WEBVTT

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[APPLAUSE]

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Thank you.

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[LAUGHTER]

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Bravo.

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It was very--

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I don't know if there
are any questions,

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or if people want
to make comments

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that don't have to be related
to the performance, too.

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Yes?

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I was absolutely
fascinated by the use

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of the various languages.

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But there are about
5,000 languages.

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Why do you limit
yourself to those few?

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[LAUGHTER]

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Maybe it's your ability,
but Italian is so beautiful,

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Hungarian so beautiful.

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[INAUDIBLE]

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[LAUGHTER]

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Sorry, we can't-- we can't
speak more languages.

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Are there any other
questions, or comments,

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or reflections about
things you read before?

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Doesn't have to be
what we just did.

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There also don't have
to be any questions.

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[LAUGHTER]

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Yes?

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Curious if there was
anybody in the audience that

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could understand
all of the languages

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and appreciate all of the
puns in all of the languages?

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Did anybody understand
all of them?

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Somebody who
understood everything.

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No, it's quite a challenge.

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Are there any further questions?

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If not, maybe?

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Das heißt, fünf Sprachen sind genug,
dass nicht alles verstanden wird.

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[LAUGHTER]

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OK, there's your answer.

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That five languages suffice
to not be understood in.

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[LAUGHTER]

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Any further comment?

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I would like-- oh, there
are some more comments.

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Hands are going up, so--

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I have one.

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[INAUDIBLE]

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Yeah.

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And I'm really curious about
translation and interaction

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of languages.

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I know that there
seemed to be, especially

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in the part about
Afrikaans, in South Africa,

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there seem to be this--

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maybe it's just because I
understood the English and not

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others-- but it seemed
to be, there seemed

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to be this sort of almost
mystical view at times

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of language, and of what
languages you can know,

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that it sort of defies logic.

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And I was wondering
if you all could

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comment upon that influence,
and thinking and talking

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about language.

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That makes sense.

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[INAUDIBLE]

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Dass er...
Südafrika?

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Er meinte, das hätte eigentlich
etwas Mystisches.

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Ob du dazu etwas sagen kannst.
Acha.

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Also einerseits war das ja nicht richtig,
oder für mich...

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Dass im Traum die Sprache
sehr verschoben vorkommt.

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Also Traumsprache
immer verschoben ist.

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Und Holländisch klang für meine Ohren
wie verschobenes Deutsch

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Und Afrikaans wie verschobenes Holländisch.

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Und das passte sehr gut, dass

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Also als Metapher,
also Afrikaans als Metapher für Traumsprache.

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Und andererseits habe ich mich
damit auseinandergesetzt,

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dass es gar nicht mystisch,
sondern politisch...


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[LAUGHTER]

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Dass es in Südafrika
elf offizielle Sprachen gibt,

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Und in den Nachrichten
wird auch alles elfmal gesagt.


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OK, so Afrikaans is an
interesting example for Tawada

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to use, because to say
that Africa is a dream--

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the language of dreams--

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which is what is being said in
one of her text collections--

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means, amongst other
things, that German is--

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That the language of dreams
is a language of displacement

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and movements, and that Dutch
is a little bit displaced

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from German, and that
Afrikaans is a little bit

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displaced from Dutch.

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And that this is a good metaphor
for what she's trying to say.

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At the same time,
in South Africa,

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there are 11 languages
being spoken.

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And on the news you hear
these 11 languages are used

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to transmit the information.

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Yes, please?

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I had a question.

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Maybe I don't know exactly
how to formulate it.

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But when you're
reciting your poetry,

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do you have more
problems switching

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between, say, German and
Japanese than between two

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other languages?

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I noticed in some of
what you were reciting,

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you were going between
German and Japanese.

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Is that very difficult?

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Or is that something that
you had to practice a lot?

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Ja, das ich schwierig, natürlich.

