Wednesday, April 7, 2010

S.H.E - If You Were a Girl/Ruguo Ni Shi Nvhai

I got more comments [in my LJ] on my S.H.E translation than I've gotten on any translation for a long time, possibly ever. Never let it be said that joye doesn't give the peoples what they want. (joye takes the requests from the peoples, as well, but the peoples don't seem to want to request, which makes joye cry and write in the third person.)

Ruguo Ni Shi Nvhai (Or Nu:hai or Nühai, or Nuhai if you're WRONG, not that it BOTHERS ME when people fail to distinguish between /u/ and /ü/ after /n/, grumble grumble) could be translated out of context a number of ways, but in context of the song the choices narrow to two: "If You Were a Girl" and "If You Were the Girl". I originally preferred "the" but I've changed my mind to "a".

This YouTube video has hard subtitles of pinyin, so I don't feel the need to do the pinyin. SWEET FREEDOM



你趁我討論未來when I'm talking about the future, you
努力看著螢幕發呆 work hard at staring stupidly at the screen
很忙碌在轉台it's very busy on the stage
你趁我感冒鼻塞when I have a cold and my nose is stuffed up, you
責怪昨天我的裙擺 blame the skirt I was flaunting yesterday
怎麼高過膝蓋how come it was higher than the knee?
  
不能忍受我說偶像帥you can't stand to hear me say an idol is handsome
(太奇怪)(too weird)
卻喜歡我做作裝可愛but you like me to act all cute
(太無奈 想不開)(no choice at all, I give up![1])
不認真聽我的對白you don't listen to my conversation seriously
不懂我每個月 you don't understand that once a month
心情會固定變壞I'm scheduled for a bad mood
  
*不然你來 當一天女孩*if for just one day you could be a girl
親身經歷了解我為什麼開懷you would experience it yourself and understand why I'm happy[2]
每滴淚的來龍去脈the ins and outs[3] of every tear drop
愛我所愛 懂我的悲哀you'd love everything I love, and understand my sorrow
公平地談一場平衡的戀愛we'd fairly settle up a romance of equality
如果你是女孩if you were a girl
  
You be the g-girlYou be the g-girl
g-g-g-girlg-g-g-girl
  
來 看我選的頻道come on, watch the channel I set
陪我聊天讓我依靠 chat with me and give me something to rely on
愛我的姊妹淘love my sisterhood
來 模擬我的人生come on, copy my life
重複我的呼吸心跳 repeat after my breathing and heartbeat
明白我的需要understand my needs
  
又要溫柔寬容有大愛want me to be gentle, tolerant, and mad with love
(太奇怪)(too weird)
又要應付男朋友耍賴and to deal with [my] boyfriend's shirking[4] responsibility
(太無奈 想不開)(no choice at all, I give up!)
親愛的別置身事外dear, don't be aloof
可不可以趁現在 right now, could you
假裝自己是女孩pretend you were a girl?
  
Repeat *Repeat *
  
如果我是你 我會注意if I were you, I would pay attention
每個女孩 都是藝術品 every girl is a work of art
都該捧在手心and should be cradled in [your] hands
如果我是你 我一定加倍細心if I were you, I'd be twice as attentive
不會吝嗇每一天 都說我愛你I wouldn't be stingy, every day I'd say I love you
  
Repeat * x2Repeat * x2

1. Xiang bu kai, as an interjection, is more like "I'm in despair!" or "I'm pessimistic!" But those both sound somewhat stupid in English. Maybe I'll think of a better translation.
2. I don't know how to translate kaihuai here. It's not a term I'm familiar with, and the dictionary definition doesn't seem to fit the lyrics.
3. In the old style, a certain kind of mountain range is called "dragon's veins". The beginning of it is called "coming dragon" and the end of it is called "leaving vein". So "coming dragon leaving vein" is the beginning and end of the range, and thus metaphorically, the causes and effects, ins and outs, the whole story, etc, of people, things and so on. ~The More You Know~
4. Does "dodging responsibility" sound better here than "shirking"? I kind of like the word shirk. Shirk shirk shirk. If you're shirking or skulking off I'll shriek til you shrink. <3 English

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