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Apparently, Fred really wants to work with classical Japanese poetry right now: over the 30 days September, I drafted translations of the first 28 poems (some less polished than others) of the Kokinshu anthology, which was compiled around 905* CE. Fortunately poetic diction was rather stable for a millennium, but there's still meaning-shifted words by the glossful and a metric ox-cart's worth of obsolete conjugations (verbs being the most fluid part of Japanese grammar over the centuries). Not exactly the best way to learn a language -- it's like practicing Spanish on El Cid or French on Chanson de Roland. But that's where the scurry brain wants to scuttle, so, well. I've started posting the results over on my poetry journal.
That said, I am still plugging away at the contemporary language: currently I'm working my way through Breaking into Japanese Literature, which has the right level of pony for me now -- vocabulary in dictionary form and an easily concealed semi-literal translation. Whoever it was who recommended it (I've lost track), my many thanks. The stories by Sôseki are nicely creepy -- there's definitely Poe influence here, but I don't have enough history to know whether it's direct or indirect. Next is Ryunosuke's "In a Grove," better known as the source for Kurosawa's Rashomon. (Since trying to figure out why Sôseki would use different kanji for the same word, even within a paragraph, is getting me nowhere. Something to come back to later.)
Meanwhile, I'm also dabbling with translation theory. William Gass's Reading Rilke: Reflections on the Problems of Translation is not as satisfying as it might be, in this way -- it's really a translation of the Duino Elegies with enough front-matter to expand it into a book. Gass's translations are passable, and when he gives the German they seem reasonably accurate, but they haven't the musicality he claims for them -- perhaps we tune our ears differently. He's at his best comparing multiple versions to dissect strengths and weaknesses, and weakest with Rilke's biography, which simply bores me with its egoism.
I don't know whether I should continue with other theoretics (though, any recs?). It's a minor fascination for me, but I am as unsystematic at my theory as I am with translations themselves. A grounding might give me more discipline and rigor, but it could also lead to stiffness or even blockage. More likely, I should focus on learning the language better. *cough cough*
Regarding which: any recommendations for textbooks on classical Japanese grammar?
* That's when the editors either started or completed the first edition -- the two prefaces disagree on which it is.
---L.
That said, I am still plugging away at the contemporary language: currently I'm working my way through Breaking into Japanese Literature, which has the right level of pony for me now -- vocabulary in dictionary form and an easily concealed semi-literal translation. Whoever it was who recommended it (I've lost track), my many thanks. The stories by Sôseki are nicely creepy -- there's definitely Poe influence here, but I don't have enough history to know whether it's direct or indirect. Next is Ryunosuke's "In a Grove," better known as the source for Kurosawa's Rashomon. (Since trying to figure out why Sôseki would use different kanji for the same word, even within a paragraph, is getting me nowhere. Something to come back to later.)
Meanwhile, I'm also dabbling with translation theory. William Gass's Reading Rilke: Reflections on the Problems of Translation is not as satisfying as it might be, in this way -- it's really a translation of the Duino Elegies with enough front-matter to expand it into a book. Gass's translations are passable, and when he gives the German they seem reasonably accurate, but they haven't the musicality he claims for them -- perhaps we tune our ears differently. He's at his best comparing multiple versions to dissect strengths and weaknesses, and weakest with Rilke's biography, which simply bores me with its egoism.
I don't know whether I should continue with other theoretics (though, any recs?). It's a minor fascination for me, but I am as unsystematic at my theory as I am with translations themselves. A grounding might give me more discipline and rigor, but it could also lead to stiffness or even blockage. More likely, I should focus on learning the language better. *cough cough*
Regarding which: any recommendations for textbooks on classical Japanese grammar?
* That's when the editors either started or completed the first edition -- the two prefaces disagree on which it is.
---L.