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Ich glaube, zwischen zwei Sprachen
gibt es immer eine Kluft,

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wo keine Sprache mehr möglich ist,
wo man das Gefühl hat,

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man kann gar nichts mit der Sprache sagen,

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aber immer wieder
zu diesem Nullpunkt zurückzukommen,

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das bedeutet für mich Dichtung,
also das ist was Grundsätzliches für mich.


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She says, of course,
it's very difficult.

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But that between
languages, there is a gap,

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and that, when you
speak foreign languages,

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you risk falling into the gap.

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At the same time, that is the
place where poetry is made.

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[INAUDIBLE].
Nein.

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[LAUGHTER]

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So, you know, fascinating place
to return to, again and again

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in the work.

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Yes?

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Ich weiß nicht, soll ich Deutsch reden, oder...


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But then some people
do not understand.

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So maybe you can translate.

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What you have been
doing, in many respects,

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reminds me a lot of late
medieval mystical literature.

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Because they try to come
to terms with the divine

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language-- the apophatic,
the ineffable--

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for which there are no words.

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And poetry is, in a way, the
expression of the divine.

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But I never--

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I don't know whether you
write religious poetry.

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Hast du das verstanden?
Nein.

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Soll ich es nochmal auf Deutsch sagen?
Ja, bitte.

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Was mich sehr an Ihrer Dichtung,
an Ihrem Text interessiert hat, ist,

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dass es sehr stark mich
an die spätmittelalterliche mystische Literatur erinnert,

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die sich mit der Erfahrung des göttlichen
auseinanderzusetzen versucht,

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und immer wieder an die Schranke
der Sprache selber kommt, nämlich mit dem Apophatischen,

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dem Unaussprechlichen,
also mit dem Mystischen.

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Und ich frage mich deswegen,
ob Sie auch manchmal religiöse Texte

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oder Texte geschrieben haben, die sich
mit dem religiösen an sich auseinandersetzen?

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Nein, nicht direkt,
ich bin auch überhaupt nicht religiös,

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aber wahrscheinlich weil ich nicht,
weil ich die...

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an die Logik der Sprache

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oder an die eindimensionale Logik
des Denkens gar nicht glaube.

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Und wenn man das nicht tut,

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dann ist es vielleicht für einige Leute mystisch,

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aber ob das das richtige Wort ist,
weiß ich nicht.

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Auf jeden Fall, vielleicht wenn man, ja die...

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Aufklärung infrage stellt zum Beispiel,

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dann ist es dann gleichzeitig
modern und dann mittelalterlich.


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She says that she's
not religious,

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and that she doesn't
write religious poetry.

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But at the same
time, she strongly

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questions logic in
her poetry as well.

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And at the moment you
start to question logic,

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and the moment you reconsider
enlightenment, then

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some people--

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then this can be called
mystical or seen as mystical,

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though that's not the word
she would use to describe it.

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But perhaps, illogical?

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Anyway, the
unlogical, or I don't

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know what word to use for it.

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But she also said, then,
the medieval and the modern

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come together.

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OK.

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[INAUDIBLE]

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Right, right.

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Any more, no medieval questions.

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[LAUGHTER]

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Your [? joy of ?] poetry is
highly original and refreshing.

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While you play with the
Japanese language, did you--

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have you tried to
play with the kanji--

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the Chinese characters?
Because that's

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very rich part of
Japanese language.

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The thing is
probably much to do.

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Or I don't know, if you have
[INAUDIBLE] or something

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in common with it?

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Yes, I have a text.


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Ja, aber ich habe doch eins.
Kannst du das kurz [INAUDIBLE]?

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Ja...

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Ja, das ist ein...

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Es gibt da Wörter...

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Wie kann man das erklären,
es ist schwieriger als Vorlesen, oder?

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Oder vielleicht, was du bei [INAUDIBLE]?

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Es gibt...

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Na ja, nein, ich kann das [INAUDIBLE]


00:10:15.440 --> 00:10:17.950 align:middle line:84%
It's easier to read
than to explain.

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She's trying to find
a way to explain.

