Before I start to publish the translations, I would like to discuss a little bit about how I proceed when translating a text and the difficulties I come across in some of these lyrics.
I try not to translate the lyrics ad uerbum, i.e. not too literally. When I deal both with poems or lyrics my biggest concern is to transport the images they paint and the music they sing from one language to another. So, I believe that the minor parts can be sacrificed on behalf of the whole; I mean: words and sounds can be sacrificed on the behalf of meaning and rhythm. Of course it’s very difficult to achieve success on that due to both the arduousness of some texts and the incapacity of the translator, but that’s my “first principle of translation”, and it’s always there when I work.
Now I will talk about the “arduousness of some texts” mentioned above and why it’s sometimes so difficult to grasp with some parts of them.
In the case of the lyrics written in Norwegian, the main problem is the dialectal and archaic variations of words and structures used by some lyricists.
The Norwegian language taught abroad is called Bokmål, one of the two official dialects, the other being called Nynorsk. The case of Bokmål in Norway is pretty much the same case of Hochdeutsch in Germany: it’s the official language and vastly used by the press, but people in general talk their regional dialects in their daily lives. Obviously, these factors put some barriers for a foreign speaker and, by extension, for a non-proficient translator, when they come across uncommon forms.
(If you are interested in the Norwegian language question, seek out on Wikipedia).
I will give some examples of dialectal and archaic passages in some lyrics below:
From ”Ravnajuv” by Darkthrone:
I dype juvet, ein stad i Noregs land (original, in dialectal form).
I dype juvet, en stad i Norges land (Bokmål).
From “Capitel IV: Een Stemme Locker” by Ulver:
«Eg forstaar ikkje – eg er saa rar...
I try not to translate the lyrics ad uerbum, i.e. not too literally. When I deal both with poems or lyrics my biggest concern is to transport the images they paint and the music they sing from one language to another. So, I believe that the minor parts can be sacrificed on behalf of the whole; I mean: words and sounds can be sacrificed on the behalf of meaning and rhythm. Of course it’s very difficult to achieve success on that due to both the arduousness of some texts and the incapacity of the translator, but that’s my “first principle of translation”, and it’s always there when I work.
Now I will talk about the “arduousness of some texts” mentioned above and why it’s sometimes so difficult to grasp with some parts of them.
In the case of the lyrics written in Norwegian, the main problem is the dialectal and archaic variations of words and structures used by some lyricists.
The Norwegian language taught abroad is called Bokmål, one of the two official dialects, the other being called Nynorsk. The case of Bokmål in Norway is pretty much the same case of Hochdeutsch in Germany: it’s the official language and vastly used by the press, but people in general talk their regional dialects in their daily lives. Obviously, these factors put some barriers for a foreign speaker and, by extension, for a non-proficient translator, when they come across uncommon forms.
(If you are interested in the Norwegian language question, seek out on Wikipedia).
I will give some examples of dialectal and archaic passages in some lyrics below:
From ”Ravnajuv” by Darkthrone:
I dype juvet, ein stad i Noregs land (original, in dialectal form).
I dype juvet, en stad i Norges land (Bokmål).
From “Capitel IV: Een Stemme Locker” by Ulver:
«Eg forstaar ikkje – eg er saa rar...
... Si maa eg – maa eg?» (original, in dialectal form)
«Jeg forstår ikke – jeg er så rar...
... Si må jeg – må jeg?» (Bokmål)
From ”Wolf & Fear” by Ulver:
Skyggen aff een ukiend Mackt
Der dend hylede mod sin Gud i infernaldsk Prackt (original, in archaic Danish – or something like)
Skyggen av en ukjent makt
Der den hylte mot sin Gud i infernalsk prakt (modern Bokmål)
I hope I was clear and informative enough. That’s all folks.
Thank you for your attention.
«Jeg forstår ikke – jeg er så rar...
... Si må jeg – må jeg?» (Bokmål)
From ”Wolf & Fear” by Ulver:
Skyggen aff een ukiend Mackt
Der dend hylede mod sin Gud i infernaldsk Prackt (original, in archaic Danish – or something like)
Skyggen av en ukjent makt
Der den hylte mot sin Gud i infernalsk prakt (modern Bokmål)
I hope I was clear and informative enough. That’s all folks.
Thank you for your attention.
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