translation

Rebecca McCallum (remc@uhura.cc.rochester.edu)
Tue, 27 Jan 1998 15:37:23 -0500 (EST)

I sent an earlier post about a Thomas Mann story (original in German, of
course) before reading all those posts about literature in translation. 
They got me to thinking about my views on translation.  Here's my two
cents' worth on the issue:

- I have the utmost respect for translators (especially good ones). 
Translating is one of the hardest things I have ever tried to do (I'd say
I made a complete hash of it); in fact, it sometimes seems near
impossible! 

- Given that no translation is going to be perfect, I'm still really glad
they exist.  There is so much good literature out there in foreign
languages, it would be a crime not to be able to read any of it for lack
of foreign language skills.  I also think it's important for students to
have a sense of what the masterworks of literature are in other languages. 
It wasn't until late junior high or early high school that I grasped the
concept of the existence of foreign literature (thanks to our good ol'
ameri-centric education system...) - I was shocked to find out that people
wrote books in other languages, and that some of the stuff I'd already
read hadn't been written in English originally.  Yikes! 

- In some cases, after reading several books from one country or area,
I've gotten a distinct sense of a national style in literature (very
general - and there are certainly exceptions and individual voices in any
culture). But if I get the impression that German literature is very
different than Latin-American literature, which is different again from
Russian literature..., then I think SOMETHING of the feel of the book is
getting translated.  Luckily, the English translations don't all sound
like American or British novels! 

Thanks for reading..

- Rebecca