Behind Translation

Translation is more relevant now than ever. In order to truly view the world’s literary progress, we must find a way to read as much as possible. However, it is not feasible for readers to learn a new language just to read a single piece. Besides, there is so much cultural and historical context that simply knowing the language would not be enough to do each work justice.

This is where translation comes in. This job is essential as the quality of a translation will vastly affect how an audience perceives a piece of writing. A piece might consist of incredibly written prose but, if it’s badly translated, it will look mediocre or even outright bad.

So how should a translator translate? Should a translator stay as faithful to the original as possible, even if this means sacrificing readability and accessibility? Or should a translator try to find a way to rewrite the work that makes more sense in the new language but isn’t exactly what was said in the original? Translating as faithfully as possible can lead to glaring issues, especially when it comes to writers who use a lot of metaphors and wordplay. Japanese is one example of a language that is extremely difficult to translate into English, as so much of the language utilizes double meanings and is, in general, a completely different alphabetic system than Romance or Germanic languages.

This presents certain obstacles. Let’s say there’s an expression used exclusively in the original language that when translated directly makes no sense. For this example, let’s use the Spanish proverb, “Camaron que se duerme se lo lleva la corriente,” which roughly translates to “Shrimp that sleeps is carried away by the current.” This sentence sounds weird when taken out of context. To rework this, we have to look at what the proverb means, which is “If you don’t do something quickly, someone will get to it before you.” Are there any equivalent proverbs in English? For this one, there is! “You snooze, you lose.” However, very few foreign idioms have a direct counterpart in English.

Another challenge is slang. Translating slang is among the most difficult tasks of a translator, as there are many cultural barriers to overcome. With foreign slang, there are hardly any direct counterparts in English. Venezuelan slang is completely different from Mexican slang in the same way British English is incomparable to Australian English.

Whenever we see a work in English that is translated from another language, we have to consider not only the intent of the original writer but the intent of the translator. Translating is rewriting in a different tongue.