(re:) translations
Lorentzen / Nicklaus (kflorentzen@dialup.nacamar.de)
Tue, 27 Jan 1998 10:34:51 -0100
The debate concerning translations of Marquez etc. reminded me about a =
question I have for a long time but never had someone competent (=3D a =
native speaker) to answer: Is Salinger=B4s colloquial language (take the =
=B4Catcher=B4 as an example) so oldfashioned that it is sometimes =
difficult to enjoy - not to say to bear? The reason I ask is that the =
=B4Catcher=B4 is translated into German in such a terrible way. It is =
done by Heinrich Boell and his wife and they used some kind of =B4youth =
talk=B4 they obviously thougt to be =B4modern=B4 but which in fact makes =
everybody sensitive to language shiver. (We=B4ve read it - hard to =
believe - during the German lessons at school. I thougt it to be a =
terrible book. When I reread in English - again =B4forced=B4 by school - =
I couldn=B4t believe it was the same book.)For instance Holden often =
says "Scheibenkleister" which nobody similar to Holden would have said =
during the last 25 years. Or is this feeling of embarrassment I got =
only a hint that I haven=B4t overcome my puberty? Fortnunately the =
=B4Catcher=B4 is as far as I know the only one of Salinger=B4s books =
that is translated into German. I remember someone in this list lately =
uttered similar feelings concerning the language of F&Z.=20
Thank you, Kirsten