Lost in translation

[zanooda2]

> > justcarol67 wrote:

> > ...and I'd be
> > interested in hearing more on the subject from anyone who's read
> > any of the books in translation. What bothers you most about
> > them, and what do you think the HP/WW experience is like for
> > readers, mostly children, who read the books only in translation?

kkersey_austin:
> - last summer there was a thread about translations - I posted a
> link to an Umberto Eco essay, in which he discusses the very point
> you bring up, about missing/misleading elements that are lost (or
> gained)in translation; you can find it here:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/30574



Umberto Eco's article is very enlightening, especially for people who
are interested in translation in general. Thank you for the advice!
I'm very happy to find out that at least some authors care about the
quality of their books' translations and don't want their work to be
misrepresented. All of the things he said are very true, especially
the part about "source-oriented" and "target-oriented" approaches in
translation.

I think, however, that both of these approaches are present in every
translation, source-oriented being more important, IMO. Target-
oriented approach should take over only and only in a situation where
it's impossible to convey the meaning of an expression or a situation
in the language A to language B readers without making some change.

Some translators tend to use the target-oriented approach in
situations where it is not necessary, IMO. I mean, in HP German
translation, Uncle Vernon humming some German song instead of "Tiptoe
through the Tulips"? Come on, this is just ridiculous! Vernon Dursley
lives in Britain, and I'm pretty sure English is the only language
that he knows. His knowing German songs would be just out of
character. Besides, does it really matter what song he sings? It's
not at all important to the plot or character development, so why
change it?

Going back to Eco's article, all his smart analysis and good advice
are destined to help skilled and responsible translators to overcome
some difficulties they may encounter in their work. Unfortunately,
the only HP translation I am familiar with is that infamous Russian
translation that Carol mentioned in her post. Russian translators
messed it up so badly that giving them Eco's wise advice would be
like giving to someone advice about refining his writing style while
this "someone" is completely illiterate and doesn't know how to write
at all.

These translations are so inaccurate and sloppy (the first four, at
least), that some normal translation difficulties should be the least
of worries for the people who did them. Those people should first:

1.	learn to stick to the original text without mutilating it
2.	learn not to "invent" entire passages that are not in the
original text
3.	learn some basic words, like "cabbage", "toad" or "ferret"
4.	learn to use dictionaries when in doubt, instead of writing
the first thing that pops into their heads

That's all the advice they need for now, not Eco's sophisticated
stuff. They need to learn literary translation basics first! As it
is, Potterverse in Russian translation is a bizarre world, where
magic wands talk and Malfoys routinely use telephones, where
Dumbledore walks around in sunglasses and Dudley is really (REALLY!)
anatomically incorrect.

In this world stalactites grow on walls, toad and turtle is the same
animal, and belly and bottom is actually the same part of a human
body. Garden gnomes here enjoy degnoming, and Hagrid's dream is to
die young. Here, Lockhart knows how to curtsey and seems to be very
excited about UFOs.

In this world Fake!Moody blows his cover completely by announcing
that he will teach the students how to do the AK curse; Harry
allegedly manages to perform the Imperius curse; Fred and George
actually believe at first that Harry is Slytherin's heir. And, oh
yeah, the word "loyalty" is strictly forbidden here and must be
replaced by any other word of a translator's choice. Nice picture,
isn't it? Last touch: poor Seamus hovers in the air, looking at all
this mess from above!

I agree with you that HP books translation presents a challenge
because of all the invented words, puns, wordplay etc. However,
knowing how difficult it must be, I don't judge translators too
severely if they don't manage to convey the meaning of "Gryffin door
knocker" or "Knight Bus". But I cannot forgive incompetence, laziness
and uncaring attitude.

To translate "Knockturn Alley" is a challenge. To know the difference
between "cabbage" and "squash" is not. The translator left "Vindictus
Viridian" unexplained? It's all right, no biggie, I can live with
that. But if he changed the writer's text so much that I don't
recognize it any more, adding explanations, comments and entire
passages from himself, this is unforgivable, IMO. This translator has
no respect for the writer and for the readers.

Maybe you will think I come up a bit harsh on the Russian translators
in this post, but I can't help it. I love HP books so much and seeing
someone mutilate them like this really frustrates me.

Thanks again for the link!


zanooda, happy that she knows English well enough to be able to read
in the original