All You Need Is Kill (excerpt #1)

This story has been made into a movie (a particularly good one too) starring Tom Cruise, "Edge of Tomorrow." I have both English and Japanese version although turns out that the English translation had its own voice (which is a good thing, by the way). Therefore, for this series, I would put its original Japanese version, my translated into English version, and its published English version.

戦闘開始から十分間、兵士は恐怖に溺れる。想像してみるがいい。鋼鉄の死が飛び交う場所だ。遠く離れた弾が奏でる音は低く濁っている。腹を揺り動かす乾いた音だ。近くをかすめる弾は高く澄んだ音を発する。

[My translation] "Within ten minutes since the start of the battle, the soldier was drown in fear. Imagine. It is a place where steel of death fly about. Dull sound of bullets danced from afar. The kind of sound that was felt, not heard, shaking your belly. The closely skimming ones ring high and clear."

[Published translation] "When the bullets start flying, it's only a matter of time before fear catches up with a soldier. There you are, steel death whizzing past in the air. Distant shells thunder low and muddy, a hollow sound you feel more than hear. The close ones ring high and clear."

＊戦闘開始から十分間、兵士は恐怖に溺れる。

戦闘・せんとう "battle"
開始・かいし "begin"
十分間・じゅうぶんかん "period of ten minutes"
兵士・へいし "soldier"
恐怖・きょうふ "fear; dismay; terror"
溺れる・おぼれる "to drown"

The author is, I think, purposely made the sentence even simpler to understand by adding a comma (,) and therefore turns the phrase before it into a mere additional information to the main topic. This additional information is, 戦闘開始から十分間 or simply translating word for word, "Ten minutes after the battle begins." This additional information merely sets the environment which in this case, timeframe of the main event/idea that follows after this comma.

The main idea is a simple topic + は + noun + に + verb construct with the topic, marked with は particle given as 兵士 "soldier." If we're taking a break here, then we could safely assume that the sentence is talking about this "soldier" during "ten minutes after the battle begins." Easy, right?

What happened to this "soldier"? Look no further than the final verb of this sentence. 溺れる "to drown." Now we know that the "soldier" was "drown." This "drown" is then further expanded with 恐怖 "fear" marked with a target particle に to mean "drown in fear." Therefore, finally the whole sentence then becomes "Ten minutes after the battle begins, the soldier is drowning in fear."

＊想像してみるがいい。

想像・そうぞう "imagination"

A simple sentence in the form of noun + してみる + が + いい. してみる construction is used to tell the listener to "try something." In this case, what the speaker wants his listener to do is to 想像 "imagine." Now the がいい construct is used to soften this imperative form. It literally means "is good" and so the imperative form "try to imagine" becomes "try to imagine, it's good" although naturally, the "it's good" part is implied rather than spoken out loud.

＊鋼鉄の死が飛び交う場所だ。

鋼鉄・こうてつ "steel"
死・し "dead"
飛び交う・とびこう "to fly about"
場所・ばしょ "place"

Another simple sentence, this time in the form of subject + が  + noun + だ. Although here, the subject part is a compound of noun + の + noun and the noun part is a compound of verb + noun. However, the basic idea is still the same.

The subject, is 鋼鉄の死 or literally, "steel's death." The noun compound consists of 飛び交う "to fly about" and 場所 "place" or combined, "the place where it flies about." Combined with the subject, the sentence then becomes "the place where steel's death flies about."

＊遠く離れた弾が奏でる音は低く濁っている。

遠い・とおい "far"
離れる・はなれる "to be separated"
弾・だん "bullet"
奏でる・かなでる "to dance"
音・おと "sound"
低い・ひくい "low"
濁る・にごる "to become dull; muddy"

This is perhaps the first encounter of a sample that includes both が and は in one sentence. At the core of it, this sentence is a simple noun + が + noun + は + verb sentence although again, each of it's components is a compound. But it doesn't matter.

First of all, the topic, the part that marked with は particle is a verb + noun compound, 奏でる "to dance" and 音 "sound" that together formed a "sound that dances" or perhaps, more appropriate, as the published translation gives, "whizzing sound."

The subject, marked with が particle is a another verb + noun compound, but slightly modified with an adjective in front of it, 遠い "far." The verb + noun compound is, 離れる "to be separated" and 弾 "bullet" to gives an overall meaning of "bullet that was separated (from) afar."

So far, we've got a "whizzing sound" and "bullet that was separated (from) afar." Combining, it becomes "whizzing sound of bullet that was separated (from) afar." Now because the topic of this sentence in the "sound," we need to figure out what happen to this "sound" which is explained by the modified verb 低い濁っている "low muddy."

Finally, the whole sentence then becomes, "A whizzing sound of bullet that was separated (from) afar, low and muddy sound."

＊腹を揺り動かす乾いた音だ。

腹・はら "stomach; belly"
揺り動かす・ゆりうごかす "to shake"
乾いた・かわいた "dry; parched"

This is an example of a single idea sentence. The sentence only talks about one thing, and it is positioned at the end of the sentence just like many typical Japanese sentences. 音 "sound." The whole things that precedes it merely explained this "sound" to be more specific.

The "specific" part is a combination of 腹を揺り動かす "shakes the belly," and 乾いた "dry." Combined literally it becomes "A dry sound that shakes the belly." With a small exception in "a dry sound," the sentence somewhat makes sense.

This 乾いた音 or "dry sound" is perhaps a kind of sound that gives you a "dry" feeling. Something light, rustling of a dry leaves of an autumn twilight, perhaps. Now the published translation gives this "dry sound" a meaning of "a sound that you felt rather than heard" and it is perhaps the most appropriate meaning of this word.

Thus, the sentence finally becomes, "A sound that shakes the belly which you felt rather than heard." Or something like that.

＊近くをかすめる弾は高く澄んだ音を発する。

近い・ちかい "near"
かすめる "to graze; to skim"
澄む・すむ "to clear; to become transparent"
発する・はっする "to fire; to emit"

Yet another topic + は + noun + を + verb construct with a yet another compound components to make up the topic, the noun and the verb part. The noun part consists of an adjective 近い "near," and verb + noun かすめる "to graze" and 弾 "bullet" that by simple logic means "A bullet that grazes near." This is the topic for it's marked with は particle.

The next construct is the noun part that expands this topic "Bullet that grazes near" and it consists of an adjective 高い "high; tall" and verb + noun 澄む "to clear; to become transparent" and 音 "sound" to give it a meaning of "A sound that was high and clear." This is then marked with を particle to indicate it as a direct object to the verb that follows.

And the verb is, 発する "to emit." So the whole sentence becomes, "A bullet that grazes near, emitting a sound that was high and clear" or as the published translation gives, "The close ones ring high and clear."