{"id":1200,"date":"2008-11-12T16:37:02","date_gmt":"2008-11-12T16:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/?p=1200"},"modified":"2008-11-12T22:15:29","modified_gmt":"2008-11-12T22:15:29","slug":"translators-challenge-fall-2008-politics-issue-jetaa-ny-newsletter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/2008\/11\/12\/translators-challenge-fall-2008-politics-issue-jetaa-ny-newsletter\/","title":{"rendered":"Translators Challenge – Fall 2008 “Politics” Issue (JETAA NY Newsletter)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Welcome to the second-ever JETAA NY Quarterly<\/a> Translators Challenge, from the Fall 2008 “Politics” issue. <\/em><\/p>\n

We once again invited JET alums and Friends of JET (i.e., anyone who wants) to take their best shot at translating a selected text. Why? Well, mostly to entertain, but also to give the greater JET alum community a chance to show their stuff as well as give the rest of us a fun way to study up on our <\/em>nihongo.<\/em><\/p>\n

The selected text for this edition of the Translators Challenge<\/strong> is an excerpt from \u201cPolitical Science<\/a>,\u201d the satirical 1972 song by Randy Newman<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Prize<\/strong><\/span>:\u00a0 $25 gift certificate to BOOK OFF<\/strong><\/a>, the discount Japanese boookstore on 41st St. between Madison & 5th Aves.<\/p>\n

Asia\u2019s crowded and Europe\u2019s too old
\nAfrica is far too hot
\nAnd Canada\u2019s too cold
\nAnd South America stole our name
\nLet\u2019s drop the big one
\nThere\u2019ll be no one left to blame us
\nWe\u2019ll save Australia
\nDon\u2019t wanna hurt no kangaroo
\nWe\u2019ll build an all-American
\namusement park there
\nThey got surfin\u2019, too<\/em><\/p>\n

Click here<\/strong><\/a> to see\/hear “Political Science<\/strong>” on YouTube<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

********************
\nTHE WINNER!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mia Simring<\/strong>
\n(CIR Aichi-ken, 2004-06)<\/p>\n

Omedetou gozaimashita<\/em> on
\nher second straight win!<\/p>\n

********************<\/p>\n

\u30a2\u30b8\u30a2\u8fbc\u307f\u3059\u304e\u3001
\n\u30e8\u30fc\u30ed\u30c3\u30d1\u30c0\u30b5\u3059\u304e
\n\u30a2\u30d5\u30ea\u30ab\u306a\u3093\u3066\u6691\u304f\u3066
\n\u30ab\u30ca\u30c0\u3000\uff0d\u3000\u5bd2\u3059\u304e
\n\u5357\u30a2\u30e1\u30ea\u30ab\u3000\uff0d\u3000\u6211\u304c\u540d\u3092\u76d7\u3093\u3060<\/p>\n

\u4e16\u754c\u3092\u3076\u3063\u6f70\u305d\u3046
\n\u53cd\u5bfe\u3059\u308b\u4eba\u9593\u3092\u6d88\u3057\u3061\u307e\u304a\u3046<\/p>\n

\u30ab\u30f3\u30ac\u30eb\u30fc\u53ef\u611b\u3044\u304b\u3089
\n\u30aa\u30fc\u30b9\u30c8\u30e9\u30ea\u30a2\u3060\u3051\u52a9\u3051\u3088\u3046
\n\u30a2\u30e1\u30ea\u30ab\u30f3\u904a\u5712\u5730
\n\u305d\u3053\u3067\u4f5c\u308b\u305e\uff01<\/p>\n

Ajia komisugi,
\nYoroppa dasasugi
\nAfurika nante atsukute
\nKanada – samusugi
\nMinami Amerika – wa ga na wo nusunda<\/p>\n

Sekai wo buttsubusou
\nHantai suru ningen wo keshichimaou<\/p>\n

Kangaru – kawaii kara
\nOsutoraria dake tasukeyou
\nAmerikan yuenchi
\nSoko de tsukuru zo!<\/p>\n

********************<\/p>\n

COMMENTARY<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Special thanks to professional translator Jamie Graves<\/strong><\/a> (Shizuoka-ken, 2002-03) for providing some commentary and insight. <\/em><\/p>\n

Mia clearly put a lot of thought into changing the distinctly American rhythms and humor of a folk song into Japanese.<\/p>\n

I was impressed at how Mia managed to avoid direct translation, instead finding uniquely Japanese ways of expressing the value judgements in the song. Instead of directly saying “old” in the line “Europe’s too old” she used \u30c0\u30b5\u30a4(dasai<\/em>, “not with it, uncool”), which conveys the contempt a lot better.<\/p>\n

She was also very good on keeping the translated text rhythmic and simple, replacing a potentially messy translation of “Don’t wanna hurt no kangaroo” with “\u30ab\u30f3\u30ac\u30eb\u30fc\u53ef\u611b\u3044\u304b\u3089” (kangaroo kawaii kara<\/em>), which manages to keep the humor and simplicity of the original. She even managed to rhyme the last verse!<\/p>\n

\n

<\/object><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome to the second-ever JETAA NY Quarterly Translators Challenge, from the Fall 2008 “Politics” issue. We once again invited JET alums and Friends of JET (i.e., anyone who wants) to take their best shot at translating a selected text. Why? Well, mostly to entertain, but also to give the greater JET alum community a chance […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[42,19,9,18,1,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-anecdote-article","category-contest","category-humor","category-translatinginterpreting","category-uncategorized","category-writers"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t