#translated catalan songs

[useless-catalanfacts]

The Catalan indie pop band Ginestà released a new album last month and since then I haven't stopped listening to it. I've been trying to decide which song from it to translate, but there's too many that I love so I've decided I'll translate 3 of them.

If I had to choose, I think this one is my favourite song from the album: De tot el món. Here are the lyrics in Catalan and the translation to English:

Quasi rebenta la nau que m'ha portat fins aquí He atravessat l'univers, he decidit ser feliç I ara que arribo per viure a un planeta, torno a creure en el futur Perquè d'entrada apuntava a decebre'm i de cop has aparegut

The rocket that took me all the way here almost exploded I have crossed the universe, and I've chosen to be happy And now that I got here to live on a planet, I once again believe in the future Because, at the beginning, it looked like it was going to disappoint me, and suddenly you have showed up.

Tornada: De tot el món el que més m'agrada és que també hi visquis tu Ni els estels ni els mites, d'altres llocs on no hi ets El que més m'agrada és que també hi visquis tu Ni els estels ni els mites, d'altres llocs on no hi ets

Chrorus: Out of the whole world, what I like the most is that you live here, too. Neither the stars nor the myths from other places where you aren't. What I like the most is that you live here, too. Neither the stars nor the myths from other places where you aren't.

He vist tres mil horitzons, m'he vist la por dins del pit He conegut el present, he conegut l'infinit I ara que arribo per viure al planeta, torno a creure en el futur Perquè d'entrada apuntava a decebre'm i de cop has aparegut

I've seen a thousand horizons, I've seen the fear inside the chest I've known the present, I've known the infinite And now that I got here to live on a planet, I once again believe in the future Because, at the beginning, it looked like it was going to disappoint me, and suddenly you have showed up.

Repeat chorus

I si hem de tornar a començar serà quan tot exploti Potser res és com era abans ni gira igual Qui sap si quedarà bonic, o si tenim a prop la fi No em fa por el futur

And if we have to start over, it will be when everything bursts Maybe nothing is as it used to be nor does it turn around the same way Who knows if it will look pretty, or if we're near the end I'm not scared of the future.

Repeat chorus

[guillemelgat]

I'm posting this because it's a bop and I haven't been able to stop listening to it for the past week. The title and song reference Mercè Rodoreda, who is possibly the most famous Catalan author ever, she's certainly one of the most important writers in 20th century Catalonia. The protagonist of the video is reading her novel Mirall trencat (Broken Mirror), and there are several lines in the song which reference her works, hence the title. I'd try to mark the quotes, except that I would probably miss half of them, but if someone wants to take a stab at it I'd love to see that!

Deixa’m dir en la meva defensa Let me say in my defense que trobar-te aquí no estava a l’agenda, That finding you here wasn’t on my agenda que tinc més que coll avall que això de tu, de mi, That I’m in over my head, that this thing with you, with me que res: que era remoure la merda. That whatever, that it was fueling the fire Sé que no em convens, que és perdre el temps, I know you’re not good for me, that it’s a waste of time que no vals ni un dels segons que encara tinc. That you’re not worth even one of the seconds I still have Que l’amor, amb tu, com més lluny, més bonic, That love, with you, is better the further away it is citant Mercè Rodoreda. To quote Mercè Rodoreda

Deixa’m dir en la meva defensa, Let me say in my defense que trobar-te aquí no estava a l’agenda. That finding you here wasn’t on my agenda Que m’agrada caminar de nit, carrers petits. That I like to walk at night down small streets Hi ha màgia en la cosa de perdre’t. There’s magic in the act of losing yourself Dius: em puc quedar una estona amb tu? You say, Can I sit with you a while? I somric perquè se’t veu d’una hora lluny: And I smile because I can see you from a mile off Si fas nosa no ho has mai de preguntar, If you get in the way you never need to bother asking això s’ha de saber veure, You’ve got to be able to see that citant Mercè Rodoreda. To quote Mercè Rodoreda

[ TORNADA: Deixa’m dir que encara no estic bé, Let me say that I’m still not okay i que intento no passar pel teu carrer, And that I try not to go down your street i que hi ha cançons que salto molt sovint. And that there’s songs that I often skip Ets tu, record per tota la vida. It's you, you're a memory for the rest of my life Deixa’m dir que encara no soc jo, Let me say that I’m still not myself que ara em falta temps per endreçar-te a lloc, That now I need time to tuck you away in your place que només hi ha vida si la vius a poc a poc, That there’s only a life if you live it slowly citant Mercè Rodoreda. To quote Mercè Rodoreda ]

Deixa’m dir en la meva defensa, Let me say in my defense que trobar-te aquí no estava a l’agenda. That finding you here wasn’t on my agenda que, a vegades, surto així, del plan conèixer gent, That sometimes I go out like this, to meet people que funciona. Hauries de veure That it works—you should see com he anat guanyant soltura, How I’ve been gaining independence com he esporgat pors paralitzants, gegants, i tant: How I’ve cast away paralyzing, gigantic fears; indeed les coses importants són sempre les que no ho semblen, The important things are always the ones that don’t seem it citant Mercè Rodoreda. To quote Mercè Rodoreda

[ TORNADA ]

Deixa’m dir que encara no estic bé, Let me say that I’m still not okay i que intento no passar pel teu carrer, And that I try not to go down your street i que hi ha cançons que salto molt sovint. And that there’s songs that I often skip Ets tu, record per tota la vida. It’s you, a memory for the rest of my life Deixa’m dir que encara no soc jo, Let me say that I’m still not myself que ara em falta temps per endreçar-te a lloc, That now I need time to tuck you away in your place que ara tot és fràgil, tot tremola. That right now everything is fragile, everything is shaking Tinc una autoestima en construcció. My self-love is under construction

Deixa’m dir que hauria estat pitjor, Let me say that it could have been worse que era un gran deliri aquella set d’amor. That it was all a great delusion, that thirst for love Quan et llances a estimar i surts escaldat, què fas? When you throw yourself into loving someone and you end up getting burnt, what do you do? Has de canviar de manera. You have to change something

Deixa’m dir que encara no soc jo, Let me say that I’m still not myself que ara em falta temps per endreçar-te a lloc, That now I need time to tuck you away in your place que només hi ha vida si la vius a poc a poc, That there’s only a life if you live it slowly citant Mercè Rodoreda. To quote Mercè Rodoreda

[jackredfieldwasmyjacob]

@motsimages tagged me in for 10 songs 10 people, mil gracias :)

these are random songs from my most played playlist, hope you like them!

