Translation

[Deorca]

I haven't posted anything for a long while (due to the rigours and trials of "real life"), but I dashed this translation off one sleepless night and thought I'd share it. Not a particularly good translation - I've done little about metre, rhyme, or alliteration, and there are questionable bits here and there, but it was fun to do for obvious reasons. No points for guessing what it's a translation of 

'Twæs brillig on þa sliðigan tafas
Gyrodon on þæm wæbe ond gimblodon
Ealle mimsige wæron þa borogafas
Ond þa maman wræðu utgribon

Warna þæt iabberwocce min sunu
Þa teþ þe bitaþ þa clawa þe gripaþ
Warna þone iubbiubbfugel ond scuna
Þone frumiscan bandersnæc

He nom is worpolan sweord on honda
Lange his mancsuman fa he sohte
Swa ræste he be þæm tumtumtreowe
Ond fæc sæt on geþohte

Ond swa on uffiscum geþohte he stod
Þæt iabberwocce mid fyres eagum
Cwom wifflan þurh þone tulgigan wudu
Ond burblode þenden hit cwom

An! Tu! An! Tu! Ond þurh ond þurh
Se worpola sweord sniccasnæccode
He forlæt hit dead one mid his heafode
Swa cwom he ham gallumfian eft

Ond hæfst þu þæt iabberwocce
ofslægen sunu min?
Ah frabeolic dæg! Calu calæg!
Þus swegde he on his blisse

'Twæs brillig on þa sliðigan tafas
Gyrodon on þæm wæbe ond gimblodon
Ealle mimsige wæron þa borogafas
Ond þa maman wræðu utgribon

Jim

[lawrence]

I love this!

[Linden]

....................I dashed this translation off one sleepless night and thought I'd share it. ..............................

Thanks Jim - highly entertaining.   It works really well - especially 'sniccasnæccode'!

Although I don't wish you any more of them - I look forward to the product of your next sleepless night

[Bowerthane]

RIGHT ON!!!

I always meant to do this myself!  Thanks for beating me to it, it's terrific.

( What about 'The Hunting of the Snark' for next?)

[Karen Carlson]

Great stuff! 

Karen

[Bowerthane]

I mean, you do realise that ‘snark’ could be derived from Old English snear or sneare, for ‘noose, snare’ with the diminutive suffix -oc as in ‘buttock, ‘bullock’ or ‘pillock’.  So a hypothetical *snearoc would imply ‘small thing that is snared’ to develop, in later centuries, into ‘snark’ as a synonym for ‘quarry, prey, Reynard’.

And stop looking at me like that.

[leofwin]

brilliant!

pop a few proplus pills and give us another one!

[Deorca]

Thankfully I haven't had a sleepless night for a while - and I'm afraid I don't know 'the snark' as well, Bowerthane, but might be fun to try .. maybe you should give it a go?

Thanks for the comments, winas mine!

[Deorca]

OK, here's another one in a different vein. I was trying to find lullabies in English to sing to my little girl (other than the ubiquitous Brahm's lullaby which was the only one I seemed able to remember), and came across this Middle English one. Just one verse, unfortunately, and not particularly burdensome as translations go, but fun -

ME

Mirie it is while sumer y-last
With fugheles song
Oc nu neheth windes blast
And weder strong.
Ei, ei! What this nicht is long
And ich with wel michel wrong
Soregh and murne and fast.

OE

Mirige hit is þá sumor gelæstt
Mid fugoles sange
Ac nú genǽgþ windes blǽst
Ond weder strang
Eá eá! Hwæt þis niht is lang!
Ond ic mid wel micel wrange
Sorgie ond murni' ond fæste.

I found a nice recording of the ME version on YouTube here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK6yZoz1k28

Jim