Forked Tongues

Translating for bilingual people

Sat, 17 Nov 2018 04:28:23 GMT

Posted by: pauamma

Excerpts from an interview of translator Daisy Rockwell

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African and Asian poets, and English translations

Mon, 07 Jul 2014 11:12:29 GMT

Posted by: spiralsheep

The Poetry Translation Centre, dedicated to translating works by African and Asian and Latin American poets into English (while further publishing the poems in their original language/script alongside), has launched a book to celebrate a decade of translations. This book, published by Bloodaxe, is just short of 400 pages and contains 111 poems by 45 poets in 23 languages (from Arabic to Zapotec). All the poems are presented in their original languages/scripts first and then in an English translation made through the collaboration of literal translators with respected English poets. It’s been sponsored by various worthy organisations and has a cover price of only £12. Bloodaxe are also intending to publish collections by some of the individual poets in the coming years.

My Voice page at Bloodaxe Books.

(1) Literary event in London with multilingual readings and discussions and (2) the official book launch in London with multilingual readings and discussions. I’ve been lucky enough to hear Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi from Sudan reading intensely in Arabic (modern standard, obv) and Reza Mohammadi from Afghanistan reading lyrically in Persian (Dari, amongst other dialects), and to listen to them both discussing poetry and translation in English, and I wholeheartedly recommend the experience.

The title of the book is taken from a poem by Partaw Naderi, translated as "My Voice".

My Voice by Partaw Naderi (written in Kabul, December, 1989)

I come from a distant land 
with a foreign knapsack on my back 
with a silenced song on my lips

As I travelled down the river of my life
 I saw my voice
 (like Jonah)
 swallowed by a whale

And my very life lived in my voice

 The Persian/Dari original poem. The literal translation is by Yama Yari and the poetic translation by Sarah Maguire.

There are many other poems freely available on the Poetry Translation Centre website. Enjoy!

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Blaga Dimitrova in English

Tue, 18 Mar 2014 09:58:20 GMT

Posted by: spiralsheep

Two differing translations of one Blaga Dimitrova poem, into English, at my journal (sorry, no Bulgarian original... yet...).

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Playlist: Multilingual Songs

Tue, 05 Nov 2013 21:18:17 GMT

Posted by: lea_hazel

My playlist came out fifteen songs long, of which many were recommended by this community. The playlist can be found on YouTube and the track listing is on my Tumblr. I will also be crossposting to AO3. Corrections and constructive criticism are always welcome.

The title is from a translation of a Leah Goldberg poem (originally in Hebrew) which I believe has been posted here. I'm not tagging all the languages that appear in the mix because there are so many and I think DW has a tag limit.

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הכניסי תחת כנפך/ביאליק | Under Your Wing/Bialik | Приюти меня под крылышком

Sun, 03 Nov 2013 18:56:05 GMT

Posted by: hagar_972

The poem Hachnisini tachat k'nefech ("Bring me under your wing", female addressee) is one of the better-known poems by Haim Nachman Bialik, an early Hebrew poet often considered Israel's national poet. (I cannot in good conscious fully get behind this title, because we had no-less-good ones after him, as seminal as Bialik's corpus is.) One of the primary reasons that Hachnisini is so well-enough is that it's been set to music a dozen-plus times and recorded about a gazillion; suffice to say, it's popular enough that musical reality shows contestants will pick it for their auditions. (I'm partial to Nechama Hendel's version from the 1950s, which tune - like so many Israeli songs - is ripped off Eastern European folk melodies; the best-known one is arguably Arik Einstein's from the 1980s. It's also worth noting that the tradition of setting poetry to music is primarily associated with Israeli-Hebrew rock, not folk.)

The poem is brought below in Hebrew, with translations into English and Russian. These translations were rendered in by Ze'ev Jabotinsky (born Vladimir Yevgenyevich Zhabotinsky). Jabotinsky was himself a complex figure, best known as a political leader and visionary. The Russian translation is earlier, and was published in 1916 as part of an anthology of Russian-translated Hebrew poetry. The English translation is later, presumably 1920s, and was given as a gift to Ronald Storrs, then the British Military Governor of Palestine.

I cannot evaluate the Russian translation as I do not speak or read the language, but the English translation is exquisite. The translations and their background were found via this blog post (in Hebrew).

Приюти меня под крылышком,
Будь мне мамой и сестрой,
На груди твоей разбитые
Сны-мечты мои укрой.

