TRANSLATION NOTES

  • "Kotoba" means "Words" directly. Not that they were taught to speak (which would be the verb "Hanasu"). The song is then a recollection of the speakeR reciting what he had learned from the Nighthawk

  • "Magai" is generally a really derogatory term to use when discussing bad copies. Not quite human, almost disgust-worthy. Much like Wilbur (and his brother) in The Dunwich Horror.

  • "Uchu" is a word that can reflexively mean space, or the cosmos, or the universe. In the context of gearing up to summon a cosmic horror, the universe seems the most appropriate term to use.

  • "Gumai" is one of those sino-japanese terms that crops up in Ningen Isu's work. Generally, it means "stupid", but given its use to project Wilbur's condemnation of the world via his connection to Yog Sothoth, it makes more sense to use a more derisive and exacting word than "stupid".

  • "Taihai" is one of those words where looking to the kanji will not clarify something, because "Taihai" could indicate either "decadence" or "degeneration"

  • "Cloistered" as "Kairo" is generally used for describing places of worship.

  • This is specifically a chance to approximate "domo", which is an honorific that is archaic, but also deeply respectful. Contrasting it with the prison narrative makes it more effective than trying to shoehorn in a Lovecraftian "Old Ones" reference.

  • "Magirete" means, quite literally "to mix up". As in, getting mixed up like a bowl of cake batter. It's also an idiom for "being under cover" or to be blended into a situation or circumstance. "Mixed Up in the night" would sound absolutely bizarre.

  • "Mienu mono" being 1) A use of archaic Japanese, and 2) -mono being a suffix that is used to indicate something is an object of a specific variety. "Kimono" is "Clothing Object", "Tabemono" is "Edible Object". There is also "Bakemono", which is popularly used to describe monsters as "changing things".

  • These are not all of the notes, but the more minor descriptions of why I made certain choices with certain words and phrases. Major choices are referenced in the "Theory" section of the website!



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