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Translation help for a new member!

midnight rain

後輩
3 Nov 2009
14
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13
Hi everyone, my name is Alex from the UK. I've just signed up to the forums and have only recently started trying to teach myself Japanese - i'm going to see how far i can get before i need a tutor.

Anyway, i was having trouble translating a line from a song (Hikari) from the amazing Utada Hikaru:

静かに出口に立って
Shizuka ni deguchi ni tatte

Which, from what little i know, translates to something like "Quietly stand in the exit"

However i know all the English lyrics for the same song, and that line in English is sung "You're giving me too many things lately".

I know many things do not directly translate from Japanese to English, but how can these translations be so different? I always assumed that when a song is translated into another language, the meanings remain the same.

Nice to meet you all and thank you for any help you can give.

Alex
 
Hi everyone, my name is Alex from the UK. I've just signed up to the forums and have only recently started trying to teach myself Japanese - i'm going to see how far i can get before i need a tutor.
Anyway, i was having trouble translating a line from a song (Hikari) from the amazing Utada Hikaru:
静かに出口に立って
Shizuka ni deguchi ni tatte
Which, from what little i know, translates to something like "Quietly stand in the exit"
However i know all the English lyrics for the same song, and that line in English is sung "You're giving me too many things lately".
I know many things do not directly translate from Japanese to English, but how can these translations be so different? I always assumed that when a song is translated into another language, the meanings remain the same.
Nice to meet you all and thank you for any help you can give.
Alex
I looked at some translations that didn't have a line close to that English. Can you repost where it is available ?
 
Hi elizabeth,

The English version of the song is called "Simple and Clean" instead of "Hikari" but they are both exactly the same song (apart from lyrics of course).

It says i do not have enough posts on the forum to add a website link yet, but if you search for "Simple and Clean Lyrics" you will find the english lyrics for the song.

Sorry i couldn't be more helpful!

Alex
 
Hi elizabeth,
The English version of the song is called "Simple and Clean" instead of "Hikari" but they are both exactly the same song (apart from lyrics of course).
It says i do not have enough posts on the forum to add a website link yet, but if you search for "Simple and Clean Lyrics" you will find the english lyrics for the song.
Sorry i couldn't be more helpful!
Alex
Are you sure the translation is direct ? As far as I could find, that line is only in "Hikari." :?
 
It's ok - i think my question is confusing. After looking on the internet it seems that Utada wrote completely separate lyrics for the English version of the song, and just matched them to the exact beat of Hikari.

So this means the translations will be totally different between the Japanese and English versions of the song.

Sorry for the confusion!

Alex
 
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