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Dear Guys,
Please share your experiences for the following question:
What is more difficult in translating lyrics? and how did you solve these difficulties and challenges?
Many thanks
Difficulties in translating lyrics
Hi, and welcome to LT! The most difficult part of translating? For me it's probably references. And parodies and metaphors. I always search for hidden meanings in songs, to the point where I start making them up myself. (Would Neurotech sing about being level 20 in AION? I think not.) So I go by the advice 'possible reality might serve you better than impossible dreams'. In other words, when in doubt, I opt for literal translation rather than an unconfirmed theory that just randomly popped up in my head. And if the reference seems way too obvious to be coincidental, I leave a footnote or two. That's how I cope. :D
Personally, the only time I have difficulties is with slang or colloquialisms. On transliteration, however (putting non-Latin script into Latin script), it's a different story, as pronunciation really does vary by ear.
Hope this helps! :D
Hi! For me it is idioms, slang phrases, dialects. For example It was a bit difficult to work with folk Scottish and Irish songs, especially if there were no written lyrics. And with old country songs either - had to learn some things about american history :)
Translating double entendres . . . (and those the others before me have mentioned)
I second that; idioms, slang, and cultural references. For this very reason I stay away from translating songs that include a lot of these things unless I have a native speaker to discuss how best to translate something.
Basically what everyone has already mentioned, my other difficult is the usage of phrases from another era or words in general that are no longer in use (but that were very popular at the time). If a song is obviously full of political references, I'm going to do my research first before even attempting to touch it, let alone translate it.
Apart from the points mentioned by others, I sometimes struggle to understand the lyrics. I translate from Hindi to English and Spanish. Most translation requests are for songs from Hindi movies and if I haven't seen the movie where a requested song appears I won't know the context, and that could be a hindrance in understanding the lyrics.
Very true [@petit élève], and sometimes it's too much of a hassle to do it anyway so why bother translating it? (also what song are you talking about? I have no idea about music by 21 pilots, I've probably heard them on the radio for sure but wouldn't be able to identify what).
If the research is fun, then do it. If the research is boring as hell, then don't right?
I forgot to point out that besides what I had mentioned, you wouldn't use terms like "babe" or "wifey" for terms of endearment in a song written before any of those terms existed. It's like hearing your grandmother sing a Nicky Minaj song with some obscure and old melody playing in the background (no offense to Nicky). Songs like that require time and a delicate touch, for me it's about doing the song justice but still keeping it simple enough that it would be understood by people today.
I'm all about references, you learn something new everyday that way and I don't really mind (unless it's references that hit 50+ then I'm probably going to think on it for a couple of weeks).
What I struggle with the most are really old, obscure or poetic words that sometimes even natives don't know. The thing is, they don't seem to exist in any dictionary so I don't know how people find these words to use in songs. I even ask some of my Swedish friends and they have no clue.
Idioms can also be a problem, since I have yet to find a resource for some Swedish idioms and their English meanings or equivalents.
Also, puns, but I actually don't see many of those in the songs that I translate.
Sometimes I struggle with slang, too, but Sweden has an equivalent to urban dictionary, so that's not a problem most of the time
Kids songs are weird too, they're either utter nonsense or use a lot of really old words.
For me, on top of all the idioms and slang already mentioned - dialects. English is pretty straightforward, but there are even some Bulgarian dialects I don't understand fully, and I am a native. I avoid translating traditional music for that very reason. Let alone any other language you've studied...
I also avoid the Rap genre - I have very hard time trying to make sense out of an extremely meaningless ranting. As someone who is bilingual on a daily basis, I always try to look from the point of the reader whether that is something they will understand.
@petit élève I feel the same about some English rap. I don't listen to French rap for a reason, but I do like a couple MC Solaar songs.
Many thanks everybody.
These are really great comments and opinions.
