Wreading: Lexical Translation, Hungarian to English
From Charles Bernstein's Wreading Experiments List.
A lexical translation of a poem my friend Borcsi wrote in Hungarian, a language I cannot understand and can barely pronounce (though Borcsi kindly assures me that my pronunciation is very good when I repeat the select words she has taught me). I used both Google translate and ChatGPT, mostly the former, and then I made some slight adjustments.
I tried to be minimal in my edits, but it was tricky because phrases in Hungarian will sometimes translate to a single word in English and then a single word will translate to an entire phrase, with the meaning varying quite widely. So, for example, the word âhogyâ caused me some consternation; in Hungarian, as far as I can tell, itâs a conjunctive that introduces subordinate clauses, but the translator would always output âthatâ (and according to the exercise you translate each word). So in an English translation you could omit it from the sentence, but I left it at âthatâ â I thought it would make for a more interesting translation if I kept more closely to the syntax than to (what I took to be) the meaning of each line.
Lights and apparitions Autumn memories Floating they disappear As strong into me they burned How mournful I was How melancholy And how much I see everything newly How magical One year elapsed November 1 - Looking at the date - I am trembling Last year at this time bent over I sobbed. Today I am laughing - there is a power in my voice Bittersweetly sometimes like this too, There is in the world and in me, something which makes me sad - But not sorry for my sorrow Iâll leave it, that it flow through On and on through me all feelings, Champagne excitement and profound suspense Flow through, on me, into the distance And let it carry through every quiver That Born for what. - Let me be here, who I am needed to be. I give Life I give sorrow And I give, that I can see, How Iâm changing And one year from her perspective I can say Strong and beautiful the ache.
Just let me do what I have to, that everything passes through And thus the soul, the life, the eternal fun strong feeling Can live in me, life itself Completely Part of me as well as whole For evermore - Serenely with love embrace my aching heart to my chest
Original
FĂ©nyek Ă©s tĂŒnemĂ©nyek Ćszi emlĂ©kkĂ©pek Lebegve elĂ©mtƱnnek Ahogy erĆsen belĂ©m Ă©gtek Milyen szomorĂș voltam Milyen bĂĄnatos Ăs milyen sok mindent lĂĄtok most Ami varĂĄzslatos Egy Ă©v eltelt November 1 - A dĂĄtumra nĂ©zve - Beleremegek Tavaly ilyenkor görnyedve zokogtam. Ma nevetek - erĆ van a hangomban KeserĂ©desen nĂ©ha Ăgy is, Van a vilĂĄgban Ă©s az Ă©n mesĂ©ben is, ami elszomorĂt - De nem bĂĄnom a bĂĄnatom Hagyom, hogy ĂĄtfollyon Follyon vĂ©gig rajtam minden Ă©rzĂ©s, PezsgĆ izgalom Ă©s mĂ©lyrĂĄzĂł kĂ©tsĂ©g Follyon vĂ©gig, ĂĄt rajtam, bele a messzessĂ©gbe Ăs minden rezzenĂ©s vigye vĂ©gbe Azt AmiĂ©rt szĂŒletett. - Legyek itt az, akinek lenni kellek. Adom az Ăletet Adom a bĂĄnatot Ăs adom, hogy lĂĄthatom, Hogyan vĂĄltozom Ăs egy Ă©v tĂĄvlatĂĄbĂłl mondhatom ErĆs Ă©s gyönyörƱ a fĂĄjdalom.
Csak hagynom kell, hogy mindent ĂĄtjĂĄrjon Ăs Ăgy a lĂ©lek, az Ălet, az örökvidĂĄm erĆs Ă©rzet Bennem Ă©lhet, engem Ă©ltet EgĂ©szen RĂ©szem Ă©s egĂ©szem Ărökre - Nyugodt szeretettel ölelem sajgĂł szĂvem a keblemre











