TRANSLATION, PLEASE!

[Mr Cat Dog]

OK, so I found this video on YouTube and it's essentially the first Pokemon anime theme song sung in nine different languages. Pretty cool, no? I've embedded it below, so have a listen:

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When I was listening to it, I could help but wonder if these were a) the real versions played on German/Norwegian/Spanish/whatever televisions; and b) if they were exact translations of the English version that most of us know and love.

SO HERE'S WHERE YOU COME IN! Consider it your civic duty to PC to round up everyone you know that speaks any of the languages sung in the above clip (German, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Russian, Polish, Spanish and French) to get a complete and comprehensive translation from each of the languages into English. Chain them to a laptop if you have to!* Or don't... it's your choice. You can just listen and find out which language you like best based on this completely unrepresentative sample.

Oh, and I found the above clip completely accidentally. I was in the middle of a 20+ listen through to the song embedded below - probably the greatest moment in Phineas and Ferb - when I just happened to stumble upon it!

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You're welcome, PC! :D

*Don't actually chain your friends to their laptops. That would be cruel.

 

[Hybrid Trainer]

TIL that the german pokemon intro was badass and the american version finished mid sentence .

 

[Guest]

I'd take care of the Spanish portion, but I'm just too lazy to watch the video.

 

[Oryx]

The french one is something like:

One day I will be the best Pokemon trainer
I will battle without respite
I will make them be victorious
And beat the challenges
I will travel the entire Earth
Chasing(/hunting) with hope
The Pokemon and their mysteries
The secret of their power

Pokemon
Catch them all!
It's our story
Together for the victory
Pokemon
Nothing will stop us
Our friendship will triumph

Pokemon
Catch them all!
Even at our age
A voyage of learning
That demands courage
Pokemon

Catch them all!
Catch them all!
Pokemon!

I'm not completely fluent in it but that's the gist of it haha. So it looks like they translated exactly as much as possible, while still making it make sense in French, haha.

 

[Ivysaur]

The European Spanish translation:

I will be the very best that there will ever be
My cause is to train them after catching them
I'll travel to every place, I'll visit every corner
And finally understand the power that's inside

Pokémon! Catch'em all! It's you and me.
It's my destiny, it's my goal, Pokemon!

You are my loyal friend, we must defend each other
Pokémon! Catch'em all, yeah!
Well be better in the end
I teach you, and you'll teach me
Po-ké-mon! Catch'em all, catch'em all, Pokémon!

 

[bobandbill]

The Polish one is like the above - it follows the lyrics pretty decently. At the very worst I imagine it's the same gist of the meaning for the other songs too (don't see much reason for one to break the trend). Oh, and I'm fairly sure Finland's is also similar, having had a conversation on this with someone from there ages ago.

Kinda nostalgic for me, this, given although I haven't watched much of the anime, most of what I have watched was in polish, during a 2 month holiday when I was a kid there. (Winter sometimes involved stay-at-home days, heh).

I ain't got rhythm...

 

[Ho-Oh]

This is why Ole should be at PC tbh. Well that and other reasons.

 

[moon]

Haha :D the Swedish translation, almost exact:

Now I'm planning to be the very best
And build up a team
'cause I will search and catch the most
And train them every day

I will travel from city to city
Searching pokémon
Then I will see, though level by level
Where the power comes from

Pokémon, gotta capture more (it's you and me)
Together we'll be a team
Pokémon, oooh my best friend
We save the world all over again

Pokémon, gotta capture more (totally ok)
We know how to be alright
You teach me and I teach you

Pokémon! I will capture more! Gotta capture more! Pokémon!

 

[mondays suck]

Alright then, here's the German translation:

I want to be the very best
As no one before me was
All alone I catch them [this sounds really awkward without the verb being reflexive]
I know the danger

I roam through the entire land
I search far and wide
The Pokemon - to understand [for some reason the article here in the singular form, which is, honestly, just weird]
What grants it this power

Pokemon
Come snatch them
Just me and you
In all whatever I do [Yes, I am aware this doesn't make a lot of sense - the untranslated line doesn't, either]
Pokemon
You, my best friend
Come save the world
Pokemon
Come snatch them
Your heart is good
We rely on our courage
I learn from you and you from me
Pokemon
Come snatch them
Come snatch them

No matter how hard my way is
I put up with it
I want the place that belongs to me
I never give up

Come let us show the entire world
That we are friends
Together we ride [?] into battle [I honestly don't know the exact English equivalent for the idiom used here]
The best team wins

(chorus)

Come and snatch them
Come and snatch them
Come and snatch them, yes

(chorus, this time without the last two lines)



Oh god, this all sounds awfully awkward. And boy, this was harder work than the 6-hour final English exam I had the joy of writing 1½ weeks ago, I swear.

 

[Vato]

Spanish Part goes like this

I'll come to be the best.
The best there's ever been.
Beign Trainer is my cause.
Behind my great real test.

I'll travel to any place.
I'll arrive to any corner.
I'll come to disentangle.
The power there's in Pokemon.

It's Pokemon!
Get Them All!
It's my destiny, my vision!
Pokemon!
You are my loyal friend!
We must defend each other!
It's Pokemon!
We'll be better at last!
I teach you and you teach me!
Pokemon!
Get Them All!
Get Them All!

Once I translated it, I came to realize, god, this looks nothing like the original!

 

[Mr Cat Dog]

This is so good, you guys! (And we even have our first discrepancies-in-translation, yay!)

Emblems for everyone who provided full translations! :D

 

[Cosmotone8]

Can't translate at all w/out google. XD

Its not the best moment in Phineas and Ferb. Trust me, Im an addict to this series.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9FL-SQ56ZY
Try this.

 

[Gonzo]

I just say this post, lol.
I can translate both Polish and Russian (if I find the lyrics), and actually, Polish version starts with the second verse, not the first one ;)

(This isn't in the opening)
I wanna be the very best,
like no one ever was.
I have to pass an important test,
train all of them.
I will travel across the land,
I'll find my [inner] power.
I want to understand the world of Pokemon,
I'll find all of them because...

(chorus)
Pokemon! Do you have them all?
It's you and me!
We have to save the world!
Pokemon!
It's a friend of mine!
Shoulder to shoulder in a great combat!
Pokemon!
It's exactly you!
Courage will strenghten us up!
Train with me, the time has come!
Pokemon! Do you have them all?
Do you have them all?

(This is actually what you can hear in the opening)
When the destiny challenges you,
Stand with courage and fight!
You will regain the thing someone took from you if you're brave, <-------- sounds so awkward in English, but I'm trying to be as litteral as possible.
Come with me, the time has come, nobody is equal [context meaning: as good as] with us!
Can you feel the taste of Victory? It's exactly what we've planned!

CHORUS HERE

(end of the opening)

Do you have them all?
Do you have them all?
Do you have them all?

CHORUS HERE

end

I will add Russian translation as soon as I find the lyrics, because I'm not that good to catch it from the song, yet! :)