Thought I’d do a quick comparison of the English and Japanese versions of the song “Beauty & the Beast” in preparation for watching the musical of the same name this coming weekend. We’ll start with a refresher on the English version, then we’ll look at the Japanese version. Enjoy! Read more…
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This problem comes into play when you’ve studied a language for a bit. You begin to imagine hearing it in places where it isn’t. Or at least, where it probably isn’t. Today I was listening (too closely) to the song called Sing Along from the Blue Man Group’s album The Complex, featuring Dave Matthews on vocals. There’s a part towards the end of the song – approximately 2 minutes, 51 seconds in – where I distinctly heard 「そうだ、そうだ。」 (Sou da, sou da.) or “That’s right, that’s right.” It fit contextually, so I let it breeze by – only when the song was over did I think – wait – as far as I know, Dave Matthews doesn’t speak Japanese. Ha ha. What the? He must be scatting jazz-style, and it just phonetically matched. This is less common than me thinking I heard Japanese words in Korean, for instance. Ha ha.
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By the way – just for giggles – I also had another song that I listened way too closely to by accident recently. Live and Let Die, the Bond film theme song by Paul McCartney’s post-Beatles group, Wings, has a goof included. The lead guitar totally blows a riff at one point in the song, but depending on your listening, you can go right by it without hearing it – it is a very full, chaotic, vibrant song after all. It’s my favorite Bond theme, I think. Why do I pick this stuff up? It’s at the 1 minute 46 second mark. And lasts less than a second. Good luck!
Awesome. This is a Japanese fan-made translation of Jonathan Coulton’s humorous closing credits song for the new Valve game Portal. It has been run through a popular Japanese text-to-speech (singing voice) program, Vocaloid 2. I found it on YouTube, but am hosting a copy here just in case. Anyway, I’m just going to list the lyrics, in original English text, translated Japanese text, and retranslated English text, for comparison’s sake, after the “fold.” I hope you enjoy it. Read more…
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DJ Casper’s Cha-Cha Slide
Easy lesson plan? Heck yeah. I simply teach the terms in the song and then force the kids to do the dance with me. We clear the desks to the side of the room and have them stand in a grid for starting positions. Normally they are reticent to join in, and wind up lining the walls. Then they watch me making a fool of myself, and laugh and loosen up a bit. I encourage the more outgoing kids, and eventually everyone is dancing – even the kids who would rather light themselves on fire than answer questions in class. Weird. I know. At least this is true for high school. Here are the terms I’ve used before. Just pop them on a handout and go over them before dancing – there’s your justification for dancing in English class. Who just saved you thinking for a day? I did. 
Terms:
Left 左
Right 右
Back 後ろ
Turn* 回る
Hop ぴょんと跳ぶ
Stomp 踏みならす
Cha-Cha** チャチャチャを踊る
Slide 滑る
Crisscross 足を交差する
Freeze 動くな！ （結氷する）
Clap 拍手
Low 低くかがむ
Top 上、天井の方に手を伸ばす
Reverse 半回転する
Charlie Brown*** ？？？
* – I usually have them turn 90 degrees counterclockwise. It’s a line dance, so as long as you keep the turn uniform, you can do whatever you want.
** – This is most definitely not a real cha-cha. I basically have them do a “conga line” motion with their hands and step back and forth to the rhythm. They weren’t up for a real cha-cha.
*** – “Charlie Brown” is what always gets the most laughs. Because it’s ridiculous. Either mimic the dances from the Peanuts characters or, if that’s before your generation, feel free to liberally borrow from the dances of the Scooby Doo crowd. As long as flailing limbs and goofy knee and elbow interaction is involved, they will love it. Ha ha.
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Girl Go Home by Gaelic Storm
Don’t say that you’re in love me listen to what I say
「愛している」と言うなよ、聞いてくれ
You’re too young to come with me, I must be on me way.
君が若過ぎて好き合うのは無理、僕は行かなければね
And stop your silly crying now how can I make you see
泣かないでください、どうすれば良いか
That I’m a gypsy rover, love, and you’ll not come with me.
僕はジプシー流浪者よ、君は付いて行かないGo home, Girl, go home, go home!
帰ってくれ、帰れ！And I met you at the market when your mam was not with you.
お母さんいなかった時に市場で初めて会った
You liked me long brown ringlets and me handkerchief of blue.
僕の茶色長い巻き毛や青いハンカチーフを好きになってしまった
And although I’m very fond you, you asked me home for tea,
友達とおりに好きな人だけど、家で紅茶を飲むのと誘ったけど、
But I’m a gypsy rover, love, and you’ll not come with me.
僕はジプシー流浪者よ、君は付いて行かないGo home, Girl, go home, go home!
帰ってくれ、帰れ！And your brother is a peeler and would lock me up in the jail
君のお兄さんが警察官で、僕を刑務所に閉じ込むよ
If he knew I was a poacher and I hunt your lord’s best quail.
