なぜ?どうして?科学のお話 - Section 2 Discussion Thread

And p55 was a single sentence!

においで はん人を おいかける 「けいさつ犬」や、さいがいで たてものの 下じきに なった 人などを さがし出す 「きゅうじょ犬」など、イヌは この すぐれた 鼻を 生かして、大活やくしています。

From scents, for example, “police dogs” pursue criminals, and “rescue dogs” locate people trapped under buildings in disasters, dogs play an important role putting their excellent noses to use.

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I don’t think you need to worry about that. We’re not aiming to be Japanese translators. As long as you’ve understood the idea in your head that’s the main thing.

Hopefully with time we’ll just be reading and understanding it in Japanese, without translating in our head in the same way!

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:point_up:I agree with @Micki - most of us will not become translators! Personally I don’t even bother trying to make proper English sentences, and instead aim for the most literal ones possible when reading. I find this helps me better understand the grammar, recognise patterns across different resources, and focus on the Japanese more than the English :blush:

My first self-study text book, Assimil Japanese with Ease, had both literal and natural translations for every sentence - the literal ones helped me most. It used a format like this:

においが ながれてくる 方向も よく わかります。
Smell / [subject] / to flow - came to be / direction / also / well / understand.

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Page. 56 :sloth:
ナマケモノは ほんとうに なまけものなの?

Is the sloth really lazy?

ナマケモノは、中央•南アメリカの ジャングルに すむ 動物で、一日の ほとんどを 高い 木の えだに ぶら下がって、のんびりと ねむって くらしていす

The sloth is an animal that lives in central south American jungles, each day is mostly spent hanging leisurely from a high tree branch sleeping.

それで、「ナマケモノ」と 名前が つけられました。

Hence the sloth’s name(?)

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That’s right. なまえをつける means “to name”. Here it’s in passive form - Hence, it is named ‘the sloth’

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To be precise, that’s why it’s named 怠け者.

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Page. 57

では、 ほんとうに なまけものなのか、ナマケモノの 生活を みてみましょう。

Then, is it really lazy? Let’s look at the sloth’s livelihood.

ナマケモノは、夜に なると、 木の 上の 葉や め、 くだものなどを とって たべます。

Sloths, when it becomes night time, pick up and eat leaves, sprouts, fruits, and so on at the top of the tree.

たべる ときも、 ねている ときと 同じ ように 前あしの かぎのような 長い つめを ひっかけて、 木の えだに ぶら下がった ままです。

In order to eat and sleep, they hang from tree branches with forelimbs like long hooks.

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P56.

ナマケモノは ほんとうに なまけものなの?

Are sloths really slothful?

ナマケモノは、中央 南アメリカの ジャングルに すむ 動物で、一日の ほとんどを 高い 木の えだに ぶら下がって、のんびりと ねむって くらしています。

Sloths are a creature that live in the jungles of Central and South America, hanging practically all day long high in the branches of the trees, spending their time resting idle and carefree.

それで、「ナマケモノ」と 名前が つけられました。

Because of that, the name “sloth” has been given to them.

Thanks for the comments regarding the odd sounding translations, I guess I just like it sounding correct, but by translating directly the Japanese meaning is clearer.

Edit: I wasn’t sure how to transcribe the interpunct - and hadn’t come across this in Japanese before.

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Page 57

Wow that め gave me some trouble in the middle! It’s a very weird grammar - a non-exhaustive list of three things, with や separating the first two, and then a comma separating the end two! I’m going to use the word “shoots” rather than “sprouts” in this context.

What’s funny though is that these exact words are in the most famous sentence in English about the role of the misplaced comma:

image

I would translate the first half a little differently: When eating, similar to when sleeping, it hooks a long hook-like claw from its front paw, and hangs from the tree’s branches.

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I don’t see the sprouts or shoots in this sentence - is it the め? Also, where are the end two? Is it fruit etc.?

.

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Page. 58
ナマケモノは、うごく ときも のんびりです。

The sloth is also leisurely when moving.

そうすることで 食べた 木の 葉を ゆっくりと 消化するのです。

They do this after eating and digesting leaves of trees.

それに、体の きん肉が、 ふつうの 動物の 半分くらいしか なく、 かっぱつに うごきまわる ことが できません。

Additionally, the body’s muscle is generally about half as much other animals, and they are not able to move around actively. (this sentence was tough and this translation is probably all kinds of wrong lol)

エネルギーを あまり つかわなくてすむ しょうエネの 体なのですね。

Not much energy is used, the body is surely conserving energy right?

ナマケモノは、あまりにも うごかないため、体の 毛に コケが 生えてしまう ことも あります。

The sloths advantage to not being able to move excessively, moss grows in the body’s hair.

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I’m gonna make the brave statement that I enjoy these cat, dog, sloth chapters more than reading about poop and weird center of gravity exercises.

