How should we read/translate long sentences that end in a question?

Question

This is a question how to read long complicated sentences, and by default how we should translate them because you can't really be sure you have understood something if you can't say it in your mother tongue.

It took me a while to work out what the writer was saying in the sentence below. I may still be wrong but it consists of a very long sentence ending in a question (in bold). I turned this in to one short question followed by an explanation of that short question.

Is this the right way to do it?

Background: This is an essay on Ralph Emerson, an American philosopher who said that people spend too much focussing on the future. They should live for moment. He drew a comparison to a rose which is no less for not being in full bloom all its life.

一本のバラがそうであるように、自分が��ここに生きていることが、自分や神と言った人間を越えた大きな存在に、無条件で喜ばれていると気づく時、歯を食いしばっても力みが抜けて、前を向く勇気と力が、穏やかな喜びとともに、心の内側から沸いてくるのではないでしょうか。そのように気づくことが、エマソンの言う「今を生きる」ことのように思えます。

Just like the rose, is not living for the moment the time you become aware of the pleasure of an existence which transcends yourself or a person such as a god? When you are gritting your teeth and losing your strength, the power and courage to go on comes with that serene pleasure aroused in your heart. It seems that this awareness is what Emerson meant when he talked of "living for the moment".

(And please feel free to improve on my "flowery" translation. I am still not sure why 喜ばれている is passive.)

Source: 中上級日本語、April 2014

Answer 1

The important thing is to understand the overall syntactic structure of the sentence. That is not easy for a sentence of this size, and you will need semantic clues to guide the parsing.

Let me suggest some analytic steps you can go through.

1. First, you might like to know what そうである refers to. Let's see some of the candidates (look for verb phrases):

   • 今ここに生きている
   • 無条件で喜ばれている
   • 心の内側から沸いてくる

   The third option "Arise from within your heart like a rose" is not likely. Roses do not arise from within your heart. The first option, "live here and now like the rose", I guess could theoretically work, but it makes more sense for it to be "unconditionally appreciated, like the rose". Also, if 一本のバラがそうであるように referred to 今ここに生きている, it would be more likely to be 一本のバラのように, since they are so close to each other.

2. Next step could be to break down the top level sentence. Again, if you strictly look at syntax, there might several ways to parse it, but what makes the most sense is:

   ... 気づく時、... 心の内側から沸いてくるのではないでしょうか
   When you realize ..., ... arises from within your heart.

3. Once you've broken down the top level sentence, break the parts down recursively. I'm not going to do all the steps for you, but hopefully you get the picture.

This is my take on the translation. It might not be the most idiomatic English, but it relatively true to the original sentence structure.

When you realize that - just like a rose (is appreciated) - your current existence here is unconditionally appreciated by yourself and greater beings such as God, do you not feel calm even if you were clenching your teeth, and do not the power and courage to go on, together with a serene pleasure, arise from within your heart?

The main point is: If you only think about syntax, there are often multiple ways to parse a sentence. To get the right parse, you need to understand the meaning of the words, so they can guide you.

Answer 2

I will parse it as this:

(1)=一本のバラがそうである

(2)=自分が今ここに生きていること
(3)=自分や神と言った人間を越えた大きな存在
(4)=無条件で喜ばれ

(A)=(1)ように、(2)が(3)に(4)ている
This part seems to be the hardest part, it basically means:
バラが、人間である自分に喜ばれるように
自分が、神と言った、人間を超えた、大きな存在に喜ばれる

(5)=(A)と気づく

(6)=歯を食いしばって
(7)=力みが抜けて
(8)=前を向く勇気と力が、穏やかな喜びとともに、心の内側から沸いてくる

(B)=(5)とき、(6)でも、(7)(8)

(C)=(B)のではないでしょうか

When (5), even if (6), you still (7) (8), aren't you?

Dainichi has provided an English translation. It's seems that my understanding is at least not far wrong. So I merged my comment into the answer. It's not a translation.

If you know there is someone who is greater than you and says “I'm happy to see you alive / You make me happy”, you will forget all loneliness and dread and feel greet joy. Realizing the value and importance of the existence of yourself, that is what Emerson called “living for the moment”.

As for why 喜ばれている is used, it's may be related to another question. You can think it's just a passive form.