i'll also add some lyrics just for fun lol

te quiero porque te quiero (fandangos) by rozalén ft. rodrigo cuevas

te quiero porque te quiero / cuando paso por tu puerta / cuando paso por tu puerta / cojo pan y voy comiendo

6 AM by ginebras

¿cómo olvidarme de los días / en un bar de la latina / y del latero que hace música al pasar? ¿de influencias modernistas y mareas / feministas / si en el fondo no lo he pasado tan mal?

el cielo son los otros by confeti de odio

solo estoy contento cuando algo a mi alrededor / me distrae del hecho de que sigo siendo yo

la posada by sebastián cortés ft. alba reche

me enseña to' lo que hay por descubrir / no' miramos de cerquita pa' sentir / to' lo que nos queda, to' lo que nos queda / por vivir

tanguillo de la guapa de cádiz by lola flores

¡y desí que yo tengo postiso! / comprobadlo, tenéis mi permiso, / pasarme la mano, / vamo a vé si encontráis miraguano, / serrín o viruta; / que me toque una mano inocente.

que pasa nen by alizz

però em sento la chanel, català de segona / burguesia intel·lectual podeu menjar-me la poll-

a ver qué pasa by rigoberta bandini

y a ver qué pasa / porque algo pasa / creo que algo pasa / cuando me pasa

desastre de persona by ginebras ft. dani martín

dices que quieres ir al cine / por parecer que eres intelectual / y ya te has puesto quince alarmas / porque mañana tienes que trabajar

adiós by zahara

dedícame mi canción de despedida / y dedícame tu canción de despedida / ¿cómo has tenido valor de hacer una canción de amor?

esa también fui yo (quiero acordarme) by alba reche

me forzaron a querer dentro de una habitación / aún me culpo al dedicarte toda una puta canción

and i tag @naguaraquerandom @alicechesire @sarcasmisalifechoice @eskamtrash @skamesp @rosalia-de-castro @glittertrail @claimedbytheearth @looselysealedkrypton @andalusi

[minglana]

translating something from aragonese to catalan: bro this shit is so easy who ever said translating is hard

translating something from aragonese to english: aragonese came to my house and threatened to kill me if i don't translate it with enough nuance

[kim-the-miserable-rat]

IM SO MAD, THERE'S A SONG THAT IS SOOOO THE BARRICADE BOYS CODED, BUT ITS IN CATALAN (a minor language from Spain) AND IM TRYING TO TRANSLATE IT IN A WAY ITS STILL AS BEAUTIFILL AS IN THE ORIGINAL BUT DAMN IM BAD AT IT.

The song's main theme is how invincible and full of life and passionyou feel when you are 20 years old. It also speaks about the rage young people tend to feel once they realize how unfair and corrupt is the world and their desire to change things.

I WILL JUST THROW HERE THE FULL SONG TRANSLATED BY MY BELOVED GOOGLE TRANSLATOR AND I WILL PUT SOME ANNOTATIONS:

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Now that I'm twenty years old

(THE MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE IN THE BARRICADE WHERE IN THEIR TWENTY'S)

Now that I still have strength

That I don't have a dead soul

And I feel my blood boil

(THIS MAKES ME THINK OF BOUSSET AND OTHER AMIS THAT WERE STUDYING LAW BUT REALLY HATED THE IDEA OF BECOMING A SOULESS LAWYER/JUDGE IN A SYSTEM THAT ONLY CARES FOR THE BOURGEOISIE)

Now that I feel capable

To sing if someone else sings

(DO YOU HEAR THE PEOPLE SING?)

Today that I still have voice

And I can still believe in gods

I want to sing to the stones, the earth, the water

To the wheat and to the road, when I pass by...

At night, in the sky, in this sea of ours

And the wind that comes to kiss my face in the morning

(JEHAN PROVUAIRE IS THAT YOU?)

I want to raise my voice, for a thunderstorm

(ONE MORE DAY BEFORE THE STORM)

For a ray of sunshine

Or for the nightingale

That joins my sing in the evening

Now that I'm twenty years old

Now that I still have strength

That I don't have a dead soul

And I feel my blood boil

(THE TIME IS NEAR, SO NEAR ITS STIRRING THE BLOOD IN THEIR VEINS)

Now that I'm twenty years old

Today my heart is pounding

For a moment to love

Or seeing a child cry

(EPONINE AND GAVROCHE, Eponine died in the arms of the guy she was in love with -SHE HAD A MOMENT OF LOVE AND IT WAS HER LAST ONE- and Gavroche cries at one point of the brick, idk)

I want to sing to love,

to the first, to the last

(Marius was the first love of Cosette and the last love of Eponine)

I want to cry with those who are all alone Without any love they go through the world

(GRANTAIRE)

~HERE COMES THE CLIMAX OF THE SONG STAY WITH ME CITIZENS!!!~

I want to raise my voice,

to sing to the people

That were born wretched

Who live in wretchedness

And whom wretched will perish

(ENJOLRAS AND THE GANG FIGHTING FOR THE RIGHTS OF THE ABAISSE -the people-)

I want and want and want to sing

Today that I still have voice

Who knows if tomorrow i'll still be able

(THEY KNOW THAT THEY MAY DIE IN THE BARRICADES, BUT THEY WILL NEVER -not even in death-STOP BELIEVING IN THEIR CAUSE)

But today I am only twenty years old

I still have strength today

And I don't have a dead soul

And I feel my blood boil

(THEY WERE ONLY YOUNG BOYS FIGHTING FOR A BETTER TOMORROW)

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Also, I will put a link here if you want to hear it, it's a song from one of the biggest songwriters of my nation (Joan Manuel Serrat)

[ohmyenjolrass]

things i adored of the catalan version of jesus christ superstar

so i just saw the catalan version of after discovering there is one (it's here, check it out!) and i think it was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. shoutout to @this-is-a-name-dont-worry for making me discover it <3

catalan is my favourite language and i am lucky enough to speak it every day, and this production didn't disappoint at all!

so as a tradition in this blog, let's review my favorite parts!

first of all, i adored the setting and the cast. the costumes were also fabulous. so the whole aesthetic of the show was impeccable, giving me the same vibes as the 2018 nbc version. 10/10 for scene.

now, specific things. many of these things have to do with lyrics because i think the translation was EVERYTHING.

heaven on their minds is always a banger, no matter the production. one thing i loved about this particular version was the lyric obri els ulls i escolta el que t'he de dir / que no veus que no vull veure't morir?, which literally translates to open your eyes and listen to what i have to say / can't you see that i don't want to see you die? (more or less).

that translation changed my life forever.

the percussion break right before what's the buzz? gave me +20 years of life.

then, judas's expression during mary's bit was so funny.

and also, some note changes during strange thing mystifying that i LOVED.

i also think it was clever how judas was arguing with the apostles in the background during the first chorus of everything's alright.

moreover, the way mary soothes judas in the second chorus

AND HOW THEY CHANGE THE LYRICS SO THEY CAN MAKE IT PLURAL (like mary talks to both jesus and judas).