Translations for pgs. 55-58

55:
においで はん人を おいかける 「けいさつ犬」や、さいがいで たてものの 下じきに なった 人などを さがし出す 「きゅうじょ犬」など、イヌは この すぐれた 鼻を 生かして、大活やくしています。

By scent, police dogs can pursue criminals, or if disaster strikes a building and becomes pinned down, rescue dogs can track down people inside. A dog can make superior use of their nose for these important activities.

56:
ナマケモノは ほんとうに なまけものなの?

Are sloths truly lazy?

ナマケモノは、中央•南アメリカの ジャングルに すむ 動物で、一日の ほとんどを 高い 木の えだに ぶら下がって、のんびりと ねむって くらしています

Sloths live in the middle of South American jungle, most of their day is spent in tall trees hanging from branches leisurely living and sleeping.

それで、「ナマケモノ」と 名前が つけられました。

That is how the “sloth” name stuck.

57:
では、 ほんとうに なまけものなのか、ナマケモノの 生活を みてみましょう。

Well then, is it truly lazy? Let’s look at a sloth’s day-to-day life.

ナマケモノは、夜に なると、 木の 上の 葉や め、 くだものなどを とって たべます。

At night, it’s said sloth eat the treetops leaf shoots and fruit.

たべる ときも、 ねている ときと 同じ ように 前あしの かぎのような 長い つめを ひっかけて、 木の えだに ぶら下がった ままです。

Also at mealtime, or even bedtime, with the claws of their forelimbs similar to a hook, they hang for a long time, even from tree branches.

58:
ナマケモノは、うごく ときも のんびりです。

The sloth is carefree even when moving.

そうすることで 食べた 木の 葉を ゆっくりと 消化するのです。

The reason is that to subsist on tree leaves means careful digestion.

それに、体の きん肉が、 ふつうの 動物の 半分くらいしか なく、 かっぱつに うごきまわる ことが できません。

Also, the sloth’s body doesn’t have half as much muscle as a typical animal, they’re not able to be as lively and move around as much as a result.

エネルギーを あまり つかわなくてすむ しょうエネの 体なのですね。

With remaining energy not being used, it can be said that the sloth uses it’s energy economically, right?

ナマケモノは、あまりにも うごかないため、体の 毛に コケが 生えてしまう ことも あります。

The sloth, not moving excessively, has an advantage of growing moss in it’s fur.

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p. 58
ナマケモノは、動く時ものんびりです。

Sloths are moving in a relaxed manner.

そうすることで食べた木の葉をゆっくりと消化するのです。

Thus they slowly digest the tree leaves they have eaten.

それに、体の筋肉が、普通の動物の半分くらいしかなく、活発に動き回ることができません。

Also, their body’s muscles being only about half of those of normal animals, lively moving around is not possible.

エネルギーを余り使わなくてすむ省エネの体のですね。

They don’t use too much energy, because they live with a body of energy conservation. (?)

ナマケモノは、あまりにも動かないため、体の毛に、コケが生えてしまうこともあります。

Sloths move so little, that moss may grow on their fur.

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Sorry, I probably wasn’t very clear!

I’ve highlighted the bit I found particularly tricky. I think it’s a non-exhaustive list meaning “things like leaves, shoots, and fruits etc.”

In English we’d set it out like above: A, B and C.

In Japanese it was A や B, C - which just felt really strange!

Still reading everyday! :grin: Thank you everyone to the more advanced readers translating here. It really helps me being able to check my guesses. The spreadsheet is also a big help for vocabulary. :+1:

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This was a tricky sentence but the clue to it not being an advantage for the sloth is てしまう.

しまう after the て form of a verb means to do something with regret, or to do something completely. Here it has the regret meaning, so the sentence is saying “regrettably moss grows”.

So I would use the third Jisho translation for ため “consequence; result; effect”. My translation of this sentence would be something like “Due to the sloth not moving very much, moss can even grow on the fur.”

I was quite surprised at this fact!

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Nevertheless the moss turns out to be an advantage for the sloth, as the next page teaches us. A little ahead of schedule (but I won’t have time at Japanese midnight):

p. 59
でもこのおかげで、体は緑色近くなり、ジャングルの中ではジャガーやワシなどの、敵から見つかり難く安全なのです。

But thanks to this, its color is almost green, and it is safe from its enemies in the jungle such as jaguars and eagles which have difficulties to find it.

そんなナマケモノも一週間に一度くらいは木から下ります。

Such sloths come down from the trees about once a week.

糞をするたのです。

They (then?) shit.

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I was going to say! I was pretty sure that picture was showing the sloth camouflaged because of the moss

Hadn’t read the next page yet and just quickly caught up on yesterday’s page over breakfast. I still wonder if the above sentence is using てしまう in the sense of regret. I guess it could be trying to indicate that the sloth is completely covered in moss?