Good morning StudyOkers! StudyOke-ers? StudyOkeians? We'll work on that, as today we're working on reading switcharoos and looking at the estimable Yumi Matsutoya (née Yumi Arai).
Original Lyrics / Romaji / Phrasal Translation / Poetic Translation
About the Artist
Our subject today and number 3 on the Top 100 is Yumi Matsutoya (aka Yumin). Now there's no denying the impact Yumin has had on the JPop scene - in almost 50 years as an artist, she's racked up 39 studio albums (including an 18-year streak of #1 albums) and a Medal of Honor from the Japanese government for her cultural contributions.
She's collaborated with or written songs for pretty much ever big name in the business, including Yosui Inoue, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Keisuke Kuwata (if I listed every major star she's worked with, it would take up the rest of the article). Which is why it just breaks my heart that I don't like her very much!
Or at least, I didn't like her very much. To be honest, I dreaded writing this post because I only ever listen to one of her albums (Love Wars), and it was fairly bland. So I started digging through her older material, particularly, Hikouki Gumo. This was her first album, the title song of which was featured in Hayao Miyazaki's The Wind Rises. It's a beautiful song, and the album overall blew me away. As Yumin's first album, it clearly marks her out as something special and is a must-listen for any J-Pop fan.
I didn't think much of Yumin at first, but it turned out I was just listening to the wrong albums. Many things aren't as the seem as first - which, coincidentally, is what we'll be talking about in today's lesson!
She's collaborated with or written songs for pretty much ever big name in the business, including Yosui Inoue, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Keisuke Kuwata (if I listed every major star she's worked with, it would take up the rest of the article). Which is why it just breaks my heart that I don't like her very much!
Or at least, I didn't like her very much. To be honest, I dreaded writing this post because I only ever listen to one of her albums (Love Wars), and it was fairly bland. So I started digging through her older material, particularly, Hikouki Gumo. This was her first album, the title song of which was featured in Hayao Miyazaki's The Wind Rises. It's a beautiful song, and the album overall blew me away. As Yumin's first album, it clearly marks her out as something special and is a must-listen for any J-Pop fan.
I didn't think much of Yumin at first, but it turned out I was just listening to the wrong albums. Many things aren't as the seem as first - which, coincidentally, is what we'll be talking about in today's lesson!
Today's Topic: What the Heck is a "Gumo?"
Today's song, ひこうき雲 (Hikouki Gumo) from the album ひこうき雲 (Hikouki Gumo), has a name that may seem weird for most people who are just starting out with Japanese.Why? Well, let's try looking up ひこうき (hikouki) and 雲 (gumo) in a dictionary.
Today's song, ひこうき雲 (Hikouki Gumo) from the album ひこうき雲 (Hikouki Gumo), has a name that may seem weird for most people who are just starting out with Japanese.Why? Well, let's try looking up ひこうき (hikouki) and 雲 (gumo) in a dictionary.
Let's start with hikouki:
Okay, looks good. ひこうき is read as hikouki, and it means "airplane" (or "aeroplane," which is a much more fun way to say it). Now let's try gumo:
Okay, so 雲 is read as gu... as... gu?
 |
| Pictured: Not a "G" |
What's going on here? Why is this kanji sometimes read kumo and sometimes read gumo? Are they the same word? Do they have the same meaning?
To answer these questions in reverse, yes (they have the same meaning), yes (they are the same word), it's complicated, and let me give an example. What is the difference between these two sentences?
1). This is a dog.Other than the animals involved, one sentence uses the pronoun a and one uses an. As you know, there's really no difference in meaning between a and an - it's just that some words sound better when paired with a and some words sound better with an. That's it!
2). This is an ostrich.
And that really is it, because there's no essential difference between kumo and gumo. Hikoukigumo just sounds better to Japanese speakers than hikoukikumo. Try saying both out a few times.
There's another word in this song that gets its pronunciation changed for the same reason:
ゆく (yuku) in the first line is actually 行く (iku, to go). かけてゆく (kakete yuku) is a compound verb of kakeru (to run) and iku (to go), ie, "to go running." Iku becomes yuku simply because it sounds better. You see a similar situation with 言う (iu, to say), which is frequently pronounced yuu simply because it sounds better.
If you keep your ears open, you're certain to find many examples, but pay extra attention to words that start with i or any of the modifiable consonants (k to g, s to z, etc.).
Sometimes in life, things aren't what they seem at first. What seems easy becomes hard in a second; what seems plain becomes complicated. But if you draw on what you already know and stay open to learning new things, you're sure to come across the answer sooner or later. If you keep your eyes open to what is, you'll be miles ahead of people who only see what they expect.
Sometimes in life, things aren't what they seem at first. What seems easy becomes hard in a second; what seems plain becomes complicated. But if you draw on what you already know and stay open to learning new things, you're sure to come across the answer sooner or later. If you keep your eyes open to what is, you'll be miles ahead of people who only see what they expect.
That's all for today, StudyOkeites (nope!). Keep looking for the answers, and keep StudyOkeing!
No comments:
Post a Comment