How to translate songs “professionally” for dummies

About six months ago I promised to write a post in which I was going to tell about “how to translate”, but quickly realized that I would not be able to tell anything traveling in one short text, and quickly abandoned this business. Today I decided to approach the "shell" from the other side and gradually illuminate some little things. I immediately note that I am not a professional, Corresponding educational institutions, courses, seminars, webinars and other educational pieces did not attend, but all the following – Free exposition of one’s own experience and thoughts.

More recently, I came across a request that notorious comrades in narrow circles and became interested in the result of their search. The options seen did not satisfy me at all, and since I did not master my own, “true” option in mind my hypertrophied laziness, I wished to express my complaints in the form of a sort of list of basic rules and tips. On the example of … the official dubbing of the key musical composition “Let it GO” from the cartoon “Frozen”, which has already seriously vasted to everyone, but as an example it seems to me perfect.

Translation of songs is one of the most time -consuming and complex tasks of the translator. It requires not only a good understanding of the original language, an excellent knowledge of the native language (and as you know, the artistic translation is not into native language in extremely rare cases really good), but also the presence of hearing, a sense of rhythm, and the skills of poetic. And those who want to immediately write a “final” option in absentia “dig a grave” in absentia. Therefore, I will tell you how to do everything gradually and in stages.

First of all, the song needs to be well listened to a couple of times. First without text before my eyes, and then checking with it. Our task is to catch the general mood of the song, tonality, rhythm. Nothing supernatural and requiring musical education, but if we can pick (mumble) a song in the trace of the performer in an approximate comparison, then this is already enough.

Now we read the text carefully. We are looking for a translation of unknown words, we denote stable phrases and phrases used in a figurative meaning in the text. They are our main goal. With an eye on the context (both the internal and the context of the visual series and history as a whole, if this is, of course) we must choose the maximum value in Russian. This meaning does not have to be consonant and consist of a pair of words. The main thing is to understand that this or that phrase carries in this segment of the text, and we will be later to select consonant synonyms later. By the way, stable combinations in this regard play a rather cunning role. On the one hand – they are the greatest headache at the translation stage, and on the other, with the proper ingenuity and creativity of the translator, they can be manipulated with a huge scope, choosing rhyme and length for almost any case.

Perhaps not the right option, because the already adapted version of the translation is given here … But, I hope, it will work to explain something and so.

One of the most controversial among sofa analysts is the decision of the author of the Russian text. Moreover, the topic is quite complicated, because it is impossible to talk about the unequivocal rightness of those or another. The expression “Let it GO” is meaningful, and people who are eager to find the hidden meaning, and its interpretation can be at all (although many disputes simply partially confused it with “Let it be”). Personally, I immediately picked up “it went all” (which, incidentally, goes to music perfectly) 🙂 but in general, the translator’s solution seems to me brilliant – to use the word “release”, which is also a literal translation of “let it go” and at the same time contains a large number of portable values ​​that intertwine with the values ​​of “Let it GO”. "And forget" here, too, did not come by chance. The need to change the second part of the line is due to the most part in that “let go, let go” in the Russian language does not sound, but rejects the invested deep value by the lower one (it seems that someone grabbed the heroine). At the same time, “and forget” on the contrary – strengthens the meaningfulness of “release” (being, in fact, one of its portable values. Confusing, but beautiful, true? ;)), while logically fits with the context of the plot and is a support for the next controversial moment.

Literally "there is no https://gxspincasino.co.uk/login/ strength to hold back". However, we remember that phrases with a figurative meaning should be attentive carefully. In this case, we are looking for a subtext and look at its role in the song. With this line, the author of the text says that Elsa is not just tired of hiding her abilities, but that Elsa finally decided to accept her gift (And the singer with her sonorous, slightly aggressive voice only helps us to see this subtext). And in “what has passed – no longer to return” the line has turned already when information into the verse. Forest, the main meaning has not changed, and direct – refers to the end of the previous line "… and forget" and does not contradict the context of the cartoon.

It’s Funny How Some Distance
Makes EVERYTHING SEEM Small
And the Fears that once Controlled Me
Can’t get to me at all

Here we are interested in the first two lines. The hopeless situation with the Makes EVERYTHING SEEM SMALL was not so hopeless. The translator rudely used the same way, wrapping the “SOME DISTANCE” in “I run higher” (at the same time, adding “to the ice surface”, and as the personification of the beginning of a new life, and in the form of a description of what is happening on the screen), and part with “Makes EVERYTHING SMALL” – lowered, leaving the semantic and emotional stress phrases for the last two. Yes, and So you can also. It turned out well, but? 🙂

And t.D. The main methods of applying these methods used in the song, I seemed to show. However, if there are still questions regarding the dubbing of “let it go” – ask 🙂

When the text is studied, the caresses, the exact translation and meaning is known – we proceed to bring it into a proper, poetic view.

Stage 1. Search for "struggle"

Yes, precisely "stiffeners", because at this paragraph we work only with the original text. The number of types of rhymes in different languages ​​differs, but between Russian and English it is almost equal (~ 11) and is similar in quality composition. However, to study the same Wikipedia for studying everyone is not at all – with careful reading and pronunciation, they are found without special knowledge.

The aim of this paragraph is the marking of the original text for the zone of its individual parts and words. It is not the rhyme itself that is important to us, but its presence and location. As an example, I noted rhymes in a small excerpt “Let it GO” with purple color.

Stage 2. Breaking into intonation parts and calculation of syllables

All this has scientific names and many terms in which the devil will break my leg, but I am a lazy and stupid person to memorize all this, so I do everything “by eye” without in a way into details. But the essence of this changes little 🙂

Now we listen/sing the text several times, first separating the lines with intonation pauses (usually with punctuation marks, but not always), and then counting the number of syllables (pronounced) in each part. Below in the same passage I divided the text into intonation parts with blue dashes and inscribed the number of syllables over each green color.

Stage 3. Stress arrangement

Listen, arrange intonation rises. In a good way, at this stage it was possible to get a type of foot (iambic, chorea, etc.p.), however, this is not always so simple, and we will go along the lazy path. Stressed with red arrows.

What we got in the end? A clear, rather strict scheme, having fitted into which we can create a translation that will perfectly fit into the music (if we do not make errors in the scheme;)). Something does not fit? Do not worry, a couple of tricks just below.

Stage 4. Writing a verse – imposition of a translation into a diagram

Well, now the hour is the time. The last hours, and even two we fought for that. to make the fate on this path as easier as possible. It doesn’t seem so? And you try 🙂
Finally, a couple of notes:
1) In fact, the presence of a rhyme between the parts of the stanza is more important than its location, so sometimes it is possible and should be used by other types of rhymes than in the original.
2) you can add a little darling – as is presented in our example today, but it should not bear the meaning that is not included in the original.
3) Try to use the same vocabulary as in the original. Children’s songs with curses are immoral to translate, but rather stupid.
4) sometimes you can violate the number of syllables by 1, if later it does not stand out when singing, but it is better to use words in such situations where the excess is absorbed and not pronounced. (For example "Back to Tamriel " -"ReturnBut to Tamriel ").
5) Feel free to ask your comrades. You never know where the ingenious option falls from 🙂