00:10:23.210 --> 00:10:24.620 align:middle line:90%
[INAUDIBLE]

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[LAUGHTER]

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Yes, please.

00:10:28.490 --> 00:10:32.840 align:middle line:84%
Yeah, I wanted to know-- do you
speak those five languages that

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have been translated,
or do you speak

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more than those five languages?

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I speak only
Japanese and German.

00:10:38.480 --> 00:10:39.470 align:middle line:90%
[INAUDIBLE]

00:10:39.470 --> 00:10:41.595 align:middle line:90%
Yeah, but Bettina-- she speaks--

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[LAUGHTER]

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00:10:45.400 --> 00:10:45.960 align:middle line:90%
yes

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Oh, this is it's more about
culture then-- you know,

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you say you speak
Japanese and German.

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In my experience with--
in dealing with business,

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Germans are like Americans.

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And I just give an
example, like culture--

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if you say-- if you're
negotiating something,

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if they agree they will say
yes, if they don't, they

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will say no.

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And that's what
Americans will do.

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But in Japan, the Japanese
they're-- they will say--

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if they agree
they, will say yes.

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If they don't agree, it'll
vary, but usually it's something

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like, we will give that
serious consideration,

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but it really means no.

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They just don't say no.

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What I'm saying, it's
like, in their culture,

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if you [INAUDIBLE] business,
they don't clearly come out.

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And I think that is--

00:11:26.495 --> 00:11:28.525 align:middle line:84%
I don't know if it's
captured in the language.

00:11:28.525 --> 00:11:30.980 align:middle line:84%
So, do you notice
anything like that?

00:11:30.980 --> 00:11:32.180 align:middle line:90%
Can you rephrase that again?

00:11:32.180 --> 00:11:33.350 align:middle line:90%
[LAUGHTER]

00:11:33.350 --> 00:11:35.742 align:middle line:84%
Can you say what
your question is?

00:11:35.742 --> 00:11:37.200 align:middle line:84%
There are these
differences where--

00:11:37.200 --> 00:11:41.090 align:middle line:84%
Yeah, culture reflected
in the language, OK.

00:11:41.090 --> 00:11:42.810 align:middle line:84%
And you're translating
back and forth.

00:11:42.810 --> 00:11:45.950 align:middle line:84%
And since you know German, and
you know Japanese, when you--

00:11:45.950 --> 00:11:48.050 align:middle line:84%
and you were talking
about dreaming--

00:11:48.050 --> 00:11:49.490 align:middle line:90%
do you dream in what language?

00:11:49.490 --> 00:11:53.150 align:middle line:84%
Or, I'm thinking, do you think
based on a culture, also?

00:11:53.150 --> 00:11:57.972 align:middle line:84%
And so, in German,
and also in English,

00:11:57.972 --> 00:12:00.620 align:middle line:84%
you know, American at least,
if you say yes or no, you're

00:12:00.620 --> 00:12:02.600 align:middle line:90%
going to say yes or no.

00:12:02.600 --> 00:12:05.410 align:middle line:84%
At least in my experience
in business is, that in--

00:12:05.410 --> 00:12:06.290 align:middle line:90%
with the Japanese.

00:12:06.290 --> 00:12:08.570 align:middle line:90%
If they say yes, they mean yes.

00:12:08.570 --> 00:12:11.630 align:middle line:84%
If they say anything
else, it really means no,

00:12:11.630 --> 00:12:13.100 align:middle line:84%
but they never
really actually say.

00:12:13.100 --> 00:12:14.150 align:middle line:90%
Usually they don't say no.

00:12:14.150 --> 00:12:16.192 align:middle line:84%
They do say, we'll give
it serious consideration.

00:12:16.192 --> 00:12:19.010 align:middle line:84%
But do you know that Japanese
businessmen [? mean ?]

00:12:19.010 --> 00:12:19.980 align:middle line:90%
Yes, no, yeah.

00:12:19.980 --> 00:12:20.480 align:middle line:90%
So?

