Literary Translation as a Language Exercise

 

LITERARY TRANSLATION AS A LANGUAGE EXERCISE

 

Literary translation is a very specific and particular type of translation. It requires specific linguistic preparation and skills, a particular sensitivity to language, a certain creativity, a good ability in the artistic and figurative exposition of speech.

 

Characteristics of literary translation

                The style of the original text is maintained. The author's voice and emotionality are maintained. It is the translator's responsibility to carry out the translation in accordance with the choice of the author's lexicon, the word runs, and to search for expressions that are at least equivalent to the source language.

                A creative approach to translation. However, this does not mean that the translator can change the meaning and/or content of the original text. Creativity lies in the mastery of choosing, during translation, the right synonyms, epithets, metaphors, so that the translated text is as natural and readable as the source text.

                Adaptation of the translated text to the cultural characteristics and mentality of the country of the target language. Literary translation has been going on for thousands of years, so it is difficult to discuss it in one go. There are five volumes of the Oxford History of Literary Translation in English, which testifies to the complexity and depth of this topic.

                Many literary translators have come and gone. The works of sixth century Roman philosopher, consul and senator Anicius Manlius Severinus Boëthius, or just Boethius, was translated by Geoffrey Chaucer and King Alfred the Great. Throughout the years, the Holy Bible is the most translated work. Among the classics, The Little Prince (French) is the most translated, followed by Pinocchio (Italian), Dao De Jing (Chinese), Pilgrim’s Progress (English) and Alice in Wonderland (English). Among the modern works, some of the most translated are Harry Potter (English), Sleep Tight, Little Wolf (German), Seven Brief Lessons on Physics (Italian), Before I Go to Sleep (English) and The Book of Mirrors (English).

               Each book is a source of knowledge, a way to broaden horizons, learn about the world of foreign literature, become more educated and enlightened. Illustrative material in a foreign language cannot be understood without the intervention of a professional translator.

 

Difficulty In Doing Literary Translations

                The variety of literary works being translated shows the demand for different genres. While we cannot deny the importance of translating literature, the process of translation is difficult and involves a different process than regular content translation. It is one of the toughest among the types of translation works.

                One of the most obvious is the number of words, because most works contain hundreds of pages. Another category that is very challenging for literary translators is poetry. It demands a high level of creativity and fluency in the source and target language because the translator must maintain the essence and beauty of the original.

                Translators involved in literary translations, especially poetry translation are very much challenged. There is the need to keep a balance to remain faithful to the original source with the requirement to create a work that is distinctive and unique, which will elicit the same feelings and reactions as the original work.

                Any translator who has done literary translation will confirm that even one word can be exceedingly troublesome for them. This is because the author carefully chooses the words they use for a particular reason. It is therefore critical for the translator to fully understand the entire story and the actual intent of the author to ensure that the true message of the author is delivered faithfully in another language.

                The more challenging time for a translator is when there is no direct translation of a specific word or phrase or when several options are available and each one has a slight variance in nuances. Literary translators have different approaches when they do translation work. Some focus on retaining the ambience of the local culture as reflected in the content instead of the language.

               When it comes to translating novels, the complexity and the challenge could be even on a higher level than translating poetry.

                Best-selling author of The Kingfisher Chronicles series, Patrick Rothfuss, says that it is not only the length of the content that proves problematic in literary translation but also the names, which are mostly made up by the authors. The names may sound like actual names in English, but these could give translators a more difficult time when translating the novel into another language.

                Another complication is the need to retain the true intent of the original text while the content is not literally translated. The translator must be concerned about recreating the ambience of the novel despite avoiding word for word translation. It is also made even harder by the implications shown by the plotlines, play on words, irony and humor that need transposition without resulting to giving explanations.

                Another thing that complicates the translation of novels is the reader’s knowledge. You cannot pick and categorize the people who would be reading the translated novel. There are readers who are fans of a particular author, while others like to read best-sellers. Others are attracted to a particular genre. Some prefer fiction while others go for true-to-life stories.

                But novels are written by authors who come from different cultural backgrounds. Therefore, their references to traditions, practices and customs may be understood by readers who speak the same language as the author or have the same ethnic background. The job of the translator is to deliver that kind of inherent knowledge to the reader speaking another language and may not be familiar with the cultural oddities of the original language.

               In translating literature, the style of the author and the story’s atmosphere should be preserved. You may have missed the point that you are enjoying a book originally written in another language due to the skills and creativity of the translator.

                Translators of literary works do not care for literal translation. The job requires the translation of idioms and local sayings. It requires that the translator have a specialized dictionary and a large personal vocabulary. Literary translation deals with humor and play on words that must be transposed into the target language.

                The translation not only complies with the style used by the author but should also comply with the specific eras, cultures, and settings of the literary work.

 

Required Skills of a Literary Translator

                A more specific skillset is required when a translator translates literature. The task is more creative that other translation works. In technical translation for example, the focus is on delivering text that is a literal interpretation of the original source. When it comes to prose and poetry, creative writing goes hand in hand with linguistic fluency.

                The translator should also have the confidence in his or her ability to do the job. One of the most important things is the ability to make the right choice when bogged down with words or sentences and move forward to tackle the rest of the content.

                Likewise, the translator should be capable of delivering continuity, especially when translating novels that are exceedingly long. The translator should be able to remember the facts, especially those that were used in the early pages of the novel that reappear in the middle or latter part of the literary work.

 

The benefits of translation exercises for language learning

                Translation helps you tackle weaknesses in vocabulary, grammar, and style. But when you come to some focussed work to take your language up a level, it is sometimes good to tackle the gaps. Having to translate a specific common word or phrase as precisely as possible really puts you on the spot. You either know an equivalent (even if an imperfect one) or not.

                Words or phrases move from being ‘unknown unknowns’ to ‘known unknowns’ and then you can find out how to say them. Translation helps you ‘notice’ and remember. This act of realizing you do not know and finding out will help you to remember.

                Doing written translation exercises into L1 forces you to engage and ‘notice’ things that you don’t understand at an even deeper level than word-for-word ‘intensive reading’. Translation into L2 can flag up stylistic mistakes and patterns of interference from L1.

                It is true that those benefits come from freehand writing in L2 as well but, to repeat, when you are translating, you are up against it. You cannot avoid the issue.

                Translation forces you to understand the intention of the writer. You can’t translate a text well if you do not understand what the author was trying to say. You must convey the word-for-word or ‘bottom up’ meaning. You also must interpret what is being said overall or ‘top down’. In other words, you need to bring to bear your knowledge of the cultural rules around how language is used (pragmatics) and of the culture more widely.

                At all levels the difficulties you will encounter with translation, and it will make you more aware of the conventions of your own language and culture. You will thus be better equipped to communicate effectively between cultures. Translation is a real-life skill too.

                First, at the beginning stages, the reality is that we often translate from L1 to L2 in our heads, whether we engage in formal translation exercises. It is often assumed that our aim as language learners is total immersion in the new structures that the learner. We want to enter the cultural and linguistic system of L2 and be more like a native speaker.