Elko Tchernev wrote:
> Amy Guskin wrote:
>> On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 08:56:03 -0400, Christina Wilson wrote
>>>
>>> Translating opera into English--to be sung, is difficult. The music 
>>> limits how many syllables one can use and how long the phrase can be, 
>>> and if one worries about the rhyming...
>>>
>     Translating /into/ English is much easier than /from/, not the 
> least  because the equivalent English phrase tends to be shorter (have 
> fewer syllables) than the original. In order to keep the rhythm 
> (syllable count) one is forced to embellish, which waters the poetry 
> down; for opera texts, however, this shouldn't matter. ;)
>     For bad translations into English, blame the translator.

You're not allowing for the difficulty of English rhyming. (People don't 
give W. S. Gilbert enough credit; he makes something terribly difficult 
look terribly easy.)

-- 
John W. Kennedy
"Those in the seat of power oft forget their failings and seek only the 
obeisance of others!  Thus is bad government born!  Hold in your heart 
that you and the people are one, human beings all, and good government 
shall arise of its own accord!  Such is the path of virtue!"
   -- Kazuo Koike.  "Lone Wolf and Cub:  Thirteen Strings" (tr. Dana Lewis)
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