Translation!

My Method: (as a former tri-lingual child), if you count ("British English), then it was quadrilingual.

***Immersion through a parallel-learning exposure:

I remember when I first started to really thoroughly learn the (American) English language here in the states. Places where I had resided in the past had been speaking and writing in English, so I developed an appreciation for it early on. Since English was not my first language initially, I think I was very curious to learn it and accepted it more readily than the mother tongue of the regions to which I moved. Unlike learning English and Spanish,which are dominant in the areas due to colonization, I had to try to learn a language in each new state where I traveled. I was only a child, so no one forced me to learn more than two languages at a time. Although there was an international crowd as well, and for that reason, we had to turn to the two major ("official") languages that were used for communication. There was no way to speak each and every dialect or tongue at that time. I rememember people speaking Hindi, English, Marathi, Malayalam,Urdu, Punjabi, and vague dialects to me. If I didn't understand them, I would tell them that. They didn't always connect that I was a new immigrant to their region, and they would say, "Shame! You don't speak Marathi...etc.!" They just assumed that I knew it. A lot of them would ask my parents if I had a speech impediment, because my accent was always off initially as I began to learn a particular language. They always wondered why I was quiet also.

So I call my first experience not a bilingual one, but more of a parallel language learning experience. I was generally being taught two languages at once that were not my own language. This was true in school also. My own language was only spoken in regions below the equator and minimally within the United States. When I came to the USA, I gravitated toward English, because it was the only thing I recognized and related to, and it did make me feel as I fit in somehow. I lost the other "official" tongue(s) that I was starting to learn, because there was no one with which to practice. I had only a seven-year-old's knowledge of it, so I am not surprised. I basically recognize a few words here and there, but I never heard it spoken or even written out. Besides, my parents never did what other new immigrants do, live within their own communities when they first arrive. I think they live like missionaries do, always parallel to other communities. So I never gained ground in any one language. At the time, that was a huge loss for me, because in India, I would only hear or use Hindi outside of school. It was my (first) primary language of fluency.

The day before yesterday, I watched a film in the mother tongue of India and found that I only recognized words and not phrases. It helped that it had subtitles in English. I recognized words such as greetings and informal constructs such as "you" and "your." A recent film in a Southern dialect also pointed out satirically:
"An Indian that doesn't speak Hindi! Why, that's so totally unheard of!" ("The Notebook" with the actress,"Roma") I guess I don't fit in with that particular colonization schema.

I think I feel discriminated against, because people here want me to be a "tiger" and know Tamil. For me, tamil is way too foreign!!!
No exposure to it whatsoever! I AM in AMERICA!!!!!!!

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT???!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

("Stop the world! I want to get off! This is too weird for me! I just want to find a planet that is interested in sanity!") An old contemporary Christian song!

So this is what I meant when I said that you can lose Spanish if you don't practice it, or are around people who do not speak it. I don't have pen pals to practice Spanish with, either, so I have to retain it in the ways that are currently available to me. I have to investigate chat boards to write in Spanish. So that is yet another project.

I like an interactional approach to learning Spanish. I like to hear it on television or on the radio, especially meaningful dialogue. I love to see it in print, and to try to practice reading it. I have not really been practicing to write in the language, because this area has a majority of English speakers, and there is never an opportunity to write it. So ,that's why this blog is necessary to me. Right now, I feel a discrimination around me toward Spanish, so it is not being readily accepted here.

I have followed the English Only debates, and have tried to understand both perspectives, but I find that it is only normal for people to use their original (or first) language(s). I am an exception in that I had to choose the language of colonization, because we had to move so much when I was a child, and it was the most common medium found wherever I went, even in print media.

I have to take small steps to begin to write in Spanish again. I miss trying to write essays in Spanish. We had a foreign-language requirement to satisfy in the states during high school and college, so I was happy to choose Spanish and work with it. My friends all told me to take French, because they wanted to, but I knew myself. I would never have been ready to learn French at fourteen years of age. For some reason, I felt that Spanish would be around as a language of exposure, and I would run into it more in the USA. I needed that immersion experience that I craved, and I feared losing my French, because I would never use it. (The irony is that my people had lived in French-colonized areas, so French and (some Irish) is already within our language ,and I do have an affection or predilection for French and Irish.) I think my people might have been that of an ancient Celtic background.
Our language is not so fused with Indo-European words, except when we borrow from Hindi or Sanskrit. That is normal, because when groups live side by side, they pick up words from other languages, and borrow constantly.

I also like that the consonant/vowel sounds in Spanish are very similar to the ones I used to hear in Hindi. That's why I can pronounce the "r" a little better than most others.

English is more or less a conglomerate of foreign languages from all around the world. Just go to a cafe sometime. You'll see what I mean. We owe a great deal to Romance languages as well. So I am surprised when people resist Spanish
(a Romance language) when they hear it.

So at this time, my Spanish is all heard or seen. I hope to change this soon through writing practice and posting on blogs. I found a Peruan Telenovela board recently, and I asked for pen pals. I was so nervous to write in Spanish, because I am so out of practice, so I chickened out and wrote in English.

