[BigG]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Big G, please accept my thanks both for your pantun, and for your illuminating comments.

I am aware of the place of the pantun in Malay culture, I am also aware of your fondness for it, and have read the ones you have published on your site. However, some other readers of this Forum may not understand the pantun, nor its place in Malay culture.

Since the pantun is a poetic form that is unique to Malay culture, perhaps you may care to further demonstrate your intelligence by explaining the form and place within Malay culture of the pantun.

It is always difficult to translate verse in one language into verse in a different language, if I may, I would most respectfully suggest that you accurately translate the Malay language of the original pantun into English, rather than attempt to retain the poetic essence in English. By attempted retention of a poetic form you lose the essence of the original Malay.

When we translate poetry from one language to another, it is in general accepted that the meaning of the poem should be prioritised over poetic form. Sometimes it is possible to retain both meaning and form, especially where similar languages and cultures are involved, but in translation from Malay to English the cultural and language difference is simply too great to permit this.

For example, consider what happens when Yevgeny Yevtushenko is translated to English, or consider the difficulties that can be encountered when we try to translate ,say, Lord Byron into Malay.

It is a sad fact of literature that ideas and forms that work well in one language or culture often do not work very well at all in a different language or culture.

Dear Mr Maisey,

Thank you for your advice... Perhaps I should submit my pantuns to you for your approval before submitting it here... then again... maybe not...