Question about translations.
 

I was just curious... why is it that when she sings one of her songs in english it is very different from the translation on the page that goes with the song when sung in french?

Thanks

I doubt that it would sound any good if it was translated directly. It's probably for that reason, but I'm sure that there could be other reasons as well.

youre right Radio, it wouldnt sound any good. take Amelie for exaple, if she sung it directly as translated, they would have some rhyming issues. So they gotta write songs from scratch

ill give you an example of why.

I'm fed up vs. J'en ai marre

the sentences do not sound the same, but can be sung interchangably (they sound simillar)

j'ai pas vignt ans vs. I'm not twenty years (ans = years, so this is the direct translation, add the word 'old' after it to make the translation proper - 'im not twenty years old')

these sound completely different can cannot be used interchangably, try to sing the chorus of the english song with 'I'm not twenty years' instead of 'I'm not twenty'

Edit: I just realized I didn't finish answering your question.. In the case of j'ai pas vignt ans and im not twenty, there was a way for them to have the same meaning in the line, but with different words. In some cases, there is no way for them to make that line work, and they have to rewrite it into something with a different meaning.
hope this helps

the above posts have them right,

it just has to go to the tune of the original song so they has to swap words to make it sound right

Ok thanks everyone.

Thats what I thought but I figured I would ask anyway.

It's just that the english translations seem a little wierd at times.

French Translated seems hard to follow the meaning:

I apprehend the shadow
That it casts on me, when things aren't going well
Understands its shades
Help it if it has confidence in me
To cut the machine, that makes rain, to change life
So that all is possible, it's Amelie who told it to me...



re-write in english changes entire meaning:

I see your shadow
Coming, floating above my dreams
Wherever you go
I'll be calling your name, I feel
Always on your side
If you tell me, that you love me
hold on to your sky
Oh, Amélie mine, help me to fly.


She was right when she said that she needed to take english in order to sing in english because she needed to know the meaning behind the words in order to put the emotion into the song.

I need to take french so I can understand the meanings of her songs without having them re-written!

Also, does anyone know why she does not want to come to America? Does she dis-like us?

Thanks

in many interviews, she says that
she's not interested in the US because of our bag "sharks" (paparazzi i guess), and she say also that America is too big ( i don't really know what that means, others will explain to you that one)

you can watch those interviews on this site, many thanks to Brad for uploading them

I hate to be the one to break this to you, but most of the world hates the US.

Hell, I live an hour and a half from the US border, and I live in a city which immitates everything most of the US does, and I still hate you :P

But seriously, she probably wouldn't do well in north america, most people here just plain are not open minded...

Quebec'ers usually don't even listen to music out of france, its all mainstream american crap.

(I'm just kidding about hating the US)

Oh yeah? Which places have you been to where that was true? I'm assuming you obtained a random, representative sample when you interviewed members of the population there. Of course you would; that goes without saying.

I'm just wondering...

:cool:

You know, I was just playing on a normal stereotype, and like most sterotypes, this one is false.

However, most of the world does hate: Yankees, west coasters, texans, east coasters, and everone else somewhere in the middle... dont forget those free loadin' hawianeers

what does that leave? ALASKANS! :D