The internet does blend all of these elements,the seeing, the reading, and even the listening, and so I want to work with this medium more so than I do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TRANSLATION

The theme song to the telenovela, "Corazon Salvaje":

In the past, I would have looked up every single word in the dictionary.

There's nothing wrong with that, and I would recommend using one and keeping it handy. Since I am a little advanced in the comprehension of Spanish than a beginner or someone at the basic literacy levels, I wanted to test my comprehension of the lyrics.

I am also a person that does not shy away from poetry in language.

My quandary was to decide if I should paraphrase it in a general sense or translate it literally out on paper, line by line. I decided to choose the former option.

For a new beginner, I would suggest reading it over until the words seem familiar. For each person, it will vary as to how many times he or she will need to review.

I got the basic gist of the song in one reading and actually listening to the words as they played on television. (Look at previous posts for a You Tube link of the song.)

So, obviously, one would have to acknowledge that the theme has to do with love and romance. The words are suggestive of poetry and the euphoria that one experiences in a total love of a person. The passion the singer feels is evidenced almost as if he is breathing in his beloved and cannot live without her.

The problem, however, was that since I did not have the words in front of me, and because I did not write the words out, I couldn't recall the words. I wanted to sing along to the words.

So I found a weakness in that I haven't exposed it to my ears as many times as I needed and not looked at the words often enough to learn them. Since memory is necessary, I suffered from a lack of hearing and reading. That clued me into my nervousness of speaking the language, too.

The frustration, however, does not deter me. I like the project enough to continue. I am interested in translating it nonetheless. Here's my take on the first stanza.


I Fell in Love With You (paraphrased version)

When I think of you, when I am with you, my hope grows
My soul is nourished by your(this) love
and unawares, time stole this love from me
What am I going to do without you?
If we're not together, I can't live,
I have nothing
I can only breathe if I am in your arms or by your side
There is nothing to do and nothing to say (there's no need to even explain)
Without you, I would have nothing, feel cold and frozen (feel alone and empty)
If I can't be with you, I would lose my mind (lose my senses)
There's so much to say, there's nothing to lose
I fell in love with you

So this has the connotations of songs we have grown up with.
You are the air that I breathe. I am all out of love...etc.(Air Supply - esque)
Or if you like Spanish, "Mi vida eres tu, y solamente tu" (Rudy la Scala)from the telenovela (CRISTAL)--- a huge hit!

"I Surrender All" (church hymn), and it reminds me of symbiosis also.

So, the basic gist and any other associations or connections I can make aids
me in the comprehension of the song. I was thinking about the time it took
to get the words out. I do know song writers, so I reserve the right to appreciate
the artistry.

I don't want to stop there, however.
I would actually like to go within the song,
translate it word for word and literally as well.
That way, I feel I actually own the words, and understand them at a deeper level
and not just at the surface level.

This feels like double the work, but I am going to do it anyway.
Anyway, this is not for a class, so there is no rush.

I don't have a printer right now, so I can't print the words out to carry around.
I can always save it on the computer, I suppose.


MORE TRANSLATION!

SECOND STANZA:

You're what I always wanted, what I've always wanted
You're my (ray of) sunshine.
And unawares, love was stolen from me (time stole it)
what's going to become of me?
if I can't be with you?

The last three stanzas are all a repetition of the refrain, and song writers
repeat refrains for effect. So that part is not going to be difficult to translate.
The refrain is the part that states:

"Si no estas conmigo..."
and it ends with
"me enamore de ti."

THE SONG!

Overall, it is not a new concept in terms of songs or even themes, but the romantic way that Chayanne sings does it justice. It is so different from Miyares' strong delivery of the previous "Corazon Salvaje" serial, but this softness expresses the love the writer is trying to convey. The only thing is that the volume is a bit muted on the station I view the program, (CANAL 6),so Chayanne's voice is not projected. On You Tube, however, I can hear him better.

Chayanne has the softness of voice like Carlos Mata, and the tenderness of Rudy La Scala in "Cristal," and Michael Jackson's poignant lilt. He can probably write or sing songs for children like Rafi, too, someday, if he chooses to do so. I did purchase the record for the last series, so I may go to buy the new soundtrack also.

(Maybe JB RECORDS in Chicago?) They used to carry EVERYTHING!!!!!!

If you are so inclined to follow this series on television, tune in.

I am also following the costume work and fashion of that time period. I tend to be a secretive socialite of the fashion scene on the net right now. And the Spanish indulge in fashion!

Translation is fun, but it can be tedious and pain-staking work.
My eyes are smarting against the computer screen and feeling bugged out in front of the lights. I would recommend taking a break if this happens.

Doing work at leisure does not hurt, trust me! I know of people who lost their eyesight and gained migraine headaches as a result of overdoing it on the computer.

I feel as if I am vicariously watching someone write a poem instead of translating, so that part, I like! (LOL!)


LYRICS BELOW!

http://www.fulltono.org/videos-1/chayanne/53T3yStovu0?chayanne-me-enamore-de-ti-with-lyrics

You Tube Video with lyrics!