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 impact of the source language (December 2022)
An unusual style in the source text should typically be reflected in the translation. However, in trying to imitate the source text style, the translator must ensure that the unusual style works in the target text.
Here is a passage from Paul Gray’s article “Books: Wild About Harry Potter” (TIME, 12 September 1999): “They want to believe the unbelievable, and Rowling makes it easy and great good fun for them to do so. How pleasant to be persuaded that an orphan named Harry Potter, who has lived for 10 years with the Dursleys, his cruel aunt and uncle and their hateful son Dudley, in a faceless English suburb – specifically 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging – learns shortly after his 11th birthday that he is really a wizard.”
For the sake of clarity, I provide the translation without the relative clause: “Sie möchten das Unglaubliche glauben und Rowling macht es ihnen einfach und zu einem großartigen Spaß, dies zu tun. Wie angenehm es doch ist, davon überzeugt zu werden, dass ein Waisenkind namens Harry Potter [...] an seinem 11. Geburtstag herausfindet, dass er eigentlich ein Zauberer ist.”
Striving to achieve in the target text a style similar to the source text, the translator apparently has forgotten to check, whether the result is satisfactory to the observant target text reader. This does not seem to be the case: the German translation contains phrasings that are either strange (“macht es ihnen [...] zu einem großartigen Spaß, dies zu tun”) or almost nonsensical (“Wie angenehm es doch ist, davon überzeugt zu werden, dass [...]”).
There are several possibilities of rendering the two phrasings in question more appropriately. This calls for a somewhat greater distance to the source text. I suggest: Sie möchten das Unglaubliche glauben und Rowling sorgt dafür, dass sie das tun können und dabei jede Menge Spaß haben. Es ist einfach schön, die Geschichte eines Waisenkindes namens Harry Potter zu lesen, das 10 Jahre bei den Dursleys gelebt hat [...] und kurz nach seinem 11. Geburtstag herausfindet, dass es eigentlich ein Zauberer ist.