【英作文】最難関大への英作文ハイパートレーニング068

サボり続けて幾日か。本問をこなして、消化率は57／74。終わりは近いのか、遠いのか・・・

Chapter 3 Lecture 18

　次の会話を読んで、空欄(1)、(2)に入る適当な応答を、解答欄におさまるように英語で書きなさい。
Anne: Literature has a language barrier, and it’s very hard to understand
          foreign literature. I believe there are definitely borders in literature. But
          music has no borders. That’s a good point of music.

Ken: Wait a minute. What do you mean by “music has no borders”? 　　

Anne: [1](_______________________________________________________________________). 　　   In my opinion, this demonstrates that music has no borders.

Ken: Well, actually, the problem is not so simple.
[2](_________________________________________________________________________________).
That’s why I think there are borders in music after all.

*（筆者注）解答欄はそれぞれ120mm × 7行が与えられていた。

答案１

[1] What I mean is that people can understand and enjoy music from different cultures. All you have to do is remember the sensation the song 'Gangnam Style' generated. Psy, the singer, is Korean and the song lyrics were Korean, not in English. Nevertheless, people across the globe were fascinated by it. Or, you could also think of BTS. This Korean boy band caught on in many countries, including the USA and Japan.  

[2] What you just said is certainly correct. However, just because a piece of music from a certain culture is appreciated in many foreign countries doesn't necessarily mean that it is correctly interpreted. The other day, I happened to come across a YouTube video of a young Chinese girl of Hong Kong origin singing a Japanese song. She sang the song so happily with a big smile on her face, but it was actually a requiem about the singer's brother who passed at a young age. So, while it's true you enjoy music from a different culture just for its rhythm and tempo, it's debatable whether you appreciate its message properly, especially when the song is in a foreign language.

答案２

[1] Well, it says it all. When it comes to enjoying music, it doesn't matter which country you are from or what language you speak. Music entertains any people. One example is Joe Hisaishi. Ghibli movies have been released all over the world to wide acclaim, that's for sure. However, some international voice acting and subtitles have received mixed reviews. But I've never seen or heard anyone criticize Joe Hisaishi's scores for the Ghibli movies. They are masterpieces that appeal to boys and girls, men and women, regardless of their nationalities and cultural backgrounds.

[2] Yeah, you've just presented a very compelling evidence that music has no borders. I'll give you that. But I know for a fact that some music does not even reach its own people. I was born and raised in Japan, but to be honest, the sounds of shamisen are just jarring, and the sounds of wadaiko are simply boring. It's true that they serve as tourist attractions. But that means that traditional Japanese musical instruments do not go beyond borders. Heck, even Japanese people feel that they don't sound cool enough. Of course, there are those of us who appreciate shamisen and wadaiko, but are they majorities? I'm sure this happens in other countries like Spain, Brazil, India, and others.

答案３

[1] By saying “music has no borders,” I mean that people can enjoy and relate to music from other countries without having to understand the language or culture. Have you heard about Zaz? She is a French singer songwriter who has fans across the globe, even though many of them are not French speakers. Her song "Je veux" has a beat and energy that get people universally. Or, how about Sylvie Vartan, another French singer from a long time ago? Her "Irresistiblement" was a sensational hit when my parents were teenagers. You don’t need to understand the lyrics to feel the rhythm and enjoy these songs. Just take a listen. Then you'll know the power of music.

[2] Hmm, I think you've made your point. But I'm under the impression that you are overgeneralizing. Just because there are musicians who are popular in many countries doesn't automatically mean that music knows no borders. If music did have no national or cultural boundaries, we would be equally familiar with musicians from every country by now. Or rather, there should be more Chinese music, more Brazilian music, or more Indonesian music if you take into account the populations of those countries. That's not the case at all, though. Locally or regionally popular music genres are still only popular in their own countries or regions. 

