Translating and Differing
Lost in Translating
so when taking foreign language classes we are always told not to use google translate because it is never exactly right and things are lost in translation. I don't know how much I really believed it until I got into higher levels and saw that what I was getting from one section was different then what someone else was getting if we tried to translate word for word. This idea is clearly shown when looking at the different translations of the same sentence in Metamorphosis. The sentences are trying to get the same point across but due to the different diction, syntax, and structure among others, the sentences do not mean the exact same thing to the reader.
The first translation reads "Gregory Samsa woke from uneasy dreams one morning to find himself changed into a giant bug." The diction in this translation uses fewer adjectives and less overall words to describe what happened in a very visual way. Imagery is used because the reader imagines a giant bug because in this translation he is literally changed into one. As said before the structure is pretty straight forward which makes the sentence easy to read and easier to understand.
The second translation reads "When Gregor Samsa awoke from troubled dreams one morning he found he had been transformed in his bed into an enormous bug.". The diction is this piece uses more complex words such as "enormous" and "troubled" in order to better show just how Gregor is woken up. The imagery used here is similar to the first translation but differs because you can clearly see a huge bug inside a bed. The structure of this translation is compound sentences that make the reader more interested because it is not as choppy.
The third translation reads, "As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.". In general, this translation almost combines the first two translation, in the structure. It contains more adjections that are similar to the first translation but is also a compound sentence just like the second translation. The diction in this translation is strong in adjectives but is easy to understand for all readers. With regards to imagery, it is important to note that it contains insect instead of bug because that makes me picture something like an ant versus a Beatle like I had pictured with the two other translation.
The last translation reads, "One morning, upon awakening from agitated dreams, Gregor Samsa found himself, in his bed, transformed into a monstrous vermin.". This translation most differently has the most complicated diction. It uses the strongest adjectives which makes the imagery the strongest because you can picture everything more based in the adjectives. The structure also differs because it does not start with Gregor Samsa which makes the name not as a central focus of the sentence but the fact that he changed into a bug.
The translations word choice, syntax, punctuation and imagery change in each of the translations affects the meaning in different ways. They allow for the reader to have a more simple understanding in the first all the way up to a complex understanding in the last. As the word choice gets more complex the imagery gets stringer because the reader has more specific words to base the movie that is playing in there head on. As for syntax and punctuation, the difference allows for the reader to few what is more important in each of the translations and this differs. The compound sentences allow for the reader to separate Gregor from the big versus the simple sentence allowing them to see them as the same.
Overall I think word choice is the most important in translations. I think this is because the word choice is what the reader pays the most attention to and what they gain their knowledge from. Without a certain word choice, the imagery would not be the same. Since word choice results directly to the imagery of the sentence I think it is the most important aspect.
The exercise highlights the difficulty of the reading of the translated text in meaning ways. For one it shows that the meaning can be completely different meanings based on the word choice of the translator. Slightly different words can make the reader see the meaning and importance of certain parts completely differently. Simple changes can have big impacts on how the reader sees the story, such as the word "bug" versus "insect". The tone also shifts because the importance is put on different words along with the change in adjecitves. Adjectives is what truly makes the change in tone so since they are changed in translation to translation the tone changes with then.
Ok first of all, the opening sentence of this post was so relatable because in spanish we are told all the time to not use google translate because it results in inconsistencies in the translation. Also, your analysis of syntax and word choice made perfect sense in how they altered the meaning of the phrase. I could clearly see how the various translations transformed their meanings. Furthermore, your analysis of how this impacts the reader also makes perfect sense.
ReplyDeleteHi Hannah! Great blog post this week. I liked how you used a personal example within your post because I can definitely relate to that too. Additionally, the emphasis you placed on adjectives was definitely needed, because I think that this part of speech lends itself the most to creating specific images in the reader's mind.
ReplyDeleteHannah, I read your blog post. I thought your connection to the language classes we take at school was a perfect way to introduce a point about how connotation and meaning changes between translation, and how this is something that is extremely important to consider when translating texts with respect to the writer's original intentions. This is why I think that the translators should be given much more credit than they are, similarly to directors who adapt books into movies. The movie lists the director at the forefront, and perhaps says that it was based on the book, but the movie is not credited to the original author. Also I'm not sure I agree with your point about the significance of adjectives. I don't think it is necessarily adjectives that change the tone, but connotation and word choice in general. Adjectives are just a small part of that. Good post.
ReplyDelete