Albanian: Mike
Today we have a song suggested to me by my advisor, namely Mike, "Female friend". Here's the Google-Musixmatch lyrics, which were my starting point, with a correction (see below), sided with this translation:
The correction is that Zërin ti shpirtin should be Zërin dhe shpirtin, even though the video has ti: I don't know of zërin being used as a term of address, and not connecting it with shpirtin would make little sense AFAICT otherwise. Btw, the video also has "I kerkoj po ty nuk të gjej", but the verb is really kërkoj, and as for po or por, por is more specific. The site with the translation gives për, so "kërkoj për ty" would be something like "I ask about you" or "I look for you". UPDATE The video actually has dhe, but the e is so closed it sounds like an i, and mistaking a *dhi for a ti is very easy unless you listen very carefully.
The captions at the beginning of the video say «…ata ishin vetëm dy fëmijë e ishin gjithmonë bashkë» (They were just two children and were always together), «por jeta kishte një mësim të hidhur për ta…» (but life had a bitter lesson for them…), and «…ndarjën» (…separation). Not going to analyse those. The song is in some parts quite dialectal (the usual Gheg thrown in just because, except super heavy in the rap part), so in the analysis I deduce standard forms from the translation or from context, and then analyze those. In the lyrics at the end, I try to reconstruct the Gheg orthography for the rap part, minus the nasal vowels which I won't be able to hear from the video even if they're present.
I'm feeling too lazy to add standard forms in ruby text below, so I'll maybe do that on the other blog if I translate this. At the end, an attempt at getting the Gheg orthography as per here for the rap part.
*Hey ti mike Ditën kur më the se ike Zërin dhe shpirtin ma fike E kam ditë ti nuk vjen mo Ti shkove Në qytet tjetër u ndodhe Dhe gjysmën time e more E kam ditë nuk vjen mo Ai s'din sa du Me kë rrin me ditë sa du Ku je tash me ditë sa du #Si ndalum ditët ikën Asnjëherë me nuk u lidhën Jemi rritë tani my baby Ndonjeherë më merr Malli për ty më merr O sa shumë më merr Historia na ndau Po sikur ne të ishim bashkë A thu do ishim dashtë... * Drinking the night away All the memories I replay I kërkoj por ty nuk të gjej # M'ki pas 2000 puthje ngat Tash m'ki 2000 puthje larg 2000 puthje larg Tik, tik, tik, tik-tak Zemrës mos i jep ti attack Ooo nah nah Vetë ti ike e na le nah nah Afër meje mo nuk je nah nah Po du me ditë hala a m'njeh Aaa Ki menu i ki po s'i ke n'dorë ti Po s'i, po s'i ke, po s'i ke n'dorë ti Sytë e menën tem mo s'i ke n'dorë ti Jo jo, pse s'i ke n'dore ti? Prej ditës që ki shku ti ky djali nuk flen Bota e vogel nëse m'ki hala n'men Hapat ecin drejt rrugës ku neve afër na bjen * Kur ti më the se ti ike Zërin dhe shpirtin ma fike Zërin dhe shpirtin ma fike Kur ti më the se ti ike Zërin dhe shpirtin ma fike Zërin dhe shpirtin ma fike |
*Hey you girlfriend The day you told me you left me You made my voice and soul fainting I knew you wouldn't return You deserted In a different city you occured And my half you took away I knew you wouldn't return He doesn't know how much I love him With whom you stay, If you would know how much Where are you know to how much I love you [I love you #Since we stopped days ran away Never again we connected We grew up know my baby Everytime it catches me Missing you catches me Oh how much it catches me History divided us And if we would be together again Do you think we would love us? * Drinking the night away All the memories I replay I'm searching for you in vain # You had me 2000 kisses close Know you have me 2000 kisses away 2000 kisses away Tik, tik, tik, tik tak Don't give your heart an attack Ohh nah nah You left yourself and left us behind nah nah Close to me you aren't anymore nah nah I want to know if you still know me Aaaaa You thought you had it but you didn't have it in your h̃ds But how, but how you could have it in your hands My eyes and thoughts aren't in your control anymore No no, why don't you have them in your hands Since the day you left this boy here doesn't sleep The world is small if you have me still inside your mind The steps move straight the road that will bring us close * When you told me that you leave me You made my voice and soul fainting You made my voice and soul fainting When you told me that you leave me You made my voice and soul fainting You made my voice and soul fainting |
The correction is that Zërin ti shpirtin should be Zërin dhe shpirtin, even though the video has ti: I don't know of zërin being used as a term of address, and not connecting it with shpirtin would make little sense AFAICT otherwise. Btw, the video also has "I kerkoj po ty nuk të gjej", but the verb is really kërkoj, and as for po or por, por is more specific. The site with the translation gives për, so "kërkoj për ty" would be something like "I ask about you" or "I look for you". UPDATE The video actually has dhe, but the e is so closed it sounds like an i, and mistaking a *dhi for a ti is very easy unless you listen very carefully.