答案１では Psy と江南スタイルを例に取り上げた。

聴衆のほとんどが歌詞の意味が分かっていないはずだが、それでもこれだけウケている。言葉に国境はあっても音楽に国境はない。

反論として挙げている a YouTube video of a young Chinese girl of Hong Kong origin singing a Japanese song というのは、Celine Tam の歌う『 涙そうそう 』のこと。動画はこちら。

これは、本当は笑顔で歌う内容ではないのだがなあ・・・。まあ、そうした突っ込みは野暮というものだが、反論の例証の一つにはなるだろう。

答案２ではジブリ映画と久石譲を使って論を組み立ててみた。どの作品とは言わないが、字幕が「ん？」となるものもある。また、吹替も（英語しか知らないが）かなり上手いものから結構下手くそなものまで様々で、言葉の翻訳の難しさを改めて実感する。一方で久石譲の音楽にケチをつける人というのは見たことがない。

反論として三味線を挙げているが、ＣＪは三味線の音色を美しいとは残念ながら思わないし、三味線を絶賛する外国人も見たことがない。大学の寮で４年間暮らしていて、毎年誰かしらの留学生が日本で成人式を迎える。その頃、三鷹市やその周辺のイベントでは和太鼓や三味線のパフォーマンスがよく行われていた。ちなみに和太鼓は大人気で、ＣＪも和太鼓の響きは大好きである。という具合に、一部の楽器が奏でる音色は国境を超えるどころか、自国内でもそれほど人気を博しているわけではない。同じことは他国にも当てはまるはずである。

答案３で触れられている Zaz の "Je veux" の動画はこちら。

もう一つの例として挙げた Sylvie Vartan の "Irresistiblement" はこちら。

これは何かのＣＭで使われてたような・・・　なんか聞いたことある、という人もいるかもしれない。両方の楽曲に共通するのは、歌詞がさっぱり分からなくても、エネルギーは伝わってくるということ。take a listen (to ~) はかなりカジュアルな表現で、まさに今回のような会話にぴったり。

反論として、音楽が真に国境を超えるなら、人口の多い国の音楽がもっと本邦にやってきているはずだと主張している。自分でも貧弱な論拠だと感じるが、限られたスペースだけで反論するのは実は難しい。

京都大学も自由英作文を出題するようになったことが感慨深いやら、拍子抜けするやら。

本の解答例

[1] Music doesn't have a language barrier in that a good piece of music is appreciated across the globe, no matter where the composer comes from. Just think about Beethoven. Beethoven is from Germany, but you don't need to be able to speak German to enjoy his symphonies. 

[2] Music is closely related to the culture it originates from, so it is not always easy for a person who doesn't share the same culture to understand it. Few of us can enjoy the pop music of Indian people, and our enka (Japanese traditional pop music) must be just noise to most people from abroad.

所感

解答例の [1] の冒頭、Music doesn't have a language barrier in that は不要。冗長に過ぎる。いきなり、A good piece of music is ～ でいい。Just think about Beethoven. も、Just think of Beethoven. の方が文脈に合う。think about ～ は、結構まじめに考える感じで、think of ～は思い浮かべる感じ。I am thinking about you. は、なにやら心配している感じで、I am thinking of you. だとロマンチックな感じである。

Back on track. ドイツ語の能力とドイツ音楽を享受できるかどうかに関連がないのは分かるが、ドイツ語の能力を speak に限定していいのか疑問が残る。you don't need a command of German to enjoy his symphonies. の方が良かったのではないか。

反論側の Ken の英語も少し変。originate in ～ も originate from ～ も両方正しい表現だが、in が起源となる地域や時代そのものに焦点を当てているのに対し、from はそれらからの分離を示している。ドイツ人でないとドイツ音楽の真価は分からないと主張するなら、This music originated in Germany, so it is most appreciated by Germans. と言うべきではないか。

インドを反証のために使うのは、ちょっと賛同しかねる。インドは世界随一の多言語・多民族・多宗教・多文化の国である。Few of us can enjoy the pop music of Indian people というのは、裏を返せばインド人ならインド音楽が分かると言っているに等しいが、実際は全然そんなことはない。文法的には間違っていないし、受験指導ならこれでいいのかもしれないが、ディベートあるいはディスカッションならアウトに近い。

文法的に合っているからＯＫというのは、ＣＪの前の勤め先の英会話スクールが思い起こされて頭痛がしてくる。英語は、おそらく現国の次に総合的な知識（科学、地理、歴史、政経 etc）が必要とされる科目で、語彙と文法だけ詳しいという人間には教えてほしくないと思っている。