← The Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I.: Commonly Called the Arabian Nights' Entertainments

The Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I.: Commonly Called the Arabian Nights' Entertainments — Page 13

English → Japanese Preface Level 7/10

In other words, I insert nothing that I deem greatly inferior in interest to the tales in the old version.

言い換えれば、旧版の物語に比べて興味において大きく劣ると私が判断するものは何も挿入しない。

Certain passages which, in the original work, are of an objectionable nature, I have slightly varied; but in doing this, I have been particularly careful to render them so as to be perfectly agreeable with Arab manners and customs.

原作においていくつかの好ましくない性質を持つ箇所については、わずかに変更を加えた。しかしそうする際には、アラブの風俗や習慣と完全に調和するように訳すことに特に注意を払った。

It was originally my intention to omit almost the whole of the poetry, thinking that the loss of measure and rhyme, and the impossibility of preserving the examples of paronomasia and some other figures with which they abound, would render translations of them generally intolerable to the reader:

当初、私は詩のほぼ全体を省略するつもりであった。韻律と脚韻が失われること、また詩に豊富に含まれる駄洒落やその他のいくつかの修辞表現を保持することが不可能であることから、それらの翻訳は概して読者に耐え難いものとなると考えたからである。

but afterwards I reflected that the character of the work would be thus greatly altered; and its value, as illustrating Arab manners and feelings, much diminished.

しかし後に、そうすることで作品の性格が大きく変えられ、アラブの風俗と感情を描写するものとしての価値が大幅に損なわれると考え直した。

I therefore determined to preserve a considerable number of select pieces, chosen either for their relative merits or because required by the context.

それゆえ私は、相対的な優秀さのためか、あるいは文脈上必要であるかのいずれかの理由で選ばれた、かなりの数の選りすぐりの作品を保存することに決めた。

The number of those comprised in the first volume of my translation is nearly half of the number contained in the corresponding portion of the original work; but in several cases I have omitted one or more verses of a piece as unsuitable, or for some other reason; and in a few instances I have given only the first verse or the first couplet.

私の翻訳の第一巻に収録されたものの数は、原作の対応する部分に含まれる数のほぼ半分である。しかし、いくつかの場合においては、不適切であるかその他の理由から、一つの作品の一節あるいは複数の節を省略した。また、少数の例においては、最初の一節または最初の二行連句のみを掲載した。

