Hi all!
Today I thought that I would take the opportunity to discuss something that really stumped me when I first started reading books seriously in Japanese, and how to interpret it.
When learning the dictionary form of verbs (食べ-る-) ‘to eat’, we usually learn that they can have a few different nuances. Basically, they can indicate something that is happening in the present ‘eats’ or the future ‘will eat’, or the act itself ‘to eat’. However, they usually rely on surrounding context to make the exact time clear.
One form that I started to come across in many novels that I never really got a strong understanding of from textbooks is the form that often feels like it should be either progressive or past. This is the form that would usually be translated as ‘eats’, it explains what is happening at present, without needing to be progressive.
As an example, here is an excerpt from the Japanese version of Star Wars - The Phantom Menace (sorry for haters of the prequel trilogy).
次の瞬間、煌めくライトセーバーを手にした二人のジェダイが飛べ出してきた。クワイガンのライトセーバーがドロイド二体を斬りつけると、火花と金属の部品があたりに飛び散る。オビワンのライトセーバーがブラスターを弾き、光弾はいくつかに割れて飛んでいく。つづいてオビワンがさっと片手をあげて手のひらを広げると、別のドロイドが壁に叩きつけられる。
‘In the next moment, the two Jedi who had taken their glowing lightsabers in hand bounded out. As Qui-Gon’s lightsaber slashed two of the droids, metal parts and sparks scattered in the vicinity. Obi-Wan’s lightsaber rebounded the blasters, and the laser blasts split into several parts and flew off. Next, as Obi-Wan quickly raised one hand and spread out his palm, other droids were thrown against the wall.’
In English. This would be a complete natural way to translate this, but what we actually see in the Japanese is extensive use of the dictionary form instead of the past or progressive forms. In English we would want to say -
飛び散る ‘scattered’
飛んでいく ‘flew off’
叩きつけられる ‘thrown against the wall’
However, none of these actually are past. So, how do we translate it? The simple answer is, the ‘s’ form in English that indicates either a habit or a generalization. Let’s retranslate the Japanese in this manner.
‘In the next moment, the two Jedi who had taken their glowing lightsabers in hand bounded out. Qui-Gon’s lightsaber -slashes- two of the droids, as metal parts and sparks -scatter- in the vicinity. Obi-Wan’s lightsaber -reflects- the blasters, and the laser blasts split into several parts and -fly off-. Next, as Obi-Wan quickly -raises- one hand and -spreads- out his palm, other droids -are- thrown against the wall.’
The big difference here is that when reading something in English, we are usually told explicitly whether something is happening in the past, present, or future. In Japanese though, there appears to be a preference for a style of storytelling that is very similar to what one would expect in a more suspenseful thriller, or in a story that is being spoken out loud and the speaker is trying to keep the reader/listener locked firmly in the current moment until information on tense is actually needed. We can imagine a group sitting around a campfire and the storyteller says ‘Qui-Gon slashes two of the droids (makes lightsaber slashing motion), as metal parts and sparks scatter in the vicinity (spreads out arms and waves fingers in the air to indicate sparks raining down)’.
Annnnyway. Don’t even know if other people struggle or struggled with this use of the dictionary form when they started reading books, but I found that this way of translating worked well for me a long time ago when trying to figure out how Japanese speakers prefer to indicate the passing of time.
Hope you’re all having a great day! Would love to know any other weird uses of Japanese grammar that any of you were stumped with at any point in the past and how you eventually figured out what was actually happening! 