The captions at the beginning of the video say «…ata ishin vetëm dy fëmijë e ishin gjithmonë bashkë» (They were just two children and were always together), «por jeta kishte një mësim të hidhur për ta…» (but life had a bitter lesson for them…), and «…ndarjën» (…separation). Not going to analyse those. The song is in some parts quite dialectal (the usual Gheg thrown in just because, except super heavy in the rap part), so in the analysis I deduce standard forms from the translation or from context, and then analyze those. In the lyrics at the end, I try to reconstruct the Gheg orthography for the rap part, minus the nasal vowels which I won't be able to hear from the video even if they're present.
- L. 1: Hey ti mike
- Hey: Hey;
- Ti: thou, nom. sg.;
- Mike: female friend, nom. sg. indef.;
- L. 2: Ditën kur më the se ike
- Ditën: day, acc. sg. def.;
- kur: when;
- më: to me, dat. sg. clitic of unë;
- the: you said, aorist 2sg. ind. of them;
- se: that;
- ike: you left, aorist 2sg. ind. of iki;
- L. 3: Zërin dhe shpirtin ma fike
- Zërin: the voice, acc. sg. def. of zë;
- dhe: and;
- shpirtin: the spirit, the soul, (I suppose) acc. sg. def. of shpirt;
- ma: I know this can be a contraction of më (see above) + e, third person singular accusative clitic, I guess it can also stand for më + i, which is the plural clitic?
- fike: you destroyed/ruined, aorist ind. 2sg. of fik;
- L. 4: E kam dit' ti nuk vjen më
- E: It, clitic acc. 3sg. from ai;
- kam dit' = kam ditur: I have known, I have learnt, perfect ind. 1sg. of di; I have seen many a truncated participle in dialectal sections of Albanian songs; basically, I think the base form in Gheg is in -u rather than -ur, cfr. "ki menu" in the rap part, and then the -u gets dropped off; so in this case, from *"kam ditu", we get "kam dit'";
- ti: you, nom. 2sg.;
- nuk: not;
- vjen: you come, ind. pres. 2sg. (or potentially 3sg.) of vij;
- më: (any) more; the Google-Musixmatch "mo" seems to be a dialectal variant; I'm not 100%, but I think the first guy singing has it as më, while the lady sings mo, in accordance with the more standard-like language of the "chorus" (the part he sings) vs. the more dialectal nature of what the lady sings; I'll stick to standard më;
- L. 5: Ti shkove
- Ti: thou, nom. 2sg.;
- shkove: you went, aor. ind. 2sg. of shkoj;
- Li. 6: Në qytet tjetër u ndodhe
- Në: In;
- qytet: city, acc. sg. indef. of qytet;
- tjetër: other; now, I think to be an adjective this should have an adjectival article, in this case making it "i tjetër", so if this is a noun it would mean "another" or "someone else"; however, I can't really make sense of the sentence, so maybe it's just "song crapmmar" that removes the adjectival article?
- u: reflexive pronoun;
- ndodhe: aorist ind. 2sg. of ndodh; now that verb apparently means "happen, occur", which doesn't really make sense with "you" as a subject, but Albanian Wiktionary has as sense 4 "see ndodhem", one of whose senses is «Jam rastësisht diku, gjendem rastësisht në një vend», namely «I happen to be somewhere, I happen to be in a place» (lit. «I am randomly somewhere, I find myself randomly in a place», so this should mean, with the reflexive pronoun, "you happened to be";
- L. 7: Dhe gjysmën time e more
- Dhe: And;
- gjysmën: half, acc. sg. def. (I suppose) of gjysmë;
- time: my, acc. sg. fem. of im;
- e: clitic 3sg. acc sg, "it";
- more: you took, aor. ind. 2sg. of marr;
- L. 8: E kam dit' nuk vjen më; take l. 4 and remove the "ti";
- L. 9: Ai s'din sa du
- Ai: He;
- s': not;
- din = di: he knows, ind. pres. 3sg. dialectal of di;
- sa: how much;
- du = dua: I want, ind. pres. 1sg. dialectal; given the rest of the section, the interpretation «how much I love (him)» is to be discarded;
- L. 10: Me kë rrin me dit sa du – The comments here tell us rrin can also be 2sg.