Vocabulary

言い換えれば
iikaereb a — In other words; to put it differently
旧版
kyuuhan — Old edition or previous version of a text
no — Possessive or descriptive particle linking nouns
物語
monogatari — Story, tale, or narrative
ni — Particle indicating direction, location, or target
比べ
kurabe — Compare; measure against something else
te — Conjunctive verb form connecting sequential actions
興味
kyoumi — Interest; curiosity toward something
において
ni oite — In; at; regarding a specific context
大きく
ookiku — Greatly; largely; to a significant degree
劣る
otoru — To be inferior; fall short in quality
to — Particle meaning 'and,' 'with,' or quotation marker
watashi — I; me; first-person singular pronoun
ga — Subject marker particle in Japanese sentences
判断
handan — Judgment; decision; assessment of a situation
する
suru — To do; to perform an action
もの
mono — Thing; object; something with a tangible quality
wa — Topic marker particle highlighting sentence subject
nani — What; which thing; interrogative pronoun
mo — Also; even; used with negatives meaning 'nothing'
挿入
sounyuu — Insertion; adding something into a text
しない
shinai — Do not do; negative form of suru
原作
gensaku — Original work; source text or creation
いくつか
ikutsuka — Some; a few; several items or instances
好ましく
konomashiku — Desirably; in a favorable or preferable manner
ない
nai — Not; negation; does not exist
性質
seishitsu — Nature; character; inherent quality or trait
wo — Object marker particle indicating direct object
持つ
motsu — To have; to hold; to possess something
箇所
kasho — Passage; specific place or section in text
について
ni tsuite — About; concerning; regarding a topic
わずか
wazuka — Only a little; slight; minimal amount
変更
henkou — Change; alteration; modification of something
加え
kuwaee — To add; to apply; to make an addition
ta — Past tense auxiliary indicating completed action
しかし
shikashi — However; but; nevertheless; contrasting conjunction
そう
sou — So; that way; in that manner
sai — Occasion; time when something takes place
アラブ
arabu — Arab; relating to Arabic culture or people
風俗
fuuzoku — Customs; manners; social practices of a culture
ya — And; listing particle connecting similar items
習慣
shuukan — Habit; custom; established practice or routine
完全
kanzen — Complete; perfect; thorough and without lack
調和
chouwa — Harmony; balance; agreement between elements
よう
you — So that; in order to; resembling a manner
訳す
yakusu — To translate; to render text into another language
こと
koto — Thing; fact; nominalizing abstract actions or states
特に
toku ni — Especially; particularly; with special attention
注意
chuui — Attention; caution; careful heedfulness
払っ
haratt — Paid (attention); directed focus toward something
当初
tousho — Originally; at first; in the beginning
shi — Poetry; poem; verse composition
ほぼ
hobo — Almost; nearly; approximately all of something
全体
zentai — Whole; entirety; the complete body of something
省略
shouryaku — Omission; abbreviation; leaving something out
つもり
tsumori — Intention; plan; what one intends to do
de — At; by; with; particle indicating means or location
あっ
att — Was; existed; past form of aru
韻律
inritsu — Meter; prosody; rhythmic pattern in poetry
脚韻
kyakuin — Rhyme; end rhyme in poetic composition
失わ
ushinawa — Lost; stripped away; deprived of something
れる
reru — Passive auxiliary; indicates action done to subject
また
mata — Also; again; furthermore; additionally
豊富
houfu — Abundant; plentiful; rich in quantity or variety
含ま
fukuma — Included; contained within something
駄洒落
dajare — Pun; wordplay; a cheap or groan-worthy joke
その他
sonota — Others; the rest; other things besides mentioned
修辞
shuuji — Rhetoric; figurative language; literary devices
表現
hyougen — Expression; representation; way of conveying meaning
保持
hoji — Retention; preservation; keeping something intact
不可能
fukanou — Impossible; not able to be done
ある
aru — To exist; to be; to have something
から
kara — Because; from; since; causal or origin particle
それら
sorera — Those; those things; plural referring to previously mentioned
翻訳
hon'yaku — Translation; rendering text into another language
概し
gaishi — Generally; on the whole; as a rule
読者
dokusha — Reader; audience of a written work
耐え
tae — Endure; bear; withstand something difficult
難い
gatai — Difficult; hard to do; challenging to endure
なる
naru — To become; to turn into something
考え
kangae — Thought; idea; consideration or opinion
nochi / ato — After; later; subsequent in time
作品
sakuhin — Work; piece of art, literature, or music
性格
seikaku — Character; personality; essential nature of something
変え
kae — To change; to alter; to transform something
られ
rare — Passive or potential auxiliary verb form
感情
kanjou — Emotion; feeling; emotional state or sentiment
描写
byousha — Description; depiction; portrayal of scenes or feelings
として
toshite — As; in the capacity of; in terms of role
価値
kachi — Value; worth; importance or merit of something
大幅
oohaba — Significantly; by a large margin; drastically
損なわ
sokonawa — Damaged; impaired; harmed in quality or value
直し
naoshi — Correction; revision; fixing or reworking something
それゆえ
soreyue — Therefore; for that reason; consequently
相対的
soutaiteki — Relative; comparative; not absolute in nature
na — Adjectival particle linking na-adjectives to nouns
優秀
yuushuu — Excellence; superiority; outstanding quality
sa — Nominalizing suffix turning adjectives into nouns
ため
tame — For the sake of; because of; due to
ka — Question particle; or; expressing uncertainty
あるいは
aruiwa — Or; alternatively; on the other hand
文脈
bunmyaku — Context; flow of meaning within a text
ue / jou — Above; on; in terms of; contextually speaking
必要
hitsuyou — Necessary; required; needed for a purpose
いずれ
izure — Either; eventually; whichever; in any case
理由
riyuu — Reason; cause; grounds for a decision
選ば
eraba — Chosen; selected from among options
re — Passive verb ending; part of passive construction
かなり
kanari — Considerably; fairly; quite a large amount
kazu / suu — Number; quantity; count of things
選り
yori — Selecting; choosing the best from a group
すぐり
suguri — The finest selection; cream of the crop
保存
hozon — Preservation; saving; keeping something intact
決め
kime — Decide; determine; make a final choice
第一巻
daiikkan — Volume one; the first volume of a work
収録
shuuroku — Included; recorded; compiled into a collection
対応
taiou — Correspondence; matching; dealing with something
部分
bubun — Part; portion; section of a whole
半分
hanbun — Half; one of two equal portions
場合
baai — Case; situation; occasion or circumstance
不適切
futekisetsu — Inappropriate; unsuitable; not fitting the context
一つ
hitotsu — One; a single item or instance
一節
hitofushi / isssetsu — A passage; a verse; one section of text
複数
fukusuu — Plural; multiple; more than one
fushi / setsu — Verse; stanza; section of a poem or text
shi — And; conjunctive form listing reasons or actions
少数
shousuu — Small number; minority; only a few
rei — Example; instance; illustrative case
最初
saisho — First; beginning; the very start of something
または
mata wa — Or; alternatively; one or the other option
二行
nigyou — Two lines; a pair of lines in text
連句
renku — Linked verse; couplet; connected poetic lines
のみ
nomi — Only; solely; nothing but; just this
掲載
keisai — Publication; inclusion; printed in a work
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