Re: GG: So you want to write a fugue?

[Tim Conway <tpconway@ozemail.com.au>]

Hello Junichi,

>I am now re-thinking about what the appropriate Japanese title for "So You 
Want to Write a 
>Fugue?" is.
>
>Being asked by Sony Tokyo, I once translated the title with the complete text 
into Japanese
>for the Japanese linernotes of Sony's "GG, the Composer", and for the "GG 
Collection" as 
>well.
>
>At that time, I made a *literal* translation for the title (and the first 
line) as a kind of
> *question*.
>
>However, now I suppose this is not an ordinary question to ask whether "you" 
want to write a
> fugue or not, but a rethorical question for uring "you" to write a fugue, 
like:  "Why don't
> you write a fugue?"
>
>What do you think? Is it an urging or a persuading expression? A strong 
expression? A gentle
> one?  Just a suggestion?. . .
>
>If you take it as a rhetorical question, what does the first word "So" mean?
>
>Let me know your ideas.  
>
>(Soon I will have an opportunity to revise
>my translation.)
>
>Thank you in advance.

No doubt other f-miners will help to throw light on the answers to your 
questions, but I hope I can also help.

'So' is a difficult word for most non-native English-speakers (and for 
some to whom English is their only language). When I worked for Kumagai 
Gumi in Hong Kong, a Mr Chung (not his real name) in the main office came 
to me one day. Mr Chung prided himself on his good English. He had been 
arguing with some Chinese colleagues about the meaning of the phrase 'So 
far, so good'. I asked Mr Chung to tell me what his interpretation of the 
phrase was.

Mr Chung said: 'Suppose I want to buy a car. I go to the showroom and see 
a good car, one probably worth buying. I ask the salesman how far it will 
go on one gallon of petrol. He tells me 40 miles. I am impressed. I buy 
the car, and put exactly one gallon into the fuel tank. I then drive the 
car without stopping or refilling. The car reaches 40 miles, but it keeps 
going. It passes 45 miles. Then, at 50 miles, it finally stops. This is 
excellent because 50 miles is much better than the 40 miles the salesman 
told me to expect. I am amazed. I say to myself: So far? So...Good!'.

Unfortunately, Mr Chung's ingenious explanation was not quite right. Also 
unfortunately, when I tried to explain to him the real meaning I found it 
very difficult to do so.

Without going into too much detail, the word 'so' can often act as a 
filler, a little bit like the 'er' most of us fill our pauses in English 
speech with. In that case it has no definite meaning itself, but it can 
impart a new shade of meaning to the sentence it appears in. In the 
sentence 'So you want to write a fugue?' the 'so' turns a statement ('You 
want to write a fugue') into a question. An alternative method of turning 
that statement into a question is to say 'Do you want to write a fugue?'. 
But that question invites only a yes or a no as an answer; it implies 
that the questioner doesn't know the answer and also doesn't really care 
one way or the other.

On the contrary, starting the question with 'so' is certainly rhetorical. 
It implies that the questioner does know the answer (it must be yes), and 
it also implies that the questioner has some definite views on the wisdom 
of wanting to do such a thing. This form of English is one used mainly by 
the more powerful or knowledgable of two people talking together. A 
teacher might use the formation sarcastically when talking to his class 
('So which of you clever people believed me when I said I wasn't going to 
give you an exam today?'), or mock-admiringly by an uncle ('So who 
deserves a dollar's pocket money now that he's a big man of five?').

It can also be used sneeringly, grudgingly and in many other ways. The 
exact shade of meaning can often only be determined by the manner in 
which the complete sentence is spoken. This makes it a very difficult 
formation for a non-native-English-speaker to use and understand. In 
fact, even for native English-speakers it is easy to give unintended 
offence if one is not careful when using this formation. 

My interpretation of GG's use of this formation is that he (ie, the 
questioner) knows that 'you' (ie, the listener) want to write a fugue, 
and he also agrees that doing so would be a good thing -- but he also has 
lots of warnings and advice to give. GG uses this rhetorical question to 
let him cleverly explain the way he would write a fugue ('...just plunge 
right in...') and the things he would avoid ('But never be clever...'). 
(And all the while the 'you' is standing there open-mouthed with 
admiration and grateful for such excellent advice from 'Uncle' GG, I 
suppose.)

I hope all that makes sense. I'm sure others will have been more erudite 
and concise. Best regards,

Tim




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Tim Conway          mail:               Conway Consulting Pty Ltd
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