Наклонись тихонько в сумерки,
Буду жаловаться я:
Говорят, есть в мире молодость –
Где же молодость моя?

И ещё поверю шёпотом:
И во мне горела кровь;
Говорят, любовь нам велена –
Где и что она, любовь?

Звёзды лгали; сон пригрезился –
И не стало и его;
Ничего мне не осталося,
Ничего.

Приюти меня под крылышком,
Будь мне мамой и сестрой,
На груди твоей разбитые
Сны-мечты мои укрой…

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Bilingual and Multilingual Music

Sun, 06 Oct 2013 07:20:53 GMT

Posted by: lea_hazel

I'm trying to put together a music mix of bilingual and multilingual songs. However, I'm a little limited in my familiarity and I don't want to over-represent the two languages I do speak. Of course, I'm also interested in discovering amazing new music.

Does anyone have a favorite bilingual or multilingual song? One of my favorites is this version of La vie en rose in both Hebrew and French, by Corinne Alal, translated by Ehud Manor.

Note to mods: Please let me know if this post is outside the community's scope, or if I tagged wrong or broke any of the rules.

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Wed, 18 Sep 2013 08:39:43 GMT

Posted by: pauamma

https://chronicle.com/blogs/linguafranca/2013/09/17/keep-your-multilingualism-to-yourself/

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Jo Tum Aa Jaate Ek Baar - by Mahadevi Verma

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 12:25:41 GMT

Posted by: naad

जो तुम आ जाते एक बार

कितनी करुणा कितने सन्देश
पथ में बिछ जाते बन पराग
गाता प्राणों का तार तार
अनुराग भरा उन्माद राग
आंसूं लेते वे पग पखार

जो तुम आ जाते एक बार

हंस उठते मन में आर्द्र नयन
घुल जाता ओठों से विषाद
छा जाता जीवन में वसंत
लुट जाता चिर संचित विराग
आँखें देतीं सर्वस्व वार

जो तुम आ जाते एक बार

[ROUGH LITERAL-ISH ENGLISH TRANSLATION]

If you would come but once

how many emotions, how many communiques
as flowers, would the path be bestrewn with
every fiber of my being would be singing
the intoxicating melody of passion
my tears would wash those tired feet

if you would come but once

the sparkle would return to my tear-drenched eyes
the melancholy on my lips would be washed away
a new Spring would come into my life
my long-hoarded store of despondency would vanish
all that is mine, i would lay at your feet

if you would come but once...

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Looking for original language texts

Fri, 12 Jul 2013 11:26:54 GMT

Posted by: jjhunter

I'm posting some favorite poems-in-translation this week to the comm poetry, and would love some help tracking down the original language texts to include with the English translations. Does anyone know where I could find the original texts for the following poems? (Links, when included, go to the relevant posts to be edited at poetry.)

Breyten Breytenbach's "Breyten prays for himself" [Afrikaans]

Tanikawa Shuntarō's "Sadness" [Japanese]

Tomas Tranströmer's "Sketch in October" [Swedish]

~~Herberto Padilla's "Man on the Edge" [Spanish]~~ - all set! Many thanks to fixdrk

~~Yevgeny Yevtushenko's "Hand-Rolled Cigarettes" [Russian]~~

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Multiple translations of David Whyte's 'The Opening of Eyes'

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 12:43:44 GMT

Posted by: jjhunter

"The Opening of Eyes" by David Whyte @ poetry includes authorized translations of the English language poem into French, German, and Italian from the poet's website. Translators are Kim Mizrahi, Andrea Stendel, and Sabine Pascarelli respectively.

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Mon, 25 Mar 2013 22:15:50 GMT

Posted by: naad

chingari koi bhadake
[lyrics by Anand Bakshi, from the movie Amar Prem]

HINDI ORIGINAL
chingaaree koee bhadake, to saawan use bujhaaye
saawan jo agan lagaaye, use kaun bujhaaye
patajhad jo baag ujaade, wo baag bahaar khilaaye
jo baag bahaar mein ujade, use kaun khilaaye?

hum se mat poochho kaise, mandir tootaa sapanon kaa
logon kee baat naheen hai, ye kissaa hain apanon kaa
koee dushman thhais lagaaye, to meet jiyaa bahalaaye
manameet jo ghaav lagaaye, use kaun mitaye?

naa jaane kyaa ho jaataa, jaane hum kyaa kar jaate
peete hain to zindaa hain, naa peete to mar jaate
duniyaa jo pyaasaa rakhe, to madiraa pyaas bujhaaye
madiraa jo pyaas lagaaye, use kaun bujhaaye?

maanaa toofaan ke aage, naheen chaltaa zor kisee kaa
maujon kaa dosh naheen hai, ye dosh hai aur kisee kaa
majadhaar mein naiyyaa doobe, to majhee paar lagaaye
maajhee jo naaw duboye use kaun bachaaye?

