Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site esc-bb.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!bellcore!decvax!genrad!mit-eddie!godot!harvard!seismo!ut-sally!oakhill!cyb-eng!esc-bb!brad From: brad@esc-bb.UUCP (Brad Benton) Newsgroups: net.music Subject: Re: Translation, Please Message-ID: <127@esc-bb.UUCP> Date: Sun, 6-Jan-85 03:26:02 EST Article-I.D.: esc-bb.127 Posted: Sun Jan 6 03:26:02 1985 Date-Received: Fri, 11-Jan-85 06:17:40 EST References: <6980@brl-tgr.ARPA> Organization: Eclipse Systems Corp., Austin, TX Lines: 13 > On King Crimson's album 'Discipline' there is a song entitled 'matte kudasai'. > Is there anyone out there who speaks Japanese and could provide an English > translation? My cursory lingual snooping indicates that 'kudasai' is a sort > of all-purpose word for making polite statements. Am I on the right track? Yes, you are correct about *kudasai*; generally, it is translated as please. The other word, *matte*, is a form of the verb to wait. So, a literal translation is 'wait please'. However, the Japanese usually say 'tyotto (pronounced chiotto, and means a bit, or a little) matte, kudasai', which is colloquialy translated as 'just a minute, please.' --bb ..!ihnp4!ut-sally!cyb-eng!esc-bb!brad