tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post114534405996133351..comments2023-09-25T13:41:12.977+01:00Comments on Brave New Words: Attempting the ImpossibleB.J. Epsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07564748493196230467noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-1145567643406058832006-04-20T22:14:00.000+01:002006-04-20T22:14:00.000+01:00To continue responding to your comment:It's always...To continue responding to your comment:<BR/>It's always a special challenge to translate something that was poorly written or that you don't agree with, so I sympathize with your situation. Some customers seem to expect that the translator will not only translate but also improve the text and that is not the translator's job!<BR/>I would also love to translate children's books, especially because there are some truly wonderful ones here (beyond Astrid Lindgren!), but I understand that there is little interest in translated children's lit at this point, unfortunately. <BR/>I think that since you're starting out and looking for experience, you should sign up with agencies and join translation lists that have job announcements (such as http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/jobs-translators/). Those might be good places to start!B.J. Epsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07564748493196230467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-1145567138817647872006-04-20T22:05:00.000+01:002006-04-20T22:05:00.000+01:00Hi Anne,I wonder who translated "Strange Pilgrims....Hi Anne,<BR/>I wonder who translated "Strange Pilgrims." That would be interesting to know. I don't think it was Gregory Rabassa. <BR/>I think William Weaver is good translator (I would love to read Italo Calvino in the original and be able to compare to the English versions) whose work is "transparent." Some people say that to say a translation is "transparent" is the highest compliment you can pay a translator! I also like Mr. Rabassa's work. The Paul Auster interview I mention in a recent post includes him saying that he thinks there are some "sublimely talented translators in America today" (although he said that 20 years ago) and he mentions Mr. Rabassa, Wilbur (I assume he means Richard Wilbur, who just today won the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize), Manheim (probably Ralph Manheim), and Mandelbaum (probably Allen Mandelbaum).B.J. Epsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07564748493196230467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-1145485471076909722006-04-19T23:24:00.000+01:002006-04-19T23:24:00.000+01:00What do I notice as I read a work that was transla...What do I notice as I read a work that was translated? Well, if William Weaver does it, I don't notice anything beyond a wholeness of the work. OR, look at Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Strange Pilgrims: whoever translated that is a divine being: I found the preface, for example (and this was 20 years ago) a nearly mystical experience. So I suppose what I notice is whether or not there seems to be some kind of alien tonality imposed on the text. As in reading an Inspector Maigret mystery with Britishisms (ouch! they rang false!)<BR/><BR/>I have only translated recipes and accompanying brief essays about them and their origins. This was fairly recently, for an impending multi-cultural cookbook. I really enjoyed it (it was like doing a good Crossword puzzle). So my experience is really very limited. And the prose of those essays was very second rate, in my not so humble opinion. <BR/>What I would like to translate... children's books? Short essays on things not too esoteric? Something that would give me a different kind of starting point than recipes...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-1145477573682013222006-04-19T21:12:00.000+01:002006-04-19T21:12:00.000+01:00Hi Anne,Thank you for your comments. It's great to...Hi Anne,<BR/>Thank you for your comments. It's great to hear from other translators! And it's great to hear from Bryn Mawr alumnae!<BR/>Reading as a translator is fascinating. What do you notice as you read a work that you know was translated? <BR/>About finding translation jobs -- what areas do you want to work in (fiction, websites, legal texts, etc.)? Have you signed up with any translation agencies? Or joined any translation associations? I hope that finding translation work will be a topic of discussion on the blog in the near future!<BR/>Best wishes,<BR/>BrettB.J. Epsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07564748493196230467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-1145365981730378742006-04-18T14:13:00.000+01:002006-04-18T14:13:00.000+01:00I am delighted that you started this, Brett. I hav...I am delighted that you started this, Brett. I have spoken French fluently for years, have been reading French novels for fun (as opposed to for a grads) for almost as long, but just began translating for pay before Christmas. (Although I often find myself translating whole paragraphs of, say, an Inspector Maigret roman policier into English, and was vvery conscious, upon reading a translation of one of the Maigret mysteries, of reading a translation done by an Briton.) <BR/>I've been translating recipes AND the commentary that goes with them, and an fascinated by the way whoever wrote the commentaries writes: disjointed thought sequence, Jerry-Lewis-culture-grade French.<BR/><BR/>It's really hard to create a reasonable translation when one has little respect for the text one is being paid to translate. But ...<BR/><BR/>I look forward to reading further.<BR/>And praying for more translating jobs. Any suggestions?<BR/><BR/>Anne '64Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-1145350686975653392006-04-18T09:58:00.000+01:002006-04-18T09:58:00.000+01:00Hej, Helena! Tack så mycket!Hej, Helena! Tack så mycket!B.J. Epsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07564748493196230467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-1145347287537542302006-04-18T09:01:00.000+01:002006-04-18T09:01:00.000+01:00Hej, vilken intressant blogg. Hit kommer jag att å...Hej, vilken intressant blogg. Hit kommer jag att återvända!Översättarhelenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01917944547514905102noreply@blogger.com