Translating is an art

Last week a friend of mine sent me a screenshot of a newspaper article. The author wrote about a translation where the texts in the source language (French) and target language (Dutch) were quite different.  The French version described a lot of details whereas the Dutch translator decided to get straight to the point by only translating maybe one third of the original text.

The last sentence of the article stated: “It seems the point of view of what is important, differs for both parties.”

This really got me thinking. Does it mean that when someone translates, they adapt the text to their way of seeing things? Does their lifestyle have an influence on a translation?  If you were to ask me this question, I’d probably answer yes to both questions.

To me translation is an art. When translating, you start by reading the source text. Getting familiar with the ideas, the feelings among other things the author wants to get across. You need to find a way to put this into words in the target language. Everyone has a different way of interpreting and expressing art. To me it is the same with translation. Of course, it goes without saying that the translation should be accurate. Translating isn’t writing a new text or expressing your own opinion. What this means is that if you have the same text translated by different translators, the meaning will be the same, but the method used to get the meaning across might differ slightly. Just like there isn’t only one way to draw a flower (someone might start with the petals, another one with the stem) there isn’t just one way of translating a text. Just like a piece of art, every translation is a unique creation.

If we think about the statement in the last sentence of the article previously mentioned, rather than a different point of view I think it’s more about the reader the translator was translating for. To make the text sound more natural in the target language you it is sometimes necessary to add words or leave them out. Especially if in the target language adding extra words won’t make any sense. The goal is to create a version that doesn’t look like it is a translation in the first place.

This doesn’t only apply to literary translations. If you look up technical translations online such as handbooks or technical instructions for the same kind of appliance you will spot (more than) a few differences because there is more than one way possible to explain something.
There is however a limit to this when translating sworn translations or medical leaflets for example (you wouldn’t want anyone dying on your hands).

Literary translations on the other hand, do have one extra difficulty in my opinion. They don’t only translate words, thoughts and feelings, but also names (if they have a meaning) and even puns. They must recreate the authors' universe. 

While looking for articles on this subject I found several interviews in The Guardian (see down below for links). One which involved a translator working directly with the authorreally caught my eye. The author sees “translation as a creation. A way to make a book live in your own language.”

Finally, one of the reasons I want to become a translator is because I love spending time finding the right words to find the best way to express the authors’ intentions.

“Language is a process of free creation; its laws and principles are fixed, but the manner in which the principles of generation are used is free and infinitely varied.”

— Noam Chomsky

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jul/24/subtle-art-of-translating-foreign-fiction-ferrante-knausgaard

MvE