- Me: With;
- kë: whom, acc. sg. of kush;
- rrin = rri: is staying / are staying, ind. pres. 3sg./2sg. dialectal of rri
- me dit': dialectal infinitive of di, "to know"; classical Gheg infinitive formed with the particle me + the truncated participle (and we've already seen this specific participle);
- sa du: cfr. above;
- L. 11: Ku je tash me dit sa du
- Ku: Where;
- je: you are, ind. pres. 2sg. of jam;
- tash: now;
- me dit sa du: cfr. above;
- L. 12: *S'i ndalum ditët ikën – cfr. here
- S': not;
- i: clitic acc. 3pl.;
- ndalum = ndalëm/ndaluam: we stopped, aor. ind. 1pl. of ndal/ndaloj;
- ditët: the days, nom. (or possibly acc.) pl. def. of ditë;
- ikën: they went, aor. ind. 3pl. of iki;
- L. 13: Asnjëher^ më nuk u *lidhëm – I see lips moving for lidhën and I hear that, but it doesn't make sense here (the days reconnected? It's reflexive, I can't imply [us] here), and all translations of this line, save for the Greek one, agree on the first person plural, so either it's some unknown dialectal element – for which maybe cfr. this comment, or the lyrics and the video are wrong
- Asnjëher^: never (or rather ever, since it requires a double negation apparently);
- më: (any) more;
- nuk: not;
- u lidhëm: we reconnected, reflexive aor. ind. 1pl. of lidh;
- L. 14: Jemi rrit tani my baby
- Jemi rrit' = Jemi rritur: We have grown up, perf. ind. 1pl. of rritem;
- tani: now;
- my baby;
- L. 15: Ndonjëher^ më merr
- Ndonjëher^: Sometimes;
- më: me, acc. (or possibly dat.) sg. clitic of unë;
- merr: takes, ind. pres. 3sg. of marr;
- L. 16: Malli për ty m^ merr – Well I just explained this line above, in a sense; I just have to figure out a good way to keep the grammar and render malli
- Malli: Uuuuh… this word is surprisingly elusive; Google translates it as "goods", no Wiktionary has it, Glosbe only has usage examples where it means "stuff" or where it's used in the expression we find here, and there is this one online dictionary which has mallim as "yearning, longing"; I wonder if there is a confusion happening here, and mallim is correct; anyway, I guess "longing" is our translation;
- për: for;
- ty: thee, acc. 2sg. nonclitic of ti;
- m^: me, acc. (or possibly dat.) 1sg. of unë;
- merr: cfr. above;
- L. 17: O sa shumë më merr
- O: Oh;
- sa shumë: how much;
- më merr: it takes me (cfr. above);
- L. 18: Historia na ndau
- Historia: History, nom. (or possibly acc.) sg. (or possibly pl.) def. of histori;
- na: us, acc. 1pl. clitic;
- ndau: separated, aor. ind. 3sg. of ndaj;
- L. 18: Po sikur ne të ishim bashk^ – cfr. here
- Po sikur: This apparently means "what if" as a set phrase;
- ne: we, nom. 1pl.;
- të ishim: were, subj. impf. 1pl. of jam;
- bashk = bashkë: together;
- L. 19: A thu do ishim dasht^ – cfr. here
- A: Perhaps; possibly just to stress the interrogative nature of this sentence;
- thu = thua: you say, ind. pres. 2sg. of them;
- do ishim dasht^: this is, I believe, the cond. impf. 1pl. of some reflexive/reciprocal form of dua "want/love", so "we would have loved each other"; the reflexive/reciprocal thing is to explain the auxiliary ishim, which is from to be rather than to have; as for dasht', I have found a bunch of Glosbe examples with dashtë in the role of a past participle, hence why I write dasht^ rather than dasht' which would suggest dashtu(r);
