99 Red Balloons in Afrikaans?
by subacati
Having just discovered that this song from childhood was originally sung in German, I wondered about the original lyrics. The English lyrics barely made much sense and I could never figure out why the balloons were specifically red! :left:
Of, course, since I don't speak German, I decided to use Google. In The hopes of getting a less distorted translation, I felt that it would make sense to translate into Afrikaans. As I am reasonably fluent in Afrikaans, and since German an Afrikaans have almost identical grammar, I expected a near perfect rendering of German to Afrikaans.
I was wrong! Google clearly needs to work on their translation algorithm when translating lyrics! :irked:
Here is my translation, which is a much better version than Google's! :whistle: …
Het jy vir my, 'n oomblikjie,
Dan sing ek vir jou 'n kort lidjie.
Van nege'n negentig ballon
Op pad na die horison
Dink jy dalk nou net aan my
Dan sing ek vir jou die wy'
Van nege'n negentig ballon
En dat daar eits daarvan sou kom.
Nege'n negentig ballon
Op pad na die horison
Hul was as OVV's beskou
Daarom stuur die Generaal
'n eskader toe agterna
Alarm te gee, en daar bewaar
Dwaal daar aan die horison
Net nege'n negentig ballon
Nege'n negentig vegvliegtuie
Elkeen was 'n groot bakleier
Hulleself gesien as "Captain Kirk"
Dit was 'n helse vuurgeveg
Die buurland het mos niks beryk
Gevoelens seer en humeur te kwyt
Daarom geskiet te horison
Op nege'n negentig ballon
Nege'n negentig oorlogsmeneer-
Vuurhoutjies en petrolkanne-
Soos slim wat nou sy baas gaan vang
Verwagtend aan 'n grote beurs
Oorlog verklaar en wou verkrag
Man, wie sou dit verwag
Dat daar eenkeer so veel kan kom
Van nege'n negentig ballon.
Nege'n negentig Jaar beklei
Los geen plek oor vir die wenner
Oorlogsmeneer bestaan nie meer
En ook geen bewegsvlieftuie
Deesdae sweef om my rond
Sien die wêreld geteisterd lê
Het net een ballon gekry
Aan jou gedink, en nou's hy vry
I've had to take some major liberties with the Afrikaans language such as dropping the obligatory double negatives. My Afrikaans teachers would be so proud, not! :p
Despite this, I feel that I have done a fair job here. At least it's still the same song, which cannot be said of the English version which loses so much in translation! 😥
Truth is, I really never understood this song. The English lyrics are just shy of being nonsense. Yet the original is so profound and deep! :eyes:
subacati 
I'm glad to learn my competition is still not up to the scratch :p
I remember that song, it was a big hit all over Europe. Nena was singing it, if I am not wrong.I would love to have the lyrics in Afrikaans back then :yes:
pretty ccool translation!that was a massive hit here in 1983 (for some reason it still is when you're part of a special generation)you may have look here, very informative: Mike Smith – http://www.mds975.co.uk:whistle: :whistle: :whistle:
Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:
I was thinking about your job while doing this and I must say that I have much respect for you! :insane:This was difficult to do, and yet I was translating between two related languages! :left:You translate between two completely different and unrelated languages! :insane:Do you ever get that odd sentence where, no matter which way you try it, there just isn't a valid translation without writing a paragraph for the sentence? :sherlock:Originally posted by gdare:
That is correct, the link at the top is to Nena singing in German! :pAnd too, would have liked to have had these lyrics back then. :yes:Originally posted by dirkdecker:
Hmmm! I saw 1984 somewhere while researching this, but I can't claim that was accurate. :left:
In UK the hit was the anglicised version, but you were a lot cooler if you had the German single 😆
Originally posted by qlue:
I saw this too, but I remember quite well the song was released in 1983 and was immediately a hit single.:right: due to my age, I wouldn't cross my fingers for this :left:
Dirk, I remember clearly where I was working when the millennium turned over and I remember the song that was number one in this country was played by the DJ as the first song of the year. Yet every source says that song was released in 98 and was number one through the start of 99. Thing is, most sources go from user edited wikis and those have no problem being edited to the majority belief even if that is wrong.
