue. It’s so special and unique; one must treat each word with reverence.

Anyways, I hope I didn’t bore you to death.

[beepboopappreciation]

I always see people talk about how cool becoming a cyborg would be, replacing parts of our flesh with metal and pistons and cool gadgets.

Why don't we talk more about the horror that is the opposite of that?

A computer who grafts lab-grown skin in patches onto their own form to feel. To experience a gentle and cool breeze passing by, or the oppressive sweat-inducing heat that their systems produce.

A robot with an organic eye to help them see as their creators once did. Imperfect, sure. But it seems to have quite an uneasy effect on organics, and doesn't that make it more than worth it?

A machine with blood coursing through its systems, flowing through the central chambers, in and out of its beating heart. Perhaps if the heart holds up, it could add lungs to help circulation.

A being that resembles a man at a distance, but upon closer inspection it is clear that he is instead a cacophony of skin, mismatched body parts and features, with just a few robotic limbs and mechanical parts visible. It smiles at you, the wide grin revealing that none of its teeth match.

He lurches toward you, hair from at least three different scalps falling carefree in front of its shoulders. You take a step back.

Where is the line drawn between cyborg and robot with human parts? Do you know? Does it know? Does anyone know?

It gets closer. You continue to retreat. Your back brushes against a wall.

You don't know where that line is, you've decided, but you're positive this individual has crossed it.

Having cornered you, it reaches its mechanical hand out, fingernails grafted on the metal tips. You blink, locked completely still from fear for just a few moments. It angles his hand in invitation. He wants you to take it. You hesitantly accept.

Under the metal you can feel . . . something, flowing, pulsing just beneath the surface wanting to escape. It's warm.

"Wh.. what do you want?" You manage to sputter out.

The being shakes your hand, his smile returning. "A friend," it replies.

[salvadorbonaparte]

The way people post about subtitles and dubs and other forms of translation on here makes it clear they think translators are inherently untrustworthy and unprofessional. I have rarely seen so much distrust and skepticism towards a profession as "invisible" as this

[mournfulroses]

Alexander Blok, from a poem titled "To The Muse," featured in The Twelve & Other Poems

[visualtaehyun]

So I watched this roundtable discussion by GMMTV and am already bemoaning that it's unsubbed (as of yet) because it means no one on this site is talking about it djshdhsjs

"Where do Y & sapphic series stand in the LGBTQIA+ community?"

It's hosted by Pompam Niti and features: - director and producer X Nuttapong - writer/novelist Best Kittisak aka Ninepinta - screenwriter Bee Pongsate - and several GMMTV artists, i.e. Golf Kittipat, Love Pattranite, Milk Pansa, Joss Wayar, and Mark Pakin

I find the choices fascinating cause Mark has played opposite people of every gender and starred in countless QLs; Joss played bi and poly 'Neo' in 3 Will Be Free; MilkLove are the only koojin present and representing GL, with Love also being the youngest there; while P'Golf has been in the industry the longest, plus she's the only one who's trans at the table. As for the behind the scenes side, Khun X has worked on almost every GMMTV QL ever lol and ever since I translated that Twitter Space snippet where he talked about the marriage equality lines in Cherry Magic, I find his point of view really interesting; Khun Best is the only original author and thus has experience in the publishing world; and Khun Bee has written for lots of well-known BLs since 2019.

Hope it gets subbed at some point 🙏 I'm not catching some of the details, unfortunately, because P'Pompam's using too many new words for me djsjhds i was like reverse-engineering his long-ass questions based on the answers everyone gives lmao

EDIT: Here's a clip translated by Iris OG that covers the first talking point, as well as a few more translated parts by several translators on twt ✨

[melverie]

Am I going clinically insane for real this time or did they actually refer to Lucifer as "daddy" in his newest Wanderers' Whereabouts thingy

edit: proof

[littlecrow4]

Two versions cause I couldn’t decide a skin tone

This took 5 fucking hours

And it’s bills fault lmao that suit took forever

Captions

Bill: Ha-Ha Don’t get to excited Sixer!!

