Help! Can't figure out 前話

[MeLu]

前話

I know that both kanji are JLPT Level 4 and I know what each means individually but I'm having a hard time putting them together.

It should be a direct translation of "before talk" which would be similar to prologue, preamble, preface, introduction or forward but the kanji for those words are not the same. The closest word I can figure is "zenwa" but that can't be right, can it?

[InsanityRanch]

mmmmmmm....

couldn't find this in any of the dictionaries I checked. Can you give the context in which you saw it?

[MeLu]

InsanityRanch wrote:
mmmmmmm....

couldn't find this in any of the dictionaries I checked. Can you give the context in which you saw it?

It's part of a song title. The full title is 前話リプライズ.

[Kates]

Perhaps it's made up--Jim Breen didn't know it.
I would advise you to listen to the song and perhaps the reading is in there. (I have no idea... I think 'zenwa' too though, perhaps...?)

I suppose you just have to pull the meaning from the two kanji... 'Prior conversation' or something like that that would make a good song title. XD

[ebear215]

I put it into this japanese translater and this is how it came out
前話
mae hanashi
before talk

does that mean anything to you?

[MeLu]

I wish I could tell you guys if either mae hanashi or zenwa was in the song but it's simply a background song from a cd containing nothing but background music from a Japanese tv series. I've been racking my brain on the title for a few hours before posting here and I'm still racking my brain over it since I'm not a translator. I've only been translating for a couple of weeks for fun (didn't want to depend on anyone else's work) but boy oh boy, some of the stuff... my total respect on those who are translators.

[zengargoyle]

something like 'main theme' or 'opening song'. it seems to be the second or third title on many CD's and the last part is "reprise"... so i'm thinking 'opening title (reprise)' or 'main theme (reprise)' or something similar.

[Daichi]

zengargoyle wrote:
something like 'main theme' or 'opening song'. it seems to be the second or third title on many CD's and the last part is "reprise"... so i'm thinking 'opening title (reprise)' or 'main theme (reprise)' or something similar.

I would agree with this. My logic being that 'Before Talk' could be the music prior to the dialogue, ie. Opening Theme, as mentioned above.

[Harisenbon]

as was said before, It means a "recap" of a story or whatnot. Kinda like "in last week's episode"

[MeLu]

zengargoyle wrote:
something like 'main theme' or 'opening song'. it seems to be the second or third title on many CD's and the last part is "reprise"... so i'm thinking 'opening title (reprise)' or 'main theme (reprise)' or something similar.

You're very close to hitting the nail on the head. It is indeed the third title - the first two were Main Theme and Main Title.

1. メインテーマ (mein teema)
2. メインタイトル (mein taitoru)
3. 前話リプライズ (? ripuraizu)

A friend of mine had translated it as 'Prologue Reprise' but prologue is joshou (序章). When you break down the individual kanji they don't mean the same thing so I'm pretty sure his translation as prologue is not entirely accurate.