ANNAS IS A GIRL !!!!! and an amazing performer, gotta say.

also, the little dancing of the priests during this jesus must die.

i adored how in hosanna, jesus and judas enter together and then mary joins them (and judas gives her a little kiss!!).

also judas telling the crowd to be chill while caiaphas sings.

and how he gets mad when jesus talks about heaven.

SIMON IS A GIRL !!!! and also SPECTACULAR.

the way pilate and jesus look at each other just before pilate's dream.

the priests being in the temple during the scene.

mary confessing to jesus during i don't know how to love him and jesus ALMOST KISSING HER???? WOAH.

a priest offered judas some food while he was having a mental breakdown in damned for all time and i thought it was the funniest thing ever.

okay so during the last supper happened a lot of things

first, JUDAS SMOKING. i'm always a fan of that (please, don't smoke).

also, during their first confrontation, judas says deixa'm que t'expliqui (let me explain) to jesus, and I WANTED TO CRY

the way the apostles tidy up the table after jesus and judas's first fight.

at the end, judas looks for comfort in the apostles AND THEY REJECT HIM???? the audacity.

gethsemane was in general absolutely stunning, but some things i liked about it is the way it was translated. the song in catalan seems like jesus is asking god to show himself so that he can see that everything is real. HEART B R E A K I N G.

ANOTHER HEARTBREAK. the lyrics just before the song starts say ningú es vol quedar despert amb mi? / no em deixeu sol avui, which translates to none of you wants to stay awake with me? / don't leave me alone today. I MEAN.

some other lyrics that destroyed me were the pre-chorus. in catalan, jesus sings: vas donar-me llum / però ara sols veig fum / esperant que tú vinguessis / vaig donar-te el que tenia / una vida / no pots esperar més d'un home sol, which translates to you gave me light / but now i only see smoke / waiting for you to come / i gave you what i had / a life / you cannot expect more from only a man. I MEAN X2.

peter's voice was one of my favorites.

and also, herod serving cunt in that animal print trousers. chef's kiss.

judas's death affected me more than any other production

in superstar, judas singing de debò el teu sacrifici et converteix en salvador? which translates to does your sacrifice really makes you a savior? in the cuntiest way possible. yes, king.

and to finish, the timer above the cross going down before jesus's death.

if you reached this point, hi! i hope you enjoyed it, 'cause i know i did. check out this production, it is truly amazing. see you in the next post! x

[celuloideycarbono]

A new video, about Tirreno - Adriatico '24 and Volta a Catalunya '24. This time I've chosen a Catalan song of the indie group Mishima. I write the subtitles in Catalan, you can translate them if you want.

[theoutcastrogue]

The THIEF's song (La Cançó del Lladre)

Manuel Cabral y Aguado Bejarano. Escena de una venta. 1855. | Eugenio Lucas Velázquez. Bandoleros. circa 1860. | Manuel Barrón y Carrillo. Emboscada a unos bandoleros en la cueva del Gato. 1869. [x]

"La Cançó del Lladre is a popular 18th century Catalan melody, from a tradition known as Canciones de Bandoleros: bandit songs. The bandoleros at that time were people who challenged the established social, political, and economic order, engaging in banditry in an era when divisions between social classes were very pronounced. They stole from the upper classes sometimes to give to the poor, and sometimes simply to protest against the system, which precluded social mobility and did not allow people to escape poverty and labour exploitation.

This song's lyrics are told in the first person by a thief who is sentenced to death after a lifetime of robbery and crime. Through each stanza he recounts his misdeeds, every robbery he committed, and despite everything, this song is in a major key. And in a way it is joyful. With the lyrics starting from the thief's childhood, it broadcasts that despite all he went through, he lived his life fully and he was happy. The chorus, which says "Adéu, clavell morenet, Adéu, estrella del dia", meaning "Goodbye, dark-coloured carnation, goodbye, star of the day", is a kind of farewell to life, and to that energy that made him feel alive."

— Paola Hermosín

The Thief's Song

(translation from lyricstranslate.com)

When I was a little boy I was boastful and presumptuous; White espadrilles on my feet And a handkerchief in my pocket.

Goodbye, golden carnation! Goodbye, day star!

And now that I am all grown up, I have chosen an evil path! I have started to rob people: (This is) my daily job.

Goodbye, golden carnation! Goodbye, day star!

I robbed a merchant Who was returning from the town fair; I stole all of his money And the sample he was carrying.

Goodbye, golden carnation! Goodbye, day star!

Once I had enough money I have kidnapped a young maiden: I have taken her with lies, Promising that I'd marry her!

Goodbye, golden carnation! Goodbye, day star!

The law has imprisoned me And it has dragged me to a dark jail. The law has imprisoned me And it shall make me pay with my life!

Goodbye, golden carnation! Goodbye, day star!

Original Catalan lyrics after the cut:

La Cançó del Lladre

Quan jo n'era petitet festejava i presumia, espardenya blanca al peu i mocador a la falsia.

Adéu, clavell morenet! Adéu, estrella del dia!

I ara, que ne sóc grandet, m'he posat a mala vida! En sóc posat, a robar: ofici de cada dia.

Adéu, clavell morenet! Adéu, estrella del dia!

Vaig trobar un traginer qui venia de la fira: li prenguí tots els diners i la mostra que duïa.

Adéu, clavell morenet! Adéu, estrella del dia!

Quan he tingut prou diners, n'hi he robat també una nina: l'he robada amb falsedat, dient que m'hi casaria!

Adéu, clavell morenet! Adéu, estrella del dia!

La justícia m'ha pres i a presó fosca em duïa. La justícia m'ha pres i em farà pagar amb la vida!

Adéu, clavell morenet! Adéu, estrella del dia!

[useless-catalanfacts]

This is the main single for the latest album by the Catalan indie pop band Ginestà: La meva sort.

Lyrics in Catalan and translation to English:

He estimat sense estimar-me Però és preciós enamorar-se M'he cosit la pell del cor He sobreviscut l'amor

I have loved without loving myself But it's beautiful to fall in love I have sewed my heart's skin I have survived love

Vull somriure al despertar-me I estirar-me sota l'arbre Puc vestir-la de colors La meva vida és la meva sort

I want to smile when I wake up And lay under the tree I can dress it in colours My life is my luck

Tornada: Què més vull? Si m'estimo amb bogeria Si ho faria tot per tu Potser em fa por el present Però el vol de l'oreneta em guia Que el món es desfaci en mil trossets Si brilla el sol i em cuida el cel Potser em fa por el present Però el vol de l'oreneta em guia

Chorus: What else do I want? If I love myself madly If I would do anything for you I may be scared of the present but the swallow's flight guides me May the world shatter in a million little pieces if the sun shines and the sky takes care of me I may be scared of the present but the swallow's flight guides me.

