[Multilingual Monday] Romeo & Juliet
I recently got a book on the Georgian language -- oy will screeves make a fun write-up! -- but the beginning chapters -- in order to familiarize the reader with the Georgian alphabet -- asked the writer to transliterate a transliteration of one of Shakespeare's dramas. And this was my inspiration for today's Multilingual Monday. Let's take a look at one of the more famous quotes from Romeo and Juliet:
But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!
JAPANESE:
だが、待てよ、あそこの窓から洩れてくるあれは？あの光は？
そうだ、あの窓は東の空で、ジュリエットは太陽なのだ！
Da ga, matte yo, asoko no mado kara morete kuru are wa? Ano hikari wa?
Sou da, ano mado wa higashi no sora de, Jyurietto wa taiyo na no da!
WORD-BY-WORD: However, wait, over there (gen.) window from pouring-through come this (topic)? That light (topic)? True is, that window (topic) east (gen.) window being, Juliet (topic) sun is (expl.).
TRANSLATION INTEREST: "But wait, what is pouring through the window over there? What is that light? That's right, that window is the eastern sky, and it's Juliet that is the sun!" The text is written in a way that specifies that the window isn't just the east, but the eastern sky, and the earlier inquiry about the window is restated to make it sound more natural.
GEORGIAN:
ეს რა ნათელი აელვარდა იმის სარკმელში?
აღმოსავლეთი არის იგი, მზე - ჯულიეტა.
Es ra nateli aelvarda imis sark'melshi?
Aghmosavleti aris igi, mze - Juliet'a.
WORD-BY-WORD: It what light up-shine (imperfect) that(gen) window(dat)? East is it, sun - Juliet.
TRANSLATION INTEREST: The verb aelvarda has a direction prefix a- (which indicates the action is up above) and the imperfect suffix -da. The copula isn't repeated at the end, interestingly, and the hyphen stands in for the copula, Rissian-style! The passage then reads something like, "What is the light shining above in its window? It is the east, and the sun, Julieta."
HEBREW:
הס, איזה אור מן החלון בוקע?
זה המזרח, ויוליה היא השמש!
Has! Eyze or min haxalon boke?
Ze hamizrax, veyulia hi hashemesh!
WORD-FOR-WORD: Quiet! This light from the-window coming-forth? That the-east, and-Julia she the-sun!
TRANSLATION INTEREST: Interestingly, "from" is min and not just me, which seems more "classical". Has is also pretty archaic. Hi is used in place of the copula as there isn't a present-tense form of "to be". Thus the passage reads, "Silence! That light from the window pouring forth? It is the east, and Julia? She's the sun!"
FINNISH:
Vaan vait! mik’ on tuo loiste ikkunassa?
Siell’ itä on ja Julia sen päivyt!
WORD-FOR-WORD: But silence! What (mikä) is that light window-in? Yonder (siellä) east is and Julia (3rd person pronoun) Goddess- of-summer!
TRANSLATION INTEREST: There's quite a few abbreviations (mik' and siell'). Instead of just calling Julia the sun, this passage makes reference to the Goddess of Summer from Finnish mythology.
But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!
JAPANESE:
だが、待てよ、あそこの窓から洩れてくるあれは？あの光は？
そうだ、あの窓は東の空で、ジュリエットは太陽なのだ！
Da ga, matte yo, asoko no mado kara morete kuru are wa? Ano hikari wa?
Sou da, ano mado wa higashi no sora de, Jyurietto wa taiyo na no da!
WORD-BY-WORD: However, wait, over there (gen.) window from pouring-through come this (topic)? That light (topic)? True is, that window (topic) east (gen.) window being, Juliet (topic) sun is (expl.).
TRANSLATION INTEREST: "But wait, what is pouring through the window over there? What is that light? That's right, that window is the eastern sky, and it's Juliet that is the sun!" The text is written in a way that specifies that the window isn't just the east, but the eastern sky, and the earlier inquiry about the window is restated to make it sound more natural.
GEORGIAN:
ეს რა ნათელი აელვარდა იმის სარკმელში?
აღმოსავლეთი არის იგი, მზე - ჯულიეტა.
Es ra nateli aelvarda imis sark'melshi?
Aghmosavleti aris igi, mze - Juliet'a.
WORD-BY-WORD: It what light up-shine (imperfect) that(gen) window(dat)? East is it, sun - Juliet.
TRANSLATION INTEREST: The verb aelvarda has a direction prefix a- (which indicates the action is up above) and the imperfect suffix -da. The copula isn't repeated at the end, interestingly, and the hyphen stands in for the copula, Rissian-style! The passage then reads something like, "What is the light shining above in its window? It is the east, and the sun, Julieta."
HEBREW:
הס, איזה אור מן החלון בוקע?
זה המזרח, ויוליה היא השמש!
Has! Eyze or min haxalon boke?
Ze hamizrax, veyulia hi hashemesh!
WORD-FOR-WORD: Quiet! This light from the-window coming-forth? That the-east, and-Julia she the-sun!
TRANSLATION INTEREST: Interestingly, "from" is min and not just me, which seems more "classical". Has is also pretty archaic. Hi is used in place of the copula as there isn't a present-tense form of "to be". Thus the passage reads, "Silence! That light from the window pouring forth? It is the east, and Julia? She's the sun!"
FINNISH:
Vaan vait! mik’ on tuo loiste ikkunassa?
Siell’ itä on ja Julia sen päivyt!
WORD-FOR-WORD: But silence! What (mikä) is that light window-in? Yonder (siellä) east is and Julia (3rd person pronoun) Goddess- of-summer!
TRANSLATION INTEREST: There's quite a few abbreviations (mik' and siell'). Instead of just calling Julia the sun, this passage makes reference to the Goddess of Summer from Finnish mythology.