00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:21.700 align:middle line:90%
[INTERPOSING VOICES]

00:12:21.700 --> 00:12:25.630 align:middle line:84%
It's very clear that they may
[? meant ?] in business, I say.

00:12:25.630 --> 00:12:26.900 align:middle line:90%
I mean, yeah.

00:12:26.900 --> 00:12:29.960 align:middle line:90%
So it's a different use--

00:12:29.960 --> 00:12:34.460 align:middle line:84%
different kind of
using words, but I

00:12:34.460 --> 00:12:38.780 align:middle line:84%
think it's not so prevalent
in the literature.

00:12:38.780 --> 00:12:42.110 align:middle line:84%
You don't say, yes,
and you don't say no.

00:12:42.110 --> 00:12:44.060 align:middle line:84%
In German, Japanese
and in German.

00:12:44.060 --> 00:12:46.610 align:middle line:90%
And it's-- nothing is clear.

00:12:46.610 --> 00:12:51.665 align:middle line:84%
And so, and, yeah, but
what is your question?

00:12:51.665 --> 00:12:54.503 align:middle line:90%
[LAUGHTER]

00:12:54.503 --> 00:12:56.860 align:middle line:90%


00:12:56.860 --> 00:12:58.990 align:middle line:84%
So business language is
clearer than literature,

00:12:58.990 --> 00:13:01.150 align:middle line:84%
and even though
you get two yeses,

00:13:01.150 --> 00:13:02.310 align:middle line:90%
you know which one is no.

00:13:02.310 --> 00:13:04.338 align:middle line:90%
[LAUGHTER]

00:13:04.338 --> 00:13:05.380 align:middle line:90%
There's a question, yeah?

00:13:05.380 --> 00:13:11.233 align:middle line:84%
Yeah, I was reading
Wörter, die in der Asche schlafen müssen, is what

00:13:11.233 --> 00:13:13.150 align:middle line:90%
it is, the name of the writing?

00:13:13.150 --> 00:13:16.540 align:middle line:84%
And you speak of the
difficulties of [INAUDIBLE],,

00:13:16.540 --> 00:13:18.310 align:middle line:90%
of swearing in your language.

00:13:18.310 --> 00:13:20.200 align:middle line:84%
And I was just
curious what parts

00:13:20.200 --> 00:13:23.350 align:middle line:84%
of speaking another language
do you find most difficult,

00:13:23.350 --> 00:13:24.130 align:middle line:90%
and the easiest?

00:13:24.130 --> 00:13:26.380 align:middle line:84%
And what comes
naturally to you, what

00:13:26.380 --> 00:13:29.860 align:middle line:84%
do you have the
most problems with?

00:13:30.010 --> 00:13:33.180 align:middle line:90%
Nein, ich schimpfe nicht, auch wenn da deutsche Schimpfwörter sind.

00:13:33.247 --> 00:13:35.182 align:middle line:90%
Und das sehe ich nicht als Problem.

00:13:37.084 --> 00:13:40.787 align:middle line:84%
Es gibt in, also in diesem Text
habe ich ja geschrieben zum Beispiel,

00:13:41.088 --> 00:13:45.092 align:middle line:84%
Im Japanischen benutzt man
Gemüsenamen als Schimpfwort.

00:13:45.158 --> 00:13:48.228 align:middle line:84%
Wenn ein Schauspieler schlecht ist,
ist das ein Rettich-Schauspieler.

00:13:49.363 --> 00:13:54.001 align:middle line:84%
Und in Deutschland eher Tiernamen,
das ist eine Ziege, das ist eine Kuh und so.

00:13:55.002 --> 00:14:01.008 align:middle line:84%
Und man benutzt komischerweise diese Dinge,
die man am meisten isst, als Schimpfwort,

00:14:01.141 --> 00:14:04.711 align:middle line:84%
obwohl man die liebt,
Schwein, Kuh und so.


