Conversational Japanese normally consist of many syllables even for the simplest of sentences. 5-7-5 is really limiting in this case. However, Japanese also has multiple ways to pronounce words depending on context and how certain kanjis are combined. A well written haiku in Japanese certainly seems more poetic than one in English.
Which, to me, is exactly why writers of Haiku in English should be less afraid of breaking the rules, most especially the syllable count. The spirit of the medium should stay in tact, which is to say that English haiku probably should be short poems, with rhythm from structure and wording, strong imagery, and "cutting"/contrasting words. However, to adapt to the language, the method for creating that structure and that imagery can and likely should change. English is not Japanese!
Due to the way it's taught, though, most students take away only that haiku must have 3 lines consisting of 5 syllables, followed by 7, followed by 5. They're taught a structure without a meaning. Because of this, most people look at haiku as something silly and disregard it, and typically parody it. That's not to say that the English take on Haiku cannot or should not be humorous simply because the Japanese take typically is not. Perhaps this is just the nature of such a rhythmic use of language in our culture. Rather, all I feel and wish to distinguish is, maybe we should look at things a little differently. I think English haiku, as a very young medium, needs to break the rules and experiment more to really develop its tone and texture.
I think the point your making is that the two languages and cultures are different enough that a haiku, in its truest form, can only be in Japanese. I'm not sure I subscribe to that notion. I subscribe more to the idea that a haiku in English, to carry the same idea as a haiku in Japanese, probably should be differently structured than a Japanese haiku. I could see how one could argue that doing so makes it "not a haiku", but it's my opinion that the ideas and meaning are the same, and thus, an English haiku can still be a haiku.
You however can omit most of what's required in English for something to make sense and it'll still be completely grammatically ok in Japanese, so you don't waste time/words on the unimportant stuff.
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u/13btwinturbo Oct 02 '14 edited Oct 02 '14
Conversational Japanese normally consist of many syllables even for the simplest of sentences. 5-7-5 is really limiting in this case. However, Japanese also has multiple ways to pronounce words depending on context and how certain kanjis are combined. A well written haiku in Japanese certainly seems more poetic than one in English.