Thursday, May 8, 2008
Eng. 609 - Week 6 Blog 3
Professor Pilinovsky's lecture on translations touched on a question that has fascinated me--does a translator have a right to change an author's original text? Professor Rhodes and Pilinovsky subsequently engaged this question, yet I found myself really wondering whose right it is to change an author's material. I realize we have to take into account the era in which a text is translated, but as the "holy kiss"' to a "hearty handshake" points out, a translator has a large responsibility with their translation--whether it takes away, leaves as is, or adds to the original text. Personally, I would rather see a text be translated as is and let me do the discerning. My assertion may be wrong, for as Pilinovsky points out, Shakespeare doesn't translate well into Russian because the two languages just just don't share similar eloquences. Still, I'm going to side with the traditionalists--please let the work stand as is.
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Of course, the question is always...what does "as is" refer to? Is it the literal one-to-one translation? Or is it the "as is" of the style or emotion the author attempts to convey? Translation studies really point to the fact that language is more than just "words"--it's a constellation of affect, diction, context....
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