00:14:06.850 --> 00:14:08.950 align:middle line:84%
So in Japanese,
there is a tendency

00:14:08.950 --> 00:14:12.040 align:middle line:84%
to use vegetables
when you're cursing.

00:14:12.040 --> 00:14:13.720 align:middle line:84%
Whereas in German,
there's a tendency

00:14:13.720 --> 00:14:16.240 align:middle line:84%
to refer to animals
when you're cursing.

00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:18.760 align:middle line:84%
However both the
vegetables and the animals

00:14:18.760 --> 00:14:21.790 align:middle line:84%
are those that you
eat or cherish a lot.

00:14:21.790 --> 00:14:23.470 align:middle line:90%
They are common.

00:14:23.470 --> 00:14:26.520 align:middle line:90%


00:14:26.520 --> 00:14:27.690 align:middle line:90%
Further questions?

00:14:27.690 --> 00:14:31.620 align:middle line:90%


00:14:31.620 --> 00:14:33.110 align:middle line:90%
[INAUDIBLE]

00:14:33.110 --> 00:14:37.470 align:middle line:84%
Wondering why you chose German
as your media to work with,

00:14:37.470 --> 00:14:38.840 align:middle line:90%
in addition to Japanese?

00:14:38.840 --> 00:14:41.410 align:middle line:84%
What's appealing to you
about the German language

00:14:41.410 --> 00:14:42.556 align:middle line:90%
as a literary medium?

00:14:42.556 --> 00:14:45.867 align:middle line:90%


00:14:45.953 --> 00:14:51.491 align:middle line:84%
[INAUDIBLE]
Warum du ausgerechnet Deutsch [INAUDIBLE]

00:14:51.558 --> 00:14:54.194 align:middle line:90%
und was dir besonders an Deutsch gefällt.

00:15:04.638 --> 00:15:07.741 align:middle line:90%
Deutsch kommt mir vor wie eine magische Sprache,

00:15:07.841 --> 00:15:11.144 align:middle line:84%
womit man auch sehr abstrakte Sachen
sehr gut ausdrücken kann.

00:15:11.545 --> 00:15:16.617 align:middle line:84%
Es sind viele Wörter für mich,
zum Beispiel das Wasser, das klingt wie das Wasser

00:15:16.683 --> 00:15:20.187 align:middle line:90%
oder als würde aus dem Wort selbst das Wasser fließen.

00:15:20.254 --> 00:15:25.592 align:middle line:84%
Oder der Baum ist der Baum selbst,
im Klang dieser Sprache ist das Ding drin

00:15:25.659 --> 00:15:29.129 align:middle line:90%
und das gefällt mir an der deutschen Sprache.


00:15:29.550 --> 00:15:31.533 align:middle line:84%
So she says that
German, besides being

00:15:31.533 --> 00:15:33.450 align:middle line:84%
a very practical language--
because she that's

00:15:33.450 --> 00:15:35.742 align:middle line:84%
where she lives, and the
language in which she normally

00:15:35.742 --> 00:15:39.480 align:middle line:84%
operates-- it's also a magical
language, because words quite

00:15:39.480 --> 00:15:43.150 align:middle line:90%
often sound what they are.

00:15:43.150 --> 00:15:46.050 align:middle line:84%
So the German word
for water, Wasser,

00:15:46.050 --> 00:15:48.540 align:middle line:90%
sounds like water to her.

00:15:48.540 --> 00:15:50.990 align:middle line:84%
Or the German word
for tree, Baum,

00:15:50.990 --> 00:15:53.640 align:middle line:90%
sounds like the thing itself.

00:15:53.640 --> 00:15:57.730 align:middle line:84%
Which-- there's a one-on-one
relationship in poetry.

00:15:57.730 --> 00:15:58.630 align:middle line:90%
OK, next question.

00:15:58.630 --> 00:16:00.630 align:middle line:90%
What about Schmetterling?

00:16:00.630 --> 00:16:02.013 align:middle line:90%
[LAUGHTER]

00:16:02.013 --> 00:16:04.480 align:middle line:90%
It's those weird wings.

