Translation Thread

[Brody]

Sorry about replying to my own post. Just doing some thinking out loud.

I think it is conveying the idea "It's bad for a child to be an only child" (ie being around adults instead of children, having all the focus on that child with no siblings ot take some of the heat, etc), thus it would translate as "I was an only child about whom it was said "it's bad for him to be an only child." Not "sick," but "bad (ie unhealthy):" "It's unhealthy for a child to be an only child."

Could anyone confirm this idea?

[Jason]

I can't confirm it for sure, but it seems to make sense.

[Brody]

I need a second opinion on this sentence; it's very confusing:

ぼくらは、これでおそらく二度と会うことも無くなるのだろうと意識することもなく、二度と会うことも無くなるはずだった。

Here's my literal try: We, not aware that there might not be a second meeting, should not have had a second meeting.

My translation: Not thinking that this may be the last time we would see each other, it should have been that we never would see each other again.

Still, doesn't sit in my mind too well. I guess the idea is that the two assume they'll see each other again and so, not making definite plans to meet again, won't make any special arrangements and thus will in fact never get around to seeing each other again. Yet that doesn't happen because as later happens, fater intervenes and brings them together again.

What do you think? Am I on the right track? Too many negatives in the sentence, I guess...

[tiroth]

それだけで病気だ
Don't we need to know what それ means here? I would think it refers to whatever came immediately before: "Because of /that/ alone s/he's sick". Sometimes だけ is emphatic though: "Especially for /that/ reason s/he's sick."


ぼくらは、これでおそらく二度と会うことも無くなるのだろうと意識することもなく、二度と会うことも無くなるはずだった。
This seems like a hard sentence!

My first thought would be "For us, we didn't even realize that because of this we probably wouldn't meet again, even though was likely the truth."

What does the これ refer to? I am imagining a pair of lovers about to be seperated by the outbreak of war... (ok, perhaps I am reading a BIT much into this snippet!)

Without the context it is hard to be sure about the proper tense, but this could be a case where the author uses present tense to convey a sense of immediacy, even though the entire event is in the past. That's my initial read on it anyway, I look forward to other input.

[Jason]

I need a second opinion on this sentence; it's very confusing:

ぼくらは、これでおそらく二度と会うことも無くなるのだろうと意識することもなく、二度と会うことも無くなるはずだった。

Here's my literal try: We, not aware that there might not be a second meeting, should not have had a second meeting.

My translation: Not thinking that this may be the last time we would see each other, it should have been that we never would see each other again.

I think you're on the right track. Excpet how you handle はずだった is a bit awkward. I think tiroth got it spot on.

[Bueller_007]

I think you're on the right track. Excpet how you handle はずだった is a bit awkward. I think tiroth got it spot on.

Yeah, I agree.
Something like:
"We weren't aware that this [mistake?] would likely cost us a second meeting, but to tell the truth, we didn't really expect to meet again either."

[Brody]

Thanks for the responses, everyone.

It is a present day recounting of something that happened in the past, so I think that adds a bit of confusion into the midst.

Thanks, Bueller; you really cleared it up for me: I think it's: "Though we weren't thinking this would be the last time we saw each other, we weren't really thinking we'd see each other ever again."

And Tiroth, I don't think we've met. Nice to have you aboard! You're right with the
それだけで　and これ parts: they refer to the previous sentences. In the first instance, it referred to the narrator being an only child; in the latter, I didn't think it would be necessary to include context because it could translate as "it" or "this" (In this case, the context is that a guy and girl are at graduation. They sort of want to see each other again, but neither has the courage to bring it up. So the これで here I guess would refer to this last meeting).

Anyway, I think I get the idea of the sentence, even though it's very hard to translate.

Thanks again!

[tiroth]

Brodyさん、自身紹介しなくてすみませんでした。よろしくおねがいしますね。

[Tensei]

How difficult would it be to translate something, like, say...

"Under the desk there's a key that can be used to open the door on the far right of the upper level hallway."

[Brody]

Not too difficult to get an understandable translation; I don't know about a natural one though:

机の下には上の方の階の通路の右端のドアを開ける鍵があります。

Like I said, I think it's grammatically correct and understandable, but I doubt it's how a Japanese person would say it (Look at all the の's!). Still, it will get your meaning across just fine.

Tirothさん、はじめまして。よろしくおねがいします。ようこそ！

[Brody]

Howdy, howdy!

Here's an interesting one I've come across that I liked and wanted to confirm with someone:

今は穴があくほど写真を見つめて。

I guess it would be something like, "Look at these pictures until you wear holes in the page!" It's from a silly magazine so I think the idea's right but I would expect まで instead of ほど. Can you still use ほど like this? Would it be better conveyed as "Look at these pictures so much/to the extend that you wear hole in the pages" rather than by saying "until you wear holes"?

Thanks!

[Jason]

Would it be better conveyed as "Look at these pictures so much/to the extend that you wear hole in the pages" rather than by saying "until you wear holes"?

While that would be a more literally accurate translation, I think the "until" version works much better in English. Well, the "so much" version is ok, but the "to the extent" version sounds awkward to me.

[Bueller_007]

While that would be a more literally accurate translation, I think the "until" version works much better in English. Well, the "so much" version is ok, but the "to the extent" version sounds awkward to me.

Yeah, the "so much"/"extent" sentence is definitely awkward.

But "until" doesn't work, because that means that you should look at them for a *long time*, whereas the Japanese sentence implies that you should stare at them with *such intensity* that holes appear.

"Now, look at these pictures, and look at them well. I want you to bore holes into them with your eyes."

Something like that.

In order to accurately translate, you've gotta work outside the grammar framework of the original sometimes.

[Brody]

Thanks. That's what I was trying to do. I understood ほど　as "to the extent" so that the sentence didn't imply that you should stop looking at the pictures at one point but that you should look at them so much you burn holes in them. I just couldn't figure out how to put it into English.

Thanks, Bueller.