Translation Help Thread

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

I got another of my eccentric ideas while watching today's match between Austria and France. I decided to dig up from my memories a poem I wrote when I was 18 years old. I remember having that on paper, but I also remember throwing that paper away when I changed apartment. So I had some hard time, I don't remember everything from French grammar and vocabulary, furthermore, I should be able to sing the poem as a part of my alternate lyrics for Sailor Moon's Moonilight Densetsu.

Here's just one version of the theme in question:



Almost everything I (have to) remember is here, and I want you, my friends, help me to see if it's grammatically correct and what kind of mistakes are there. The most difficult parts in yellow.

MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARIT me donne la force et l'amour
MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARIT gives me power and love
Si je vante les cheveux, elle me remercit
If I praise the hair, she thanks me

La beauté aux cheveux rouges Maarit
The beauty with her red hair Maarit
Au milieu du rêve elle est ma Maarit
In the middle of dream she is my Maarit
Aussi bien gentille que jolie Maarit
As well nice as pretty Maarit
Ce nomme je chuchote au vent
That name I whisper to wind

Thanks in advance. Later, we might want to change this into a general translation help topic.

[Gavin Luper]

I initially went ahead and interpreted this as requesting a translation from French to English, so I have posted the below to suggest how I would translate your French lines into English:

La beauté aux cheveux rouges Maarit
The red haired beauty, Maarit
Au milieu du rêve elle est ma Maarit
In the middle of the dream, she is my Maarit
Aussi bien gentille que jolie Maarit
As kind as she is pretty, Maarit
Ce nomme je chuchote au vent
This name I whisper to the wind

However, I just reread your post and it seems clearer that you were looking for help with rewriting the French lines to match the English ones ... is that right?

If so, it mostly looks fine to me, except for the "si je vante" line. It should be "ses cheveux", not "les cheveux". But the "me" you highlighted in yellow is correct.

Hope this helps in some way.

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

However, I just reread your post and it seems clearer that you were looking for help with rewriting the French lines to match the English ones ... is that right?

Yes I was, thanks for the help! For some odd reason, I have constantly had dreams about my French teacher's daughter (FYI, not my red-haired crush, my life's only date with her was almost exactly 10 years ago) recently.

I'll leave word 'French' there for some time, still, so I might get more opinions.

La beauté aux cheveux rouges Maarit
I also thought avec would fit here but thought it would sound stupid.

Au milieu du rêve elle est ma Maarit
I think it's just an indefinite dream, not THE dream. But I think you can't say it in French in any other way than du rêve because there's a genitive expression involved.

Ce nomme je chuchote au vent
A preposition issue again. There are much less of those little things in Finnish, only like in

ennen sotaa
before war

not in

tuuleen
to the wind

where it's shown by using a case called the illative.

Also, you must have noticed from my way to post that Finnish usually makes absolutely no difference between the English articles a, an and the.

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

I know this sounds horrible, but my German is so rusty. Here's a quick translation I made from a German Sailor Moon song. I used Google Translate, too.



Wie ein Feuer,
Like a fire,
lodert ihr Haar bis zum Himmel auf.
her hair blazes up to the sky
Wie eine Flamme,
Like a flame,
biegt sich ihr Körper entfacht im Sturm.
her body bends itself in storm.

Wie verhext und kaum zu glauben ist ihre Kraft.
Like jinxes and barely to believe is her power.
Sie warf die Liebe weg
She threw the love away
um sich ab jetzt nur dem Bösen zu stellen.
form herself and now to provide only evil.

Ich versteh nicht was du aus der Liebe machst
I don't understand what you do from love
was machst du nur,
what you do only do
wenn du aus diesem Traum erwachst
when you wake up from this dream
doch nur du allein, wirst im Kampf bestehn,
but only you alone, will stand in the fight,
egal wie hart er auch ist
now matter how hard he is

Du hast die Kraft und glaub daran,
You have the power and believe that
dass nur die Liebe siegen kann.
only love can win
Gegen das Böse mit all seiner Kraft,
Against evil with all her power,
gegen das Dunkel der Welt.
against the dark in the world.

Du hast die Kraft bei jedem Stoß,
You have the power with each shock,
wirst du Kämpfen erbarmungslos.
will you inexorably fight
Gegen die Mächte
Against the might
und gegen das schlechte in uns.
and against the bad in us

Wie ein Fels,
Like a rock,
steht Vertrauen, gegen Macht
is the trust, on the might
und wie vom Sturnt
and like it storms
wird jede Lüge weggefegt.
will sweep away every lie.

