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Why do english translations of japanese songs (anime intros in particular) always seem to translate into nonsense?
Every anime I have ever watched the lyrics sound nonsensical. I can understand it fine as it is english but it doesn't actually seem to be saying much and what it is saying is phrased in a odd way. Are Japanese songs intentionally weird or is it a issue with the translation? I know a lot of languages don't translate well into english is it something to do with the grammatical differences between the two languages?
2 Answers
- Anonymous4 weeks ago
Translating song lyrics is extremely difficult because they have to fit the melody.
- ?Lv 51 month ago
Well, anime songs usually aren't exactly known for their depth. You shouldn't be expecting the height of song writing here. And depending on the anime, they can often be fairly weird, too.
That said, the main problem is usually one of translation. Specifically, because it's a song, the translators often prioritise trying to make the translated lyrics fit the melody, rather than prioritising conveying the proper meaning of the lines. As such, you often end up with a lot of lines which don't really seem right, although they are the right length to fit the melody.