LL-L "Translation" 2003.11.08 (09) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) N=Northumbrian
S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic V=(West)Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Translation

Sandy wrote:

> LIFE AN DAITH
>
> Can ye think on marraes for life an daith?
> Come on an we'll set ice fornent watter.
> Watter jeels intae ice nae bather.
> Ice thows tae watter ance mair.
> What's deid maun shuirly leeve some day.
> What's leevin syne an on faas deid.
> Ice an watter daes ane anither nae skaith.
> Life an daith's likewice baith fine.

This reads very well indeed, Sandy.  You have captured it all, as far as I
can tell, and you used some fine sound play on top of that.   Hmmm ...  I
can see possibilities.

> Am I right in thinking that every line of this poem has exactly five words
> in the original?

Yes.  In Ancient Chinese, each character by and large represents one word.
(This is no longer so in Modern Chinese varieties, though tradition has it
that it is, based on the old premise that only Classical Chinese is a true
literary language, the writing of Modern Chinese, begun in earnest in the
beginning of the 20th century, being considered some sort of abomination by
the traditional crowd.)   To make it more complex, each character ("word")
may come with several possible meanings, and the challenge is to understand
which one is most applicable in a given context.  The inherent ambiguity is
frequently intended, allowing for poems to be read in alternative ways and
on different levels of meaning.

> Was the purpose of this that the poem would make a nice
> neat rectangle whan written on a painting?

I am not sure that this was a (major) consideration.  I understand that this
form grew from songs, originally folksongs, in the tradition of the ancient
anonymous ones from at the latest the 6th century B.C.E. found in the
anthology _Shijing_ (_Shih-Ching_ 詩經, which, like the Song of Solomon in the
Old Testament, later came to be reinterpreted as moralistic messages passed
down from the ancestors, when they are far more likely to be simply
folksongs that occasionally reflect more liberal sexual attitudes, including
courting songs for women, that did not suit later generations.)  In fact, at
the time these later, now most famous _shi_ (詩) poems were written --
certainly during the dynasties of the Tang (T'ang 唐, 618-907 C.E.) and Song
(Sung 宋, 960-1279 C.E.) -- these poems were really still songs of sorts,
because contemporary literature, including poetry, mentions "chanting" or
"singing" of poetry.  (My roommate in China would take his girlfriend and me
out to a park on Sunday to perform this sort of chanting for us, and it was
not considered odd, though it could be trying at times ...)  I understand
that a relatively simple rhythm is essential, possibly going back to when
these songs were performed with dances, perhaps similar to the stomping
circle dances still performed by certain ethnic groups in Yunnan, Szechuan,
Tibet, Bhutan and Nepal.  So, imagine them like simple Lowlands folksongs
sung while dancing some sort of stomping dance.   In addition, sound
patterns are important, namely certain sequences of syllable types, tones,
rhymes and alliteration.  Due to various complex sound shifts, much of this
is lost when these poems are read in Modern Chinese varieties, though they
are still perceived as very powerful and are undoubtedly very much revered,
rightly so in my opinion.  Once in a while a poet will use six, seven or
just four characters in one or two lines, and this creates a dramatic break
of rhythm, especially four characters, leaving one beat, usually the middle
one, blank, creating a pregnant pause, a gasp perhaps.

I found many of the _shi_ works of the Tang and Song very relevant to our
time and place(s).  This became even more apparent to me when I began
translating them into Lowlands Saxon (Low German).  When you translate them
into a "major" language like English, Dutch, German or French you are
tempted to utilize a more formal linguistic register and to chose words that
are somewhat vague and convey a sense of distance.  In LS I do not really
have such choices, am forced to "talk down to earth" and be specific, must
choose from a large number of possible words that convey specific shades of
meaning.   In my opinion, this makes the translations more alive and more
accessible to the average reader.  I wonder if this does not also hold true
when you translate them into Scots.

> What would be the nearest
> worthwhile equivalent in western languages with Roman script?

I can't think of any, except perhaps certain types of traditional dance
songs or nursery rhymes.  Certain types of quatrains (e.g., Blake's "Tyger!
Tyger! burning bright ...") and villanelles or the (Japanese-inspired) lunes
of the 1960s seem to roughly fall into this category.

Thanks again for sharing your translation.  I enjoyed it a lot.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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