Voici mon secret. Il est très simple, |
Voici mon secret. Il est très simple -- 'And now here is my secret, a very simple secret'. This is how the fox starts telling his secret. .
As noted at the analysis of the French original, the two sentences convey two messages:
| 1. The fox announces that he is about to reveal his promised secret. (Voici mon secret.) |
| 2. The fox comments on the simple nature of the secret. (Il est très simple.) |
1. FIRST SENTENCE: ANNOUNCING THE SECRET
There are three main sentence patterns used to announce the secret.
The majority of translators use a construction along the lines of 'I'll tell you my secret' or 'Let me tell you my secret'. Note that while mon secret is translated here for convenience as おれの秘密 ore no himitsu, there is actually considerable variation in how it is translated. See Expression.
'Let me tell you my secret'
Voici is translated by using a verb such as 'to tell', 教える oshieru, often in the form 教えよう oshieyō, meaning 'let me tell' or 'I'll tell'.
'LET ME TELL YOU MY SECRET' |
|
おれの秘密を ore no himitsu o 'my secret' |
教えよう oshieyō 'let (me) tell' |
In accordance with normal Japanese practice, the verb comes last in the sentence, after its object 秘密 himitsu, which is marked as object by the particle を o. There is some variation in verbs and forms used. More
One translator also adds an extra sentence after the fox has told the secret. This sentence reinforces the notion that this is the fox's gift:
これがきみに贈るぼくの秘密だよ
Kore ga kimi ni okuru boku no himitsu da yo
'This is the present that I give to you'
'My secret is like this'
'MY SECRET IS LIKE THIS' |
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'that which is my secret' |
'is a thing like this' |
||
おれの秘密 Ore no himitsu 'my secret' |
というのは to yū no wa 'that which is' |
こういうこと kō yū koto 'a thing like this' |
なんだ nan'da 'is' |
The most prominent feature of this pattern is the use of というのは to yū no wa after 秘密 himitsu 'secret'. This is a colloquial form meaning something like 'that which is (my secret)'.
The use of such seemingly meaningless fillers is a common feature of Japanese. In fact, it is not totally meaningless, but indicates that something is about to be said about the nature of something. More
'This is my secret'
This pattern is closest to what one would expect as a literal translation of 'this is my secret', but is used by only one translator.
これが Kore ga 'this' + subject particle |
おれの秘密 ore no himitsu 'my secret' |
なんだ nan'da 'is' |
2. SECOND SENTENCE: NOTING THE SIMPLICITY OF THE SECRET
There are only two sentence patterns calling attention to the simplicity of the secret.
'It is a very simple thing'
Thirteen translators use a pattern meaning 'It is a very simple thing'. This adds the word こと koto meaning 'thing' in the abstract.
very
'simple'
'thing'
'is'
totemo
'very'
kantan na
'simple (attributive)'
koto
'thing'
da
'is'
The features of the dominant pattern are:
- Japanese does not normally use a personal pronoun like il ('it'), although a demonstrative like それ sore 'that' may sometimes be used.
- The form だ da, the plain sentence-ending form of the verb である de aru (polite form です desu) is used after nouns, and is roughly equivalent to est in French or 'is' in English. However, the Japanese doesn't vary for number or person.
- Très is translated quite neutrally as とても totemo 'very'. Simple is translated as 簡単 kantan, an adjective meaning 'simple, not complicated, not difficult'.
- The biggest departure from the French is the insertion of the word こと koto, meaning 'thing' in an abstract sense. The insertion of this is more natural in Japanese, although not absolutely required given that two translations leave it out (see below).
'It is very simple'
Two translators use an attributive adjective like the French: 'It is very simple'.
'IT IS VERY SIMPLE' |
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très very |
simple 'simple' |
est 'is' |
とても totemo 'very' |
簡単 kantan 'simple' |
だ da 'is' |
3. HOW THE TWO PATTERNS ARE COMBINED
The above sentence patterns are found combined together in a few different ways, of which the first is overwhelmingly dominant.
HOW TRANSLATIONS COMBINE THE TWO SENTENCES |
||
Sentence 1 |
Sentence 2 |
Occurrences |
| おれの秘密を教えよう。 Ore no himitsu o oshieyō. 'Let me tell you my secret.' |
とても簡単なことなんだ。 Totemo kantan na koto nan'da. '[It] is a very simple thing.' |
10 |
| おれの秘密というのはこういうことなんだ。 Ore no himitsu to yū no wa kō yū koto nan'da. 'My secret is like this.' |
とても簡単なことなんだ。 Totemo kantan na koto nan'da. '[It] is a very simple thing.' |
3 |
| おれの秘密を教えよう。 Ore no himitsu o oshieyō. 'Let me tell you my secret.' |
とても簡単なんだ。 Totemo kantan nan'da. '[It] is very simple.' |
1 |
| これがおれの秘密なんだ。 Kore ga ore no himitsu nan'da. 'This is my secret.' |
とても簡単なんだ。 Totemo kantan nan'da. '[It] is very simple.' |
1 |
Mon Secret:
Mon: the 'definiteness' of the secret and the concept of 'possession':
Mon secret in this case means: 'that particular secret -- the one that I mentioned earlier -- that belongs to me'.
Japanese is interesting for the lack of unanimity in the way that mon is translated.
(1) Null:
Five translators do not translate mon at all. 秘密 himitsu could mean 'the secret' or 'a secret', but given that a secret has been referred to already, here we can assume that the little prince knows what secret the fox is referring to.
(2) Direct translation of mon:
Somewhat less than half of translators translate mon directly.
