Ever heard a song that you really like, however, you’re having trouble understanding it for some reasons? Like it is in a different language or something?
I do believe that most of us would agree that song translation is one of the most time-consuming and complicated tasks to do, right? And I’m not making this up, but I do know most of us do know this too.
Song translation is really a pain in the head for a couple of reasons, like, not only do you need to have a better and thorough understanding of the original language but you also do need to have a better knowledge of your own native language. Other than these, you also have to have a great hearing, rhythm, and also versification skills.
So, in conclusion, I think we can all agree that song translation is really a hard thing to do. But are we just gonna leave it at it? Aren’t we gonna do something about it? Well, if you’re here to know ways on how to translate songs easier, then you’re at the right place.
Listed below are several ways to translate a foreign song to your own native language, and that’s even without having the expertise of knowing the language by heart. There are 5 ways below you can try on. Just try to choose which will be best for you.
Google Translate
The good old, google translate. Well, basically the easiest and most unreliable way to translate a song is to use language translators online. If you haven’t tried it, I would like you to do so. You will then see that these translators are often wrong. In fact, these online translators have no sense of rhythm and they can’t tickle the ear of the listeners — it can not rhyme the words.
Voice translation works no better than text translation. After it takes the word you input, it will just speak the translated version in a pleasant female voice.
With Google Translate, the result you’ll get is simply considered as “lost in translation”. The reason for that is, AI (Artificial Intelligence) may have knowledge of every word translations, but it cannot take context. A sentence, phrase, or words may be translated well, but the complexity of the text, as well the context it is trying to imply cannot be interpreted without a true knowledge of the language. Translating it word for word would just result into errors.
Google translate has the characteristic of translating words directly as it is. A lot of pictures and videos had already proven this scenario, showing that google translates sentences in a funny or nonsensical ways.
Lyrictranslate.com
This website is one of the most popular sites there is in terms of translating songs. One of the reasons for this is it being free to use. No matter how many songs you’d like to translate, it does provide convenient results.
Unlike Google Translate or other translators there is, this site provides a lot of analogues on which there can be translations of songs that are rare. The translations the site provides is good enough that songs are rhyme-coded and can give you a sense of understanding on what the song portrays and does give a clear and common sense.
Librika
Librika is an application available for mobile users to translate song lyrics into the language the users want. Librika is one of the mobile applications that pursue translating lyrics into a sensical way. In fact, they are one of the leading mobile applications that aims to have this goal.
Although the application is still in its younger years, the application is doing real great and is already standing on its own. In an interview provided by journalists, it was stated that Librika has already gained 8 million users and are continuing to go up as we speak. Users have stated that the search engine is considered one of the great channels who provides legit translation of songs.
Freelancer
If you have any information about online jobs today, you would know that one of the booming jobs are online teachers, which we can also consider as online translators. With the technologies today, the Internet has made it very easy to find people who have the sufficient knowledge about languages having the appropriate specialization, knowledge, and skills.
Considering the efficiency of Freelancers, we could say that this is very convenient and very effective. However, due to the demand and the large volume of clients, trying to look for one who has the skills is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Looking at how the demand rises, a lot of freelancers who are considering themselves as “specialists” have popped up. Just remember to know the famous project triangle. “Time – Quality – Price” — Remember that you can only have two of those.
Keep in mind that as of today’s marketplace, marketing promises shows very different from the final result. Therefore, if you are looking for someone who can translate and can provide the same and perfect rhythm of the song, then you’ll really be having a hard time. Translating songs is rather hard work.
Dictionary
If you wanted to have the best results, then this is what you’re looking for. We all know that translating songs by hand is really complicated and the process would really take a lot of time. But keep in mind that a work done slowly, is a work done surely.
By translating a song step by step, you will be able to see and understand the context it is trying to imply to its listeners. You would see the small details the composer was trying to hide, and details which were not noticeable at first will become clear as snow.
All you need to do is listen to the song as much as possible to internalize the rhythm. If the rhythm becomes like an earworm, then I think it is safe to say that it’s time to understand the message of the song, the mood it’s trying to provide, the tone, and even the listeners mindset.
Translating the song is somehow the same as composing a new music, but now not from scratch but from a copy. It is like copying an assignment but just changing a couple of things.
Conclusion
Understanding the language firsthand is one of the most important things to learn in translating music.
If you can understand all the message the song is trying to imply, then I think you’re good to go in translating your own song.
