[romaji & translation] Microphone

[llchoco56]

Thank you for the translations ^^ i love ayu's lyrics!!!

[Tony G]

Thanks for the translation. The lyrics are awesome, some of the best she's written I think.

I'd leave it as raison d'etre. It is a common term, I've heard of it before. A few songs are titled that.

[truehappiness]

Yeah, raison d'etre should be a common phrase for most people, but I suppose those people will have to look it up, haha. You could add a footnote or something.

*raison d'etre is.... -meaning here- or something.

[oji-i-san]

I'm curious how native and international English users feel about it.

I'd prefer "significance of my existence" because of the thing truehappiness pointed. Same thing can be said for Japanese young people; I guess more than 50% of them would say "what's that?" In addition to that, ayu isn't using "raison d'etre (or レーゾンデートル)" in her original text.

(Actually I used "significance of my existing" in my translation because ayu's original text is not "存在意義" but "存在する意義" and it can be parallel to "meaning of my being", but now I feel it may sound weird to English users. haha)

[alternarist]

thanks!! there should be "Tell me why!" and "I don't know"..

[ayu_ready?]

thanks
I thought it had some deeper meaning though

[Neyvaa]

I didn't understand the rasion d'erte and I had to scroll down to the second translation to really understand what it meant. I'm not a native speaker of English and even though I've studied English at the university that phrase is something I've never heard. I guess you need to be a native speaker to know about it.

Anyhow, I really like the lyrics. They're beautiful!
Thanks for the translations!

[Mitkki]

Originally Posted by Neyvaa

I didn't understand the rasion d'erte and I had to scroll down to the second translation to really understand what it meant. I'm not a native speaker of English and even though I've studied English at the university that phrase is something I've never heard. I guess you need to be a native speaker to know about it.

It's actually a literary/psychological term borrowed from the French 'raison d'être,' so the average English speaker may not know of it either.

[oji-i-san]

oh, [significance] and [existence] are that long, heavy, and cumbersome?? hum...

I'd like to point out that [意義(igi)] is a little heavier and less-colloquial than [意味(imi)]/[meaning].
Above all, I think most of Japanese people would feel these two lines
> watashi de aru imi wo
> sonzai susu igi wo
a little philosophical although no jargon is used here.


Regarding [躊躇う] or [迷う], I have an impression that [躊躇う] is used in a situation you have something you want to do but you can't do it actually. So, I think [躊躇う] fits well with [hesitate].

[迷う] has a broader meaning. You can use it when you lost your "physical" way to go. You can also use it when you are uncertain and cannot decide easily what to do.

In the context of ayu's original lyrics, I felt that this line
> mou mayottari shinai
is conveying broader meanings than [躊躇う]. (and of course she's not talking about "physical" roads/ways.)

In this way I thought [waver] is a good word. But I'm sure I may be wrong about the nuances of English words.

I'm really addicted to this song and happy to discuss its lyrics

[appears]

Originally Posted by oji-i-san

oh, [significance] and [existence] are that long, heavy, and cumbersome?? hum...

I'd like to point out that [意義(igi)] is a little heavier and less-colloquial than [意味(imi)]/[meaning].
Above all, I think most of Japanese people would feel these two lines
> watashi de aru imi wo
> sonzai susu igi wo
a little philosophical although no jargon is used here.


Regarding [躊躇う] or [迷う], I have an impression that [躊躇う] is used in a situation you have something you want to do but you can't do it actually. So, I think [躊躇う] fits well with [hesitate].

[迷う] has a broader meaning. You can use it when you lost your "physical" way to go. You can also use it when you are uncertain and cannot decide easily what to do.

In the context of ayu's original lyrics, I felt that this line
> mou mayottari shinai
is conveying broader meanings than [躊躇う]. (and of course she's not talking about "physical" roads/ways.)

In this way I thought [waver] is a good word. But I'm sure I may be wrong about the nuances of English words.

I'm really addicted to this song and happy to discuss its lyrics

regarding 迷う, for me i personally prefer the translation
[i won't get lost anymore / i won't lose my way anymore]
because this implies that the Microphone validates her existence and accentuates when she says that without it, she is nothing...
so rather than no longer hesitating etc, the Microphone gives her the path she can follow...

[Chibi_Venus]

Love love love love 'em! Thank you, masa!

[rookies]

Thanks for the translation.

[Yoake]

thanks^^

[sailorseraphim]

BAD.ASS.

[gallowsCalibrator]

Thank you for these lyrics!!!! I am in love with them

I thought I was so clever, thinking that the song was about her microhpone, but then I saw several others thought the same

Anyway, these are very powerful and very much fit the song!

[oji-i-san]

Originally Posted by appears

regarding 迷う, for me i personally prefer the translation
[i won't get lost anymore / i won't lose my way anymore]
because this implies that the Microphone validates her existence and accentuates when she says that without it, she is nothing...
so rather than no longer hesitating etc, the Microphone gives her the
path she can follow...

wow, your comment makes me happy because [get lost] was my choice when I made my translation. (My latest translation is at the 24th post of this thread: Microphone lyrics (unofficial) + translations).

[~*Mabushii*~]

Thank for the translation! And everyone else with input on the translation that makes it make sense in a different/similarish way..
Either way.. Very nice!

[blackmage]

Just curious what does she lightly sing after "I don't know, I don't know"? Is there any significance to that line right after?

[truehappiness]

It's either "I can't tell you why" or "I won't tell you why"....

People are leaning towards the latter.

[blackmage]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

It's either "I can't tell you why" or "I won't tell you why"....

People are leaning towards the latter.

Ohhh thank you!