The role of the Brazilian Portuguese phonology in the translation of singable lyrics

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate the translation process of singable lyrics, verifying which strategies the translator uses so the translated song remains both logocentric and melocentric when compared to the original. For this purpose, we compared the original sheet music of the song “Seasons of Love” by Jonathan Larson, from the musical “Rent” in 1994, with its Brazilian Portuguese translation by Mariana Elisabetsky, in 2016. On the basis of the aspects of Brazilian Portuguese phonology, in particular rhythm, stress and the processes of segmental junction (COLLISCHONN, 2001), in the concepts of metric accent and rhythm from the music perspective (BENNETT, 1987; LACERDA 1967), and with the translation process of singable lyrics (FRAZON, 2008), we could see that the literal translation of a song is not possible when its intention is to be sung. Therefore, the translator needs to adjust the translated song in order to fit its lyrics into the melody, so the translated song can be naturally sung along with its original sheet music.

Keywords

• Versionista
• Tradução de música para o canto
• Português brasileiro
• Notação musical
• Teatro musical