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!
Atmosphere (October 2023)
Jerry Adler’s text “Project Green: The Race for Survival” (Newsweek.com, 31 May 2008) discusses different views on the extent to which polar bears should be listed in line with the Endangered Species Act: “To the Bush administration and to its allies in the business community, it’s self-evident that the act was meant to cover the kind of threat a steamroller poses to a Santa Cruz long-toed salamander, not that which an SUV in Atlanta poses to a polar bear, by way of the atmosphere.”
This was translated: “Für die Bush-Regierung und ihre Verbündeten in den Wirtschaftskreisen ist es selbstverständlich, dass das Gesetz die Art von Bedrohung abdecken sollte, die eine Dampfwalze für den Langzehen-Querzahnsalamander darstellt, und nicht diejenige, die ein Geländewagen in Atlanta durch die Luft für den Eisbären bedeutet.”
The expression “durch die Luft” is not ideal in this context, since it is typically used in connection with objects and a direct trajectory: it is as if the SUV were flying through the air from Atlanta to the Beaufort Sea north of Alaska.
However, the processes indicated by the phrase “by way of the atmosphere” work in a rather complex and indirect way. This is why we would translate: “über die Atmosphäre”.