The nuances of translation.
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Author: Preetha T S
If theories are to be believed, translation is the ‘production of an equivalent text that communicates the same message in another language.’ It sounds simple, but in practice translation is not an easy task. Good writing skills alone won’t help to transfer the words of the author of the original text to another language without losing their true meaning and ignoring the context.
Literary pieces are more challenging to translators because they need extra care regarding the content, form and structure. Whether we need to give importance to style or accuracy has always been a matter for debate among writers for years.
Many readers feel that a sentence or a paragraph in their native language loses its strength when it is translated into English. For example, the noted Malayalam writer M T Vasudevan Nair’s famed work ‘Manju’ (Mist) has the heroine hearing ‘hoofbeats receding to silence in the distance. A wild bird flying around the lamp post and plunging into the shadows of the night.’ But a literal translation do not convey the weight of loneliness or the silence of a frozen soul. That’s where most translators fail miserably as they do not know whether they should act as bridges to convey meanings and ideas of an author or show the world how their work is much better than the original one.
That’s why in many cases we are left to wonder whether the translation was made by a writer or a machine. They are examples of language processing and they lack the touch of a sensitve mind.
With softwares and specialised computer-assisted programmes entering the scene, translation has become easier for many. They just need to pick the most suitable word from the possible equivalents. Easy, but the end result will be different from the one carefully and creatively written by a person who knows what the author really meant when he wrote that ‘the drops of sorrow refuse to trckle down to my heart.’ Someone like Gregory Rabassa.
Ends
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Comments:
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I chanced upon this while looking for information on translations . I agree with your views but was looking for tips to get started.