It reminded me of when my grandmother, a few years back, did her best to translate Kudirka's poem, the Tautiška Giesmė, that is now the anthem of Lithuania. It ended up being a really emotional moment of longing for a lost homeland -- there were tears and she could barely make it to the end. It was moving for me because I understood how much those words meant to her, and though little of the translation was grammatically or literally correct, the meaning came through strongly.
Vygintas's project inspired me to play with Kudirka's words in a way that is related to my family history. I decided to take the poem on a journey along the route that my grandparents traveled as they fled the Soviet invasion (or at least the route that I believe they traveled). I know that they fled Lithuania to Germany (Munich and a displaced persons camp in Wolterdingen). From there they eventually made it to the United States. Beginning with the original Lithuanian, I translated it into each language along the way. First from Lithuanian to Russian, to represent the first Soviet invasion in 1940; then from Russian to German, to represent the Nazi occupation from 1941 to 1944; then back to Russian, to represent the second Soviet invasion; then from Russian to Polish, Polish to Czech, and Czech to German, to represent the journey on the map they probably took; and finally I translated it into English. The result follows:
| Lithuanian Lietuva, Tėvyne mūsų, Tu didvyrių žeme, Iš praeities Tavo sūnūs Te stiprybę semia. Tegul Tavo vaikai eina Vien takais dorybės, Tegul dirba Tavo naudai Ir žmonių gėrybei. Tegul saulė Lietuvoj Tamsumas prašalina, Ir šviesa, ir tiesa Mūs žingsnius telydi. Tegul meilė Lietuvos Dega mūsų širdyse, Vardan tos, Lietuvos Vienybė težydi! |
Russian Литва, наша родина Земля героев, В прошлом ваши сыновья Нарисуйте силы. Пусть ваши дети ходят Только пути добродетели, Пусть они работать в вашу пользу И благосостояние народа. Май солнце Изгнать всю тьму, И свет и истина Наши шаги. Пусть любовь Литвы Запись в наших сердцах Ради тех, в Литве Единство цвести! |
German Litauen, unser Vaterland Land der Helden, In der Vergangenheit, eure Söhne Kraft schöpfen. Lassen Sie Ihre Kinder gehen Nur der Pfad der Tugend, Lassen Sie sie zu Ihren Gunsten Und das Wohlbefinden der Menschen. Möge die Sonne Verbannen Sie alle Finsternis, Und das Licht und die Wahrheit Unsere Schritte. Lasst die Liebe von Litauen Rekord in unseren Herzen Aus Gründen der in Litauen Einheit blühen! |
Russian Литва, наша родина Земля Героев, В прошлом, ваши сыновья Рисование власть. Пусть ваши дети Только путь добродетели, Оставьте их в вашу пользу И благосостояние народа. Май солнце Изгнать всю тьму, И свет и истина Наши шаги. Пусть любовь Литвы Запись в наших сердцах Ради Литве Блок цветение! |
Polish Litwa, nasza ojczyzna Ziemia Heroes W przeszłości, twoi synowie Rysunek moc. Niech dzieci Tylko droga cnoty, Zostaw je na swoją korzyść I dobrobyt ludzi. Niech słońce Wygnać wszelką ciemność, I światła i prawdy Nasze kroki. Niech miłość Litwy Rekord w naszych sercach na Litwie Zablokuj kwitną! |
Czech Litva, naše vlast Země Heroes V minulosti, vaši synové Odebírá energii. Nechte děti Pouze způsob ctnosti, Nechte je, aby ve svůj prospěch A blahobyt lidí. Nechte slunce Vyhnat všechny tmu, A světla a pravdy Naše kroky. Nechte lásku Litvy Záznam v našich srdcích Litva Block květ! |
German Litauen, unser Vaterland Land Helden In der Vergangenheit, eure Söhne Nimmt Energie. lassen Sie die Kinder Der einzige Weg zur Tugend, Lassen Sie es zu Ihrem Vorteil Eine menschliche Wohlfahrt. lassen Sie die Sonne Verbannen Sie alle Finsternis, Ein Licht und Wahrheit Unsere Schritte. Lasst die Liebe von Litauen Rekord in unseren Herzen Litauen Block Blüte! |
English Lithuania, our homeland country heroes In the past, your sons Takes energy. let the children The only way to virtue, Leave it to your advantage A human welfare. let the sun Banish all darkness, A light and truth Our steps. Let the love of Lithuania Record in our hearts Lithuania Block bloom! |
My final step was to take this corrupted version generated by Google Translate and put it into my own English, a loose translation that represents, in a way, me trying to make sense of my cultural heritage. The whole thing is a process of meaning-making, of trying to understand the place my family came from. It represents the loss of meaning and the effect of accumulated history on culture and identity. Here it is alongside the official English version, which by the way is not a literal translation either.
| Google's English Lithuania, our homeland country heroes In the past, your sons Takes energy. let the children The only way to virtue, Leave it to your advantage A human welfare. let the sun Banish all darkness, A light and truth Our steps. Let the love of Lithuania Record in our hearts Lithuania Block bloom! |
My English Lithuania, our homeland! National heroes, In the past, your sons were strong. Show their children the only way to virtue, Your advantage will lead to human welfare. Let the sun banish all darkness, Shine light and truth in our footsteps. Let the love of Lithuania be etched in our hearts, Lithuania grow strong! |
Official English Lithuania, our homeland, Land of heroes! Let your sons draw their strength From our past experience Let your children always follow Only roads of virtue, May your own, mankind’s well-being Be the goals they work for May the sun above our land Banish darkening clouds around Light and truth all along Guide our steps forever May the love of Lithuania Brightly burn in our hearts. For the sake of this land Let unity blossom. |
My grandparents made sure that I knew where we came from and they made sure I grew up with the greatest pride in those roots. There's no doubt that what I understand Lithuania to be is different to those whose families never left, but it wasn't all lost. I still very much identify with my Lithuanian roots.
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