[Translation] Mad World (lyrics)

[4Seasons]

No need to get defensive lol. You added the "would" because of "if.." I am sure. Which is fine, like I said. This is just one of those songs that lose impact when translated focused on grammar and not meaning.

[BlackSilence]

Originally Posted by 4Seasons

No need to get defensive lol. You added the "would" because of "if.." I am sure. Which is fine, like I said. This is just one of those songs that lose impact when translated focused on grammar and not meaning.

thing is when translating something like japanese, and especially a song you cannot really get the actual meaning, unless an artist themselves write the english translation. Only they know exactly what they meant saying what.

I really love the things she's discussing in her lyrics on this album, It's gotten even better since i know what they talk about. Thanks a lot for the translations!!

[4Seasons]

Originally Posted by artcika

thing is when translating something like japanese, and especially a song you cannot really get the actual meaning, unless an artist themselves write the english translation. Only they know exactly what they meant saying what.

Yeah, I am aware of how difficult it is. I studied Japanese for a year at Leiden university. It's 5 years ago but I remember the difficulty about translation. It can be very ambiguous with multiple interpretations (which is also what's great about Japanese music).

However, in this case I really think the "grammatically accurate" English translation has a slightly different meaning than the Japanese. If you look at it word-by-word, yes, you get a wrong translation, but you do understand the meaning better along the way.

I feel a bit bad for hijacking tenshi's translation thread though LOL

[truehappiness]

Originally Posted by artcika

thing is when translating something like japanese, and especially a song you cannot really get the actual meaning, unless an artist themselves write the english translation. Only they know exactly what they meant saying what.

I really love the things she's discussing in her lyrics on this album, It's gotten even better since i know what they talk about. Thanks a lot for the translations!!

Closest we got was the "OFFICIAL" Tell All lyrics which was a bit slangy probably due to Timmy, also the phrases translated for TeamAyu Tour.

[4Seasons]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

Closest we got was the "OFFICIAL" Tell All lyrics which was a bit slangy probably due to Timmy, also the phrases translated for TeamAyu Tour.

Ooooh, where's that?

[Aderianu]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

Closest we got was the "OFFICIAL" Tell All lyrics which was a bit slangy probably due to Timmy, also the phrases translated for TeamAyu Tour.

What about few Love again videos at YouTube? They have English translation. I don't know how good it is

[truehappiness]

Originally Posted by Aderianu

What about few Love again videos at YouTube? They have English translation. I don't know how good it is

I don't know what Ayu's involvement is in those. I wonder if they had an SE Asian staff member do those since they also had Malay and Chinese among others.

[tenshi no hane]

Originally Posted by 4Seasons

No need to get defensive lol. You added the "would" because of "if.." I am sure. Which is fine, like I said. This is just one of those songs that lose impact when translated focused on grammar and not meaning.

No, that's not why. And I'm getting defensive because I'm tired of people thinking they know things better when they've only taken a few classes. If you still need to ask for romaji (in the flower thread), you obviously don't know enough to understand finer Japanese grammar.

[4Seasons]

@truehappiness: Thank you for posting! This is a great example of how a perfect translation is much less effective than a meaningful one, haha. I kinda wish Ayu would do some translations for all her songs. XD

Originally Posted by tenshi no hane

No, that's not why. And I'm getting defensive because I'm tired of people thinking they know things better when they've only taken a few classes. If you still need to ask for romaji (in the flower thread), you obviously don't know enough to understand finer Japanese grammar.

Doe even normaal, joh. Diep ademen.

[douggn]

Originally Posted by 4Seasons

@truehappiness: Thank you for posting! This is a great example of how a perfect translation is much less effective than a meaningful one, haha. I kinda wish Ayu would do some translations for all her songs. XD



Doe even normaal, joh. Diep ademen.

She could call it A TRANSLATIONS The complete lyrical work of hamasaki ayumi maybe with even some side note from ayu about some songs

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by 4Seasons

No need to get defensive lol. You added the "would" because of "if.." I am sure. Which is fine, like I said. This is just one of those songs that lose impact when translated focused on grammar and not meaning.

I think Tenshi no Hane's translation is good. After 8 years total living in Japan for me I think I have a pretty good sense on it and the truth is, Ayu's phrasing in this song is very stilted, so you do have to fill in the gaps a little bit to make it make more sense in English. Everyone is going to do that a little bit differently. The song makes perfect sense as it is in Japanese, but needs some more embellishment to get the same meaning in English. What's important is that the meaning of the song comes through and this translation does that.

The only part that I would really think is worth changing is the "Tell me" part. I would put "Please, tell me." Because saying Oshiete yo ne~, the nuance is very pleading, especially because she prolongs the ne. So even though she doesn't specifically say please, that is the implication. "Tell me" would be simply just oshiete; the "yo ne" part I find to be one of the most important parts of the song.

[tenshi no hane]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

The only part that I would really think is worth changing is the "Tell me" part. I would put "Please, tell me." Because saying Oshiete yo ne~, the nuance is very pleading, especially because she prolongs the ne. So even though she doesn't specifically say please, that is the implication. "Tell me" would be simply just oshiete; the "yo ne" part I find to be one of the most important parts of the song.

You make a good point. I agree adding "please" would match the pleading tone of the original better. I'll edit it.

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by tenshi no hane

You make a good point. I agree adding "please" would match the pleading tone of the original better. I'll edit it.

Thanks for all your hard work on these translations.