tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post116861053363308620..comments2023-09-25T13:41:12.977+01:00Comments on Brave New Words: Translator Joachim NeugroschelB.J. Epsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07564748493196230467noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-48826638350081937032009-12-23T01:52:07.362+00:002009-12-23T01:52:07.362+00:00That's an interesting point. But I assume they...That's an interesting point. But I assume they then go back and revise further drafts based on the understanding they've gained by reading the entire book.<br /><br />Best wishes,<br />BJB.J. Epsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07564748493196230467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-35988318725766319272009-12-21T19:42:43.392+00:002009-12-21T19:42:43.392+00:00And many translators work in the same way - not re...And many translators work in the same way - not reading the book before they translate it. Charlotte Mandell, who is an exceptional translator, works the same way, as do many other translators. She has made the point that an author does not know what he or she will be writing when they write so that is one of the reasons why she works that way, to be as surprised as the writer. But that is only the first step of the translation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-15255285792543125872009-12-21T19:39:41.003+00:002009-12-21T19:39:41.003+00:00Well, regarding JN's supposed arrogance, maybe...Well, regarding JN's supposed arrogance, maybe he felt insulted by someone who clearly doesn't know anything about translation and one might even say of literature itself. It's preposterous to state to a translator one is interviewing that one has never thought about the art of translation!!! What is more arrogant, JN's answers, or someone who presumes the right to interview someone and ask them to give of their time when one knows nothing whatsoever about their work??? To ask a translator how he or she learned a language is frankly stupid. It's not a question. "Explain pogroms" is another hopelessly ignorant thing for a literate person to ask. One could continue with such criticisms but it's senseless. I imagine JN didn't know he would be asked such questions . . .Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-21084110688395304332008-10-18T16:22:00.000+01:002008-10-18T16:22:00.000+01:00Thank you for your comment, Elena! The function of...Thank you for your comment, Elena! The function of a translation is, as we have seen from this interview and others, is not always the same as the translator's reasons for doing a translation!<BR/><BR/>Best wishes,<BR/>BJB.J. Epsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07564748493196230467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-38403852734807122602008-10-18T15:32:00.000+01:002008-10-18T15:32:00.000+01:00I would like to write a paper for my Literary Tran...I would like to write a paper for my Literary Translation class, found Maupassant's tranlsations done in 1909 and then , recently, I found a new one--almost new--Neugroshel's translation of Maupassant. After reading closely both translations of LE COLLIER, I saw that the 2000-translation is so much more 21-centurish, whereas the one done in 1909 was very much source-oriented and snobbish. When I found the interview with Neugroshel online, I was happy and sure to find the answer to my question: why translate Maupassant in 2000? What need in English was it supposed to fill? And I was struck--just like you, TP--by his arrogance and "I do translations for money." I am sure there is a need in the target language for a certain author to be translated...Elena Baraboi-Kliukhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15832183278268003928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-5305945646766623872007-02-09T08:14:00.000+00:002007-02-09T08:14:00.000+00:00Thank you for your comment, TP!It would be interes...Thank you for your comment, TP!<BR/>It would be interesting to see more interviews with translators and to compare how they discuss their work.<BR/><BR/>Best wishes,<BR/>BrettB.J. Epsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07564748493196230467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-49409586438983817282007-02-07T20:45:00.000+00:002007-02-07T20:45:00.000+00:00Funny, I just read the same interview. It's triump...Funny, I just read the same interview. It's triumphantly arrogant. The man has obviously decided he's in a class of his own...The kind of decision it's better to leave to others. TPAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-24624917274135061362007-01-16T15:39:00.000+00:002007-01-16T15:39:00.000+00:00Thank you for your comment, L.
Yes, the interview...Thank you for your comment, L. <br />Yes, the interviewer did mention that she didn't know much about translation, but one would like to think that she would have made the time to study up on it before interviewing a translator!<br />I can't imagine not reading a work before deciding whether to translate it, but I have actually heard of and met quite a number of translators who work that way. One English to Swedish literary translator I met, for example, just says yes to assignments, usually for monetary reasons, and often only looks at the text the week before the translation is due! He reads it as he translates, then reads his translation and edits it, and then is done. Amazing, but I wouldn't be able (or willing) to work that way myself.<br /><br />Best wishes,<br />BrettB.J. Epsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07564748493196230467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-27522476524322928122007-01-16T15:36:00.000+00:002007-01-16T15:36:00.000+00:00Thanks for your comment, Jenny. Yes, it would be i...Thanks for your comment, Jenny. Yes, it would be interesting to compare various translations of the same work, but that isn't possible too often, for obvious reasons. There are sometimes various translators for the same author (though not necessarily various translations of the same exact work), and here I think of writers such as Pablo Neruda, Orhan Pamuk, and Milan Kundera. A reader's sense of the work varies a lot depending on the translator.<br /><br />Best wishes,<br />BrettB.J. Epsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07564748493196230467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-1168792092633471062007-01-14T16:28:00.000+00:002007-01-14T16:28:00.000+00:00Terribly stupid questions those are, why should he...Terribly stupid questions those are, why should he even have bothered answering?<BR/>Also, it doesn't seem to me that Europeans translate from half the amount of languages at a time some American translators do. My French is pretty decent, but I wouldn't dream translating from it, as I have never lived there, read enough of their literature or get a degree in it. No, I didn't learn it by myself. But maybe it's just that there are so few translators around, they just have to multitask :-).<BR/>Pontiggio also claims he never used to read the book before starting to translate. What can you call that but unprofessional?<BR/><BR/>L.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26093079.post-1168655833020726382007-01-13T02:37:00.000+00:002007-01-13T02:37:00.000+00:00Very interesting post, would like to read it somet...Very interesting post, would like to read it sometime & compare with other Kafka translations. I've currently been working with Anthea Bell's translations of Sebald, she's quite good, I think. <BR/>best,<BR/>Jenny S.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com