Vaig deixar-te abandonada Vida meva, estimada Potser em van guanyar els errors Potser em va guanyar el seu cos

I left you abandoned my life, my beloved Maybe I was defeated/convinced by the mistakes Maybe I was defeated/convinced by his/her/their body

Soc feliç altra vegada Perquè em surts per la mirada Li he perdut la por a la por La meva vida és la meva sort La meva vida és la meva sort!

I'm happy once again because you get out of me through the eye [this sentence is a game on the expression "to catch the eye", which in Catalan literally translates to "you enter through the eye", but in the song Ginestà say "you leave through the eye"] I have stopped fearing fear My life is my luck My life is my luck!

Repeat chorus

Potser em fa por el present Però el vol de l'oreneta em guia lluny Del que abans no em feia bé I ara el vent m'abraça els mals

Maybe I'm scared of the present but the swallow's flight guides me far away from what used to not be good for me and now the wind hugs my sorrows.

[guillemelgat]

Hey hello I made a thing! As perhaps a few of you know, I have spent the last half a year being completely unhinged about Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin books, and I’ve always been particularly interested in the character Stephen Maturin and his relationship to Catalonia. I saw that there was a lack of stuff about this part of his identity, and, being me, I felt the need to fill it in the only way I could: compiling music and yelling about it for thirty pages. Hence this playlist.

You really don’t need to know anything about these books to listen to this playlist. You also don’t need to know anything about Catalan (I hope). Catalonia and the Catalan Countries in general (including Valencia, the Balearic Islands, and parts of southern France, Aragon, and Sardinia) have a really interesting musical and literary tradition, and I wanted to make that more accessible, so I put together a few songs I liked, translated them, and wrote a bit about each of their significance, including the most important cultural tidbits I could. Some things don’t translate super well, and I hope my Catalan followers will forgive me for trying to adapt them more for English-speaking audiences than perhaps would be preferable; I usually don’t choose to do that, but in this case I wanted to open the door, and not to intimidate people.

Now that that’s out of the way, here is a link to the PDF of the liner notes (graphic design is my passion, as they say): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MUpRM84W8aypznEIrt0eA1jG5OxaRZvz/view?usp=sharing

Under the cut I’ve included the ephimera and unnecessary commentary that you know and love, feel free to read or ignore it as you will

These roughly follow the order of the songs and are varying levels of seriousness

If you like "Sant Joan, feu-lo ben gran" then I'd highly recommend listening to the whole Tornaveus album. I almost included the “Stabat Mater de Sudanell” and the “Goigs de Sant Julià de Lòria”, which are both from western Catalonia, and they also have more cançons de pandero, in perhaps a slightly more traditional style. A lot of the other songs have interesting cultural commentary in them, especially on feminist topics, and they’re very well-researched because literally one of the members of the group is basically the ethnomusicologist of Catalan music at the moment. Anyways, if people would like the liner notes perhaps next time I’m home I’ll scan them, they’re in Catalan and English and very well-written. Also note the legendary Lluís Llach song which has been turned into a polyphonic piece lol (and I did not include the “Goigs de la Nostra Senyora de la Llibertat” but tbh that might have been a mistake on my part) (Blorbo side note that I think this fits Stephen’s childhood very well which is mostly why I chose it)

“L’Hereu Riera” is one of my favorite Catalan folk songs I love it so much and if you want to hear the Catalan version (as opposed to the Valencian one included here) and see the dance and also see a cobla, I am including a link to this version by Germà Negre which is tragically not on Spotify. I chose the Valencian one because (1) Al Tall and (2) I think it fits The Blorbo better (specifically I was thinking of his fiancée who dies before Book One who idk if anyone ever remembers shdjfhskf). That being said, Stephen would probably know the Catalan one (and almost certainly not the Valencian one). Also, on a memey-er note, Hereu Riera bisexual king and literal icon <3 love how he has to remind his girlfriend on her deathbed that actually he'd technically be interested in both her sisters AND her brothers if he wasn't so into her that he never wanted to marry anyone else

I literally did put in Roger Mas just so there would be at least one person with a Lleidan accent, #diversity win

Many points about the “Cançó de pandero de l’Urgell” and “Jo no canto per la veu” so here we go:

I put these two songs in mostly because I got very obsessed with the cançó de pandero from Alcarràs (which is a great movie that came out last year about a farming family in a village near Lleida that is winning all the awards atm). Anyways, since Carla Simón has been too busy winning things to put up the gotdam soundtrack, I did a bit of digging and it turns out that it was written for the movie?? By her brother??? It's excellent and very anticapitalist and you can listen to it here and see the trailer for Alcarràs all in one! (Includes English subtitles)

The original “Canto per un amic meu que per mi daria la vida” is probably from a Valencian cant de batre, although I could not get any confirmation on that. But regardless everyone should listen to Pep Botifarra's version of it, which I would literally marry if it had a physical form it’s so so good. (I posted it here back in ye olden days but it's been long enough I think I can post it again)

Valencian music side note because I can’t stop myself: the second pair of verses in the "Cançó de pandero de l'Urgell" (starting with “vos esteu ben acotxada…”) are sung by Miquel Gil, who is a very famous Valencian traditional singer, anyways you should listen to this version of him singing “Del Sud” by Obrint Pas (you want to go down a Valencian music rabbit hole so so bad)

I firmly believe that Stephen would canonically be obsessed with Ausiàs March, and the fact that he has not yet recited any of his poems is Patrick O’Brian’s biggest failing in my eyes. Anyways I have more thoughts but I’m saving them for other posts shdfjsd

If you read this before listening to the playlist please just listen to "El testament d'Amèlia" and follow along with the lyrics in real time before reading the blurb, it's such a good experience to let that song hit you as it comes. I won't say more than that but you'll get it when you get it. (Also obligatory listen to Marala they're so good <3)

From the Càntut album, I also quite like the songs "El pomeró" and "El divino vull cantar", and Càntut in general is an incredible resource, it's a database of folk song field recordings from northeastern Catalonia.

Brief pause to scream about the fact that Maria Arnal and Marcel Bagés WERE ON NPR??? AND NO ONE TOLD ME???? Anyways link in the sources section, also they're great and you should listen to their whole discography

As the #1 Roba Estesa stan blog on Tumblr, listen to Roba Estesa. And Ebri Knight. And El Diluvi.

