English translation: could/would play (a sweet music for you)
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03:43 Jan 14, 2010
Japanese to English translations [PRO] Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature
Japanese term or phrase:弾きつらん
父が奏でしメロディを
やさしき弾きつらん
This is part of a song that was written in 1945 by a Japanese soldier thinking of his small daughter back home. My question is what does つらん indicate? I guess 弾きつらん is a compound verb of some kind...
Explanation: In Japanese, the sentences in which the term “… つらん” or “… つらむ” is used apply to a situation under which a person wishes to do something that he/she cannot do actually. In general English sentences, this verb is equivalent to the auxiliary verbs used in the subjunctive past, such as “could, would, should, etc.” Examples are as follows:
(1) If I were rich, I would do so.
(2) If I had wings, I could fly to you.
(3) If I had money enough, I could go abroad.
So, I could translate this sentence into English as mentioned below, if I were you.
If I were there, I could play a sweet music for you.
Thank you Saito-san! Your explanation was most helpful. I believe that your translation is the correct one in this context. 4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer
> 「つ」は強意ではなく完了である、という立場ですね。<
日本語の文法的な解説から、仮定法過去完了も考えてみたのですが、そうなるとどうしてもニュアンスがだせませんし、状況的にもおかしなことになります。英語にすると”If had been there, I could/would/should/might have played a swee music for you.”となり、日本語では「もし（過去に）～だったら（したのだったら）、～しただろうに（したかもしれないのに）」となるからです。
> 「弾きつらん」の主語はこの日本兵であるとお考えですか。「父」が日本兵で、「弾きつらん」が娘であるとは考えられませんか？ <
直観的にそうとらえました。ここで質問者が問題にしているのが「弾きつらん」の「つらん」であるので、回答ではそちらを論点としています。表題の日本語は「父が奏でしメロディをやさしき弾きつらん」となっています。おっしゃる通りで、そうとも考えられる文章です。「父がメロディを奏でながら（それが歌声なのか楽器なのかはわからない）、それにあわせて娘が楽器を弾く」という状況ですね。となると、英語も変えなくてはならないでしょうが。まあ、そちらの方は脇においといて、「つらむ・つらん」の定義は私が書いた通りで間違いありません。「つ」と「つらむ・つらん」の意味が「強意（確述）」だとするそちらの主張は何を根拠にしているのでしょうか。
On that page find you will find plenty of guidance - and yes, it's a case of compound verb. Find "つらむ" in the page and there is an explanation. So we can try:
- (subject/I/someone) would play (be playing) the melody father (used to play)
- (I imagine that subject/someone) might have played the melody...
- (I imagine that subject/someone) might be playing the melody (now)
and see which fits most appropriately to the larger context of the song/lyrics.
If none of this quite doesn't fit, you have to google/check around about “つらむ” maybe a little further. But hope one of the above samples fit.
Akio Local time: 00:25 Works in field Native speaker of: Japanese
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you Akio-san, the notes and link you provided were very informative. Although I selected Saito-san's response as being the most helpful, your response was also extremely helpful and if I could have given you both points, I certainly would have!
Explanation: In Japanese, the sentences in which the term “… つらん” or “… つらむ” is used apply to a situation under which a person wishes to do something that he/she cannot do actually. In general English sentences, this verb is equivalent to the auxiliary verbs used in the subjunctive past, such as “could, would, should, etc.” Examples are as follows:
(1) If I were rich, I would do so.
(2) If I had wings, I could fly to you.
(3) If I had money enough, I could go abroad.
So, I could translate this sentence into English as mentioned below, if I were you.
If I were there, I could play a sweet music for you.
Katsushi Saito Local time: 13:25 Native speaker of: Japanese PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thank you Saito-san! Your explanation was most helpful. I believe that your translation is the correct one in this context.
The translation workplace 
