tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post114526674387025602..comments2023-09-25T13:41:12.977+01:00Comments on Brave New Words: Translation as TreasonB.J. Epsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07564748493196230467noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-65909662335989153392011-10-08T08:40:51.546+01:002011-10-08T08:40:51.546+01:00It is a little bit out of the subject, but I think...It is a little bit out of the subject, but I think it is worthwhile to mention it. For the last couple of years, we are getting more and more texts written in Asian English to be translated into French, etc. For example, from a US clothing distributor of garments made in China even under famous labels. The brand company in the US or EU just reproduces the transliteration of the Chinese descriptions done by English-speaking(?) Asians, e.g. I had to ask my Chinese colleague what is the meaning of the original Chinese text. Who will know that anti-silver for a slider (zipper) was in fact antic-silver (also is it the colour or the metal?) Now we refuse to do these types of translations. We lost 2 hours of research on the above-mentioned expression.<br />Pierre from cal.international@gmail.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-1145567884694569262006-04-20T22:18:00.000+01:002006-04-20T22:18:00.000+01:00Yes, I agree with you both. Words are central to o...Yes, I agree with you both. Words are central to our experience, which is why it can be so important to find just the right word when speaking, writing, or translating.B.J. Epsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07564748493196230467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-1145376820743187402006-04-18T17:13:00.000+01:002006-04-18T17:13:00.000+01:00Not only do we use our life experiences and the cu...Not only do we use our life experiences and the culture we live in to create a representation of poetry and fiction in our minds, but a big part of what makes reading itself worthwhile is that it can provide us with new ways to understand those life experiences, i. e. a new way to translate life.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-1145366253092803132006-04-18T14:17:00.000+01:002006-04-18T14:17:00.000+01:00I thoroughly agree with Mr Rabassa's suggestion th...I thoroughly agree with Mr Rabassa's suggestion that life, viewed individually, is de facto a translation -in-progress. He is making a profound philosophical statement.<BR/>We are aniumals, but we are the highest order of animal (as far as I know), and being necessarily self-centered, we "read" and interpret the world around us in such a way as to promote our personal survival and emotional comfort.<BR/>Now I must go find a copy of that book.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com