I chose this version of "La presó de Lleida" because I like it but here's a more traditional one sung by Joan Manel Serrat, another Catalan legend. Here's another one in Catalan rumba style with Sílvia Pérez Cruz singing, the sound is a bit wonky but it's also one of my favorites. The Valencian version of this song is called "La presó de Tibi" and El Diluvi have done a very explicitly anti-monarchical rendition of it (the Balearic one is "La presó de Nàpols").

I'm sorry for never putting the Sílvia Pérez Cruz version of "Corrandes d'exili" but if you want it here it is. Also note that the statue of the Virgin in the poem is a reference to the Virgin of Montserrat, it literally all goes back to her shfjkshdf (also apologies for being very bad at Christianity and Catholicism, if I mistranslated things let me know)

HOO BOY SARDANA TIME

Okay so I have a whole essay to deliver on this that I've been holding inside for the past like two months or so, I apologize in advance for my excessive pedantry on the topic.

In Master and Commander, Stephen delivers this speech:

"‘Then I must tell you that on Sunday mornings it is the custom, in that country, for people of all ages and conditions to dance, on coming out of church: so I was dancing with Ramon Mateu i Cadafalch in the square before the cathedral church of Tarragona, where I had gone to hear the Palestrina Missa Brevis. The dance is a particular dance, a round called the sardana.’"

I hate to be a hater but it is very, very unlikely that anyone would have been dancing a sardana as far south as Tarragona in this time period. The sardana as the symbol of equality and brotherhood emerged in the Renaixença and would not yet have been a thing; Stephen could well have heard sardanas in Ullastret, but they would have been a more typical folk dance, and not anything like the way they're described in the book. It's very ironic, then, that they've become THE Catalan music style for Aubreyad readers, but hopefully this playlist can change that a bit :)

(also sorry for being a sardana-hater on main, someone bring me to dance a sardana and maybe I'll feel better)

Songs that didn't make the cut: La cançó del lladre, Rossinyol que vas a França, La balanguera, La gavina - I'm always happy for more recs!

Originally, this list was also going to include songs in Irish; I quickly realized that I was in over my head with that one, but the working list of songs is here (may be subject to changes so save songs elsewhere if you like them!). Also I would add "Fé Bhláth" by Imelda May and Kíla if it was on Spotify but alas it is not; and "Amhrán na Leabhar" which I have not had time to add but was kindly recommended by someone. I'd love it if someone was interested in actually doing a proper playlist for Irish though—it's a gap in my knowledge that I'd love to start filling.

Aaaaaaand that's a wrap. I hope. Final comment to say thank you to everyone who voted in the cover image poll, turns out you all won :) (Pirineus did win and take the cover of the liner notes though)

[omglescubes]

for @savageleftist who had the great idea of sharing protest music to protest against the Federation :D In France during the big protests we sing a lot of song, but this one is one of my favorite, it was originally written in catalan to protest the Franco dictatorship but was translated and shared all accross Europe (there are versions in a lot of languages, especially in one that are under opression like britton or occitan)

In catalan and in french :

English lyrics (translated by me from the french version)

Back when I was just a kid My grandpa often told me Sitting in shade on his doorstep Watching the wind go past: “Kid, do you see this stake of wood To which we are all tied to? As long as it’s firm in the ground We will never have freedom”

“But if we all pull, it will fall It cannot stay like this any longer! It needs to fall, fall, fall See how it’s leaning already! If I pull hard, it must move And if you pull along with me It has to fall, fall, fall And we will have freedom! “Kid, my hands have been flayed For a long time now And I tell myself from time to time That I fought for nothing It is always so tall, so heavy Strengh deserts me I ask myself if We really will have freedom one day" “But if we all pull, it will fall It cannot stay like this any longer! It needs to fall, fall, fall See how it’s leaning already! If I pull hard, it must move And if you pull along with me It has to fall, fall, fall And we will have freedom! Then my grandpa went away A bad wind took him And I stay alone on this doorstep Looking at other kids playing Dancing around the old black stake On which so many hands have worn out They sing songs of hope About freedom “But if we all pull, it will fall It cannot stay like this any longer! It needs to fall, fall, fall See how it’s leaning already! If I pull hard, it must move And if you pull along with me It has to fall, fall, fall And we will have freedom!”

[gallifriendly]

With Goncharov (1973) reemerging into the public eye, I thought I’d talk about piece of Goncharov-related media that’s not well known outside Europe, but was formative to many children growing up in the 80s/90s: Goncharov and Friends! An animated children’s series produced in (what is now) Czechia in 1981, the 10-episode series was in part a direct retelling of the 1973 film and in part based on short stories by Jára Cimrman, on which the film’s story is said to be based.

Little is known about the original contents of Goncharov and Friends, as all original Czech copies of the episodes have been lost during an archive fire in 1995. Critics panned the series as lacking all of the nuance of the original 1973 film. For example, they noted how the iconic clock tower scene was now reduced to a lesson in teaching Goncharov (and the children watching) how to read clocks, or derided the inclusion of the bath time song sung during the sauna exchange. Children however were enamoured by Ice Pick Joe (now a clumsy cartoon flamingo), but put off by his horrific death in episode 9.

The series was initially translated into Italian in 1989, but was deemed so morally offensive that all copies were promptly destroyed by the television network. One newspaper article from the time makes reference to the infamous anchovy scene, where in making it suitable for younger audiences, instead invoked the rage of many Naples residents for the gratuitous inclusion of mussels instead of clams at a key juncture.

Surviving footage of Goncharov and Friends is mostly of the Dutch “translation” of the series. However, as the Dutch dubbing studio refused to pay the Czech animation studio for the original scripts or score, the Dutch localization team decided to make up their own dialogue as they went along. All references to Goncharov (1973) were removed and were replaced with improvised storytelling by an increasingly drunk cast of voice actors. This version was then translated into German, Danish, Swedish and Catalan. It proved a massive hit until it was pulled from television in 1994, when an innocent game of “pin the tail on Ice Pick Joe” resulted in the actual killing of 4 off-duty policemen dressed as mafia members.

[capricorn-0mnikorn]

Those El Pony Pisador goofs are at it again

Eye contact. Subtitles in Catalan (For me, it translated to English automatically on YouTube itself).

Summary: a silly, cumulative, song, done in "School play" style about how to "identify" birds by what they are not like.

[nehswritesstuffs]

banish every gaslight; let clarity shine - Part 1

I’ve been stewing over this for, like, three/four months at the very least and it recently exploded in my drafts so congrats y’all are being subjected to this now.