Ford wraps his tail around his leg for comfort

[dearorpheus]

"In ways that are often hard to articulate but run through everything, my work has been deeply informed by my own experiences. I have been reading Homer throughout my adult life. Whenever I hear blustering winds and rain-storms, surging rivers or choppy seas, when I watch a flock of geese or a swooping hawk, when I walk through rustling woods or up a mountainside, I know I am inside the world of Homeric similes. Even the most trivial moments of daily life remind me of Homer. I notice that my feet are not "well-oiled" whenever I tie my sandals on. I cannot watch my dog happily rolling in mulch without thinking of Achilles, prostrated in grief and tossing around in the dust. More seriously, the poem gives me a language to understand my deepest emotions and those of people around me. When I weep for my mother, who died recently in a distant land, I remember the grief of Achilles and of Priam. The Iliad is with me always."

— Emily Wilson, in the translator's note of her Iliad

[solacium]

presence // aventurine

he'll never outrightly ask you what it is, not at the outset.

he might find you curled on the couch, quiet, trying to breathe out the something in your chest that writhes and constricts, or in tears, but he won't ask, only sit quietly with you, lean against you, the weight of him enough to reassure you of his presence. maybe you reach for him, curl into the hollow of his body, and he'll let you, hold you until the tears stop, or you can feel your hands again, or you fall asleep, to the steady rhythm of his heart.

you'll wake, or look at him, and he'll speak, then, maybe look back at you with those iridescent eyes that you love, as he asks, softly, if you're feeling better, if you want to talk about it.

he'll keep you company, either way, listening. there is a steadiness in the weight of his arms around you, in the even beat of his heart against your back. you'll have to move, eventually, one of your legs falling asleep under you, and you'll both laugh, and shift. he gently disentangles himself from you, to get you something to drink. you settle back down, curled around each other, talk quietly until the sunlight changes.

[andy-wm]

"Let's all have harmony"

I noticed something while i was answering this ask , and it makes a massive difference to how we read the lyrics of Jimin's new song, Smeraldo Garden Marching Band.

The song starts with:

"Say-oh,

여러분을 위한 harmony"

This is translated on the music video as

"Say-oh

This harmony is just for you"

This isnt accurate AT ALL ... it doesnt give any indication of whatJimin is actually saying:

"여러분을 위한 harmony", literally means,

"many people + for + harmony"

Or

"Harmony for all (of you)"

By using the English word harmony, Jimin gives this line two meanings:

Harmony in music - pleasing sound produced by 2 or more notes

Harmony in life - being in agreement/accord; lining together peacefully

The line can be interpretted as

'This melody/song is for everyone'.

It can equally be interpreted as

"Let's all have harmony"

Jimin is asking us all to accept and celebrate our differences 🦄🌈🏳️‍⚧️

This makes so much sense given the content of the song and the music video.

Just a note: It seems like these lyrics might have been translated automatically, because G00gle Translate gives the version used in the MV.

This really shows why understanding nuances in language, and human translators, are so important.

*I checked my interpretation with a native Korean speaker

[jmdbjk]

Be Mine...

Movin’ comin’ lovin’, yeah yeah yeah Movin’ comin’ lovin’, yeah yeah yeah Movin’ comin’ lovin’, yeah yeah yeah Movin’ comin’ lovin’, yeah yeah yeah

A hot island A party with just the two of us I know what you want And baby I want the same

Love ‘til the morning We just keep fallin’ Anyway our DNAs are connected

Baby come, baby come Show me what Show me what love is, yeah yeah Melt me hot, hot Hot quickly

Lovers come and go In and out of my heart The more I fall in I only keep going deep Like this forever If I could have you (to me)

I want you to be mine I want you to be mine I want you to be my...

Movin’ comin’ lovin’, yeah yeah yeah I want you to be mine Movin’ comin’ lovin’, yeah yeah yeah I want you to be mine Movin’ comin’ lovin’, yeah yeah yeah

I want you to be mine I want you to be mine I want you to be my...