ENGLISH TRANSLATION
if an spark flares up, the monsoon can extinguish it
but who will extinguish the fire the monsoon awakes within?
the garden which was devastated by Fall, will bloom once again in Spring
but one that is devastated in Spring, who will make such a garden blossom again?

ask me not how my castle in the air was laid to ruins
this is a tale not of strangers, but of those near and dear
my Beloved can distract me from slights inflicted by my enemies
but the wounds inflicted by my Soulmate, who will heal those?

who can say what would have happened, who knows what i would have done
i am alive as long as i drink, if i didn't drink i would be dead
when the world keeps me thirsty, wine can slake my thirst
but the thirst that wine leaves me with, who can quench that?

tis' true, no one can stand strong before a storm
it isn't the waves' fault, it is another's
mid-stream, if the boat falters, the boatman conveys us safely to the other shore
but if the boatman himself sinks the boat, who can save it?

[corrections/improvements most welcome :) ]

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Yeah, they should learn German, but which dialect(s)?

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 16:28:51 GMT

Posted by: pauamma

http://realgrammar.posterous.com/lexception-suisse (unfortunately, I don't speak any dialect of German, so I don't know what the linked article says, or in which dialect(s) of German, beyond the summary given in Real Grammar).

And relatedly, I'm wondering: which French dialect is taught first/only in areas of Switzerland where German, Italian, or Romantsch are the primary language?

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Two poems for National Poetry Day (UK)

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 22:29:36 GMT

Posted by: spiralsheep

I posted two poems for the UK's National Poetry Day at my journal. The first is Pia Tafdrup's poem for Norway, in Danish with an English translation. The second is a humorous piece about linguistic and cultural translations written by a Scottish poet about the English and the French, and using both languages.

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Tangaroa Whakamautai

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 16:32:23 GMT

Posted by: glass_icarus

Gorgeous song by Maisey Rika! Her English translation is provided in the video subtitles. ( cut for video: )

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大唐紅顏賦: Tang Dynasty women poem

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 04:31:18 GMT

Posted by: snowynight

Tang Dynasty women poem is made by a Chinese music group Mo Ming Qi Miao (墨明棋妙). These are all well known princesses and beauties in Tang Dynasty, China. Most of them languished in the sorrow of love. The bad translation is done by me.
( video )
( lyric )

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Ku Yie Zhi Die | 枯叶之蝶 | Love Story (music video)

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 16:25:53 GMT

Posted by: snowynight

Mo Ming Qi Mao (墨明棋妙) is a popular indie music group which combines traditional Chinese music element in their music. Their songs always has meaning and are of great quality. Today I'm sharing their first work: Ku Ye Zhi Die | 枯叶之蝶 | Love Story (music video).
( cut for the video )( lyric )

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Fourth Weekly Poems in translation master post

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 08:05:34 GMT

Posted by: snowynight

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Third Weekly post of translated Chinese poetry

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 03:53:18 GMT

Posted by: snowynight

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Second weekly post of translated Chinese poetry

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 09:53:12 GMT

Posted by: snowynight

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Możliwości | Wisława Szymborska

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 11:10:35 GMT

Posted by: carthaginians

translated by Stanisław Barańcza, Clare Cavanagh

"Możliwości"

Wolę kino.
Wolę koty.
Wolę dęby nad Wartą.
Wolę Dickensa od Dostojewskiego.
Wolę siebie lubiącą ludzi
niż siebie kochającą ludzkość.
Wolę mieć w pogotowiu igłę z nitką.
Wolę kolor zielony.
Wolę nie twierdzić,
że rozum jest wszystkiemu winien.
Wolę wyjątki.
Wolę wychodzić wcześniej.
Wolę rozmawiać z lekarzami o czymś innym.
Wolę stare ilustracje w prążki.
Wolę śmieszność pisania wierszy
od śmieszności ich niepisania.
Wolę w miłości rocznice nieokrągłe,
do obchodzenia na co dzień.
Wolę moralistów,
którzy nie obiecują mi nic.
Wolę dobroć przebiegłą od łatwowiernej za bardzo.
Wolę ziemię w cywilu.
Wolę kraje podbite niż podbijające.
Wolę mieć zastrzeżenia.
Wolę piekło chaosu od piekła porządku.
Wolę bajki Grimma od pierwszych stron gazet.
Wolę liście bez kwiatów niż kwiaty bez liści.
Wolę psy z ogonem nie przyciętym.
Wolę oczy jasne, ponieważ mam ciemne.
Wolę szuflady.
Wolę wiele rzeczy, których tu nie wymieniłam,
od wielu również tu nie wymienionych.
Wolę zera luzem
niż ustawione w kolejce do cyfry.
Wolę czas owadzi od gwiezdnego.
Wolę odpukać.
Wolę nie pytać jak długo jeszcze i kiedy.
Wolę brać pod uwagę nawet tę możliwość,
że byt ma swoją rację.