- Ll. 20-21 «Drinking the night away» and «All the memories I replay» are in English;
- L. 22: I kërkoj por ty nuk të gjej – I hear kerkoj but the verb is kërkoj, I hear po but por is more explicitly but so I'm keeping it
- I: acc. 3pl. clitic;
- kërkoj: seek, look for, ind. pres. 1sg.;
- por: but;
- ty: thee, acc. 2sg. nonclitic;
- nuk: not;
- të: thee, acc. 2sg. clitic;
- gjej: I find, ind. pres. 1sg.;
- L. 23: Ëm ki pas 2000 puthje ngat – cfr. here for the dialectal ki
- Ëm = më: acc. 1sg. clitic;
- ki pâs' = ke pasur: you have had, dialectal perfect ind. 2sg. of kam;
- 2000: dy mij^, two thousand;
- puthje: kisses, can be any indefinite nom/acc form, here I guess acc. sg.;
- ngat: near; seems to be either an adverb like here, or a preposition + ablative (cfr. Glosbe usage examples);
- L. 24: Tash ëm ki 2000 puthje larg
- Tash: Now;
- ëm = më: cfr. above;
- ki = ke: you have, dialectal ind. pres. 2sg. of kam;
- 2000 puthje: cfr. above;
- larg: away, far;
- L. 25: 2000 puthje larg – cfr. above;
- L. 26: Tik, tik, tik, tik-tak – Sound of a clock;
- L. 27: Zemrës mos i jep ti attack – I hear Zâmrën, I'd guess the â is dialect, the final -n is wrong because it has to be dative and zëmren is accusative
- Zemrës: To the heart, dat.(/gen./abl.) sg. def. of zemër;
- mos: not;
- i: dat. 3sg. clitic;
- jep: give, imp. (or ind.) pres. 2sg. (or 3sg.) of jap;
- ti: you, nom. 2sg.;
- attack is English;
- L. 28: Ooo nah nah
- L. 29: Vet^ ti ike e na le nah nah
- Vet = vetë: nom./acc. sg. indef. of vetë, "self";
- ti: see above;
- ike: cfr. above;
- e = dhe: and;
- na: acc. 1pl. clitic;
- le: you left, aor. ind. 2sg. of lë;
- nah nah;
- L. 30: Afër meje më nuk je nah nah – I hear âfër; also, I changed the Google-Musixmatch mo to më based on what I hear
- Afër: close, prep. with abl.;
- meje: abl. 1sg. of unë;
- më: (any) more;
- nuk: not;
- je: you are, ind. pres. 2sg. of jam;
- nah nah;
- L. 31: Po du me dit' hala a ^m njeh
- Po: But;
- du = dua: I want, ind. pres. 2sg.;
- me dit': Gheg infinitive of di "know", cfr. above;
- hala: still; almost certainly a Turkish or Persian or Arabic borrowing, since only Albanian Wiktionary reports it for Albanian;
- a: whether;
- ^m = më, cfr. above;
- njeh: you recognize; Wiktionary only gives this as ind. pres. 3sg. of njoh, but Google translates "you recognize" as "ti njeh" and I need a 2sg. here, so I'm gonna assume Google gets this right;
- L. 32: Aaa
- L. 33: Ki menu i ki po s'i ke ^n dor^ ti – cfr. here for the dialectal ki
- Ki menu = ke menduar: you have thought, dialectal ind. perf. 2sg. of mênoj = mendoj;
- i: acc. 3pl. clitic or dat. 3sg. clitic;
- ki = ke: you have, dialectal ind. pres. 2sg. of kam;
- po: but;
- s': not;
- i: see above;
- ke: you have, ind. pres. 2sg. of kam;
- ^n = në: in, prep. with acc.;
- dor^: nom./acc. sg. indef. of dorë;
- ti: you, nom. 2sg.;
- L. 34: Po s'i, po s'i ke, po s'i ke ^n dor^ ti – A bunch of repetitions from the previous line;
- L. 35: Syt^ e menën tem mo s'i ke ^n dor^ ti
- Syt^: the eyes, nom./acc. pl. def. of sy;
- e = dhe: and;
- menën = mendjen: the mind, acc. sg. def. of mên = mendje;
- tem = tim: my, acc. sg. of im;
- mo = më: (any) more;
- s'i ke ^n dor^ ti: cfr. l. 33;
- L. 36: Jo jo, pse s'i ke ^n dor^ ti?