2694 words to start, going to be over 12-15k altogether; shout out to @gendervapor14 who was not my beta per say, but they did suffer through my ranting and raving and raging over this fic (so more like my enabler I guess lol; blame them for it getting as far as it has); will ultimately contain lots of Dressrosa bullshit and headcanons and so on and so forth (surprise, surprise, surprise); title comes from the English translation of Ado’s Fleeting Lullaby bc that song is fire; fair warning: I headcanon Dressrossan as an unholy union of Castilian Spanish and Catalan and thus act accordingly

Someone is sitting on the Heart Seat when the Straw Hats and Law head into Dressrosa. It changes nothing… until it does. [AU where there is a Third Corazón, whose very existence makes Law’s life hell]

It was the middle of the night as toys rushed to load crates onto the cutter ship docked in the underground port, the ship’s Human crew staring in amazement.

“So, they just… do this like it’s normal…?” the captain asked. A young woman in a bright pink roquelaure cloak and gilded half-columbina mask shrugged nonchalantly as she checked off the crates on a clipboard.

“I guess when you see them for ten years, they don’t faze you anymore,” she said. “Come on—pick up the pace, hobbies! We only got the one tonight, so the sooner we can get this done and the sooner we can all rest!” The toys all seemed to regard her with silent ambiguity and did not, in fact, pick up the pace.

“Hobbies…?” the captain wondered.

“Just what we call them; nothing to it.” She smiled devilishly, the smirk being accented by the blood-red lipstick that sliced all the way into her cheeks. “You got a problem with that?”

“Why would he have a problem with you, Corazón?” the first mate laughed awkwardly. He didn’t want to be on the receiving end of a kick from her steel-capped heeled boots, and he was sure his captain didn’t either.

“It just seems like something that happens after people meet me,” she replied. The Corazón flipped her high ponytail of sun-bleached light brown hair back and pretended as though it did not bother her. “They don’t expect an Elite Officer of the Family to be so young… to be a woman… to be me…”

“…well that’s silly,” the first mate assured. “I mean, you earned that position, right? Problem solved.”

“One would hope,” the captain scoffed. He then suddenly found himself with a sword to his throat, the Corazón having not made a sound as she moved.

“I really don’t think that you want to continue along that line of thinking,” she warned. “Since I’m feeling generous, you’ll get to sail away… except…” She snapped her fingers and the toys stopped loading up the crates. “This is all you’re leaving with.”

“We paid the whole amount!” the captain snarled. “That’s extortion!”

“…and if you lie to Kaidou about where the rest of the merch is, I’ll let him know exactly where everything is and why.”

“Please, Corazón, forgive him,” the first mate implored. “He is of no importance to us… to our organizations.”

“Like hell I am!” the captain snapped. He turned towards the first mate only for a knife to find its way between his ribs. Blood gurgled from his lips and he slumped to the floor, dead. The first mate wiped his blade with the corpse’s cape and turned back towards the Corazón.

“As I said: he is of no importance. Please reconsider.”

She snapped her fingers again and the toys reluctantly resumed their work, the task of tidying up the fresh corpse now added to their load.

“Many men are lost at sea, especially in the currents around Wano; I wish your promotion had been under better circumstances,” Corazón nodded. The new captain returned the nod—their additional contract was now sealed despite not even being one of words. “Give my regards to Kaidou and his son if you can; I look forward to our next meeting.”

“As you wish, Corazón, ma’am,” the new captain said with a bow. He then turned towards the rest of the crew and began commanding orders as though it had been his job the entire voyage.

The Corazón allowed herself a faint smile.

This… this was power… and she was right to wield it.

Before long, the toys finished loading up the cargo and the Beast Pirates left the underground port. Feeling the weight of the hour, the Corazón went to the lift that brought her to the first floor of the palace, taking a deep breath once she was out in the open air. Fruit trees and flowers filled her nose with what was likely the best scent in the entire world. She meandered in the gardens until she came upon her favorite bench and sat down, looking up at the moon and stars.

“I can smell you,” she said, not taking her eyes away from the sky. Someone nearby scoffed and sat down next to her.

“I wasn’t trying to sneak up on you,” Baby 5 grumbled. She stubbed her cigarette out on the side of the bench and blew out the last of the smoke. “You shouldn’t be out here, Antonia. The night air is bad for you—it’ll make you sick.”

“Superstition,” Corazón chuckled. She looked at the other woman—so much like a sister—and shook her head. “You’re going to ask me to read your humors or recommend a chiropractor next. Maybe that smoking relaxes the vocal chords…”

“Even when you’re joking, you’re always serious,” Baby 5 said. The Corazón took off her mask and stared at it—the design was one to invoke her father, and yet it always made her sad to see. She ran her thumb over the partial starburst that sat under her right eye and felt something was simply off about it. “Maybe if you stopped beating yourself up over it…”

“I had two parents who loved me, and now I can barely remember Dad and Mom is just this fuzzy thing…” She looked at Baby 5 with tears in her eyes. “My strongest memories are from after we landed in Dressrosa. I’m scared I’ll forget them. They’re fading every day…”

“The Young Master won’t allow that,” Baby 5 assured. She let Corazón lean on her, the other woman bending awkwardly in order to rest her forehead on her shoulder. A choked sound escaped the Elite Officer as she tried not to sob, causing Baby 5 to bite her lower lip in an attempt to steel herself.

Donquixote Antonia, Third Corazón of the Donquixote Pirates and Princess of Dressrosa, needed her to be strong, and strong she was going to be.

“Ah, two of my favorite youngsters.” Baby 5 looked—it was Doflamingo sauntering up towards them. “My darling Antonia, you’re late with your brief.”

“Can you let her give it later?” Baby 5 scowled. “She’s not feeling well.”

“Oh…? Should I fetch a doctor…?” His tone was frivolous and dismissive, sparking a fire in the young woman’s gut.

“Girl things—you wouldn’t understand,” she claimed. He held up his hands in surrender before crouching down and sliding his pointer finger beneath Antonia’s chin, turning her head towards him.

“Did the cargo get loaded, at least?”

She nodded.

“Good—I’ll get the rest of the brief tomorrow. We have a busy day ahead of us: all the preparations for the Levely need to be kicked off. Plus the factory needs inspecting.”

“It’s not due until after we return,” Antonia replied. Doflamingo let go of her chin and shrugged.

“While technically-true, I want it done before we go, so that we are not thinking about it. This is going to be a generational Levely and I don’t want us to miss out on anything.”

“Yes, Uncle Doffy,” the young woman muttered. Doflamingo glanced over at Baby 5, noting how pointed her glare was becoming. “Fufufufu… what’s with that look?”

“I need to get her to bed—she’s been working too hard.”

