[Lyric] One Step Further Into Translation on Genius (Swono)

WAITING FOR STAFF VALIDATIONNavigationEfficiencyTechnique for translating fasterRegarding singles—or any other case in which you would want to translate a song, there is a very efficient however not widely used technique that allows you to translate faster:Go on the ADD A SONG page.Copy and paste the original song's text in the lyrics field and fill the primary fields ("By" & "Title")—also don't forget the formatting tags if other artists are featured.Translate the section headers.Translate the sections from top to bottom.Hit Submit.Fill the remaining needed metadata fields.Link your translation to the original page via Q&A.This method obviously applies to every translation formats and can be extended to other works on Genius, but really it is on the ADD A SONG page that its effects can be most felt; in great part due to its lower zoom.Using translation algorithmsAs mentioned in the main guide, it is by essence bad to count on automatic translation algorithms to do the work for you and give an accurate depiction of the original text in another language: the algorithm will show its biggest weakness as soon as the original text features a slightly implicit thought through seemingly normal words. However, it is highly recommended to use Google, Reverso, Linguee and others for one separate phrase and not for a whole sentence. If you happen to use it too often, remember that you are supposed to "ONLY translate songs to and from languages in which you're fluent".Thinking in the target languageOne very primordial advice that's given to young pupils in middle school when they want to be more at ease with a foreign language is to think using that foreign language, because such a practice leads the brain to focus on the vocabulary of the target language and helps the mind get accustomed more easilty to situational words. This practice will help you understand better how and when certain words are meant to be used, and what the writer's idea behind them was. Thinking in another language will also greatly help reduce your tendency to do word by word translation: you will never have to be shamed from roughly translating "Don't count your chickens before they're hatched" again.Handling ad libs and onomatopoeia like "ayy"Onomatopoeia and signature sounds are very common in rap music and other genres where rhythm is king. They're very often impossible to translate and require an annotation to be explained, just like for the American "slatt." On the other hand, newly invented interjections like "ayy" are to be kept intact, whereas older ones—which are way better integrated to the language—will preferably be translated. That way you will find "Hey" written as "Hé" in French, as "Ehi" in Italian. The same way, you will find "Yuh" as "Yo" in French, and have "Ouais" for "Yeah.""lit" - "shit" / "bitch" - "ho" - "slut"Most slang words lose their impact upon word by word translation. For that reason and following the previous principles suggested in that guide, it will always be better to differenciate slang words from one another if they coexist in a song; you also want to create coherence in your translation regarding their length. For example, words like "ho" and "slut" are short, therefore you will want to give them a short equivalent (e.g. in Spanish "puto") and keep the longer ones for longer words (e.g. "cabrón" for bitch/asshole). For phrases like "It's lit" and "That's my shit," it will feel natural to translate them to their slang equivalents in the target language.Picturing a foreign singer/rapper saying the lineA common mistake beginners do when translating is to make it too "glossy," too close to the rough meaning of the original words and not fitting enough to the artist's intentions. For that reason, a tip that can help you get out of such a system is to picture a foreign artist saying the line you translated; that way you will authorize your mind to picture a similar situation in another language and therefore have a more accurate approach on the lyrics, hence guiding you in which vocabulary to use for your translation.Handling the typical "Je t'aime mamacita" caseFrequently, in English but also in a lot of Romance languages, you will find words picked up from another language that an artist will use to add a touch of style to their text or to emphasize on a reference. There are two ways to handle them:Translating everything: "Je t'aime mamacita" -> "I love you shawty"Translating only the original language: In that case, it would be better that you add a precision regarding your translation choice to an annotation. However, it is heavily discouraged to create an annotation for the sole sake of this lack of information. Such a way to handle the aforementioned sentence would then lead to something like: "Je t'aime mamacita" -> "I love you mamacita."TranscriptionsGetting arrogant vs double-checkingA primordial yet seldom forgotten translation practice, often because of tiredness or because of repetition, is to think to yourself, "m'yeah, I'm almost sure" or something around "hmm that should be it." More often than not, you will be wrong thinking that. If it is true that you gain self-confidence as you get accustomed to translating songs and gather experience, it remains a fundamental point to track down and eliminate your every doubt. Prioritize precision over arrogance: double-check any uncertainty.Handling idiomsIf the expression exists in English, you want to translate it directly by its English equivalentIf the expression exists in English but not with the exact same wording, you can still use it for your translationIf the expression does not exist in English, you want to roughly translate it, and then explain it via an annotationUrban Dictionary and other context-related translatorsOlder translation guides on Genius used to recommend using UD as a tool for translation. If this site it totally impossible to use as a source because it's crowdsourced, and displays unverified and biased translations, it might however save the day in a lot of situations when you're handling slang. This way, if you're looking to translate a slang word you don't fully capture yet or on which you have doubts, it might be worth the check on UD for street slang, or Linguee for expressions such as idioms in other languages.Handling producer tagsMost instrumental producers—especially for rap music—add a tag, an oral signature in the beginning, the middle and/or at the end of their music. Even though not an easy task sometimes, you want to translate them as accurately as you can, and moreover you want to keep the same translation for every song this tag appears on.
