Japanese grammar question of the day

[sara_tanaquil]

I'm gearing up to do more scholarly writing today, which of course means that I start out procrastinating over my first cup of coffee.

I have a random question for my Japanese sensei(s) (knowledge of One Piece is optional - grammar is the main thing here).

Comments

[spacealien_vamp]

What does the あたかも govern?

あたかも is part of the "as if." It partners with かの様でもあった to frame the part to which the "as if" pertains: 過去の都市繁栄を　誇示する.

The whole phrase あたかも...かの様でもあった could more literally be translated "It also seemed as if..."

儚きによせて

According to this page, the によせて means "regarding" or "considered." It indicates a description of how a person feels or thinks about the subject.

You are correct that this particular phrase isn't really included in the translation...for some reason they use "over countless generations," which isn't in the original at all.

The way I read it, it is comparing the lifespan of the civilization to the length of the existence of the ocean and commenting that the civilization itself is transient/short-lived compared to the ocean. (This is emphasized by the use of the verb 咲く "to blossom," which is generally associated with flowers, particularly sakura blossoms, famous for their short life.)

People whose lives are even shorter than that are then even more miniscule in comparison.

[sara_tanaquil]

The way I read it, it is comparing the lifespan of the civilization to the length of the existence of the ocean and commenting that the civilization itself is transient/short-lived compared to the ocean. (This is emphasized by the use of the verb 咲く "to blossom," which is generally associated with flowers, particularly sakura blossoms, famous for their short life.)

Oh, how lovely! I didn't get that part at all (though I did wonder about the present tense of 咲く). So it sounds like I was right in suspecting that this particular reference is more of a reflection on the brevity of civilizations in general than a statement like "there was once a great civilization."

That is a great help, thank you!

Just to double check: If I were translating very literally, would it be correct to go with "...as if it were showing off the glory of the ancient city. When one considers the brief space in which a civilization blossoms in (comparison to) the long time of the wide ocean, men who live mere decades... (etc) are left speechless."

[spacealien_vamp]

That translation sounds good to me. It's a very Ozymandias-like impression.

[wednesday_10_00]

for some reason they use "over countless generations," which isn't in the original at all

I can see "countless generations" being used to make the sentence more poetic than "long time." It's just unfortunate that it was attributed to the civilization rather than the ocean.