On the treacherous and miraculous art of translating
In Japanese, practically the whole of the natural world – the changing seasons, the different kinds of rain and wind, the clouds, the sun and the stars – are all represented by sound. Thus hyu-hyu is a light wind, pyu-pyu blows a bit stronger and byu-byu stronger still. The English translator is able to get round this with the help of breezes and gales, but the music is lost. More strikingly still, the Japanese also use sound patterns to express their emotional lives: they smile niko-niko, they weep shiku-shiku and they retch muka-muka.
Jennie Erdal, ‘Let there be light‘
[x]#2702 fan zaterdag 28 april 2007 @ 21:24:46