Example : "Je t'aime Trippie Redd" -> "I love you Trippie Redd".People, places, objects, eventsPeople: Names of people rarely need translation, however it's always better to use it if there is one, most often for large groups of people or for titles of nobility.
Examples: the Romans, William the Conqueror.Places: Names of countries, of fictitious places, of streets, of cities, of districts, are to be roughly translated.Objects: Names of buildings, of works of art, of fictitious objects, of institutions, are to be roughly translated.Events: Names of events, of meteorological events, of manifestations, of catastrophes, of festivals and celebrations, are to be roughly translated.Using Wikipedia as a last resortIf Wikipedia is to be avoided as much as needed as a source for annotations, it can come in handy when looking for technical vocabulary in another language. Imagine looking up for the translation of a word on an automatic translator, but either the answer that comes up doesn't make sense, or even worse no answer comes up. Look up the original word's Wikipedia page, and have a look at the bottom of the bar on the left where you will find the "Languages" tab. You will seldom find an article of said word in the language to which you want to translate it. This technique is most efficient for animal species, physics & astronomy, mechanics and acronyms.
Example : You will find on the Wikipedia page for "Nozzle," a link to its Spanish equivalent, "Tobera.""Улица летающих рыб", cyrillic's romanizationThe title of this section, which can be translated to "The dead fish street," is romanized to "Ulitsa letayushchikh ryb" by Google's system; it's a slighlty altered version of BGN/PCGN romanization. This system is the one recommenced by the American and English language committees, and it is also the one that should be used for romanizations on Genius. The modification brought by Google is that it converts "ё", to "o" or "yo" instead of "ë" or "yë." Because it makes more sense when reading romanized cyrillic, using this modification is tolerated and greatly encouraged.AnnotationsGetting help from annotations, doing some researchCertain foreign expressions, idioms or slang words can be very hard to distinguish, even as a fluent speaker; you cannot know every single aspect of a language and you learn a little more each day in the end. A key element that will save you from awkward nonsense is to inspect the original song's annotations: if a specific phrase looks weird to you, it will probably be explained and you will be able to translate it way more easily. Research, whether on linguistics websites or simply on online dictionaries of the source language will also help you tremendously. It is also good to look for official translations when you know that you are handling religious content, like for example "tendre l'autre joue".Using italics appropriately in annotationsWhen translating an annotation, it's very likely that you will want to explain the reasoning behind your way of translating the line or give depth to the original lyrics by quoting them. It is important to remember that words in a foreign language are to be put in italics, and that it is also the case for translated phrases.
Example: the word "caisse" means "car" in French slang.
Howevern you can always bypass this displeasing principle by using different phrasing, in a similar manner to: the word "caisse" designates a whip, a car in French slang.Using "(xx)"Sources are a must if you want to make your annotations solid, even more when relating to events, statistics or biographies. A fortiori when translating an annotation, it is likely that you will only find sources in the original language to make your point stronger. In that case, it's always better to add the link to a foreign language on superscript parentheses.
Method: [(xx)] (link) without the space
Example: "This value was deduced by a survey on the importance of Lithuania's position in the import of tomatoes(fr), an apparently very sensitive subject for the artist."Adding links to existing translationsWhen you're translating annotations, you will often run into Genius hyperlinks, whether for a justification of because the annotated line is tightly linked to a previous one. For song pages as well as album pages or any other Genius content, don't hesitate and use a link that leads to its equivalent on the translated page (if it exists and is a good quality), it will make readers' experience significantly easier and clearer.
