Translating On ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur into Japanese: Exploring Variation

7. ということさ to yū koto sa

This covers only certain translations

A further factor that must be considered in the Japanese translation is the way that the fox's statement is 'embedded' in the discourse. By this I refer to the way that some translators add words like ってことさ -tte koto sa ('is the fact that'). This must be considered against the entire context, as such wording is sometimes placed after this sentence, sometimes after the second sentence L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.

In this sentence:

Three translators end with ってことさ -tte koto sa 'the fact is that'.

One translator uses それは sore wa 'that' ... ってことだよ -tte koto da yo 'is the fact that'.

One uses ってことなんだ -tte koto nan'da.

These are all devices used for making a 'declaration' in Japanese and are beloved of writers representing speech. The difference between the three is one of sentence-ending particles.

さ sa is a way of making an assertion. It tends to be regarded as cooler by younger people but is not without its detractors among more conservative users of the language.

だよ da yo is a more broadly acceptable ending used for making assertions.

なんだ nan'da is often said to be an 'explanatory' ending (explaining why something is so -- in this case explaining what the secret is), but it also has an assertive force.

Translating voir 'to see'

The choice of conditional

Translating 'things'

Word order: Placing the topic

Translating bien

Framing the sentence -- ということさ to yū koto sa