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25 - Translating the Texts of Songs and Other Vocal Music

from Part V - Translation in Practice: Arts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 March 2022

By
Peter Low
Edited by
Kirsten Malmkjær
Kirsten Malmkjær
Affiliation:
University of Leicester
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Summary

Chapter 25 focuses on the translation of songs and other vocal music. Translations of songs may be required for various purposes – for singers to sing, for announcers to speak, for CD listeners to read, for singing students to study, and for display as surtitles at a performance. Since no translation is ideal for every purpose, translators need to choose strategies and options that best suit the end-users. Particularly complex is the ‘singable translation’ (singable in the target language) which is intended to fit a pre-existing melody – here translators are subject to unusual constraints, such as the need to achieve the right number of syllables and a workable rhythm. Often, a singable translation may include so many changes that the term ‘adaptation’ is more accurate than the term ‘translation’.

Keywords

PurposessingersannouncersCD listenerssinging studentsdisplay as surtitles at performancessingable translationadaptationtranslation
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Translation , pp. 499 - 518
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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