“Suit yourself.” He sauntered off, not sparing them another look, while Baby 5 indeed helped Antonia to her feet. She put the Corazón’s arm around her shoulder and she led her along, bringing her through the castle corridors.

“Bee?” Antonia whispered when they were just outside her room.

“Yeah?”

“What’s wrong with me?”

“The pressures of being Corazón, I’m certain,” she replied. “It would drive anyone mad.” They were now inside Antonia’s room and she let her sit down in a chair. “Do you want me to get you for breakfast?”

“Please. Thank you, Bee.”

“You’re welcome, Nia.”

As Baby 5 entered the corridor, her knees began to feel weak. She shut the door to Antonia’s room and leaned against it, certain that nothing was going to feel right ever again…

…not unless Law came back.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“Alright, so tell us what it is that we’re preparing for.”

Law looked up from his plate and turned his attention to Nami, who was sitting across from him at the table. He swallowed the food that was in his mouth and took a drink of water.

“In terms of what?” he asked. “There’s a lot to cover.”

“The Donquixote Pirates: what are we preparing for? What’s their organization like?”

Law exhaled heavily and frowned. “They’re a pseudo-royal family, who moonlight as underground crime bosses,” he explained. “Doflamingo’s at the top, under him are four Elite Officers, and under them are other, junior-ranking Officers. The man we saw on Punk Hazard was a former Elite Officer.”

“I could tell you he wasn’t Elite,” Zoro grunted. “Who are they? The big ones?”

“Trebol, Pica, Diamante, Corazón, with Doflamingo above them as the Joker,” Law listed, ticking them off on his long fingers. “They act like his Cabinet and Ministers, helping to keep his rule over Dressrosa tight. The first three have been with him from the beginning, the last being more recent an addition.”

“Then the first three must be closest to him,” Robin figured.

“No.” Law shook his head. “That would be the Corazón. It means Heart in Dressrosan—whomever holds the title of Corazón is Joker’s closest confidant. I wouldn’t be able to pick her out of a lineup, unfortunately.”

“A lady~?” Sanji gasped. “I wonder what wonderful Dressrosan beauty is burdened with such a title as Heart?”

“Cool it, love-cook,” Zoro chided. Sanji got ready to kick the swordsman in the face as Zoro reached for his swords, only for Robin to hold them both back.

“A woman like that is dangerous, or have you forgotten the last time you two had a Warlord’s right-hand woman to contend with?” she reminded them. Sanji and Zoro both soured on the idea of fighting and Robin gestured towards Law to continue.

“Her public persona is Princess Antonia of Dressrosa, Doflamingo’s niece and heir,” the surgeon continued. “I’ve tried to get a decent photo of her, but nothing I’ve been able to scrounge up gives me anything identifiable.”

“So then a true family affair,” Brook noted. “It must be something in their bones.”

“Last I checked, Doflamingo didn’t have a niece, so this woman’s true identity is a mystery,” Law frowned. “You’ll be able to tell the other Elite Officers apart—overly-tall men in their forties—but the Corazón? All I can tell is that she’s about a shade over six feet tall and is very dangerous.”

“Doesn’t she have a bounty poster?” Luffy asked, mouth full of meat. “There has to be something; she’s a princess.”

“Unfortunately, she came into the crew after Doflamingo was invited to join the Shichibukai. The best images I’ve been able to get are out of the social section of the newspaper.” Law took some papers from his inner jacket pocket and placed them on the table: old and crinkled bounty posters for Trebol, Pica, and Diamante, along with a newspaper clipping that contained a blurry photo, one figure in motion circled in red. “For being the darling of the nation, she is notoriously difficult to photograph.”

“Verily, we’ll have to ensure we take extra heed when dealing with women in the area, to be safe,” Kin’emon nodded sagely. His face then grew red with blush. “I wonder what sort of beauty she is if she avoids the camera.”

“Probably just someone aiming for the Joker position who wants to balance her rise to her intended reign,” Law scoffed. “I’m sure she’s there for a reason, so we will have to watch our backs until we know exactly what we’re dealing with.”

‘Until I know what poor kid he took in to replace me,’ he thought privately. Law picked up the newspaper clipping and looked at the photo in it for what felt like the thousandth time. Princess Donquixote Antonia of Dressrosa and her lady in-waiting. Whomever the false princess was, it certainly wasn’t Baby 5, as her face was clear in the photograph.

At least he knew that whomever she was, she was going to regret taking on the name Corazón.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Viola did not like waiting.

Ten long years she had been waiting for the justice owed to her family and nation. Ten years she suffered as she worked within the very organization that disgraced her father and threw her niece—only a child!—into the coliseum as a participant, no less. Ten years she watched as Doflamingo made a mockery of everything she was raised on…

Ten years of waiting and she was no closer to her goals.

She was changing behind her dressing screen, listening to Doflamingo as he talked on the transponder snail with the man whom she only knew in whispers and secrets: Trafalgar Law. This man was high on Doflamingo’s Shit List, something that honestly made her immensely proud of him. The more the pretender was upset, the more likely it was he would make a mistake and fall to those who opposed him. She heard the clunk of the call ending and the scrape of his chair against the floor, only to moments later feel his hands against her bare hips and his breath on her neck.

“I’ll be back later,” he purred, lips not quite touching the back of her jaw. He must have been kneeling down or crouching somehow though she did not dare turn around and look. “I have to take care of a little pest problem.”

“Take your time—you know where I’ll be,” she replied.

Viola tried not to grimace as he dug his fingertips into her before letting go, jumping out the open window with a laugh. She finished putting her clothes on and had to actively stop herself from rushing through putting her hair up. The more different she acted, the more suspicious it would look, and while finally so close to progress? It would be foolish to fuck up now. She left the bedroom and made her way down the corridors, knowing precisely who she needed to find.

“Baby 5,” she said coolly, keeping herself level as entered the sparring room. She waited until Baby 5 and Antonia stopped their match, the two women breathing heavily from their hand-to-hand combat training.

“Yeah?”

“I need to speak with you. Now.”

“Let us have another go, Violet,” Antonia smirked. “No Devil Fruits makes this a fun match.”

“It’s urgent.”

Antonia raised an eyebrow. “An emergency? What is it?”

“You should clean up before a meeting is called of the Elite Officers, nena,” Viola replied. Antonia gave a low whistle.

“Sounds intense—we’ll finish this later, germana.” Antonia took her workout bag and left, leaving only Viola and Baby 5 in the sparring room.

“What can’t wait that you have to interrupt us?” Baby 5 frowned as she grabbed her water bottle. Viola waited until after the younger woman had taken a drink and was toweling off her face before she broke the news.

