Translation Notes
For the sake of convenience, I've made three pages for each song's translation: one for the original, Japanese character text; one for romanized text (the Japanese words transcribed into Roman letters); and an approximate English translation.
On the "Romaji" pages, I use the Hepburn style of romanization (which you can learn about on its Wikipedia page). I romanized katakana characters (generally used for words and names "imported" from other languages) using all-capital letters.
The Japanese language features many words that have multiple meanings. For example, "kokoro" (心、こころ) can mean either "soul," "heart," or "mind;" and "yurusu" (許す、ゆるす) can mean either "to forgive" or "to release (as in from captivity)." In such cases, I used whichever translation seemed most appropriate in the given context (or sometimes, the one that was closest to the English lyrics), but keep in mind that any of the definitions could be valid. When necessary, I'll provide examples of multiple definitions that could be used on the translation pages themselves.
In Japanese, personal pronouns tend to be used sparingly – people typically rely on the context given by the sentence to indicate who they are referring to. In some cases, though, it can be ambiguous (sometimes intentionally, thus leaving the text open to different interpretations), so I'll try to note those occurrences.
Punctuation is also used sparingly in Japanese, especially when it comes to song lyrics. When statements are punctuated, a "full stop" or "kuten" (which looks like a small circle) is generally used to mean a period, sometimes in place of exclamation or question marks that would seem to be called for. Other times, no punctuation is used for long passages. To make the English translations grammatically correct, I've punctuated sentences in order to have them make as much sense as possible. The Japanese text, however, was left unaltered (as was the Romaji, aside from using periods rather than kuten).
Japanese, like most other major languages, features regional dialects and slang. To give some idea of this in the English translations, I'll try to include roughly equivalent English terms for slang words. For example, "aitsu" (あいつ) is a slang term literally meaning "that person," but is typically used very informally and often with some contempt, so a closer meaning could be "that guy/girl." In addition, Kansai dialect (sometimes known as "Osaka-ben") is often stereotyped as a "lower-class" dialect (especially when lots of slang is thrown in) . In musicals imported from Western countries, Kansai dialect tends to be reserved for "lower-class" or "villain" characters – for example, the Thénardiers in Les Misérables – similar to how Southern accents in American works or Cockney accents in English works are often used. When different dialects are used, I'll try to explain them in the individual translation pages.
On the "Romaji" pages, I use the Hepburn style of romanization (which you can learn about on its Wikipedia page). I romanized katakana characters (generally used for words and names "imported" from other languages) using all-capital letters.
The Japanese language features many words that have multiple meanings. For example, "kokoro" (心、こころ) can mean either "soul," "heart," or "mind;" and "yurusu" (許す、ゆるす) can mean either "to forgive" or "to release (as in from captivity)." In such cases, I used whichever translation seemed most appropriate in the given context (or sometimes, the one that was closest to the English lyrics), but keep in mind that any of the definitions could be valid. When necessary, I'll provide examples of multiple definitions that could be used on the translation pages themselves.
In Japanese, personal pronouns tend to be used sparingly – people typically rely on the context given by the sentence to indicate who they are referring to. In some cases, though, it can be ambiguous (sometimes intentionally, thus leaving the text open to different interpretations), so I'll try to note those occurrences.
Punctuation is also used sparingly in Japanese, especially when it comes to song lyrics. When statements are punctuated, a "full stop" or "kuten" (which looks like a small circle) is generally used to mean a period, sometimes in place of exclamation or question marks that would seem to be called for. Other times, no punctuation is used for long passages. To make the English translations grammatically correct, I've punctuated sentences in order to have them make as much sense as possible. The Japanese text, however, was left unaltered (as was the Romaji, aside from using periods rather than kuten).
Japanese, like most other major languages, features regional dialects and slang. To give some idea of this in the English translations, I'll try to include roughly equivalent English terms for slang words. For example, "aitsu" (あいつ) is a slang term literally meaning "that person," but is typically used very informally and often with some contempt, so a closer meaning could be "that guy/girl." In addition, Kansai dialect (sometimes known as "Osaka-ben") is often stereotyped as a "lower-class" dialect (especially when lots of slang is thrown in) . In musicals imported from Western countries, Kansai dialect tends to be reserved for "lower-class" or "villain" characters – for example, the Thénardiers in Les Misérables – similar to how Southern accents in American works or Cockney accents in English works are often used. When different dialects are used, I'll try to explain them in the individual translation pages.
Get the joke?
Those "in the know" may chuckle a bit at my site's title. Basically, the Japanese title of The Phantom of the Opera is "Operaza no Kaijin." "Gaijin" is the shortened form of "gaikokujin," the Japanese word for "foreigner," and the shortened form is often used to refer specifically to Americans. Therefore, "Operaza no Gaijin" means "The Foreigner (or American) of the Opera." Get it?
Okay, I'll stop with the bad puns... at least for a while.
Okay, I'll stop with the bad puns... at least for a while.