I was wondering how to translate this phrase:
"I'm rubber and you're glue,
whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks to you!"
Any and all help would be much appreciated.
Translation request
Re: Translation request
You will probably have to make a choice. Which is more important to you?
1. a short, simple and catchy rhyme like the original
or
2. keeping the original concepts "my body is bouncy" and "yours body is sticky" and therefore " you words will bounce off of my and stick to you"
1. a short, simple and catchy rhyme like the original
or
2. keeping the original concepts "my body is bouncy" and "yours body is sticky" and therefore " you words will bounce off of my and stick to you"
Re: Translation request
In this particular case, conveying the meaning is far more important than having it rhyme.
Re: Translation request
Glue has in the past been translated as ko wan or ilo wan using wan as the VT definition 'to unite' so
"you're glue" could be:
sijelo sina li sama ko wan
and "sticks to you" could be:
...li kama wan e sina.
although this might mean "unites you";
"unites with you" maybe better expressed as something like awen lon sina "stays on you"
Rubber is going to by tricky. it could be sijelo wawa but this means so many other things too. Rubber could be thought of as a kasi ko (when we get it from the tree) but once it is rubber, it's not necessarily a ko
You could try "my body is like a tire" or some other rubber analogy
sijelo mi li sama sike pi tomo tawa.
or you could try to describe the physics of bouncing to describe rubber:
(if something comes towards my body, it goes away very fast)
ijo li kama tawa sijelo mi la, ona li tawa weka wawa.
this last one has the benefit of setting you up for your next sentence, as the 'bounce' is already introduced.
there is definitely room for improvement, but something like:
sijelo mi li sama sike pi tomo tawa tan ni: ijo li kama tawa sijelo mi la, ona li tawa weka wawa.
sijelo sina li sama ko wan.
tan ni la toki sina li tawa weka tan mi li awen lon sina.
(literally: my body is like a tire because of this: things come towards it, they go away with energy. your body is like glue. Because of this, what you say goes away from me and stays on you.)
"you're glue" could be:
sijelo sina li sama ko wan
and "sticks to you" could be:
...li kama wan e sina.
although this might mean "unites you";
"unites with you" maybe better expressed as something like awen lon sina "stays on you"
Rubber is going to by tricky. it could be sijelo wawa but this means so many other things too. Rubber could be thought of as a kasi ko (when we get it from the tree) but once it is rubber, it's not necessarily a ko
You could try "my body is like a tire" or some other rubber analogy
sijelo mi li sama sike pi tomo tawa.
or you could try to describe the physics of bouncing to describe rubber:
(if something comes towards my body, it goes away very fast)
ijo li kama tawa sijelo mi la, ona li tawa weka wawa.
this last one has the benefit of setting you up for your next sentence, as the 'bounce' is already introduced.
there is definitely room for improvement, but something like:
sijelo mi li sama sike pi tomo tawa tan ni: ijo li kama tawa sijelo mi la, ona li tawa weka wawa.
sijelo sina li sama ko wan.
tan ni la toki sina li tawa weka tan mi li awen lon sina.
(literally: my body is like a tire because of this: things come towards it, they go away with energy. your body is like glue. Because of this, what you say goes away from me and stays on you.)
Re: Translation request
and now for the short and sweet version:
mi jo e sijelo wawa
sijelo sina li wile wan
toki sina li weka tan mi
li tawa sina li awen.
mi jo e sijelo wawa
sijelo sina li wile wan
toki sina li weka tan mi
li tawa sina li awen.
Re: Translation request
Truly marvelous. Thank you very much.jan Josan wrote:and now for the short and sweet version:
mi jo e sijelo wawa
sijelo sina li wile wan
toki sina li weka tan mi
li tawa sina li awen.
Re: Translation request
Do you really want to say three sentences for "rubber" and three others for "glue" ? I suggest you migrate mentally to tokiponaland and say something like :
telo jaki pi uta akesi li ken ala pakala e waso sewi.
telo jaki pi uta akesi li ken ala pakala e waso sewi.
Re: Translation request
Well, that doesn't really convey the meaning I was going for, but thank you.jan Kanso wrote:Do you really want to say three sentences for "rubber" and three others for "glue" ? I suggest you migrate mentally to tokiponaland and say something like :
telo jaki pi uta akesi li ken ala pakala e waso sewi.
Re: Translation request
Like what does the original expression mean anyhow? Apparently something like "whatever you say about me says more about you than about me", possibly (but not likely) a deep psychological insight, but here meant to simply deflect verbal attack. toki sina li lon ala?