Sogar das Eis
Even the ice
schmilzt durch die Klarheit dieser Macht.
melts through the clarity of this power.
Züngelnde Flammen
Lambent Flames
sind durch die Wahrheit bald im Keim erstickt
are nipped in the bud by the truth soon

Du hast die Kraft der Ewigkeit
You have the power of eternity
hast keine Angst vor der Dunkelheit.
you have no fear for darkness
Gegen die Mächte im Dunkel der Welt,
Against the might in the dark of the world,
ewiger Wächter im Licht.
eternal watchman in light.

Du hast die Kraft und glaub daran,
You have the power and believe
dass nur die Liebe siegen kann.
that only love can win.
Gegen das Böse mit all seiner Kraft,
Against evil with all her power,
gegen das Dunkel der Welt.
against the dark in the world.

Du hast die Kraft bei jedem Stoß,
You have the power with each shock,
wirst du Kämpfen erbarmungslos.
will you inexorably fight
Gegen die Mächte
Against the might
und gegen das schlechte der Welt.
and against the bad in in the world.

[Austrian ViceMaster Alex]

Sorry for not replying earlier, only saw your message now.

Attached find the parts I would change ....


Wie verhext und kaum zu glauben ist ihre Kraft.
Like bewitched and hardly to believe is her power

um sich ab jetzt nur dem Bösen zu stellen.
to only face evil starting from now

Ich versteh nicht was du aus der Liebe machst
I don't understand what you make from love

was machst du nur,
What are you doing?

wenn du aus diesem Traum erwachst
when you awake from this dream

doch nur du allein, wirst im Kampf bestehn,
but only you alone will make it through the fight,

egal wie hart er auch ist
now matter how hard it is

Gegen das Böse mit all seiner Kraft,
Against evil with all its power,

Du hast die Kraft bei jedem Stoß,
You have the power with each strike

wirst du Kämpfen erbarmungslos.
will you fight without mercy

Gegen die Mächte
Against the powers/forces

und gegen das schlechte in uns.
and against the evil inside us

Wie ein Fels,
Like a rock,

steht Vertrauen, gegen Macht
is the trust, against the might

und wie vom Sturm
and like from a storm

wird jede Lüge weggefegt.
every lie will be swept away

sind durch die Wahrheit bald im Keim erstickt
are soon nipped in the bud by the truth

hast keine Angst vor der Dunkelheit.
you have no fear from the darkness

Gegen die Mächte im Dunkel der Welt,
Against the forces in the darkness of the world,

ewiger Wächter im Licht.
eternal guardian in the light.

Du hast die Kraft und glaub daran,
You have the power and believe in it

Gegen das Böse mit all seiner Kraft,
Against evil with all its might

gegen das Dunkel der Welt.
against the darkness in the world.

Du hast die Kraft bei jedem Stoß,
You have the power with each strike,

wirst du Kämpfen erbarmungslos.
will you fight without mercy

Gegen die Mächte
Against the forces/powers

und gegen das schlechte der Welt.
and against the evil in in the world.

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

Danke, Alex. I renamed the thread now so anyone can use this for any language translation.

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

Hola, mis amigos.

I haven't studied Spanish for a while, but I wanted to try how close I'd get by trying to translate this song from Spanish to Finnish. But first I must do it from Spanish to English because I need your help. Could you correct the parts where I went wrong, please? Thanks in advance.

Sonreír aunque tristeza sientas
To smile even if you feel sadness

Brinda un milagro alas para ti
It provides a miracle on your wings

Todos poseen una brillante estrella en su interior
Everyone holds a brilliant star inside

Jamás hay que rendirse Sailor Yell
You must never give up Sailor Yell

Sé que ya voy a atraparte Sailor Star
I know I'm going to capture you Sailor Star

Mi promesa se oirá en la galaxia
My promise will be heard through the galaxy

Desde el momento que desapareciste
From the moment you disappeared

Mi viaje para encontrarte pronto comenzó
My journey to find you started promptly

Sobre un viejo mapa está
On an old map is

Estampada la imagen de un ángel
stamped an image of angel

Indicando el camino a un oscuro
Indicating a route to a dark

Coliseo que aguarda por mí
Coliseum which waits for me

Tiembla el pecho al recordar
My chest quivers remembering

Aquel día el secreto beso
That day of the secret kiss

No importa cuán difícil
No matter how difficult

Sera el destino
The destiny will be

Seguiré hasta el final
I'll follow it to the end

Basta ya de arrepentirse Sailor Eyes
Now it's enough to regret it Sailor Eyes

Te voy a estar persiguiendo Sailor Wing
I will be pursuing you Sailor Wing

Esta canción es de las estrellas la señal
This song is a signal for the stars

Jamás hay que rendirse Sailor Yell
You must never give up Sailor Yell

Sé que ya voy a encontrarte Sailor Star
I know that I'm going to meet you Sailor Star

