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!
Physical education and academic performance (August 2021)
In “The Obesity Warrior” (Time.com, 7 June 2004), Claudia Wallis looks – among other things – at the question, to what extent additional physical education has an effect on the academic performance of children in class. She writes: “Some parents fear that more time in the gym means less achievement in class, but Sallis’ SPARK research suggests otherwise. Academic performance can actually improve with more activity.”
The German translation goes: “Einige Eltern befürchten nun, dass mehr Sportunterricht zugleich zu schlechteren schulischen Leistungen führe, doch Sallis’ SPARK-Forschungen behaupten das Gegenteil: Tatsächlich können sich schulische Leistungen durch eine erhöhte körperliche Aktivität verbessern.”
What is confusing, here, is the verb “behaupten” – not so much because it is a rather unusual rendering of “suggest” (the usual English equivalents of “behaupten” are “claim”, “maintain” or “contend”), but because it leads to conclusions that are not appropriate in the given context.
When someone tells me that a third party maintains or claims something, then I conclude that the speaker is sceptical as to the truth or appropriateness of the information provided by the third party. Thus, the German translation expresses some scepticism with regard to the result of the SPARK research that more exercise can improve the academic achievement of school children. It seems, the author doubts that this research result is correct. This is, however, clearly too much scepticism: in the original, the verb “suggest”, it is true, does leave some room for manoeuvre regarding the extent to which the statement that academic performance can be improved by more physical activity is actually true; it does not doubt, though, that the statement is true. By contrast, the verb “behaupten” implies doubts as to the truthfulness of the statement; and that is altogether inappropriate in the given context.
A possible German rendering would be: Einige Eltern befürchten nun, dass mehr Sportunterricht zugleich zu schlechteren schulischen Leistungen führt, doch Sallis’ SPARK-Forschungen ergeben ein anderes Bild. Tatsächlich können sich schulische Leistungen durch eine erhöhte körperliche Aktivität verbessern.