おれの ore no ぼくの boku no オイラの oira no Total Japanese pronouns are an issue in themselves, because there is such a choice. Three translators use おれ ore, a rough male pronoun. This presents the fox as something of a rough diamond with slightly macho qualities. The similar オイラ oira is a countrified usage that gives the fox a simpler, slightly hick-like image.
ぼく boku, on the other hand, is fairly standard young male usage that avoids the rough connotaions of おれ ore or the rustic sound of オイラ oira.
(3) Other definite :
おれからの ore kara no ぼくの知っている boku no shitte iru きみにプレゼントしたい kimi ni purezento shitai Three translators use expressions identifying the secret in various ways.
One refers to きみにプレゼントしたい秘密 kimi ni purezento shitai himitsu 'the secret that I want to give you as a present'. This both identifies the secret that the fox mentioned earlier, but also indicates that the fox is about to 'give' the secret to the little prince.
One uses おれからの秘密 ore kara no himitsu 'the secret from me'. This indicates that it is about to be given to the little prince.
One refers to ぼくの知っている秘密 boku no shitte iru himitsu 'the secret that I know'.
This is functionally equivalent to 'my secret', in the sense that 'the secret that I know' explains more clearly the concept of possession represented by mon secret ('knowing' a secret is equivalent to 'possessing' it).
(4) That (before)
さっきの sakki no One translator (none other than Naitō) uses the term さっきの sakki no 'that before'. This makes it quite clear that the fox is referring to the secret he promised to tell the little prince before.
Secret:
The word secret ('secret') is translated by the same word in all Japanese translations. The word is 秘密 himitsu 'secret'.
Très simple
Très
Très ('very' in English) is meant to emphasise how simple the secret is. Most use とても totemo. Only one uses the colloquial すごく sugoku; two use nothing at all.
TRANSLATING TRÈS |
|
| とても totemo | 10 |
| とっても tottemo | 1 |
| すごく sugoku | 1 |
| ~ | 2 |
| Other | 1 |
Simple
In looking at the word simple, we need to consider not merely the word simple itself, but what the fox meant when he said this.
In the French, the sentence Il est très simple is a straightforward declaration. However, least three possible implications spring to mind:
- it's a way of reassuring the little prince that the content of the secret is not difficult.
- it's meant as a way of downplaying the momentousness or pomposity of the advice, a kind of modesty. This might be expressed as, "Well, actually, it's nothing at all".
- it's designed to emphasise the gravity, or no-nonsense clear-cut nature of the secret. This is the tone conveyed in a sentence like: "I'll give you some simple advice, my friend...", which could even sound ominous.
In fact, all of these nuances could be present at once.
TRANSLATING SIMPLE |
|
| 簡単 kantan | 7 |
| かんたん kantan | 4 |
| 単純 tanjun | 3 |
| なに、なんでもない nani, nan de mo nai | 1 |
| Total | 15 |
The original translation by Naitō is notable for using the expression なに、なんでもない nani, nan de mo nai, a deprecating expression meaning that it is 'nothing at all'. This downplays the secret.
Most later translations use 簡単 kantan 'simple'. This indicates that the secret is 'not difficult'.
Similarly for the translations that use 単純 tanjun 'simple', which indicates that the secret is 'not complicated'.
Most of the translators use expressions meaning 'a very simple thing', almost unanimously こと koto, the word for an abstract thing or situation. One uses もの mono, a word for a concrete thing. Three say it is 'very simple'.
こと これは ...もの ~ Total
Modal ending (second sentence)
The modal ending (indicates the way that the statement is being 'declared') shows a number of variations and combinations.
MODAL ENDINGS FOR 'IT IS VERY SIMPLE' |
||
| 簡単〜 kantan ~ (2) | ||
| だ da | だよ da yo | 1 |
| なんだ nan'da | なんだ nan'da | 1 |
| 簡単なこと (もの)〜 kantan na koto (mono) ~ (13) | ||
| だ da (6) | だ da | 3 |
| だよ da yo | 2 |
|
| だけど da kedo | 1 |
|
| なんだ nan'da (4) | なんだ nan'da | 2 |
| なんだよ nan'da yo | 1 |
|
| なんだけどね nan'da kedo ne | 1 |
|
| さ sa | さ sa | 3 |
| Total | 15 |
|
One third of the 15 translations use なんだ nan'da, which has both an explanatory ('you, see, this is how it is') and assertive function. The rest use just だ da by itself, except where the particle さ sa is used. さ sa can be added directly and doesn't require だ da.
Taking just the final particle, we find the following patterns:
FINAL PARTICLES |
|
| No particle | 6 |
| よ yo | 4 |
| けど kedo | 1 |
| けどね kedo ne | 1 |
| さ sa | 3 |
Each conveys a subtly different tone.
- Use of no particle is abrupt and assertive, especially given that the verb is the plain form.
- The particle よ yo is also assertive, but adding the particle actually softens the tone in comparison with using no particle.
- The particle けど kedo (including けどね kedo ne) has a much softer impact. It has a concessive force -- the meaning is literally 'but', and thus contains the notion of leaving something unsaid.
- さ sa is also assertive, but in a breezier manner. It has a jauntier feel about it that could be taken as more friendly and reassuring.
In fact, the difference is related to the fox's attitude to the fact that the secret is 'simple'. While in most translations the fox is assuring the little prince in no uncertain terms that the secret is simple, in those that use けど kedo the fox is almost apologising that the secret is such a simple little thing. In those little final particles lies a world of difference in meaning.
