Translating Songs

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

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For example:
"Dimelo (which translates to "Tell Me") sounds lovely in Spanish, but it would make for an awkward, somewhat nonsensical song in English.




"Do You Know?" however, makes absolute sense in English while maintaining the essential "spirit" or meaning of the Spanish version.
So they're effectively the same song...only kinda, sorta, not really, technically.




With a poem, there is no accompanying soundtrack in which to convey sentiment though; Which would make pulling off that sort of feat much more difficult, I would think.

Seriously ? Enrique?

Thena is  

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This is similar to what happened with the Irish national anthem ('A Soldier's Song').  It was originally written in English.  After it was officially adopted, politicians decided that the anthem should be in Irish and always be performed in Irish.  The upshot is that the official version (which most people have to learn phonetically) differs somewhat in phrasing, tone and intent from the original.

Translation is, at the best of times, a difficult business.

Boru

Translation usually neglect that side so the conclusion is a cold text stripped from any emotional side

Well, there's also the fact that certain words and concepts don't always translate well. For example, the Dutch word 'zwaffelen' means to strike your penis repeatedly against an object.  I'm almost certain that it would be difficult to accurately translate this in a poem or song and keep the correct rhythm.

Boru