traevoli ([info]traevoli) wrote,
@ 2007-08-10 01:57:00
Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Limerick translated // Limeriko tradukita
So today I was asked by [info]ghedji (whom I like to call Jedi Ghoti) if I would be translating any of my poems from NASK to post here on the blog. I explained that I wouldn't be publishing any literal translations, because they come out flat and dry, and even a little corny. Then I complained that employing rhythm and rhyme is extremely difficult especially when trying to retain the meaning and feel of the original. I also warned that the originals weren't very good, and might not be *worth* translating. But despite this, I found myself attempting the very thing I had all but claimed was impossible.

Do hodiaux [info]ghedji demandis cxu mi tradukos poemojn de NASK por meti en mian blogon. Mi klarigis ke mi ne eldonos lauxvortajn tradukojn, cxar ili igxas senvivaj kaj sekaj, kaj ecx iom mokindaj. Poste mi plendis ke ritmo kaj rimado estas tre malfacile uzeblaj, precize tiam kiam oni volas gardi la signifon kaj senton de la originalo. Mi ankaux avertis ke la originalaj poemoj ne estas tre bonaj, do eble ne estos tradukindaj. Sed krom tio, mi trovis min penanta tion kion mi plimalpli pretendis esti neebla.

It was a short verse, but I worked on it for about two hours. A lot of that time was spent fighting with a single word ('viracxo'). It's such a simple idea to express and understand in Esperanto, but because it's built from simple roots, it's not readily found in a dictionary. I employed various thesauri, but not with much luck. I realized that it wasn't a book of synonyms that I needed, but a book of 'similyms'. The only translations I could think of were adjectives, but I needed a noun. Well, in the end I found something I was relatively happy with. The limerick isn't a great translation but, as my roommate pointed out, it is a bit more suggestive than the original, so it's not a total loss.

Gxi estis mallonga strofo, sed mi prilaboris gxin dum cxirkaux du horoj. Multe da tiu tempo pasis pro mia klopodo pri la unusola vorto 'viracxo'. Gxi estas ideo simple esprimebla kaj komprenebla en Esperanto sed, pro tio ke gxi konstruigxas el simplaj radikoj, gxi ne trovigxeblas en vortaro. Mi uzis kelkajn tezauxrojn (vortarojn de sinonimoj) sed vane. Mi eksciis ke mi ne bezonis tian libron, sed libron da similaj vortoj. Mi nur kapablis traduki al anglaj adjektivoj, sed necesis substantivo. Nu, fine mi trovis ion kio suficxos. La limeriko ne estas bona traduko sed, laux la rimarko de mia kunlogxanto, gxi estas iom pli sugesta ol la originalo, do eble gxi valoras.

As first printed in the 2nd edition of the NASKa Fasko 2007 (http://www.literaturo.net/naskafasko/2007/numero.aspx?n=2):

Laux gxia unua eldono en la 2-a numero de la NASKa Fasko 2007 (http://www.literaturo.net/naskafasko/2007/numero.aspx?n=2):

Al maro ni iris por naĝo,
Sed ridis ni pri avantaĝo.
Videblis ke jen
Viraĉoj eĉ sen
Vestaĵoj do banis ĉe plaĝo.



Kaj jen mia (1-a) traduko /
/ And here's my (1st) translation:

We went to the sea to go swimming.
With laughter we were simply brimming
for there at the beach
we saw chest and breech
of scoundrels sans clothes therefore whimming.


(Post a new comment)


[info]kittygomeowr
2007-08-10 10:07 am UTC (link)
The rhyme scheme works better in Esperanto.
But's still delightful.
I don't know how you can write limericks tho... when I try to write them they get stuck in my head... which wouldn't be so bad if they weren't so terrifically awful

(Reply to this)


Create an Account
Forgot your login?
Login w/ OpenID
English • Español • Deutsch • Русский…