Frère Jacques: nursery song translated
Another one!
We all know the French version:
Frère Jacques, Frère Jacques
Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous?
Sonnez les matines, sonnez les matines,
Ding dang dong. Ding dang dong.
I don’t always realize it but – duh – the English version is direct translation:
Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping?
Brother John, Brother John
Morning bells are ringing, morning bells are ringing
Ding dang dong. Ding dang dong.
Because I have learned German in high school, I feel qualified to sing the German version:
Bruder Jakob, Bruder Jakob
Schlafst du noch? Schlafst du noch?
Horst du nicht die Glocken, horst du nicht die Glocken?
Ding dang dong. Ding dang dong.*
Where does that leave Chinese?
Well, there is the classic “Two Tigers” version – it’s kind of morbid:
兩隻老虎 兩隻老虎
跑得快 跑得快
一隻沒有耳朵 一隻沒有尾巴
真奇怪 真奇怪
Now I’ve learned that a musical mnemonic to remember the order of Chinese dynasties is set to the same tune:
商周 秦漢 / Shāng, Zhōu, Qín, Hàn
商周 秦漢 / Shāng, Zhōu, Qín, Hàn
隋唐宋 / Suí, Tang, Sòng
隋唐宋 / Suí, Tang, Sòng
元明清 Republic / Yuán, Ming, Qing, Republic
元明清 Republic / Yuán, Ming, Qing, Republic
毛澤東 / Mao Ze Dong
毛澤東 / Mao Ze Dong
So, what about translating from French? Here is my attempt – as usual, Mandarin in red, Cantonese in blue:
約翰 哥哥, 約翰哥哥
有冇瞓? 有冇瞓?
鬧鐘現在响緊, 鬧鐘現在响緊
Ding dang dong. Ding dang dong.
Translations of Frere Jacques to Italian, Spanish, Dutch as well https://www.teachervision.com/frere-jacques-translations
Cantonese verb “aspect markers” https://sites.google.com/site/learncanto/home/aspect-markers
* Often you see “ding ding dong” but I saw in the German version “ding dang dong” and I want to sneak in different “tones”.