僕は主人のウズラを密漁していることが分かったらね
Well your daddy is a gentleman, your mammy just as grand
お父さんは紳士で、お母さんも偉いけど、
But I’m a gypsy rover, love, and I’ll not be your man.
僕はジプシー流浪者よ、君の男にならないGo home, Girl, go home, go home!
帰ってくれ、帰れ！Well the hour’s drawing on my love, your mam’s expecting thee.
もう遅くなったよ、お母さん心配するでしょう
Don’t tell her that you met me here or I’m a gypsy free.
私と会ったとか自分がジプシー流浪者だということ教えないでね
And let’s get off me jacket now, your love will have to wait.
よし、上着を離してくれ、君の愛は待つしかないね
FOR I AM TWENTY TWO YEARS OLD AND YOU, YOU’RE ONLY EIGHT!
僕は二十二歳で、君は八歳だけから！Go home, Girl, go home, go home!
帰ってくれ、帰れ！
Go home, Girl, go home, go home!
帰ってくれ、帰れ！
I’ve got no real reason for translating this one…albeit poorly. I just had it stuck in my head. Ha ha. Anyway, please correct my steadily downhill Japanese, guys. Hope you like the playful nature of the song in any case. Till tomorrow. (I liked this song before I was 22, and now that I’m 24 it makes me feel old…)
One More Minute by Weird Al, translated into Japanese. I said I’d do it, and I did. Again, because I can. If you missed the first helping of (anti) lovey-dovey absurdity, go catch it here.
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Well I heard that you’re leavin’ (leavin’)
別れるつもりだと聞いた
Gonna leave me far behind (so far behind)
遠く離れて行くだろう
‘Cause you found a brand new lover
新しい恋人ができたので
You decided that I’m not your kind (aahh..)
この俺は自分のタイプじゃないと君が決めたSo I pulled (I pulled) your name out (name out) of my Rolodex (oohh..)
だから、俺の住所録から君の名前を除いて
And I tore all your pictures in two
君の写真を全てずたずたに裂いた
And I burned down the malt shop where we used to go
よく行っていたアイスクリーム店を燃やした
Just because it reminds me of you (dippity dippity doo)
その店を見るだけで君を思い出したからねThat’s right (that’s right) you ain’t gonna see me cryin’
そうだ、俺は泣かないぞ
I’m glad (I’m glad) that you found somebody new
新しい恋人を見つけて良かったね
‘Cause I’d rather spend eternity eating shards of broken glass
永遠に壊れたグラスの破片を食べる方が良い、
Than spend one more minute with you
君の側に後一分残るよりI guess I might seem kinda bitter
俺は不機嫌に見えるかな
You got me feeling down in the dumps
君が俺をこの気分にさせたから
‘Cause I’m stranded all alone in the gas station of love
愛のガソリンスタンドに一人で残されて
And I have to use the self-service pumps
セルフサービスのポンプを使わなければならないOh, so honey, let me help you with that suitcase
だから貴方、引っ越しの手伝いをさせてくれ
You ain’t (you ain’t) gonna break my heart in two
俺は悲嘆に暮れないよ
‘Cause I’d rather get a hundred thousand paper cuts on my face
俺の顔に１０万の切り傷を貰う方が良い
Than spend one more minute with you
君の側に後一分残るよりI’d rather rip out my intestines with a fork
自分の腸をフォークで切り取る方が良い
Than watch you going out with other men
君が他の男性と好き合うを見るより
I’d rather slam my fingers in a door (yah)
それを見るより、戸に指をバタンと挟む
Again and again and again and again and again
再三再四、何回もOh, can’t you see what I’m tryin’ to say, Darlin…
さぁ、分かってくれるか、貴方？I’d rather have my blood sucked out by leeches (leeches)
蛭が自分の血をしゃぶり取る方が良い
Shove an icepick under a toenail or two
足指の爪の下にアイスピックを刺し込む方が良い
I’d rather clean all the bathrooms in Grand Central Station with my tongue
ニューヨーク大都会のグランドセントラル駅の全てのトイレを
俺の舌でなめて掃除する方が良い
Than spend one more minute with you
君の側に後一分残るよりYes, I’d rather jump naked on a huge pile of thumbtacks
はい、裸で画鋲のでかい積み重ねの上に飛ぶ
Or stick my nostrils together with crazy glue
又は鼻孔を強力接着剤で密封する方が良い
I’d rather dive into a swimming pool filled with double-edged razor blades
両刃の剃刀で満たしたプールに飛び込む方が良い
Than spend one more minute with you
君の側に後一分残るよりI’d rather rip my heart right out of my ribcage with my bare hands
俺は自分の心臓を素手で胸郭から掴み出して
and then throw it on the floor and stomp on it ’till I die
床に投げ落として死ぬまでさんざんやっつける方が良い
Than spend one more minute with you
君の側に後一分残るより
Thank you, and good night. 
