Translate, a poem by Benjamin Zephaniah

[spiralsheep]

For reasons that will become apparent, I prefer not to translate this poem by Benjamin Zephaniah (although I will interpret and elucidate on request). Note: author's dialect/accent is Brummie (i.e. from Birmingham, England), and English Rastafarian, and with Caribbean Island inheritances.

More Benjamin Zephaniah here: http://spiralsheep.dreamwidth.org/358757.html

Translate

Who will translate
Dis stuff.
Who can decipher
De dread chant
Dat cum fram
De body
An soul
Dubwise?

Wot poet in
Resident,
Wot translator
Wid wot
Embassy,
Wot brilliant
Linguistic mind
Can kick dis,
Dig dis
Bad mudder luvin rap?

Sometimes I wanda
Why I and I
A try so hard fe get
Overstood,
Mek we juss get
Afrocentric,
Dark,
Who in space
Who on eart
Who de hell we writing fa?

Sometimes I wanda
Who will translate
Dis
Fe de inglish?

Comments

[azuire]

I had a feeling his poetry was the latter, and I was right! Listened to him performing some on youtube and it's really come alive.

as someone who has multi-English accents, indeed, yes! though I don't think I necessarily need to access Brummie English in order to appreciate the poem, because some spaces belong to others, and one is a guest.

[spiralsheep]

I'm glad hearing Ben read his own worked helped.

I don't think I necessarily need to access Brummie English in order to appreciate the poem, because some spaces belong to others, and one is a guest.

Yes, definitely.

Im my previous comment I meant, hmm how to explain, that speakers of poshEnglish/theQueen'sEnglish/RP/received-pronunciation/upper-classEnglishEnglish seem to habe more difficulty understanding non-poshEnglishEnglish/Englishdialects than esl speakers. It's one of those "the less-privileged people need more knowledge and adaptability to get by than the more privileged people do" things, cos some accents/dialects are privileged over Others, especially in England where even minute differences in speech mark gulfs in social privilege.