00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:07.330 align:middle line:84%
Flap, almost, when
you're speaking slowly.

00:16:07.330 --> 00:16:10.030 align:middle line:84%
OK, there was one last
question in the back I saw.

00:16:10.030 --> 00:16:11.620 align:middle line:84%
It's somewhat
obvious, so maybe I

00:16:11.620 --> 00:16:14.078 align:middle line:84%
should save this for some of
the more worthwhile questions.

00:16:14.078 --> 00:16:16.292 align:middle line:84%
But it's just surprises
me to hear you say that,

00:16:16.292 --> 00:16:18.250 align:middle line:84%
that you would say that
about a language that's

00:16:18.250 --> 00:16:20.125 align:middle line:90%
not your first language.

00:16:20.125 --> 00:16:22.000 align:middle line:84%
So would you not say
the same about Japanese,

00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:26.230 align:middle line:84%
that water sounds like water,
and tree sounds like tree?

00:16:26.230 --> 00:16:28.900 align:middle line:90%
Japanese water is 水.

00:16:31.291 --> 00:16:35.095 align:middle line:84%
das klingt für mich überhaupt nicht
nach Wasser, muss ich sagen.

00:16:35.462 --> 00:16:38.232 align:middle line:84%
[INAUDIBLE] das gefällt mir
überhaupt nicht das Wort.

00:16:38.599 --> 00:16:41.735 align:middle line:84%
Das hießt nicht, dass die japanische Sprache
mir nicht gefallen würde,

00:16:42.002 --> 00:16:43.871 align:middle line:90%
aber es gibt da eine...

00:16:44.605 --> 00:16:47.774 align:middle line:84%
Bei der deutschen Sprache
gibt es eine seltsame Kombination

00:16:47.808 --> 00:16:50.544 align:middle line:84%
zwischen einer Direktheit
und einer Abstraktion.

00:16:50.611 --> 00:16:55.449 align:middle line:84%
Die Wörter, die ganz direkt für mich
mit den Dingen zusammenhängen,

00:16:56.316 --> 00:17:01.889 align:middle line:84%
kann man plötzlich auch
für einen philosophischen Diskurs benutzen.

00:17:02.823 --> 00:17:11.798 align:middle line:84%
Oft so was wie ein Wort wie anwesend
oder sein und solche Sachen.

00:17:13.233 --> 00:17:17.137 align:middle line:84%
Sie klingen für mich einerseits sehr konkret
und das sind dieselben Wörter,

00:17:17.171 --> 00:17:19.071 align:middle line:90%
die man für die Philosophie benutzt.

00:17:19.106 --> 00:17:21.074 align:middle line:90%
Im Japanischen ist das nicht so.

00:17:21.108 --> 00:17:24.077 align:middle line:84%
Es gibt verschiedene Wörter
und das ist abgespalten.

00:17:24.178 --> 00:17:26.445 align:middle line:84%
Das ist ein Problem
mit der japanischen Sprache.

00:17:26.512 --> 00:17:28.448 align:middle line:84%
Es gibt natürlich Vorteile
bei der japanischen Sprache,

00:17:28.515 --> 00:17:31.385 align:middle line:84%
aber ich lobe erstmal
die deutsche Sprache.

00:17:31.852 --> 00:17:34.888 align:middle line:84%
Bei Japanisch habe ich mir
ja nicht ausgesucht, Deutsch ja.


00:17:36.400 --> 00:17:38.110 align:middle line:84%
It's when you learn
a foreign tongue

00:17:38.110 --> 00:17:42.760 align:middle line:84%
that you become more aware of
the materiality of the sounds,

00:17:42.760 --> 00:17:46.053 align:middle line:84%
of the way the word
looks, in your being free.

00:17:46.053 --> 00:17:47.470 align:middle line:84%
[INAUDIBLE] my
translation, sorry.

