Talk:play by ear
Latest comment: 6 years ago by Kaixinguo~enwiktionary
I would question the Chinese translation here. It seems more like 'to play from memory' to me rather than 'to play by ear'. Kaixinguo~enwiktionary (talk) 22:18, 28 January 2018 (UTC) @Atitarev, Wyang, Tooironic Kaixinguo~enwiktionary (talk) 22:21, 28 January 2018 (UTC)
So does the French, for that matter. Kaixinguo~enwiktionary (talk) 22:24, 28 January 2018 (UTC)
- It may be OK, since what the expressions mean. --Anatoli T. (обсудить/вклад) 22:48, 28 January 2018 (UTC)
- Thanks. Hmm, I would probably think the English needs some re-wording, as it has more meaning than just 'playing from memory', in fact to me it has a different meaning than 'playing from memory'. To me it means 'relying on one's musical ear to play'. I found some other translations through google (I don't have an IME installed so I'm just copying and pasting some stuff):
- 通过耳朵来演奏
- 根据听觉演奏- I like this one but it doesn't seem to have much usage, is it too unidiomatic or wrong? source: tsg.ncxh.gov.cn/ebook/H/A2030233.pdf
- Edit: 凭听觉演奏 - as above but better?
- 凭着听过的记忆来... (similar meaning to current version)
- Also, now I have just seen ' play by ear的來源的確和音樂有關，指的是會演奏卻不會看五線譜的人，只能憑藉記憶來演奏' [1], and lots of similar ideas mentioned when you google this. It seems wrong to me, because though it's true that some people have to play by ear because they can't read music, it's actually a skill to be able to play by ear. Kaixinguo~enwiktionary (talk) 23:53, 28 January 2018 (UTC)
- I don't think there is an equivalent in Chinese regardless. The Chinese have been playing, what we term,
"by ear" for a few millenia. It probably wasn't necessary for them to make up such a word. ---> Tooironic (talk) 01:37, 29 January 2018 (UTC)
- I don't think it is wrong, but it should be marked by something like "no native equivalent exists in Chinese". Wyang (talk) 14:44, 29 January 2018 (UTC)
- I think 'ear', 'by ear' and 'play by ear' all need improvement in English, then the translations can be looked at again.Kaixinguo~enwiktionary (talk) 14:55, 29 January 2018 (UTC)