Like-Blog
Presenting you the most interesting translation solutions
Why Like-Blog? Now, first of all, this blog is a blog that you should like (and read regularly) – at least, if you are interested in translation. Then, the topic discussed here is one in which the meaningful likeness between a text and its translation in the language pair English-German plays a key role. On this page, I will take a close look at some interesting translation solutions that I have come across in the course of my work as a translator and translation scholar.
A translation solution is only as good as the arguments that support it. This means that any translation criticism, whether positive or negative, needs to be justified. The quality of a translation solution shows only when we compare it to other possible translation solutions in a given translation situation. Therefore, a translation critic should not only say why a translation solution is bad, but also demonstrate what a better solution might look like. I will try to stick to these principles of translation criticism. So if you have any questions regarding my line of argument or if you disagree, please, let me know your opinion by phone at +49 4171 6086525 or by e-mail to bittner@businessenglish-hamburg.de. So much for the introduction. I hope you’ll enjoy reading this blog!
The German chancellor (August 2019)
A translation need not be wrong for the attentive reader to be slightly confused. Thus, a small detail may suffice to disturb the speech perception of sensitive readers. In the following example, the translator fails to take into account the knowledge horizon of the target audience and also encourages a possible misinterpretation.
What’s wrong with the translation is obvious even without reference to the source text. The sentence goes: „Die deutsche Kanzlerin Angela Merkel hat sich für eine Art UN-Wirtschaftsrat ausgesprochen, ähnlich wie der Sicherheitsrat.“ A German text which is supposed to be published in a magazine such as Der Spiegel according to the hypothetical translation brief should be written in such a way that it suits the readers’ cultural knowledge. In the present case, readers of the Spiegel might feel underestimated (to say the least) if they are presented at great length with the head of government of their country as “deutsche Kanzlerin Angela Merkel”.
Did you understand the translation properly? At least from a grammatical point of view, there are two possibilities of interpreting the phrase “ähnlich wie der Sicherheitsrat”. Possibility number one: the United Nations Economic Council should be organised like the UN Security Council. Possibility number two: not only Angela Merkel supported the idea of some kind of United Nations Economic Council, but also the UN Security Council.
For you to be able to form you own opinion, here comes the original, taken from “The Great Fall” by Michael Elliot and Peter Gumbel in TIME Magazine of 29 January 2009: “At one limit, Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, has advocated a sort of United Nations Economic Council, much like the Security Council.” That the translator left the prepositional phrase at the beginning (“At one limit”) untranslated doesn’t matter in this context. The above defects, however, should be eliminated. One possibility would be: Angela Merkel hat sich für eine Art UN-Wirtschaftsrat ausgesprochen, ähnlich dem Sicherheitsrat.