00:17:47.470 --> 00:17:49.000 align:middle line:90%
[LAUGHTER]

00:17:49.000 --> 00:17:50.720 align:middle line:84%
When you speak
your mother tongue,

00:17:50.720 --> 00:17:52.990 align:middle line:84%
you have a very close
relationship to it.

00:17:52.990 --> 00:18:00.250 align:middle line:84%
You don't see-- you don't look
with different eyes to it.

00:18:00.250 --> 00:18:04.030 align:middle line:84%
So therefore, in Japanese,
which happens to be her mother

00:18:04.030 --> 00:18:07.720 align:middle line:84%
tongue, she doesn't think
that 水, which is water,

00:18:07.720 --> 00:18:08.540 align:middle line:90%
sounds like water.

00:18:08.540 --> 00:18:11.950 align:middle line:84%
Or she doesn't have that
same relationship to it.

00:18:11.950 --> 00:18:16.150 align:middle line:84%
And she also said
that in Japanese,

00:18:16.150 --> 00:18:22.510 align:middle line:84%
the vocabulary for certain
topics is much more--

00:18:22.510 --> 00:18:24.230 align:middle line:90%
the vocabulary is separated.

00:18:24.230 --> 00:18:26.680 align:middle line:84%
You have certain words
for certain topics

00:18:26.680 --> 00:18:28.690 align:middle line:84%
that aren't used
in other realms.

00:18:28.690 --> 00:18:32.290 align:middle line:84%
Whereas in German,
the same words

00:18:32.290 --> 00:18:35.152 align:middle line:84%
that can be very concrete,
or very abstract,

00:18:35.152 --> 00:18:36.610 align:middle line:84%
depending on whether
you're talking

00:18:36.610 --> 00:18:41.830 align:middle line:84%
about a philosophical discourse
or your purchase in a store.

00:18:41.830 --> 00:18:43.360 align:middle line:90%
There it is, there is a word.

00:18:43.360 --> 00:18:45.970 align:middle line:90%


00:18:45.970 --> 00:18:46.600 align:middle line:90%
Yes?

00:18:46.600 --> 00:18:48.930 align:middle line:84%
Question, and
that's the last one.

00:18:48.930 --> 00:18:53.240 align:middle line:84%
Yeah, this discussion triggered
another question in my mind.

00:18:53.240 --> 00:18:55.960 align:middle line:84%
I want to know if,
when you write--

00:18:55.960 --> 00:18:58.210 align:middle line:90%
in German or in Japanese--

00:18:58.210 --> 00:19:04.750 align:middle line:84%
is there one language in
which you feel more at ease?

00:19:04.750 --> 00:19:06.430 align:middle line:84%
I come from
French-speaking Africa,

00:19:06.430 --> 00:19:08.500 align:middle line:84%
and I write some
poetry in French.

00:19:08.500 --> 00:19:11.320 align:middle line:84%
And I try to write
poetry in English.

00:19:11.320 --> 00:19:13.990 align:middle line:84%
But when I write
in French, there

00:19:13.990 --> 00:19:18.010 align:middle line:84%
comes a time where I'm
fairly satisfied with what

00:19:18.010 --> 00:19:19.270 align:middle line:90%
I've written.

00:19:19.270 --> 00:19:21.190 align:middle line:84%
But when I write
in English, I never

00:19:21.190 --> 00:19:23.650 align:middle line:84%
know if the poem
is finished or not.

00:19:23.650 --> 00:19:27.850 align:middle line:84%
And I was wondering if you
have this kind of experience,

00:19:27.850 --> 00:19:30.700 align:middle line:84%
or if you are completely
at ease in both languages

00:19:30.700 --> 00:19:31.660 align:middle line:90%
that it doesn't matter.

00:19:31.660 --> 00:19:35.290 align:middle line:90%

00:19:42.716 --> 00:19:46.520 align:middle line:84%
Wie dieser Tisch aussieht
und wie er sich anfühlt und so weiter.