- Jo jo: No no;
- pse: why;
- s'i ke ^n dor^ ti: cfr. l. 33;
- L. 37: Prej ditës që ki shku ti, ky djale nuk flen
- Prej: From, prep. with abl.;
- ditës: the day, abl. sg. def. of ditë;
- që: that;
- ki shku = ke shkuar: you have gone, dialectal ind. perf. 2sg. of shkoj;
- ti: you, nom. 2sg.;
- ky: this, nom. sg. masc.;
- djale = djalë: boy;
- nuk: not;
- flen = fle: he sleeps, dialectal ind. pres. 3sg. of fle;
- L. 38: Bota e vogël nëse ^m ki hala ën men – Not sure if I heard ën or on here, Google-Musixmatch gives on, lyrics sided with translation give "en" (which should be ën)
- Bota: Life, nom. sg. def. of botë;
- e vogël: small, nom. sg. with nom. sg. fem. adjectival article, I think this implies a "je" (is);
- nëse: if;
- ^m = më: me, acc. 2sg. of unë;
- ki = ke: you have ind. pres. 2sg. dialectal of kam;
- hala: still;
- ën = në: in;
- mên = mendje: mind, acc./nom. sg. def. of mên;
- L. 39: Hapat ecin drejt rrugës ku nevë afër na bjen – I hear «Hâpât esin» and «âfër» and «bjên»; I asked for help here
- Hapat: The steps, AFAICT nom. pl. def. of hap;
- ecin: walk, ind. pres. 3pl. of eci;
- drejt: straight;
- rrugës: to the road/street, dat. sg. def. of rrugë;
- ku: where;
- nevë = neve(?): dat. 1pl. nonclitic;
- afër: close, near;
- na: acc./dat. 1pl. clitic;
- bjên = bien: they bring, ind. pres. 3pl. of bie (which dialectally is, I suppose, bjê);
- L. 40: Kur ti më the se ti ike
- Kur: When;
- ti: nom. 2sg.;
- më: dat. 1sg. of unë, clitic;
- the: you told, aor. ind. 2sg. of them;
- se: that;
- ti: nom. 2sg.;
- ike: you went, you left, ind. aor. 2sg. of iki;
- L. 41=42=44=45: Zërin dhe shpirtin ma fike – see l. 3;
- L. 43: Kur ti më the se ti ike – see l. 40.
I'm feeling too lazy to add standard forms in ruby text below, so I'll maybe do that on the other blog if I translate this. At the end, an attempt at getting the Gheg orthography as per here for the rap part.
*Hey ti mike Ditën kur më the se ike Zërin dhe shpirtin ma fike E kam dit' ti nuk vjen më Ti shkove Në qytet tjetër u ndodhe Dhe gjysmën time e more E kam dit' nuk vjen më Ai s'din sa du Me kë rrin me dit' sa du Ku je tash me dit' sa du S'i ndalum, ditët ikën Asnjëher^ më nuk u lidhëm Jemi rrit' tani my baby Ndonjëher^ më merr Malli për ty m^ merr O sa shum^ më merr Historia na ndau Po sikur ne të ishim bashk^? A thu do ishim dasht^? * Drinking the night away All the memories I replay I kërkoj por ty nuk të gjej S'i ndalum, ditët ikën Asnjëher^ më nuk u lidhëm Jemi rrit' tani my baby Ëm ki pas 2000 puthje ngat Tash ëm ki 2000 puthje larg 2000 puthje larg Tik tik tik tik-tak Zemrës mos i jep ti attack Ooh nah nah Vet^ ti ike e na le nah nah Afër meje më nuk je nah nah Po du me dit' hala a ^m njeh Aaah Ki menu i ki po s'i ke ^n dor^ ti Po s'i, po s'i ke, po s'i ke ^n dor^ ti Syt^ e menën tem mo s'i ke ^ndor^ ti Jo jo, pse s'i ke ^n dor^ ti? Prej ditës që ki shku ti, ky djale nuk flen Bota e vogël nëse ^m ki hala ën men Hapat ecin drejt rrugës ku nevë afër na bjen * Kur ti më the se ti ike Zërin dhe shpirtin ma fike Zërin dhe shpirtin ma fike Kur ti më the se ti ike Zërin dhe shpirtin ma fike Zërin dhe shpirtin ma fike |
*Hey you, female friend The day that you told me [that] you left» My voice and my spirit you destroyed I have learnt you wouldn't come anymore You went (away) You ended up in another city And you took (away) half of me I have learnt you wouldn't come anymore He doesn't know how much I want How much I want to know with whom [you're] staying How much I want to know where you are now We didn't stop them, the days went We never reconnected again We have grown up now my baby Sometimes [it] takes me Longing for you takes me Oh how much [it] takes me History has separated us What if we were together? Do you perhaps say we'd have loved each other? * Drinking the night away All the memories I replay I look for them but cannot find you We didn't stop them, the days went We never reconnected again We have grown up now my baby You have had me 2000 kisses close Now you have me 2000 kisses far away 2000 kisses far away Tick tick tick tick-tock Don't give [my] heart an attack Ooh nah nah You yourself went and left us nah nah Close to me you are no more nah nah But I want to know whether you still recognize me Aaah You have thought you have them but you don't have them in hand But them not, but them you don't have, but you don't have them My eyes and my mind you no longer have them in hand [in hand No no, why don't you have them in hand? From the day that you have gone this boy doesn't sleep The world [is] small if you still have me in mind The steps walk toward the road where [it] brings us close [to each other * When you told me you left My voice and my spirit you destroyed My voice and my spirit you destroyed When you told me you left My voice and my spirit you destroyed My voice and my spirit you destroyed |
Ëm ki päs 2000 puthje ngat
Tash ëm ki 2000 puthje larg
2000 puthje larg
Tik tik tik tik-tak
Zamrës mos i jêp ti attack
Ooh nah nah
Vêt^ ti ike ê na lê nah nah
Äfër mêjê mo nuk jê nah nah
Po du mê dit' halë â ^m njêh
Aaah
Ki mênu i ki po s'i ke ^n dor^ ti
Po s'i, po s'i ke, po s'i ke ^n dor^ ti
Syt^ ê mênën têm mo s'i ke ^ndor^ ti
Jo jo, psê s'i ke ^n dor^ ti?