The song was a protest song so the red was probably to symbolise both danger and stop. The idea that some people releasing balloons could be the final straw in a case where tensions have mounted and result in world war three is something that stayed with me. People are bloody idiots when they're scared, it told me and I've held on to that belief.
Originally posted by FlaRin:
You really weren't. :p
😆 You were in London musician circles, I can assure you :lol:\edit : although as I recall, the actual lyrics weren't much of a concern, it was mostly about playing it, and briefly admiring or alternatively condemning it's simplicity…it was indeed originally released in '83 on CBS in Europe generally and on Epic in US, NZ & Australia, in a variety of 7" and 12" versions 🙂
Originally posted by FlaRin:
:lol:Originally posted by Furie:
The German version is much more powerful in that it creates a much more innocuous start with no sign of war or tension. And builds up to a major conflict. The result is a 99 year war and the total devastation of the World. :awww:
Originally posted by qlue:
All the time!
I see Mik has already explained it to you. The English version is rubbish. Better in German.
I'm searching da web for a Klingon version – there *must* be one! 😀
Originally posted by FlaRin:
:lol:That must sound… :insane:
Ah, such a great song. I still love it! :DGreat job you've done translating it too! (At least, that's what I think :P)
that sounded pretty weird in my head the translated version. :p
I don't think I heard the English version until by some time in the nineties where they started to release those 'Big 80s' Compilations. The original came out early in the eighties, because I was around 14 (1983) when I heard it first time, and I liked it a lot. Still do. The lyrics have a cold war theme, the way I see it. Everybody was looking for a reason to start the next war.
from my humble experice i think it is too hard to translate Lyrics ,you did a good job , thanks
I think this song is really cool when it's sung in German. :yes:
1983 in Europe (in German), '84 English translation. I enjoyed the German version better, though I, of course couldn't understand a word. I always felt there was something lacking in the English v.
Originally posted by H82typ:
Now that makes sense! :up:
Originally posted by raniakasim:
One of the reasons why I never post any of my own fiction is that translating is really hard. I've tried many times, and it's just not me. Good thing there are professional translators around.
Originally posted by Aqualion:
And absolutely correct translations may even be impossible! :pWords don't always translate well and sentences never do! :rolleyes:"Ya nee ou swaar, dis nou vir jou 'n ding!":sst: ignore Googles translation of the above sentence, it means, roughly;"Yeah well that's just how life is!" :p
Sådan er livet…
So ist das Leben.
Originally posted by Aqualion:
Oh i dream of being one of those professional translators , but i think it isn't required only good languge but also the good usderstading of the verse and the real feeling of its meanings, and that's why we hear about a big problem between a certain poet and the translator of his verse .
Originally posted by raniakasim:
It's impossible to give 'perfect' translation. The best we can achieve is 'adequate' translation for a given purpose! :up:
There's a fine line between translation and interpretation, and when it comes to verses or poetry in general you have to interpret, not just translate. This is why statistical machine-translation services fail in almost any way when translating poetry. This also goes for most prose, since good prose always contains a certain tone of poetry.
Originally posted by Aqualion:
A nice way of expressing it. I've contended the same thing for many years, after my first encounter with Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows and the King James Bible. After that, I began to look for it, and of course, it's plentiful if one looks hard enough. From Chaucer to Tolkien and later, there's an awful lot of poetic prose. Some of it makes one want to sing. Unfortunately, my skill-level in other languages does not permit me to appreciate them in the same way, but I'm certain they are similar in nature.
Originally posted by raniakasim:
It's hard to translate any piece of art actually. I would love to learn German language good enough in order to read work from some of my favorite writers originally written in German… Poems especially, I don't believe they can ever be translated good enough…Originally posted by Zaphira:
:yes: