Quote:
Originally Posted by Sashimister
First of all, did it actually say 守は in the last line? I'm not saying it's incorrect but it's in an older style.
You didn't miss anything important. This writing is not prose. It's closer to "casual poetry" if the term makes any sense. It's written in the rhythmical 7-5-7-5 syllables as in haiku and tanka. This just flows so smooothly in the ear of a Japanese-speaker.
Regarding 応える, it means "to respond to an action". 答える is used differently; It means "to answer a question", as you know. The way you used the word "abstract" is really good.
これに応えずなんとする literally means "What would I do if I didn't respond to this?". What it's saying is that "I've got to respond in some way." 応えず, is a literary way of saying 応えないで.
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Wow, that was quick. Thanks.
I'd made a minor mistake when typing; it's written as "守るは" in the original source. Guess I hit "space" and "enter" too quickly without checking what IME did to them.
That still doesn't affect the pronunciation though. Does it sound archaic because of the missing の for normalization purposes, with the contemporary form being "守るのは"?
It shouldn't affect the meaning right?
Thanks for the clarification on "これに応えずなんとする". I always have problems with 'multiple' negatives, especially when combined with unfamiliar verb conjugations.
Any suggestions on how to make my translation flow... smoother? Should I reorder the whole thing for clarity, or is it a better idea to stick to the original sentence order? I seem to have problems with "今こそまっすぐ教師の道を 守は子供のその笑顔", as it sounds awkward in English. (even after massacring "まっすぐ教師の道" into "As a proper teacher".)
Also, how does "応える" compare with "返事する"? Does the latter require an overt/direct action to be first performed on the respondee, without the action being necessarily a question?