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!
Hot heads (July 2021)
On 21 April 2021, the Daily Telegraph writes about Annalena Baerbock as the Green Party’s candidate for the chancellorship in Germany: “If a Chancellor Baerbock went into coalition with the Christian-Democrats reduced to a junior partner – as in Baden-Württemberg – she might be able to keep her hot-headed troops in line [...].”
On 2 May 2021, the Handelsblatt looks at the different views in other countries on the possibility of Annalena Baerbock becoming Chancellor in Germany: “In Großbritannien warnt der konservative „Daily Telegraph“ vor der Gefahr von links. Baerbock komme zwar vom Realo-Flügel, aber an der Parteibasis dominierten die Fundis, wie in der Labour-Partei, schreibt Kolumnist Ambrose Evans-Pritchard. Die Fundis „verbieten gerne Dinge“ und seien feindlich gegenüber dem freien Unternehmertum eingestellt. Wenn Baerbock mit der CDU regiere, könne sie ihre „heißköpfigen Truppen“ vielleicht im Zaum halten, aber Rot-rot-grün wäre „der Albtraum des deutschen Establishments“.”
A direct translation from English to German is sometimes acceptable and sometimes not acceptable. In some cases, the immediate German equivalent of the English original is used so pervasively even by educated native speakers of German that it is gradually accepted. For example, “sth. makes sense” would traditionally be translated as “etw. ergibt Sinn” or “etw. hat Sinn”; the Duden, however, lists as a possible idiom also the colloquial “etw. macht Sinn”. Similarly, the Duden has “(nicht standardsprachlich; nach englischem Vorbild) in 2009” for the English “in 2009”, which would usually be rendered without the preposition: “We visited them in 2009” becomes “Wir haben sie 2009 besucht”.
Not acceptable is the translation of “hot-headed” as “heißköpfig” in the above quotation from the Handelsblatt despite the perfectly common “Heißsporn” for “Hotspur”, which Schlegel used originally for the nickname of Sir Henry Percy in his translation of Shakespeare. In German, “hitzköpfig” is an apt description of a rash and impetuous person.