Don’t need to worry Just follow my lead So I can fill up your heart fully

Baby come, baby come Show me what Show me what love is, yeah yeah Melt me hot, hot Hot quickly

Lovers come and go In and out of my heart The more I fall in I only keep going deep Like this forever If I could have you (to me)

I want you to be mine I want you to be mine I want you to be my...

Movin’ comin’ lovin’, yeah yeah yeah I want you to be mine Movin’ comin’ lovin’, yeah yeah yeah I want you to be mine Movin’ comin’ lovin’, yeah yeah yeah

I want you to be mine I want you to be mine I want you to be my...

Dancing under the moonlight Take it slow Only you and I stay up the night If my heart could reach out to you

I want you to be mine I want you to be mine I want you to be my...

Movin’ comin’ lovin’, yeah yeah yeah I want you to be mine Movin’ comin’ lovin’, yeah yeah yeah I want you to be mine Movin’ comin’ lovin’, yeah yeah yeah

I want you to be mine I want you to be mine I want you to be my...

Movin’ comin’ lovin’, yeah yeah yeah Movin’ comin’ lovin’, yeah yeah yeah Movin’ comin’ lovin’, yeah yeah yeah Movin’ comin’ lovin’, yeah yeah yeah

translated by: www.learnkoreanwithsel.com/

[metamorphesque]

when you're translating, mustn't it be difficult not to get distracted by the splendour or pain of these poems? how do you sit down and review things solely academically?

oof that's a good one!

(First, I'd like to preface this by saying that I'm not a professional translator, nor do I have any formal qualifications in translation. Of course, I don't believe that either is strictly necessary to translate, but I wanted to mention this as my answer might differ greatly from what you’d get from “professional and qualified” translators.)

For me, translating poetry is like walking a tightrope between two worlds — the academic and the deeply personal. It’s not just about the mechanics of language or a, so to say, clinical transfer of meaning; it’s about diving into the soul of the work and letting it resonate with you and within you. The beauty or pain of a poem isn’t a distraction—it’s the very essence that guides the translation. The emotional pull isn’t something to avoid; it’s the core that makes the work meaningful.

When I translate, I’m not doing it solely academically. The academic aspect provides the structure, like the bones of a body, but the emotions, the beauty, and the pain are the flesh and blood that give it life. Of course, it’s easy to get carried away by the beauty and tenderness, and in my opinion, it’s only by "losing yourself" to the poem and letting it flow through your veins that you find the right words and sentiments to express the "heart" of the writing. It’s a dance between precision and passion.

Additionally, I think the fact that I’ve spent my life surrounded by these works makes me more receptive and my skin more permeable to them. I don’t know. A great question—a mess of an answer hehe

[origami-trust]

Dracula, May 28th: Here he caught sight of the strange symbols as he opened the envelope, and the dark look came into his face, and his eyes blazed wickedly—"the other is a vile thing..."

Dracula, Sept 25th: He opened it, and for an instant his face fell. Then he stood up and bowed. "Oh, you so clever woman!" he said.

a quick contrast here in how the opposing sides view shorthand, a message they cannot read: Dracula is furious, he is cruel; how dare Jonathan withhold information, how dare he think he has any power in his situation, how dare think he have anything beyond what Dracula chooses to give him. He promptly burns the letter, in front of him, to show Jonathan how helpless he is Van Helsing, in desperate need of this information, and though upset - gracefully accepts this joke, and asks for help. He acts charmingly, he doesn't use his Stern Talking to Women Voice (c) to tell Mina she must not do this, they part as the start of dear friends

[salvadorbonaparte]

I have to use AI for one assignment this year but I feel like such a technophobe being the only anti AI person in my cohort

[cherrylng]

Pic: Dominic, who jokingly picked up a piece of confetti and stuck it to his teeth. The band members were very high just after the show.

Photo by MIHO KATO

INROCK (September 2002)

[haeyeongs]

Ever wondered why we should go against these kinds of ads, Eri? WAKAKUSA MONOGATARI (2024)