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With this detailed line-by-line English translation and analysis of Brief insake Downsindroom, you will not only be able to understand the poem, but also be ready for any question as the most important Afrikaans words have been translated in brackets for you...
Brief insake Downsindroom – Sarina
Dönges
1. Meneer God 1. Sir God
2. by my het ‘n fabrieksfout 2. a factory defect
3. ingesluip. ek kan nie begryp 3. crept into me/occured with me. i
cannot comprehend
4. in hierdie tyd waar pos- 4. in this time where postal-
5. stukke en aflewerings 5. pieces and deliveries
6. so onseker is, vertrou U 6. are so uncertain, that You trust
7. ‘n ooievaar as klerk 7. a stork as clerk
8. om kosbaarhede te versend: 8. to send valuables:
9. wat voer hy in die vlerk? 9. what does he have up his wing?
10. ek stuur die frats, summier, 10. i am returning the freak,
immediately
11. want hy ontsier my huis. 11. because he is a blemish on my
home.
12. besoekers staar, begaan verward 12. visitors stare, make the
13. die freudiaanse glips 13. the freudian error in confusion
14. en ek verduur gelukwensings 14. and i endure congratulations
15. op papier, terwyl hul oë sê: 15. on paper, whilst their eyes say:
16. dankie dat by reproduksie 16. thank you that at reproduction
17. by keisersnit of induksie 17. by caesarean section or induction
18. myne ‘n volmaakte replika 18. mine is a perfect replica
19. van die oorspronklike is 19. of the original
20. en nie dié karkikatuur. 20. and not this caricature.
21. dis menslik om te fouteer 21. it’s human to make mistakes
22. maar ek het nie verwag 22. but I did not expect
23. dat dit by ‘n instansie 23. that it would, at an institution
24. wat so opgehemel word, gebeur. 24. that is so praised, occur.
Analysis of poem
1. Meneer God
The first line of the poem looks like
the preamble (aanhef) to a letter
(brief) and the recipient
(ontvanger) is God. This
immediately (dadelik) sets the tone
(stemming) for the poem as it
appears (lyk) to be very formal
(formeel).
PROPERTY OF M SOUNES NO COPYING, SHARING OR DISTRIBUTION
1
ALLOWED
, The poem starts with a capital
letter (hoofletter) when
addressing (aanspreek) God,
which is also written with a capital
letter, and therefore (dus) shows
(wys) respect (respek). This is
rather ironic (ironies) given the
sarcastic (sarkastiese) and
undermining (ondermynende)
tone that can be found throughout
(regdeur) the entire (hele) poem,
along with (saam) the fact (feit) that
capital letters are disregarded (nie
geag) in other necessary
(noodsaaklike) places in the poem.
Normally a formal letter would have
the word “Geagte” and then
followed by the person’s surname
(van) as it is a form of respect and
shows how hightly (hoog) you
regard (ag) the person, but in this
case (geval) the speaker only uses
“Meneer” as she is upset (kwaad)
with God and wants to lodge a
complaint (klagte).
2. by my het ‘n fabrieksfout
Notice (let op) the use (gebruik) of
inversion (inversie), which is the
term used for incorrect (verkeerde)
word order. It is supposed to
(veronderstel om) read:
“ ‘n Fabrieksfout het by my
ingesluip”
but it may have been done to place
(plaas) the emphasis (klem) on the
speaker (spreker) with “by my”
The “fabrieksfout” is the
speaker’s child who was born
with Down syndrome.
y-assonansie
3. ingesluip. ek kan nie begryp
The use (gebruik) of enjambment
(enjambement) is effective
(effektief) as it points to the
PROPERTY OF M SOUNES NO COPYING, SHARING OR DISTRIBUTION
2
ALLOWED
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