Abstract
Whether or not song lyrics should be translated has been debated by researchers, translators, artists and audiences. Some are of the opinion that songs should not be translated as singing in translation produces a weak version of the source text, while others argue that a song in the language of the audience fosters better understanding. The translation of song lyrics goes beyond linguistic aspects and includes musicological aspects such as the melody, rhythm and mode of presentation. Because of the interaction between the music (the melody) and the lyrics, the music in some cases obscures the lyrics and in other cases prolongs the lyrics. Therefore, the song translator faces a constant negotiation of inter-semiotic elements with regard to, among others, functionality and singability. This study provides an overview of the musicological aspects of song translation, with reference to Low’s pentathlon and Franzon’s layers of singability. As an illustration, this article provides a discussion of the translation of a Leonard Cohen song into Afrikaans by a South African gospel singer and preacher, Koos van der Merwe. The data have been collected from an original Leonard Cohen CD and the translated versions thereof from the Van der Merwe CD ( Leonard Cohen in Afri-Kaans ).
Highlights
A song constitutes a piece of music and lyrics designed for a singing performance (Franzon 2008:376)
The data were collected from an original Leonard Cohen CD and the translated versions thereof from the Van der Merwe CD (Leonard Cohen in Afri-Kaans1)
Leonard Cohen has written the melody in the key signature of D major, but the melody moves through different keys during the course of the song
Summary
A song constitutes a piece of music and lyrics designed for a singing performance (Franzon 2008:376). The song translator has to pay attention to the rhythm of the melody, the text in the form of a lyric (often with a rhyme scheme), hidden and private meaning, the intended message and the medium of presentation. This is the process of relating two different semiotic systems, each having its own requirements that constrain and enable the functioning of the specific system. The music (melody) is the most important aspect as it determines the prosody, as well as the stylistic choices and, at the same time, adds semantic value to the lyric content. We discuss the musical aspects of the song and present a discussion of the lyrics (the chorus and each verse)
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