translated
I want to be a better blogger, really I do. I decided I might just put in some of the email novels I have a tendency to write so that the things I am thinking abt make it onto my blog.
This is response to a question about the translation of one of my fav books, Crime and Punishment.
----------------------------------------
Languages are fascinating to me because we study and study them and
yet they are such an imperfect means of communication. each word can
be left up to the individual's personal interpretation. Even between
two individuals who share the same language communication breaks
down--esp between the sexes--don't they say that communication
problems is one of the biggest leads to divorice? I have my own
personal theory that true communication doesn't happen as a result of
words, but rather through shared feeling. After all, the Lord
communicates with us through the Holy Ghost. Do we actually
communicate with one another on a spirit to spirit level? I can't
tell you how many times I've thought of someone and then moments later
they call. hmm... lots of thoughts on this one...
anyway, esp. with literary works, they exist in their own world of
reference, their own time, own culture. A big struggle in poetry and
prose translationis finding the perfect balance between feeling and
exact wording. some translators think that a text should be
translated word for word whilst others feel that there should be room
for making idioms and other things understandable to the audience
intended. The version of c&p I read at 17 by Constance Garnett seems
very bland compared to the one by pevear and volkhonsky which seems
to give more space to the kind of feeling Dostoyevsky was creating as
opposed to only the exact words. But I imagine that your experience
with music is the same--the notes may be exactly the same in one
composition, but the interpretation and the way it is played varies
according to musician. is that so?
-----------------------------------
ooh, another thought--in Mormon doctrine what does it mean to be translated? And why is that the term used?
This is response to a question about the translation of one of my fav books, Crime and Punishment.
----------------------------------------
Languages are fascinating to me because we study and study them and
yet they are such an imperfect means of communication. each word can
be left up to the individual's personal interpretation. Even between
two individuals who share the same language communication breaks
down--esp between the sexes--don't they say that communication
problems is one of the biggest leads to divorice? I have my own
personal theory that true communication doesn't happen as a result of
words, but rather through shared feeling. After all, the Lord
communicates with us through the Holy Ghost. Do we actually
communicate with one another on a spirit to spirit level? I can't
tell you how many times I've thought of someone and then moments later
they call. hmm... lots of thoughts on this one...
anyway, esp. with literary works, they exist in their own world of
reference, their own time, own culture. A big struggle in poetry and
prose translationis finding the perfect balance between feeling and
exact wording. some translators think that a text should be
translated word for word whilst others feel that there should be room
for making idioms and other things understandable to the audience
intended. The version of c&p I read at 17 by Constance Garnett seems
very bland compared to the one by pevear and volkhonsky which seems
to give more space to the kind of feeling Dostoyevsky was creating as
opposed to only the exact words. But I imagine that your experience
with music is the same--the notes may be exactly the same in one
composition, but the interpretation and the way it is played varies
according to musician. is that so?
-----------------------------------
ooh, another thought--in Mormon doctrine what does it mean to be translated? And why is that the term used?
posted by see-k-tee at 9:58 AM
0 comments