“Law is coming.”

Baby 5 froze, staring slack-jawed at Viola.

“Law…? As in Law-nii…?”

“The very one.” Viola folded her arms across her chest and shifted her weight onto one hip. “Doffy’s headed towards his current location, but I doubt he’s going to find anything except for maybe why Buffalo hasn’t been reporting back.”

“Then it’s a good thing I stayed behind with Nia,” Baby 5 realized. “Who knows?”

“Just you.”

“How much time do you think we have?”

“Knowing how quickly Doffy moves? A few hours before a meeting is called in the Hall of Suites.” She saw the worry in Baby 5’s expression and she sighed heavily. “Don’t worry—we’ll save her. We all will.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“…because if Law’s coming, then that means that our best time to act is almost here, and I am not going to let ten years piss down the drain like Pink’s dignity.”

Baby 5 could only let out a weak chuckle at that—seas, she hoped Viola was right.

[vanillapetrichor]

on the terms ‘somniari’ and ‘somniar’ in dragon age

it is quite possible that multiple people have made this point before since gamers love to pick apart lore and this isn’t hard to cross reference

it is also quite possible that i am such a language nerd that only i noticed this or bothered to think about it this much once i did notice it

anyway

the dragon age wiki page for the elvish language lists two terms that immediately jumped out to me

[image description: a screenshot from the dragon age wiki, listing the elvish terms Somniar: To dream (71 in superscript to cite the source), and Somniari: Dreamer (112 in superscript to cite the source) - end id]

these caught my attention as being very obviously based on latin languages - latin for ‘to dream’ is somniare, spanish is soñar, catalan is literally somniar, etc - because this is really unusual for DA elvish. some pronouns could have a generally indo-european basis, e.g. ‘I/me’ is ‘Ir/mir’, but i can’t find any other latin looking words on the whole page. 

(side note, i don’t really know what languages, if any, inspired DA elvish, i’d guess celtic languages for a start since the elves are voiced by celtic actors (my joy when i first heard northern irish elves, i swear), and going off the usual tolkein-esque model i could also hazard a guess at semitic (probably aramaic or hebrew if anything), plus maybe also some scandinavian or at least norse type stuff bc of ‘fen’ meaning wolf, but these are guesses so if anyone knows hmu)

so to start unravelling this, let’s follow link for that second entry, Somniari: Dreamer. the source for this is a quest from dragon age 2 called ‘night terrors’, which centres on a young half-elf boy and his power to control the fade (the magical realm). keeper marethari, the leader of the dalish elf clan currently in the area, says the following:

[image description: a screenshot from the game dragon age 2 in which keeper marethari says “The magic he possesses makes him what the tevinters called “somniari”, a dreamer.” - end id] 

(video credit to Denny Ayard on yt)

aha! the tevinters! DA’s own magic romans! now this makes sense, as tevinter names and terms are very much based on latin. the tevinter imperium invaded the old elvish homeland elvhenan way back when, and also have the most knowledge on magic stuff, so it makes sense to use their word for it (idk why the elves wouldn’t have their own word for this but whatever i guess)

so basically, somniari isn’t an elvish word at all, it’s a tevinter one! so why is it on the wiki page for elvish? at first i wondered if it might be an error by whoever submitted these entries to the wiki, but both do have sources linked, so let’s look at the first term now, Somniar: To dream.

the source for this isn’t as simple. it comes from the irl guide book ‘dragon age: the world of thedas volume 2′, specifically the section about in-universe book of children’s stories ‘the seer’s yarn’. this book contains a dalish lullaby called ‘mir da’len somniar’, and this is the first verse:

[image description: a screenshot from the dragon age wiki showing the first verse to the song ‘mir da’len somniar’. the elvish lyrics are “elgara vallas, da’len, melava somniar, mala taren aravas, ara ma’desen melar”, with the english/common translation “sun sets, little one, time to dream, your mind journeys, but i will hold you here” - end id]

so as shown in the title (which means something like ‘dream, my child/little one’) and this first verse, somniar is used in this song to mean ‘to dream’. no mention of it being a tevinter word; this is a traditional dalish elf lullaby, so the implication is that somniar is a standard elvish word.

this goes against other entries in the wiki, though. there are three other entries whose definition refers to dreams:

[image descriptions: three screenshots of the dragon age wiki, listing three elvish terms. Theneras: Dream (116 and 67 in superscript to cite the source). Uthenera: The name of the ancient practice of immortal elves who would “sleep” once they tired of life; immortal (60 in superscript to cite the source), literally “eternal waking dream”. Setheneran: Land of waking dreams; a place where the Veil is thin (110 in superscript to cite the source) - end id]

which are likely all related to this entry:

[image description: a screenshot of the dragon age wiki with the elvish term Then: Awake, alert. - end id]

so we have a range of words (from a few different sources) to do with dreams in elvish that seem to share the common root ‘then’ (though weirdly no source for this one so i don’t know how we know this). sure, none of these words mean ‘dreamer’ or ‘to dream’, but you would expect those to also share the ‘then’ root, not be completely different (and potentially loaned from the tevinter language). the key here for me is context: i can believe that somniari might be used as a loanword, a description of a specific phenomenon for which they previously had no word, but there is no reason that somniar would be adopted as the common verb ‘to dream’, so common as to appear in songs for children.

so what happened here then? it wasn’t the wiki contributor’s error exactly - somniari is not claimed to be an elvish word in game, it is just used by an elf to describe something, but somniar is used as a genuine elvish word in the guidebook, and they are so close in form and meaning that they must be related.

well, if not the wiki contributor, then it can only be bioware themselves. dragon age 2, where the tevinter word somniari is mentioned, came out in 2011. the guidebook in which the verb somniar is found came out in 2015. fairly simply, i think that given the time between the two, whoever wrote the song misremembered the origin of the word somniari, taking it as a standard elvish word rather than a loaned tevinter one. based on that, they then incorporated an altered form, somniar, to act as a standard elvish verb, not noticing that it conflicted with existing elvish words about dreams. if they’d based their lyrics off those words instead, this post wouldn’t need to exist! arguably it didn’t anyway but it did to me lol 

all this to say (tongue in cheek) that bioware made a mistake in their guidebook and now the wiki is wrong and one of the few whole elven texts we have is ruined for me bc every time i look at it all i think is ‘wtf is that latin doing there’ XD basically this was a me problem and now i’ve made it everyone’s problem (or anyone who can make it through this essay that is haha)

don’t let language students near your fantasy series i guess, or sci-fi for that matter bc BIOWARE HOW DO THE TRANSLATORS IN THE MASS EFFECT OMNITOOL WORK HOW DO THEY WORK HOW DO TH-