oh what I'd like to do is make a recording of the original finnish and let
you guys hear it. maybe I could rustle up a mic from somewhere.

KS

2009/2/11 kasper salonen <[log in to unmask]>

> I'm glad you all like the sound of it!
> Peter I may get to work on a little translation as soon as I have time. but
> what interests me most here, as a kind of aspiring translator myself, is a
> syntactic difference between english & finnish concerning the word, or
> rather the verb, "(to) snow". [not light Peter, finnish isn't quite that
> Romance-ic!]
> there is no such verb in finnish (which is fascinating considering the
> amount of snow this country usually boasts every wintertime), and instead we
> have to say "sataa lunta" (lit. '[it's] raining snow')*. the three similar
> words in the first stanza are my way of bringing this to light, they are
> each an attempt to verbify 'snow'. the basic form is "lumi", and the
> suffixes utilised here are all in use in finnish, but in very distinct
> morphophonemic settings (e.g. "sure*ttaa*" [feel sad/badly] from 'suru'
> [sorrow]; "kil*isee*" [(it) chimes/jingles] from 'kili(nä)'
> [onomatopoeia]; and "hapar*oi*" [(he) fumbles] or "musis*oi*" [makes
> music]). there is also a not-especially-subtle pun in *lumisoi* with its
> constructed nature; if it were separated into two words (*lumi soi*) it
> would be a phrase meaning "the snow rings" (or chimes or sings or makes some
> other pleasant/musical sound).
>
> as a matter of fact the poem is full of onomatopoeic devices; the rest are
> actual instead of constructed forms, and many refer exclusively to sounds in
> addition to working for assonance in the poem. finnish has a wider
> repertoire of sound-words than english does, and though the words all refer
> to real sounds, it would be nearly impossible to explain some of the words
> without giving a demonstration of it -- and even then the context is
> all-important. for instance *riekkua* has the meaning of 'celebrate
> (loudly)', with a negative connotation -- but the aural element comes from
> the association with several similar sound-words (*raikua* [to blare forth
> a long distance]*, kiekua* [(cock)crow]*, kaikua* [echo]*, karjua* [yell
> aggressively] &c.). so the phrase *kitara riekkuu* literally means "the
> guitar celebrates loudly", but in the context it takes on a much more
> abstract & purely aural feeling.
>
> I'm not sure how much of this is of interest to anyone, especially since
> I'm not any good at explaining myself with any sensible brevity; but these
> are things that interest me a great deal anyway. it's much more instinctive
> than all this explanation would let on, and in another sense I dislike
> talking about it because its revelation can only be scientific/linguistic
> that way. but I don't mind aesthetic science (!?).
>
> I'll hush up & do my translation homework now. buh bye.
>
> * the reverse is true for the idea of wind blowing; in finnish the english
> sentence "the wind is blowing outside" is "*ulkona tuulee*".
>
> KS
>
>
>
>
>
> 2009/2/11 Peter Ciccariello <[log in to unmask]>
>
> Unfortunately Babelfish does not translate from Finnish. I would love to
>> see
>> the English of this.
>> "lumettaa, lumisee, lumisoi - light? Perhaps?? It is a pleasure to ponder,
>> fascinated buy the mystery of language...
>>
>>
>> Thank you for this Kasper
>>
>> - Peter
>>
>> On Wed, Feb 11, 2009 at 6:24 AM, kasper salonen <[log in to unmask]>
>> wrote:
>>
>> > for the many years I've written poetry, english has always been the
>> > language
>> > I've used & into which I've delved to find new ways of expressing
>> ________.
>> > but I adore finnish for its phonology, the possibilities for assonance &
>> > consonance & alliteration are innumerable, even more available than
>> those
>> > of
>> > english. the compounding nature of its nouns & the mutability of its
>> verbs
>> > also makes it a very interesting language to write poetry in, as long as
>> > the
>> > point of view is interesting enough (i.e. approach). so I've written a
>> > draft
>> > of a poem in finnish, and I'll share it here with you despite the fact
>> that
>> > nobody on this list will understand it (Patrick will probably babelfish
>> it,
>> > as he is wont). I may do a translation at some point, and maybe the
>> sounds
>> > will amuse you. point is I want this out there somewhere other than my
>> > notebook. I read it the other night to one or two people I know in the
>> bar
>> > I
>> > frequent, and they liked it. one guy said it left a smile on his face --
>> > this coming from someone not versed at all in verse. anyway here it is.
>> it
>> > has no name.
>> >
>> >
>> > ulkona lumettaa,
>> > lumisee, lumisoi--
>> > ja nyt ei enää.
>> >
>> > raitiovaijerit pilkkovat kuun
>> > kuin pyöreän juustokiekon,
>> > kadun kitara riekkuu sohjossa santaisesti,
>> > naristen ja märästi,
>> > härkätien kitinää ja kipinää--
>> >
>> > ja mahaansa muriseva taivas
>> > kuin rappuni naapurin kuorsaus
>> > tai nälkaisen kaiku.
>> >
>> >
>> > KS
>> >
>>
>
>