On translations
Le Petit Prince
The Little Prince
星の王子様 (The Prince of Stars)
I just noticed how the English translation is true to the original French, whereas the Japanese is, directly translated, "The Prince of Stars". Somewhat exaggerating the modest Frenchman’s touch! What, a Frenchman, modest?!
No no, I think the word “Little” is his wit. In writing a Children’s book, he introduced a Price – fair enough – but gave this Prince a small planet with only 3 volcanoes and a rose. He gave the Prince plain clothes, and called him a “boy”, not a “Prince”. The only times the Little Prince is referred to as a Prince are when the narrator reflects on his young friend, six years after their separation.
The Prince is naïve. He is pure. And that’s what makes him a Prince in the narrator's (and our) eyes. And that’s why he’s not the Prince of Stars, but the Little Prince.
He never did intend to write a Children's book.
The Little Prince
星の王子様 (The Prince of Stars)
I just noticed how the English translation is true to the original French, whereas the Japanese is, directly translated, "The Prince of Stars". Somewhat exaggerating the modest Frenchman’s touch! What, a Frenchman, modest?!
No no, I think the word “Little” is his wit. In writing a Children’s book, he introduced a Price – fair enough – but gave this Prince a small planet with only 3 volcanoes and a rose. He gave the Prince plain clothes, and called him a “boy”, not a “Prince”. The only times the Little Prince is referred to as a Prince are when the narrator reflects on his young friend, six years after their separation.
The Prince is naïve. He is pure. And that’s what makes him a Prince in the narrator's (and our) eyes. And that’s why he’s not the Prince of Stars, but the Little Prince.
He never did intend to write a Children's book.
posted by Shunsaku Horiuchi at
2/02/2006
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