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Essays: Concepts
Sep. 29th, 2003 03:50 pmThere are a number of words in Japanese that I believe have long been inadequately translated. Actually, just about any translation between two languages is bound to be inadequate, but these are the ones that especially caught my attention.
Kawaii. This is typically translated as "cute". Well enough, as far as it goes, but it doesn't go nearly far enough to be understood in the majority of it's uses. I much prefer "adorable", because the word encodes the idea of being worthy of adoration. For example, "Watashi no kawaii imouto." Translating this as as "My cute little sister" just doesn't quite work. A common translation here is "My dear little sister," which is closer, but "My adored little sister" seems to me to catch the gist better. Similarly, it's hard to understand the direness of the insult "kawaii kunai" if we simply translate it as "un-cute". If you translate it, somewhat cumbersomely I admit, as "unworthy of adoration" you start to approach the connotation that the girl in question is a failure as a girl. The practice of "kawaii" is the practice of being adorable in the nicest linguistic sense.
Ii. This is even worse. In a general sort of way, "ii" means "good". The broadness of the concept, however, means that one can rarely translate it so. When Gojyou of Saiyuuki says that he's looking for "ii onna" we don't translate that as "good women" but rather as "hot babes". On the other hand, when Meryl, at the end of Trigun, says that Vash will return because he wouldn't keep such an "ii onna" as her waiting, she is not referring to herself as a hot babe; she means that she is a nurturing, loving soul who can cook and sew well and, given the circumstances, possibly also that she shoots a mean gun in defense of those she loves. The subtitlers, however, leave it at "good woman" because unpacking the full implications of "ii onna" here would be beyond cumbersome. Its non-adjectival uses are even broader. "Ii ka" can be translated fairly directly as "Is it good?", but "Is it all right?" is closer.
Ganbatte (ganbare, etc.). This is one of those exclamaitions that really can't be translated directly to good effect. Some common translations are "good luck" and "try hard". One could also render it as "Go Soandso!". The meaning is one that few Statesiders would associate with that kind of sentiment. Calling etymology to my aid, here, the root of these terms, if I have it right, is ganban, or bedrock. Thus, this cheer is an encouragement to "stand firm" and "endure." The go-get-em tone of voice usually used does not mesh well with those sentiments in English. The closest single word in English that I can think of to "ganbatte" is "persevere", but it's awfully hard to cheer on a friend by yelling "Persevere!". At least, it's hard to do with a straight face. I suppose there's always "stand and deliver," but that doesn't quite work either.
Kawaii. This is typically translated as "cute". Well enough, as far as it goes, but it doesn't go nearly far enough to be understood in the majority of it's uses. I much prefer "adorable", because the word encodes the idea of being worthy of adoration. For example, "Watashi no kawaii imouto." Translating this as as "My cute little sister" just doesn't quite work. A common translation here is "My dear little sister," which is closer, but "My adored little sister" seems to me to catch the gist better. Similarly, it's hard to understand the direness of the insult "kawaii kunai" if we simply translate it as "un-cute". If you translate it, somewhat cumbersomely I admit, as "unworthy of adoration" you start to approach the connotation that the girl in question is a failure as a girl. The practice of "kawaii" is the practice of being adorable in the nicest linguistic sense.
Ii. This is even worse. In a general sort of way, "ii" means "good". The broadness of the concept, however, means that one can rarely translate it so. When Gojyou of Saiyuuki says that he's looking for "ii onna" we don't translate that as "good women" but rather as "hot babes". On the other hand, when Meryl, at the end of Trigun, says that Vash will return because he wouldn't keep such an "ii onna" as her waiting, she is not referring to herself as a hot babe; she means that she is a nurturing, loving soul who can cook and sew well and, given the circumstances, possibly also that she shoots a mean gun in defense of those she loves. The subtitlers, however, leave it at "good woman" because unpacking the full implications of "ii onna" here would be beyond cumbersome. Its non-adjectival uses are even broader. "Ii ka" can be translated fairly directly as "Is it good?", but "Is it all right?" is closer.
Ganbatte (ganbare, etc.). This is one of those exclamaitions that really can't be translated directly to good effect. Some common translations are "good luck" and "try hard". One could also render it as "Go Soandso!". The meaning is one that few Statesiders would associate with that kind of sentiment. Calling etymology to my aid, here, the root of these terms, if I have it right, is ganban, or bedrock. Thus, this cheer is an encouragement to "stand firm" and "endure." The go-get-em tone of voice usually used does not mesh well with those sentiments in English. The closest single word in English that I can think of to "ganbatte" is "persevere", but it's awfully hard to cheer on a friend by yelling "Persevere!". At least, it's hard to do with a straight face. I suppose there's always "stand and deliver," but that doesn't quite work either.
