Table of all translations of the fox's secret here.
The Fox's Secret:
L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.
Translating into Japanese (2)
| (Japanese translations) | ▶ Here is my secret. It is very simple | ▶ One sees clearly only with the heart | ▼ What is essential is invisible to the eyes |
| A. STRUCTURE |
| B. VOCABULARY CHOICES |
| C. DISCOURSE ELEMENTS |
| ▶ Fr ▶ En ▶ Ch |
| L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux |
B. VOCABULARY CHOICES
In a purely philosophical sense, 'essence' in Japanese is 本質 honshitsu (see this page) and 'essential' is 本質的 honshitsu-teki. But as we have seen, essentiel has a broader meaning than the strictly philosophical one. In everyday use it means 'important' or 'indispensible'. Some possible equivalents in this sense include 重要 jūyō 'important', 必要 hitsuyō 'necessary', and 不可欠 fu-kaketsu 'indispensible'.
Translators of Le Petit Prince use a few different terms to translate essentiel, but none of those shown above. The problem is that they're too 'intellectual' for the context.
The most common word for 'essential' in the 15 translations is, in fact, たいせつな / 大切な taisetsu na (9 occurrences). Some translators use hiragana only; others use Chinese characters. The meaning is roughly equivalent to 'important'. The alternative 大事な daiji na (1 occurrence) is very close in meaning to たいせつ / 大切 taisetsu.
TRANSLATING L'ESSENTIEL |
|||
intensifier |
'essential' | 'thing' | |
| 肝心な / かんじんな kanjin na 'essential' |
こと koto 'things' |
5 |
|
| いちばん ichiban 'most' |
大切な / たいせつな taisetsu na 'important' |
もの mono 'things' |
3 |
| 大切な taisetsu na 'important' |
もの mono 'things' |
2 |
|
| 大切な taisetsu na 'important' |
こと koto 'things' |
2 |
|
| いちばん ichiban 'most' |
たいせつな taisetsu na 'important' |
こと koto 'things' |
1 |
| ほんとうに hontō ni 'truly' |
大切な taisetsu na 'important' |
こと koto 'things' |
1 |
| いちばん ichiban 'most' |
大事な daiji na 'important' |
こと koto 'things' |
1 |
| TOTAL | 15 |
||
The usual Japanese word for 'important' is 重要 jūyō. While close in meaning, both たいせつ / 大切 taisetsu and 大事 daiji are more highly charged terms than 重要 jūyō. Both words express a personal, concrete sense of importance that is quite different from the more abstract importance of 重要 jūyō. For example, 重要人物 jūyō jinbutsu is a VIP; たいせつな人 taisetsu na hito could equally be a child or loved one. 重要視する jūyō-shi suru means 'to regard as important'; たいせつにする taisetsu ni suru or 大事にする daiji ni suru mean 'to treat as precious, take care of'. たいせつ taisetsu or 大事 daiji are both well suited to the meaning of the fox's secret -- a personal rather than abstract concept of importance -- and express 'importance' as viewed by the heart.
(Incidentally, despite the fact that it looks like Chinese-based vocabulary, 大切 taisetsu is a purely Japanese word, not found in Chinese. 大事 daiji is found in Chinese but it is a noun and the meaning and usage are rather different. 重要 jūyō, on the other hand, is found in Chinese with exactly the same meaning, 'important', and is used by a number of Chinese translators in translating this sentence.)
Possibly because they fall somewhat short of the meaning of essentiel, however, both words are intensified in many of the translations with いちばん ichiban 'most' or, in one case, ほんとうに hontō ni 'truly'.
This is not the case with かんじんな / 肝心な kanjin na (5 occurrences), which means 'essential, indispensible, all-important' and doesn't need intensifying. While かんじん / 肝心 kanjin is closer to the meaning of essentiel, it totally lacks the philosophical implications of the French word. Literally 肝心 kanjin means 'liver and heart', which to the Chinese were the essential organs of the body.
Both こと koto and もの mono are used as words meaning 'thing', and they are used by Japanese translators to render the peculiar article+adjective construction of the French (l'essentiel).
The difference between the two words is that こと koto refers to concepts or situations; もの mono usually refers to specific physical objects. Both being abstract concepts, however, there is some overlap, and もの mono can also be used in reference in an abstract way to things in general. Translators disagree over which word to use, although こと koto has a clear majority.
Here, こと koto expresses the more abstract, less tangible aspect of 'what is essential'. もの mono veers considerably in the direction of concrete 'things'. Interestingly, all translators who use もの mono do so in the collocation たいせつなもの taisetsu na mono 'important thing'. たいせつなもの taisetsu na mono is an oft-occurring expression in Japanese and translators may have been led by this to use もの mono rather than こと koto.
(See also the use of ものごと monogoto in the preceding sentence, On ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur.)
Two translations use expressions like ということ to yū koto is the fact that'. I call these 'framing expressions' because they frame the fox's entire statement with words meaning 'It's the fact that....'. Here, the meaning is: 'The content of the secret is the fact that....'
'FRAMING EXPRESSIONS' |
|
| No frame | 8 |
| っていうこと -tte yū koto 'it is the fact that' |
1 |
| ということ to yū koto 'it is the fact that' |
1 |
| Frame is around first sentence ('It is only with the heart that one can see rightly') | 5 |
| Total | 15 |
Five translators place this framing expression after the first sentence, "One can see clearly only with the heart" (see here). Only two leave it till the end of the second sentence, as here. Placed after the second sentence, the frame effectively ties the two sentences together ('it is the fact that [One can see clearly only with the heart; what is essential is invisible to the eyes]'.)
This use of constructions like ということだ to yū koto da 'it is the fact that' to frame the statement, is a frequent feature of Japanese sentences. No matter how clean or straightforward the original English or French is, a Japanese translation will often involve use of this kind of expression.
For the overall pattern in the three sentences, see here.
The frame expressions are followed by さ sa and だ da, which have what I call a 'modal' function.
'Modal ending' is a term I've made up. I use it to refer to the sentence-ending particles that are often found at the end of Japanese sentences. These are particularly a mark of everyday speech.
Two thirds of all translations use sentence-final expressions with some kind of modal force, as opposed to one third which are 'bare'.
MODAL
|
|
| -- | 5 |
| んだよ n'da yo |
4 |
| んだ n'da |
3 |
| (ということ)だ (to yū koto) da |
1 |
| のさ no sa |
1 |
| (っていうこと)さ (-tte yū koto) sa |
1 |
| TOTAL | 15 |
The force of の no is both explanatory ('this is why you must look with your heart') and declaratory, expressing the speaker's confidence in what he is saying. Several translators use んだ n'da, which is the typical masculine form -- only women end their sentences in の no.
Several follow んだ n'da with よ yo (indicating a forceful assertion). One uses さ sa which is more informal and offhand.
Note: さ sa doesn't require だ da and can be directly attached to の no. In masculine (but not feminine speech), よ yo must be preceded by だ da.
While most of the particles follow the sentence 'What is essential is invisible to the eyes', two follow a framing expression such as ということだ to yū koto da 'it is the fact that'. In these cases, the force of the declaration attaches to the assertion that 'this is what my secret is'.
These particles are not found in the French original. This use of sentence ending particles or expressions to give a particular force to the speaker's statement, is a common feature of Japanese sentences.
 STRUCTURES |