Prêj ditës që ki shku ti, ky djäle nuk flên
Bota ê vogël nêsê ^m ki halë ôn mên
Hâpat ecin drejt rrugës ku nevë äfër na bjên
This is Gavagai, from the LT website. Here are a few comments regarding your translation:
ReplyDeleteL.2 Note that this line is in Tosk Albanian. The verb "fik" in Tosk Albanian usually means "to turn off" or "extinguish". For example "fik driten" (turn off the light), "fik zjarrin" (extinguish the fire). If we take the soul to be something like a light or fire, then "zerin dhe shpirtin ma fike" can be translated as "my soul and my voice you extinguished" as opposed to "destroyed". There are other specific words in Albanian for "destroy" (e.g., "shkaterroj"). It does not seem entirely meaningful to say "my voice you extinguished". but note that the lyrics' author is trying to rhyme "mike" with "fike".
L.4 "E kam dit" truncated form of "E kam ditur". Lit.. "I have known". 'kam ditur" is the plus perfect of "di"="know". See here: https://cooljugator.com/sq/jam. In this context, it means "I (already) knew then that you would not return/come back". You are correct: "Mo" is a dialectical form of "me=anymore"
L.6 "Ne qytet tjeter u ndodhe". "qytet" is the indefinite form of "qyteti". This line is a truncated form of "Ne nje qytet tjeter...= In another city...". "u ndodhe" literally means "you happened to be". In standard Albanian this sentence does not make much sense. No one would ever utter such a sentence in a normal conversation. Notice, however, that the author is trying to rhyme "shkove" with "u ndodhe". What s/he means is something like: "In another city you relocated/resettled"
L.12 "S'i ndalum ditet iken". Truncated Gheg version of "Nuk i ndaluam ditet iken=We did not stop the days went". There is an ambiguity of where the comma should be. I think that the ambiguity is part of the song's lyrics. The line can be translated both as "We did not stop the days, they went" and "We did not stop them, the days went".
L.13 Is it "lidhën" or "lidhëm"? The first is the third plural form of "lidh=tie (together), connect" (i.e., "they connected") whereas the second is in the first plural form ("we connected"). In the first case the line will translate "They (the days) did not (re)connect again". In the second case the line will translate "We did not (re) connect again". The first option does not make much sense in Albanian. You will never say "the days did not reconnect". To a native speaker the second option is the only one that is plausible. The Albanian word for "relationship" is "lidhje". The word "lidhem" is commonly used to describe the establishment of a connection or the start of a relationship.
I'll comment on the second part tomorrow.
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DeleteHi!
Delete1. Regarding fik, "destroy" is one of the meanings at https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fik; maybe not the most appropriate choice; I guess we're thinking of the voice and soul as fires in some sense, hence "extinguish";
2. Regarding "kam ditur", the term is "perfect", not "plus perfect"; AFAIK "plus perfect" doesn't exist, the closest term being "pluperfect" alias "past perfect" which would be "kisha ditur", "I had known"; cfr. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/di;
3. Regarding qytet and its line, I guess "you ended up" and "you relocated/resettled" aren't that far off;
4. Regarding ndalum, what is the difference between ndaluam and ndalëm?
5. Regarding lidhëm/lidhën, that first option doesn't make much sense in English either AFAICT, which is why I declared lidhën an error both here and in my Spanish translation over at lyricstranslate (I added one this morning and I have a couple notes, one of which is about this error).
