Mar 21, 2007 21:38
17 yrs ago
Japanese term
生活感
Japanese to English
Art/Literary
Other
This phrase is used by a film director talking about his attempts to recreate a sense of everyday life (through props and so on) and how this is difficult in a period drama. The phrase is used in quotation marks. Can anyone think of a neat one or two word phrase for this. Here is an example of how the phrase is used:
二百年も暮らしてきたんだという生活感をどうやって出すか
二百年も暮らしてきたんだという生活感をどうやって出すか
Proposed translations
(English)
3 +1 | authenticity | Steven Smith |
3 +1 | zeitgeist | Will Matter |
3 +1 | "How to recreate the sense that the character has lived for 200 years?" (Comments follow) | Kurt Hammond |
4 | Life's essence | Joyce A |
Proposed translations
+1
4 hrs
Selected
authenticity
Just to throw in another option. This word is often used when talking about recreating historical periods, etc.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
+1
8 mins
zeitgeist
I know, I know technically it's not English but we do use it. People that read movie reviews or literary criticism will normally understand this term and it has the distinct advantage of being pithy and compact. No lengthy (translator) explanations needed. HTH.
Note from asker:
Zeitgeest is a lovely word. I would normally jump at the chance to use it but in this context I think the concept in question is expressing the material rather than the spirit of the age. More Feuerbach that Hegel. |
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Joe L
: (Depending on Rossa's answer to my question above.) /// I saw you mention that to Casey. Whereabouts in Japan?
4 hrs
|
Thanks, Joe. FYI, I will be returning to Japan this Fall, most likely for a minimum of 3-5 years.
|
+1
3 hrs
"How to recreate the sense that the character has lived for 200 years?" (Comments follow)
I think you're going to have to venture away from the standard dictionary attacks and do some inspired translating for this one.
Here's a rough first draft.
How to recreate the sense that the character has lived for 200 years?
This is one of those phrases you might need to sleep on before the answer will come to you.
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Note added at 3 hrs (2007-03-22 00:55:11 GMT)
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Note: I synthesized a subject because it was missing from your original Japanese. Substitute or modify as the context requires.
Here's a rough first draft.
How to recreate the sense that the character has lived for 200 years?
This is one of those phrases you might need to sleep on before the answer will come to you.
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Note added at 3 hrs (2007-03-22 00:55:11 GMT)
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Note: I synthesized a subject because it was missing from your original Japanese. Substitute or modify as the context requires.
Note from asker:
Thanks Kurt. That was a great answer with no subject to go by. My own rendition was similar. But I felt 'authentic' was more in keeping more with the quest for the mot juste. |
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Joe L
: I agree if this is about one person. But if it's about a group or culture, or otherwise some people with ordinary lifespans, but some sort of connection to one another.../// Even in view of Rossa's latest note, this still would have largely worked.
8 mins
|
Yes, I had to add a subject because it was missing from the Japanese. Substitute or completely change as the context requires.
|
1 hr
Life's essence
Hello Rossa. I thought that perhaps "essence" is a word that encapsulates what our everyday life is all about.
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Note added at 4 days (2007-03-26 01:31:41 GMT) Post-grading
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Of course, Rossa. I just wanted to reply to you because you put your explanation so interestingly and nicely.
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Note added at 4 days (2007-03-26 01:31:41 GMT) Post-grading
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Of course, Rossa. I just wanted to reply to you because you put your explanation so interestingly and nicely.
Note from asker:
Thanks Joyce A. Good answer. It is just that 'authentic' has a more material nuance than 'essence' |
Discussion
Anyway, what is 生活感?- a native speaker explained to me that a room can 'have' a 生活感 on account of people actually living there and this 生活感 expressed through the resultant flotsam of human domesticity- the mess, the odours, the wear and tear and so. The difference between my living room as I live in it and a showroom version of my living room in a department store is the 生活感がありof the former and 生活感がないof the latter.
About that "through 200 years of living/daily life":
is this a referring a culminating point where this film is then set,
or, is this film a sweeping piece that will encompass 200 years of time?
If the former, I like Will's "zeitgeist".