Con las alas de un ángel
With the wings of an angel

Emprendo el vuelo
I set of the flight

Por desconocida ruta sola yo corrí
To an unknown route I run alone

Hasta llegar aquí a esta fortaleza al fin
After arriving here, in this fortress, finally

En el fondo del frasco
In the bottom of the bottle

Quedó depositada una porción
Still a portion was left

De la estrella de la justicia
Of a star of justice

Que aguarda un mágico despertar
What awaits is awaking magic

Este ya es nuestro
Here it is, now, our

Milagroso destino
Miraculous destiny

Pasado y futuro
Past and future

Por ti cruzaré
To cross you

Volando te seguiré
I'm going to follow you by flying

Abandona la tristeza Sailor Eyes
Abandon the sadness Sailor Eyes

Y sucederán milagros Sailor Wing
And they will follow miracles Sailor Wing

Todos poseen una brillante estrella en su interior
Everyone holds a brilliant star inside

Jamás hay que rendirse Sailor Yell
You must never give up Sailor Yell

Sé que ya voy a atraparte Sailor Star
I know I'm going to capture you Sailor Star

Mi promesa se oirá en la galaxia
My promise will be heard through the galaxy

No mirar atrás si al frente estás
No looking back if you are in front of them

Esta canción es de las estrellas la señal
This song is a signal for the stars

Jamás hay que rendirse Sailor Yell
You must never give up Sailor Yell

Sé que ya voy a encontrarte Sailor Star
I know that I'm going to meet you Sailor Star

Con las alas de un ángel
With the wings of an angel

Emprendo el vuelo
I set off the flight

[Lady Vulpix]

Nice work, Mikachu!

The Spanish version of that song is written Yoda-style, but doing the same thing in English (as in "to smile though sadness you feel, provides a miracle wings for you") would probably sound very wrong. So I would transtate that as "to smile even if you feel sadness, a miracle gives you wings" (or "a miracle provides wings for you" if you want to be more literal).

"Aquel día el secreto beso" would translate to "that day the secret kiss".

Where it says "sera el destino" it should say "será el destino", but you still translated it correctly.

"Seguiré hasta el final" translates to "I will continue until the end".

"Basta ya de arrepentirse" translates to "enough with the regrets" (or more plainly "stop regretting").

"Esta canción es de las estrellas la señal" translates to "this song is the signal from the stars" (it says "from the stars the signal" but that's just twisted grammar).

"Sé que ya voy a encontrarte" translates to "I know I'm going to find you soon".

I think the best translation for "Emprendo el vuelo" would be "I take flight" or, if you want to be more poetic, "I take off and fly".

"Por desconocida ruta sola yo corrí" literally means "along unknown route alone I ran". Perhaps a better translation would be "I [ran/have run] alone along an unknown road".

"Hasta llegar aquí a esta fortaleza al fin" means "until I arrived here at this fortress at last".

"En el fondo del frasco" means "at the bottom of the jar".

"Quedó depositada una porción de la estrella de la justicia" would literally be "a [portion/slice/piece] of the [justice star/star of justice] was left deposited" but I guess just "left", without the "deposited", sounds better.

"Que aguarda un mágico despertar" means "which awaits a magical awakening"

"Este ya es nuestro" = "This is already our"

"Por ti cruzaré" = "For you I will cross (over?)"

"Volando te seguiré" = "Flying I will follow you" (or "I will follow you flying")

"tristeza" does mean "sadness", but perhaps "sorrow" would make more sense in this context.

"Y sucederán milagros" = "And miracles will happen"

"No mirar atrás si al frente estás" = "No looking back if you are in front" (there is no mention of "them").

The rest looks fine.

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

Thanks a lot, Lady Vulpix! The Finnish word order is very flexible, especially in poetry. Emphasis is the key.

[Lady Vulpix]

Interesting! In that case, you can have fun with the phrasing just like the writer of the Spanish version surely did.

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

An elderly lady wanted me to translate this text to Finnish from a Christmas present, it was in numerous languages but not in Finnish:

Bodenbeutel-Set

aus PP, lebensmittelecht - PP stand-up bag kit, food-safe - Kit de sachest PP, pour produits ailmentaires - Kit da sacchettini in PP, per ailmenti - Juego de bolsas de PP, compatibles con productos ailmenticios etc.

Funnily enough, eventhough I do have studied German and French, the Spanish text was the easiest to catch this time, even easier than the English one. I guess that's because each language explains things in different ways, not to mention I recently worked with a complex Spanish text.

Oh and there was also some Russian and Arabic, but I don't know how to write them with this Linux.