Loren
07-05-2006, 09:01 AM
Some months back, in the wake of the "Nuestro Himno" uproar, I sought out some help over on the Community Board to put together a version of the US National Anthem that would incorporate multiple translations, to represent America's heritage. Well, although I didn't get 11 languages like I'd hoped, I thought I'd put together a rough cut anyway. I posted it over on the Comm Board yesterday, but it seemed fitting to post it here too.
I found several pre-existing translations online, as well as references to others, like French, that I couldn't find the text of. (I did find Latin and Yiddish, but didn't include them. Latin was dead long before the US, and Yiddish sounded far too much like German.) I also used Jared Humphrey's Japanese translation.
Here's what I ended up with:
O say, can you see, le malama o ataata mai (English & Samoan)
Vad vi halsade stolt, medan solen gick neder (Swedish)
Sono shima to hoshi, Ken'aku sentou kara (Japanese)
Thar an daighnich bho 'n aỉrd troimh gach gábhadh is eighinn (Gaelic)
Fulgor de cohetes, de bombas estruendo (Spanish)
Sie zeigten bei Nacht, DaS die Flagge noch dort. (German)
O say does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Now I'd described before I how I would have a quartet sing the song, but I'm three members short of a quartet. So to illustrate the song vocally, I recorded it solo (and a cappella) on my computer and made an mp3 of it. Listen to me here (http://www.geocities.com/lorencollins/SSB3.mp3).
There are a few places I'm not completely happy with, but I think it sounded pretty good for a first night.
I don't, however, know if I'm pronouncing everything correctly. Especially Gaelic. Any help on that front is welcomed and desired.
So whaddya think?
I found several pre-existing translations online, as well as references to others, like French, that I couldn't find the text of. (I did find Latin and Yiddish, but didn't include them. Latin was dead long before the US, and Yiddish sounded far too much like German.) I also used Jared Humphrey's Japanese translation.
Here's what I ended up with:
O say, can you see, le malama o ataata mai (English & Samoan)
Vad vi halsade stolt, medan solen gick neder (Swedish)
Sono shima to hoshi, Ken'aku sentou kara (Japanese)
Thar an daighnich bho 'n aỉrd troimh gach gábhadh is eighinn (Gaelic)
Fulgor de cohetes, de bombas estruendo (Spanish)
Sie zeigten bei Nacht, DaS die Flagge noch dort. (German)
O say does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Now I'd described before I how I would have a quartet sing the song, but I'm three members short of a quartet. So to illustrate the song vocally, I recorded it solo (and a cappella) on my computer and made an mp3 of it. Listen to me here (http://www.geocities.com/lorencollins/SSB3.mp3).
There are a few places I'm not completely happy with, but I think it sounded pretty good for a first night.
I don't, however, know if I'm pronouncing everything correctly. Especially Gaelic. Any help on that front is welcomed and desired.
So whaddya think?