"Possibilities"

I prefer movies.
I prefer cats.
I prefer the oaks along the Warta.
I prefer Dickens to Dostoyevsky.
I prefer myself liking people
to myself loving mankind.
I prefer keeping a needle and thread on hand, just in case.
I prefer the color green.
I prefer not to maintain
that reason is to blame for everything.
I prefer exceptions.
I prefer to leave early.
I prefer talking to doctors about something else.
I prefer the old fine-lined illustrations.
I prefer the absurdity of writing poems
to the absurdity of not writing poems.
I prefer, where love's concerned, nonspecific anniversaries
that can be celebrated every day.
I prefer moralists
who promise me nothing.
I prefer cunning kindness to the over-trustful kind.
I prefer the earth in civvies.
I prefer conquered to conquering countries.
I prefer having some reservations.
I prefer the hell of chaos to the hell of order.
I prefer Grimms' fairy tales to the newspapers' front pages.
I prefer leaves without flowers to flowers without leaves.
I prefer dogs with uncropped tails.
I prefer light eyes, since mine are dark.
I prefer desk drawers.
I prefer many things that I haven't mentioned here
to many things I've also left unsaid.
I prefer zeroes on the loose
to those lined up behind a cipher.
I prefer the time of insects to the time of stars.
I prefer to knock on wood.
I prefer not to ask how much longer and when.
I prefer keeping in mind even the possibility
that existence has its own reason for being.

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Weekly post of translated Chinese poetry

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 04:33:01 GMT

Posted by: snowynight

Hi! I have been posting Chinese poetry and their English translation on my journal, to celebrate the poetry month. To not to spam the com, I 'm doing a sum up and hope you can enjoy it.

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Hill Speak by Zaffar Kunial

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:12:46 GMT

Posted by: spiralsheep

A poem about language, scripts, and translations, offered without translation, because I thought some of you would appreciate it.

Hill Speak by Zaffar Kunial

( There is no dictionary for my father’s language. )

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ein yahav | yehuda amichai

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 04:51:51 GMT

Posted by: carthaginians

translated by A.Z. Foreman

נסיעה לילית לעין יהב בערבה
נסיעה בגשם. כן בגשם.
שם פגשתי אנשים שמגדלים תמרים.
שם ראיתי עצי אשל ועצי אשליה.
שם ראיתי תקוה דוקרנית כמו תיל דוקרני
ואמרתי בלבי: אמת, התקוה צריכה להיות
כמו תיל כדי להגן עלינו מן היאוש.
התקוה צריכה להיות שדה מוקשים

A night drive to Ein Yahav in the Arabah.
A drive in the rain. Yes, in the rain.
There, I met people who grow date palms.
There, I saw great tamarisk trees and great risk trees
There, I saw hope barbed like barbed wire
And I said to myself: It is the truth. Hope must be
Like barbed wire to keep out our despair.
Hope must be a minefield.

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Mon, 19 Mar 2012 00:44:48 GMT

Posted by: naad

here's an abhang by Sant Tsokhamela. [the more common spelling is Chokhamela, but i'm following my ideology of transcribing rather than transliterating proper nouns and un-translatable words - and 'tsa' to my mind more accurately denotes the Marathi sound which is the pronunciation of the letter commonly Romanised as 'cha'. think of 'tsar' and you'll be pretty close.]