2. You're right. I should have said past perfect. I only studied grammar at elementary school in Albania, and never got used to the English terms for the tenses. In addition, in Albanian there are so many tenses, that is difficult for me to name them in English. Only the past tense has 5 different (sub-tenses): https://sq.wikipedia.org/wiki/Format_e_shtjelluara_t%C3%AB_foljes#Koha_e_shkuar
Delete4. My dictionary says that "ndaluam" (past tense, first person plural of "ndaloj") to be used for "we forbid" and "ndalëm" (past tense, first person plural of "ndal") for "we stopped". So it seems that "s'i ndalum" would be dialectical form of "s'i ndalëm" (we did not stop).
I am skeptical. Where I am from, i.e., southern Albania, no one would make such a distinction. "Ndaluam" (past tense, first person plural of "ndaloj") is far more prevalent, and it is used both for "we stopped" and "we forbid".
Ok. Comments, Part 2
ReplyDeleteLs.15.16.17 "Ndonjëherë më merr/Malli për ty më merr/O sa shumë"
As you point out in your analysis, the Albanian word "mall" is very elusive. Not so much because it is difficult to define, but because of how it is used, which is very particular. So, it is better to start with it. So, "mall/i" can be defined as "longing/the longing" (or "yearning/the yearning"). In contrast, to the English word "longing", however, the word "mall" is extremely common in Albanian, and used in different contexts. For example, in Albanian, instead of "I miss/I'm missing [you/him/her/them/something]", we say "Më ka marrë malli për ...=(lit.) The longing for ... has (over) taken me". It is extremely common.
So the three lines can only be understood together. Literally, it is to be translated as "Sometimes it (over) takes me/The longing for you (over) takes me/Oh, how much it (over) takes me". What a native speaker understands is something like "Sometimes I miss/I miss you/ oh how much I miss you".
L.18 "Historia na ndau=(lit.) History separated us". It is best translated as "Time/Destiny/Life separated us"
Ls. 18. 19. You are correct. Only that the verb "them=say", is often used to mean "think". For example: "Si thua?=What do you think/say [about it]?" This is to be distinguished from "Cfarë thua?=What are you saying?" (meant literally).
L. 22: "I kërkoj por ty nuk të gjej". You're right, the verb is "kërkoj=search". Literally, and out of the context, it can be translated as "I search (for) them, but I can't/don't find you". What is meant in this context is "I search (in) them, but I can't/don't find you". The line itself is ambiguous. This is how would you convey the latter meaning in colloquial speech. The proper, literary way to say the latter meaning would be "Kërkoj në/nëpër to=I search in/through them".
Third part tomorrow
Actually, the reason it's elusive is because I was looking up a definite form without realizing. Had I looked for "mall" and not "malli", I'd have found https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mall, and Glosbe also has it. I did figure out the "më ka marrë malli" phrase, which I already found in https://michelegorinidecipher.blogspot.com/2020/08/albanian-vetem-nje-nate.html = https://michelegorini.blogspot.com/2020/11/only-night.html.
DeleteJust looked at Albanian Wiktionary, and found «Bota, jeta, realiteti në zhvillimin e tyre të pandërprerë» for "histori". Why this is translated by English Wiktionary as "history", Idk. Maybe because of the similarity.
I see.
I see.
Waiting for the rap part, that's the most dialectal in the song :).
Truth be told, I suspect I was thinking Italian with that "thu", since "dire" has the same double use as "them" in Italian :).
DeleteComments, Part 3: the rap part.
ReplyDeleteL.23 to L. 26. The analysis is correct
L..27 I also hear "Zemrën" or "Zemër". The first is accusative and the second is the indefinite form. It ought be "Zemrës", i.e. dative. On a more general note, in modern Albanian rap songs there is a huge flexibility on how the language is used. Most of the rap songs are a mix of Albanian and English, where the Albanian language is often twisted to fit or rhyme with the English. In this case, "tik, tik, tak" (allegedly the sound of heart beating) is made to rhyme with "attack". In fact, most modern Albanian songs do not even try to rhyme anymore. They just repeat the same word several times at the end of consecutive lines. Sometimes more than once. The emphasis is not on the meaning of the words anymore, but on their sound. This applies also to this rap part.
On a more general cultural and sociological analysis, it seems to me that the audience of these songs is 13-14 year old teenagers. This partially explains the fact that these rappers have millions of views on youtube, but no audience when it comes to staging real concerts or selling records. I assume that most of these rappers audience is not even allowed to attend concerts or has the money to buy tickets or records.