Example: the link to "NEED EXAMPLE" in the bio of the translation for "NEED EXAMPLE" points to its translation NEED EXAMPLE, as the latter is on Genius already.FormattingTranslating in an annotation on the original pageOn a lot of internation songs, you can find a French chorus in the middle of a song filled with English lyrics, like "Galipette." In that case, you want to add an annotation on the section header and type "# Translation from [language]" followed by a blockquote where the section's text is translated. Of course, you will want to adapt that format to the original text's language: "Mon lossa."[Not] translating song titlesSome users choose to translate song titles, which is to be avoided. One case in particular sees this happen more frequently: exclusive version of songs like "Capuche (Version Blanche)"; you would then see "Capuche (White Version)" or even "Hood (White Version)." The first and the latter are to be ditched as they ruin the translation's referencing and make it very hard for other users to find it on the site. However, it's an information you can add to the translation's song bio—though it is not sufficient to be one by itself.Handling samples, interpolations, covers, remixesIn general, remixes and covers are not translated because they have very similar if not exact lyrics to the original song's. However, if the song you translated is linked to another song that has been translated too by sampling, interpolation or any similar relation, feel free to link the two in the metadata!
Exemple : the translation for NEED EXAMPLE has an "Interpolates" link to the translation for NEED EXAMPLE in its metadata.Bonuses & Good PracticesSuivre les pages sur lesquelles on a travailléA fortiori on songs that were just released, it is likely that the lyrics of the original song will be edited; hence begging for the translation to be too. For that reason, it is highly recommended that you hit Follow at the bottom of the original page so that you will be notified if such modifications are made. For similar reasons, don't hesitate and follow translations pages you edited but didn't create to be fully aware of its evolution.[Trying to] respect the rhythmicsA very enjoyable trait translations can have is to respect—or at least approach—the original song's scansion. That way, reading the translation will be as fluid and coherent as on the original. It often results in something very satsfying when done correctly, but it is a complex practice that requires a fair amount of experience. Don't risk and go for it if it makes you stray away from the original text too much, but trying to keep a similar amount of syllables on both ends is a very good first step to accomplish.Converting rhymes, or the myth of the ideal translationOne of the very ambitious goals you can set and a question that has been asked a lot in the past, is whether your translations should respect the original song's rhymes and/or rhymes patterns: for example, translate "Eso me gusta" by "You know I like tha'." This is a very advanced technique that requires high-level capacities in translation. Because of that, it is always appreciated to have them but you shouldn't put too much pressure on your shoulders if everything is not perfect and maxed. It can be seen as a challenge but do not see it as an obligation, especially if it makes you alter the text's meaning too much. Make sure you hit the target before aiming for the bullseye.Distinguishing and handling shell pagesShell pages lead to discomforting situations as much for translators as for users looking for the translation in question: they will believe the translation exists already because it will be displayed in Google searchs despite being empty. Mostly when browsing through album translation pages, it is very likely that you will come across some of them, in which case you ideally want to take care of it, or report it to an Editor+ who will take care of it for you, and delete it if needed.Translating Verified/Cosigned annotationsTranslating Verified annotations seems like a weird case to handle: how would one format them? In general, what you want to do it to copy and paste the annotation's text into a blockquote and follow the "translation italics" style for it. If there is also an annotation on that bit of text, you can add a horizontal rule and translation the regular annotation below the rule. Such a situation can be encountered on that NEED EXAMPLE annotation. For about Cosigned annotations, it is not necessary that you add a precision about it; however, you can still leave a note NEED EXAMPLE at the top of the annotation telling about it if you really want to.Handing your undone work to somebody elseIt's always possible that you're in the middle of a translation and you don't have the time to finish it. It's inconvenient, but there is a solution. First, if it's just a song, note down "Translation to be continued" after the last line you translated. After that, leave a comment at the bottom of the page tagging a trustworthy translator who you know is able to finish the translation as soon as possible—follow the same process for an album page if you really want it to be finished rapidly. If you don't know who to tag, @Swono will guide you around. Regardless of the translation's final state, you will be rewarded with an amount of IQ proportional to your contribution; have no worries about having your well-deserved bonus IQ being stolen!Resources5 most common beginner mistakes; on IdeatranslationsMore advanced translation tips; by AceProof's Maria10 harder but still common mistakes you can fix; by Carey WodehouseTips on common mistakes that will help you on the long run; on TranslateDay