00:19:46.854 --> 00:19:50.624 align:middle line:84%
Aber andererseits in der japanischen Sprache
fällt es mir manchmal schwer

00:19:50.691 --> 00:19:54.895 align:middle line:84%
über Dinge nachzudenken,
mit Distanz, abstrakter.


00:19:56.050 --> 00:20:00.010 align:middle line:84%
She says in German, she finds
it difficult to describe

00:20:00.010 --> 00:20:04.000 align:middle line:84%
in great detail, for example,
the surface of this table.

00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:06.400 align:middle line:84%
What's in it, and the
colors, and the shapes.

00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:07.500 align:middle line:90%
Whereas in Japanese--

00:20:07.500 --> 00:20:10.350 align:middle line:90%


00:20:10.350 --> 00:20:12.106 align:middle line:90%
[LAUGHTER]

00:20:12.106 --> 00:20:14.620 align:middle line:90%
[INAUDIBLE]

00:20:14.620 --> 00:20:15.980 align:middle line:90%
Is it part of being abstract?

00:20:15.980 --> 00:20:19.730 align:middle line:84%
Being abstract and
adding a distance to it.

00:20:19.730 --> 00:20:20.645 align:middle line:90%
So--

00:20:20.645 --> 00:20:22.370 align:middle line:90%
In Japanese or in German?

00:20:22.370 --> 00:20:23.090 align:middle line:90%
In Japanese.

00:20:23.090 --> 00:20:23.970 align:middle line:90%
Yeah.

00:20:23.970 --> 00:20:26.610 align:middle line:90%
From a distance.

00:20:26.610 --> 00:20:29.540 align:middle line:90%
So, yeah.

00:20:29.530 --> 00:20:34.234 align:middle line:84%
Gedichte schreibe ich in beiden Sprachen,
aber die sind wahrscheinlich unterschiedlich

00:20:34.301 --> 00:20:38.272 align:middle line:90%
Ich kann die Unterschiede nicht beschreiben,

00:20:38.972 --> 00:20:41.875 align:middle line:90%
aber sie sind schon unterschiedlich irgendwie.

00:20:43.043 --> 00:20:46.914 align:middle line:84%
Weil Dinge, die für mich
in der deutschen Sprache poetisch sind,

00:20:47.047 --> 00:20:51.118 align:middle line:84%
sind nicht unbedingt in der japanischen Sprache
poetisch und umgekehrt.

00:20:51.218 --> 00:20:56.190 align:middle line:84%
Daher sind das unterschiedliche Gedichte,
aber ich schreibe in beiden Sprachen Gedichte.


00:20:56.390 --> 00:20:59.600 align:middle line:84%
She said she writes poems
in both German and Japanese,

00:20:59.600 --> 00:21:02.040 align:middle line:84%
but that they're
somehow different.

00:21:02.040 --> 00:21:05.990 align:middle line:84%
But that it's a little difficult
to explain exactly how,

00:21:05.990 --> 00:21:07.390 align:middle line:90%
especially for me.

00:21:07.390 --> 00:21:09.740 align:middle line:90%
[LAUGHTER]

00:21:09.740 --> 00:21:13.790 align:middle line:84%
So I'm sure you can tell that I
would be willing to talk to you

00:21:13.790 --> 00:21:15.830 align:middle line:84%
if-- after you all
get up from our chairs

00:21:15.830 --> 00:21:17.930 align:middle line:84%
and we get away from
these microphones,

00:21:17.930 --> 00:21:19.715 align:middle line:84%
if there are further
individual people who

00:21:19.715 --> 00:21:21.840 align:middle line:84%
want to come up and say
something, that can happen.

00:21:21.840 --> 00:21:24.110 align:middle line:84%
There's also the books at
the end of the room people

00:21:24.110 --> 00:21:25.460 align:middle line:90%
can purchase stuff.

00:21:25.460 --> 00:21:26.570 align:middle line:90%
So, thank you.

00:21:26.570 --> 00:21:29.920 align:middle line:90%
[APPLAUSE]

00:21:29.920 --> 00:21:30.432 align:middle line:90%