Year With The Yeti
| Simplified Chinese (Mandarin: China) | ||
| 与西藏雪人在一起的一年 Yǔ Xīzàng xuěrén zài yìqǐ de yìnián |
与 yǔ = 'with'. 西藏 Xīzàng = 'Tibet'. 雪人 xuěrén = 'snow man'. 在一起 zài yìqǐ = 'together'. 的 de = connecting particle 一年 yìnián = 'one year'. |
One Year with the Tibetan Snow Man |
| Traditional Chinese (Mandarin: Taiwan) | ||
| 與雪人相伴的歲月 Yǔ xuě-rén xiāng-bàn de suì-yuè |
與
yǔ = 'with'. 雪人 xuě-rén = 'snow man'. 相伴 xiāng-bàn = 'mutually accompany'. 的 de = connecting particle 歲月 suì-yuè = 'years and months' = 'years'. |
Years in Mutual Company wtih a Snow Man |
| Japanese | ||
| 雪男とゆっくり一年 Yuki-otoko to yukkuri ichi-nen |
雪男と
Yuki-otoko to = 'snow man' + 'with' = 'with
a snow man'. ゆっくり yukkuri = 'slowly, leisurely'. 一年 ichi-nen = 'one year'. |
One Year Spent in Leisurely Manner with the Snow Man |
| Vietnamese (Chinese characters show etymology) | ||
| Một năm với Người tuyết quạu quọ | một = 'one'. năm = 'year'. với = 'with'. người = 'person'. tuyết (雪) = 'snow'. quạu quọ = 'peevish, ill-tempered'. |
One year with the Ill-tempered Snow Man |
| Mongolian (previous) | ||
| Алмастай өнгөрүүлсэн жил Almas-tai öngrüülsen jil |
алмас almas = 'man-like creature, female demon' (Comitative 'with'). өнгөрүүлэх öngrüülekh = 'spend' (Past tense). жил jil = 'year'. |
The year Spent with the Female Demon |
| Mongolian (new) | ||
| Алмастай онгөрүүлсэн жил Almas-tai öngrüülsen jil |
алмас almas = 'man-like creature, female demon' (Comitative 'with'). өнгөрүүлэх öngrüülekh = 'spend' (Past tense). жил jil = 'year'. |
The Year Spent with the Female Demon |
The books in the Gilderoy Lockhart Series follow a simple but humorous pattern in English.
All describe spending time with a particular kind of unsavoury creature.
All are expressed in the form 'X with Y'.
In each case there is alliteration between X and Y (Break with a Banshee, Gadding with Ghouls, Holidays with Hags, etc.).
The interesting points in any translation are:
How this assortment of unpleasant creatures is translated.
How the parallel expressions are treated.
How the effect of the alliteration is reproduced. This is the most difficult task because alliteration is, of course, dependent on the particular sound of words in a language.
How is 'yeti' translated?
The Yeti is also known as the 'Abominable Snow Man' in English. 'Snow Person' or 'Snow Man' is how he has been translated into the CJV versions.
- The Chinese translation calls the yeti 西藏雪人 Xīzàng xuěrén 'Tibetan snowperson (=snowman)'.
The Taiwanese translator uses just 雪人 xuěrén 'snow person (=snow man)'.
The Japanese, while written in Chinese characters, uses a word with native roots: 雪男 yuki-otoko 'snow man', marking the yeti as male (男 otoko = 'man'). 雪男 yuki-otoko can refer to the Yeti, Bigfoot, or other mysterious anthropoid figures.
Vietnamese uses người tuyết quạu quọ 'ill-tempered snow person', possibly a translation of English 'abominable snow man'.
The Mongolian translation uses алмас almas. This can have two separate meanings: either a 'wild man' of folklore, or a female ghost or demon. The intended meaning here appears to be 'wild man'.
How is 'a year With...' translated?
The meaning of the English is 'a year (that I) spent with the yeti'. There are three ways of rendering this.
Have 'that I spent with' modify 'year':
- The Taiwanese version uses a verb, 相伴 xiāng-bàn 'mutually accompany', to render the concept of 'spend time with'. This requires the insertion of the connecting particle 的 de in Chinese (相伴的歲月
xiāng-bàn
de suì-yuè 'time spent accompanying').
Both Mongolian translations use a relative clause modifying жил jil 'year', that is онгөрүүлсэн жил öngrüülsen jil 'year (I) spent'.
The Chinese translation does not use a full verb, using 在一起 zài yìqǐ 'be together with'. Unlike English 'with', however, 在 zài still retains a verbal force in Chinese. The construction is still a modifying construction: 在一起的一年 zài yìqǐ de yìnián.
Use a full sentence:
- Like the Voyages with Vampires, the Japanese must be understood as having an understood verb, i.e.,
it is an abbreviation of 雪男とゆっくり一年を過ごす Yuki-otoko to yukkuri ichi-nen
o sugosu ('To spend a year with a snow man in a leisurely fashion').
ゆっくり yukkuri is an adverb and requires a verb, even if the verb is not explicit.
Use the same structure as the English, that is, 'preposition + noun':
- The Vietnamese is closest to the English (Một năm với Người tuyết quạu quọ 'One year with the peevish snow man') because the Vietnamese language allows với Người tuyết 'with a snow man' without using a verb.
Alliteration
Only the Japanese translator makes an attempt at reproducing the alliteration of the original with 雪男とゆっくり一年 yuki-otoko to yukkuri ichi-nen.
 Break
With A Banshee |
Gadding
With Ghouls |
Holidays
With Hags |
| Travels
With Trolls |
Voyages
With Vampires |
Wandering
With Werewolves |
Category: Adventure
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