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Translation agency ::
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Poetry in Brevity |
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Poetry in Brevity
The TransLink translation agency yesterday went on the air on Govirit Moskva (Moscow Speaking) radio station, another of its regular meetings,
this time with Alyona Dyakonova, a Japan scholar and translator. The topic was Japanese poetry.
Japanese poetry is becoming ever more popular in this country. At the same time it remains something of an enigma for the Russian reader. Why?
In the opinion of our expert, our readers, first, are unaccustomed to the brevity of its forms and second, the Japanese attitude to nature and
life. Two things have to be borne in mind to appreciate and understand Japanese poetry.
The brevity of Japanese verses is proof of the keen sense of time characteristic of the Japanese. They know that life is short and fleeting. Every
moment has to be noted and savored. Also, the Japanese since ancient times have been sensitive to the slightest changes in nature. Japan does not
have such clear-cut seasons as Russia, which makes them perceptive of the faintest changes. Besides, in accordance with Japan's Shintoist
religion nature is populated with gods. These are the two main motives of Japanese poetry: nature and its transient and ever-changing character.
They bring out human sensations and feelings.
Our readers may also find strange the absence of rhyme in poetry. Japanese is undoubtedly a rich language, but on one count it is disconcertingly poor.
It is poor phonetically, that is, it has very few sounds. So, poetry has no rhymes, instead it relies on syllable count. In classical Japanese verse
there are 31 syllables. However, modernist poets try to make do with 17 to emphasize the flight of time.
Along with poetry the broadcast touched upon the humor and comical side of Japanese culture, the so-called "crazy songs". The discussion also covered
the main themes of Japanese films, the geisha and samurai cultures and popular Russian misconceptions about Japan. Needless to say, how to translate
Japanese poetry into Russian was a major topic.
The live air time of course imposed restrictions. TransLink's expert Alyona Dyakonova is a Candidate of Philology, a translator and senior researcher
with the Russian State Humanitarian University's Institute of Oriental Cultures. She specializes in Japanese culture, classical Japanese literature
and comparative Russian-Japanese studies. She is a member of the Russian Association of Japan Scholars and has published about 70 papers on the
Japanese language and culture.
It turned out to be a remarkably informative and interesting program. You can hear the full recording on TransLink's corporate website.
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