L.29. Yes, literally it translates to "You yourself went and left us nah nah". In Albanian, "vetë" (me myself, you yourself, and so on) is often used to confer responsibility. For example, "vetë e bëre=you, yourself did it" implying that you should take responsibility for the consequences of your action, as opposed to blaming them on others.
Ls.29-30 Note what I said about rhyming. It is everywhere in Albanian rap songs now. An Albanian rapper can produce more than 10 songs a month, just by repeating words and/or sounds at the end of consecutive lines.
L.31. Uses of "po", "por". In modern Albanian dialectical and/or colloquial speech "por" (But) is often truncated to "po", which is also the word for "Yes". If "po", is used to mean "yes" or "but" depends on the context. In this line you have guessed it right. It means "but". Same in line 33.
L.33. The phrase "kam (ke, ka, and so on) në dorë" (have in (my hand) is a common idiom. You also have it in English, like "It's out/not of/in my hand". "Kam në dorë" is the exact opposite of that. For example, if you want to show to someone that something depends on you for it to be done, you say "e kam unë në dorë" (it is in my hand) meaning: it totally depends on me. To say "it is out of my hand"/"it does not depend on me", one would say "nuk/s'e kam unë në dorë".
In this case "s'i ke në dorë ti", would mean something like "they do not depend on you"/"they are out of your control". Of course, one could also mean it literally. In fact, I think that here the phrase is used both idiomatically and literally.
L.34. See my point about rhyming, but also see my point above the uses of "po" and "por". It is my understanding that "po" in this line, in contrast to the previous line, is used to means "yes". So, this line it is not, or it is not simply, a repetition of the previous line, but it also means "yes, you don't, yes you don't, yes you don't have them [my eyes and my heart] under your control". How can we tell? Well, look at line 36. It is the exact opposite "jo, jo" (no, no). It, therefore, makes sense that "po" here is used to mean "yes". But as I said above, in these cases it is the sound of the words that is primary and the meaning only secondary.
We come now at the crux of the matter. L. 39" Hapat ecin drejt rrugës ku neve afër na bjen". The most important and most controversial line of the entire song. Three options present/have presented themselves: (A) "The steps walk towards the road that bring us together", B "The steps walk on the road that brings us together", (C) "The steps walk along the street that brings us together". Which one is the correct translation. It's a mystery. Well, it's not a mystery anymore. I think that the correct option is the third one.
ReplyDeleteWhy? Well, already here https://lyricstranslate.com/en/mike-friend.html I have provided some of the reasoning. Here I present the remaining evidence.
First, in Albanian "eci rrugës" (I walk on/along the street) is a very common combination of words. Note how the expression already contains the "along" part. Of course, the more exact form would be "eci gjatë rrugës" ("gjatë" denoting the "along"). But most people will not bother saying or writing that. It is to pedantic. "eci drejt" (I walk straight/I walk on a straight line) is also a very common combination of words. Note that "drejt" here means "straight" which is also it's most common meaning. The problem begins when you combine "drejt" with a noun in the dative case. "drejt" then denotes direction of movement and it becomes "to/towards", "drejt rruges" means "towards the street". To say "straight, along the street" and distinguish it from "towards the street" one need to write "drejt, gjatë rrugës" with the emphasis being on "drejt", on the manner of walking rather than the direction". Can we still translate "ecin drejt rrugës..." as "they walk straight, along the street"? Yes, if we put a comma and write "ecin drejt, rrugës" separating "ecin drejt" from "drejt rrugës", with the "gjatë" (along) part being implied. But is there a comma? Not in the transcription. Is that a problem? No. usually the transcription of the song is not the official lyrics and it is probably the work of some idle fan, probably a teenager. Can WE add the comma? Yes, we can. Would we be justified in doing so? That is to say, is there any independent evidence that there is a comma there, besides our desire to justify our interpretation of the line? Well, if we listen to how the line is sung, we cannot tell. So, is the only evidence what we said above? No. We also take into account that this is colloquial speech. In colloquial speech the comma is implied. For example, if you ever get lost in Albania, and you ask for directions, but you happen to be on the right street/road, the person giving you directions would say: "Ec drejt rrugës!" which should be written "Ec drejt, rrugës!" meaning: "Go/Walk straight ahead, along the/this street!", as opposed to "Ec drejt rrugës!" or "Ec, drejt rrugës" meaning "Go/Walk towards the street".
And this concludes my commentary on the song.
Regarding, L.39. On a closer listening of the song, it seems that there is a comma after "drejt", Note how the singer emphasizes "drejt" (straight) the way of walking, and distinguishes it from "rrugës".
ReplyDeleteAnd THIS concludes my commentary on the song
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