Comments on: Lost in Translation

By: Paige Reinsel

Paige Reinsel — Wed, 28 May 2008 04:55:43 +0000

To address the above comment, my argument that the translation of literature may be problematic is something I have never heard from any professor. In fact, we read many translated works of literature in my college English courses, so to say that I am merely trying to “mimic what the professor wants to hear” is simply untrue. Furthermore, though I do agree with your argument that each person has a unique experience with a particular work of literature, I do not think it is right to completely disregard the author’s intent concerning diction and other aspects that may be affected by translation. I appreciate your input, however, as this topic is rather controversial and undoubtedly debatable.

By: runningsammy

runningsammy — Wed, 21 May 2008 18:34:41 +0000

“…there’s no way that the poetic effect can truly be duplicated, you say?
And why would you?
Try, I mean, to ‘duplicate’ the experience?
Every time I have been moved by words, it is because of the uniqueness of the moment, and of my relationship to it. There is no need for it to be the same for you as for me. The joy and the journey of our lives in literature is to find joy and purpose, and try to live with it, either by sharing it with others, or by holding it in our deepest treasure chest of secrets.
I have a book of Persian poems that I love, and I can’t decipher one letter of Farsi. The book was translated over a hundred years ago by an English author who looks — according to the frontispiece — that he would no more fit in my world than a hooped skirt. But what he put down on the pages is beautiful and moving by itself. I am absolutely certain that my enjoyment would be greatly reduced if I had the background of language to read the tome in it’s mother tongue.
The richness of words with it’s infinite variety of nuance and subtlety makes for a lifetime experience of enrichment, even if you are reading the same authors over and over. I have read Out of the Silent Planet since I was teenager and though it always hits me in different ways, the moment when our protagonist is first confronted with humans and has his step-by-step epiphany: going from no recognition and then seeing “his own people” in front of him, always gets me. There is no need for this moment to make you feel the same things that I feel when I read it, clearly.
The joy and the journey is of checking with each other what it was like for you and whether that fits with my experience, and WHY.
So, not to be too argumentative, but I must insist that your assumption that translated words can not duplicate the experience of the original tongue is irrelevant to all but the student wishing to mimic what the professor wants to hear.
Good Work and Good Words
Sammy

By: Anne Hershman

Anne Hershman — Mon, 19 May 2008 23:56:44 +0000

This is one subject that my French teacher would avidly praise you on, as well as one of my History teachers. One of the things that kept popping up in my mind while I read this was the word , “universalism”. When applied to literature, universalism is the concept that one should be able to write something and anyone from around the world should be able to relate to what one writes. This, I think, relates to what you wrote. When something is lost in translation, people from a country other than the country in which the book was published might not fully understand the wonder of the book or poem or whatever was published, just as universalism is not possible because no one can ever fully grasp the other’s writing.

By: Keith Brown

Keith Brown — Mon, 19 May 2008 14:32:45 +0000

I’m not proficent in language other than English, although I must admit I am still a student of it. The English language is so rich and diverse, that mastering another language to the point that I can pick up about any novel in that language and be able to read it and comprehend what is being said sounds extremely difficult. In this sense, though, making a living out of translating literature does not sound the least interesting. In addition, one does not have to go to a separate language to translate. Literature in English provides a whole other experience. For example, take Jonathan Swift’s essay A Modest Proposal. The structure of this is somewhat different than what is taught in modern day essay writing courses. Modern English reflects modern society in it preferably is quick, punctual, and to the point. At least this is how it has been described to me. I suppose if it would be done any other way, it could be described as either preliminary work, contemptuously awkward poetry, or something brilliant because it is brand new.

By: Chi

Chi — Thu, 08 May 2008 03:56:53 +0000

I believe that when reading a book, in particular, a “masterpiece” in a language other than the original, you do lose the beauty of how the words are written. No matter how good the translation it still is a translation based on how the translator chooses to interpret the words to a certain extent. As an example, I recently read “Anna Karenina” and when choosing which translation to read, I chose the one where the translation was more narrative than literal. Books by Tolstoy or Proust or Solzhenytsin would be so wonderful to read in their native tongue if only to appreciate the beauty in the combination of words that form the novel.

By: Brittany

Brittany — Tue, 06 May 2008 18:44:36 +0000

The Little Prince is a great example! I haven’t ever read the English version of the book, but I have read it in German. It is one of my favorite books, and is one of those stories that is translated into every possible language. I think it makes a good point- somehow good literature, despite translations, stiil manage to hold on to their original spirit when translated-in the hands of good translators., that is.