The standard of song translation is variable, but there is no fixed standard for the quality of song translation. The way of song translation depends on the specific situation. For example, the purpose of art songs is to let the audience know the artistic conception of the songs, so the authors usually choose poems with concise forms and rich meanings as words. Therefore, when translating such songs, the translator should convey the main artistic conception of the songs to the target audience. Compared with art songs, pop songs pay more attention to the melody of songs, and the lyrics are relatively popular. When translating, the translator should strive for colloquialism.
Translators should combine the characteristics of the audience and the characteristics of song creation to translate works and improve the effect of secondary creation.
Although there are many variables in song translation, it does not mean that there is no evidence to follow in song translation. Generally speaking, song translation can follow the following four principles.
1. Faithfulness: This is the basic principle of translation, and Song translation is no exception. Translation should keep the style, structure and creative techniques of the original song as much as possible.
2. naturalness: the translator should comprehensively consider the characteristics of the word order and register of the original song when translating, so as to make the translation sound natural.
3. Elegance: Because songs are different from other music forms, song translation aims to convey aesthetic feeling to the audience by showing the comprehensive beauty produced by the interaction between lyrics and melody.
4. Singability: This standard should occupy the highest position in song translation. Singability requires the translator to match the translated lyrics not only with the specific words in the original song text, but also with the original melody.
Second, the methods of song translation
Song translation is roughly divided into two steps. The first step is to translate the lyrics, and the second step is to match the translated lyrics with the melody of the original song.
It is precisely because of the different characteristics and translation standards of different songs that translators adopt different methods in song translation. Generally speaking, the methods of song translation can be divided into two categories: common and rare.
1. Common methods
There are three methods commonly used in song translation: literal translation, free translation and adaptation.
A. literal translation. This method aims to completely translate the meaning of each word in the original song. Take the English song Long Long ago as an example:
Bailey told me stories that are so precious to me. A long time ago, a long time ago ...
Kind story, you tell me, a long time ago. ...
Here, the translator adopts literal translation. The audience can clearly understand the main meaning of the song, but because of insufficient singing skills, it is difficult to feel the artistic conception and aesthetic feeling of the original song.
B. Free translation. This method not only emphasizes the theme of the song to the audience, but also pays attention to the choice of words. In song translation, the translator should be allowed to make appropriate adjustments according to the characteristics of the original song. Xue Fan, the song translator, adopted this method when translating the theme song "My heart is eternal" of the movie Titanic:
Every night in my dream, I can see you and feel you. How to arrange the paper alliance in www.LWLM.COM? I know you go on. Across the distant distance and space between us, you come to tell us that you want to go on. …… ...
Every night I always dream that you come to my side as usual. Although the space between you and me is slim, you still tell me your dream. No matter where you are, I believe my heart will always be high. ...
In order to highlight the theme of love, Xue Fan flexibly adjusted the original words. For example, instead of translating the first sentence "I feel you every night" into "Every night, in my dream, I see you and feel you", he translated it into "I always dream that you come to my side every night" according to the rhythm and melody of the original song, which not only enhances the singing ability of the translation, but also adds a little romance to the artistic conception of the work.
C. change the translation method. This method requires the translator to re-create the original song in the target language. For example, Jacky Cheung's "Kissing Goodbye" adopted this method when it was translated into English:
Let bygones be bygones disappear in front of each other. Even if I say goodbye, I can't see that you are a little sad. ...
Avoid the rain and snow, try to forget, but I won't let go, watching the crowded streets and listening to my heartbeat …
2. Special and rare methods
Besides the three common methods mentioned above, there are some special methods in the process of song translation. One of them is; When translating, we should try our best to embody the original intention and ignore other factors. In fact, this method originated from the translation of movie subtitles. Some people think that this can help the target audience understand the main idea of the lyrics when enjoying the original songs. Because of its one-sidedness, most translators seldom use this method.
Song translation is a comprehensive subject integrating literature, music and translation. The translator's understanding of a work should not stop at the level of lyrics translation, but should seriously appreciate the specific artistic conception of the original song, and choose appropriate translation methods in combination with the characteristics of the song's background, rhythm, melody, strength and speed, so as to make the translated words consistent with the original song and strive to achieve the same effect as the original author's creative purpose.
The information is quoted in/waiyufanyi/20111/595499.htm.