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!
Afghanistan (January 2022)
“The U.S. in Afghanistan: The Longest War” (Time.com, 8 April 2009) is a journalistic article written by Aryn Baker. About an Afghan businessman she writes: “He lived through the resistance to the Soviets in the 1980s, only to see the U.S. abandon Afghanistan when they left.”
In a German translation, this sentence goes: “Er durchlebte den Widerstand gegen die Sowjets in den Achtzigern, nur um zu sehen, wie die USA Afghanistan im Stich ließen, als jene dort abgezogen waren.”
The translation is close to the source text. So where is the problem? Well, the problem originates in the fact that, depending on the context, “only to see” can have various meanings in English, which need to be translated differently into German. For one, there is the meaning of purposefulness, duly expressed in a clause of purpose – for example: I’m repeating the exam only to see if I’m better this time. Or in German: Ich wiederhole die Klausur, nur um zu sehen, ob ich dieses Mal besser bin. Another meaning of “only to see” implies a mere subsequent action, as in the present case: first, there is the resistance against the Soviets, then comes the abandonment of Afghanistan by the USA. There is no causal connection between the successive events; however, “only to see” refers to the inevitability of the subsequent event, which is perceived as negative from the point of view of the subject of the sentence.
The problem with the given translation is, thus, that the second part of the sentence is regarded as a clause of purpose: according to this, the Afghan businessman lived through the resistance against the Soviets for him to then be able to see the USA abandon Afghanistan. Obviously, this meaning is nonsensical. The actual meaning of the original can be expressed in German by a more appropriate verb in combination with a modal verb and a suitable adverb of time: Er durchlebte den Widerstand gegen die Sowjets in den Achtzigern, nur um dann mit ansehen zu müssen, wie die USA Afghanistan im Stich ließen, nachdem jene dort abgezogen waren.