[original Marathi in Devanaagari]
ऊस डोंगा परि रस नोहे डोंगा | काय भूललासी वरलिया रंगा
कमान डोंगी परि तीर नोहे डोंगा | काय भूललासी वरलिया रंगा
नदी डोंगी परि जल नोहे डोंगे | काय भूललासी वरलिया रंगा
चोखा डोंगा परि भाव नोहे डोंगा | काय भूललासी वरलिया रंगा

[transliteration in Roman - long vowels doubled, short ones single]
Oos Dongaa Pari Rasa Nohe Dongaa | Kaaya Bhulalaasi Varaliyaa Rangaa
Kamaan Dongee Pari Teer Nohe Dongaa | Kaaya Bhulalaasi Varaliyaa Rangaa
Nadee Dongee Pari Jala Nohe Donge | Kaaya Bhulalaasi Varaliyaa Rangaa
Tsokhaa Dongaa Pari Bhaav Nohe Dongaa | Kaaya Bhulalaasi Varaliyaa Rangaa

[partial translation in Roman-script Hindi]
gannaa tedhaa hogaa par ras kharaab nahin hai | kyaa bhool gaye ho 'varaliyaa rangaa'
kamaan kuroop hogaa par teer tedhaa nahin hai | kyaa bhool gaye ho 'varaliyaa rangaa'
nadee tedhee-medhi hogee par paani tedhaa nahin hai | kyaa bhool gaye ho 'varaliyaa rangaa'
tsokha badsoorat hogaa par uska bhaav bhrasht nahin hai | kyaa bhool gaye ho 'varaliyaa rangaa'

[partial translation in Roman-script English - the second half of each line has been omitted]
A sugar-cane may be twisted and ugly, but the juice is not, it's still sweet
The quiver may be disfigured and misshapen, but the arrow is still straight and true
A river may be twisting and contorting, but its waters are not so
Tsokha may be grotesque and repulsive, but his mind is not impure

i couldn't find any translations on the Net of the second phrase in each line - "Kaaya Bhulalaasi Varaliyaa Rangaa" - if anyone has any clue how to translate it, please comment. as far as i can tell:

kaaya = what (Hindi: kyaa)

bhoolalaasi = have forgotten (Hindi: bhool gaye ho / bhool gayaa hoon)
rangaa = color-something??

you can hear a modern rendition of it via the 'Music:' link.

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ekla chalo re | rabindranath tagore

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 06:45:31 GMT

Posted by: carthaginians

যদি তোর ডাক শুনে কেউ না আসে তবে একলা চলো রে।
একলা চলো, একলা চলো, একলা চলো, একলা চলো রে॥
যদি কেউ কথা না কয়, ওরে ওরে ও অভাগা,
যদি সবাই থাকে মুখ ফিরায়ে সবাই করে ভয়—
তবে পরান খুলে
ও তুই মুখ ফুটে তোর মনের কথা একলা বলো রে॥
যদি সবাই ফিরে যায়, ওরে ওরে ও অভাগা,
যদি গহন পথে যাবার কালে কেউ ফিরে না চায়—
তবে পথের কাঁটা
ও তুই রক্তমাখা চরণতলে একলা দলো রে॥
যদি আলো না ধরে, ওরে ওরে ও অভাগা,
যদি ঝড়-বাদলে আঁধার রাতে দুয়ার দেয় ঘরে—
তবে বজ্রানলে
আপন বুকের পাঁজর জ্বালিয়ে নিয়ে একলা জ্বলো রে॥

Jodi tor đak shune keu na ashe tôbe êkla chôlo re,
Êkla chôlo, êkla chôlo, êkla chôlo, êkla chôlo re.
Jodi keu kôtha na kôe, ore ore o ôbhaga,
Jodi shôbai thake mukh firaee shôbai kôre bhôe—
Tôbe pôran khule
O tui mukh fuţe tor moner kôtha êkla bôlo re.
Jodi shôbai fire jae, ore ore o ôbhaga,
Jodi gôhon pôthe jabar kale keu fire na chae—
Tôbe pôther kãţa
O tui rôktomakha chôrontôle êkla dôlo re.
Jodi alo na dhôre, ore ore o ôbhaga,
Jodi jhôŗ-badole ãdhar rate duar dêe ghôre—
Tôbe bojranôle
Apon buker pãjor jalie nie êkla jôlo re.

If they answer not to thy call walk alone,
If they are afraid and cower mutely facing the wall,
O thou unlucky one,
open thy mind and speak out alone.

If they turn away, and desert you when crossing the wilderness,
O thou unlucky one,
trample the thorns under thy tread,
and along the blood-lined track travel alone.

If they do not hold up the light when the night is troubled with storm,
O thou unlucky one,
with the thunder flame of pain ignite thy own heart
and let it burn alone.

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