The experience of translation
When I started translating the assignment that according to the Syllabus was to be at least ten thousand words, I never imagined all I had to do. The first activity that took me much time was trying to find the best book or article to translate; it took me about week and a half to come up with the one that I felt most comfortable with. I searched in my own personal library, into my niece’s and into other ones, but I could not find one that fit the necessary conditions, namely that it had never been translated before into English , that had at least ten thousand words, and that I would feel very comfortable with (that I liked the topic). After an exhaustive research, I found an excellent scientific booklet-article: Una Aproximación a la Historia de la Lectura en Costa Rica (1900-1930) (An approach to the History of Reading in Costa Rica (1900-1930) by Patricia Vega Jiménez (see proposal for more details). When I read on this article, I knew that this was to be the one to choose and so I did.
Let us review what the concept of translation is so we have a better focus of what an assignment I had to accomplish. First a brief definition: it is “to render in another language” (Freedictionary, 2011). According to it, translation means to present a message with clear meaning into another language. Nevertheless, let us deepen a bit on it: “the network of connotations associated with the term translation leads to notions of transferring, conveying, or moving from one place to another, of linking one word, phrase, or text to another. These connotations are shared among the words for translation in many modern languages: fanyi in Chinese, translation in English, traduction in French, honyaku in Japanese, Übersetzung in German, and so forth. It may therefore appear justified to postulate the following definition: ‘Translation is a transfer of the message from one language to another.’ Even before one specifies what sort of transfer this may be, it is hard to refrain from asking about the message. Is not the message in this definition a product or consequence of the transfer called translation rather than an entity that precedes the action of transfer, something that remains invariant in the process of translation? Is the message supposedly transferred in this process determinable in and of itself before it has been operated on? In addition, what is the status of the language from which or into which the message is transferred? Is it justifiable to assume that the source language in which the original text makes sense is different and distinct from the target language into which the translator renders the text as faithfully as possible?” (Science.jrank.org, 2010). Such were the questions I also faced in the process.
Hitherto there were enough challenges to discourage most people, but the following represented even another big one: “It is commonly assumed that any bilingual individual is able to produce satisfactory or even high quality document translations simply because they are fluent speakers of a second language. However, this is often not the case. Because of the very nature of the different skills that each possesses, bilinguals and translators are not equally prepared to perform document translations. The ability, skill, and even the basic mental processes required for bilingualism are fundamentally different from those required for translation” (Kadosh, 2007). Therefore, at the end I just had to consider the fact that I was just practicing for future enterprises.
I did not have much of an idea what I was entering into until I actually did it. I must say it was like embarking into a journey of knowledge, research, patience, perseverance, ethics and the like. After having translated the entire booklet I found out what a professional translator goes through before he or she delivers his or her final rendering. The translator has to go (as I did) through an ample array of research, calling the author if he or she is still alive to ask permission, finding resources (books, dictionaries, internet, interviews, and so on), having much patience and perseverance, and vision, putting into practice all he or she has learnt along the university classes and out of the classroom experience, and so on.
I faced many issues, problems, and challenges in the process, especially that of faithfulness and wording. As pointed out by Umberto Eco in the Goggio Public Lectures the author gave at the University of Toronto in October 1998 when “he begins with a discussion of the meaning of “faithful translation,” a concept that permeates the first half of the book. Always thinking like a semiotician, despite his professed attempts not to, he addresses many important and controversial topics within translation theory, such as the question of complete synonymy of words, the cultural differences between languages, the tension of “foreignizing” vs. “domesticating” and “archaicizing” vs. “modernizing” a text, as well as the sacrifice of a literal translation for the sake of preserving style, meter, or imagery in the translated version” (Eco, 1998). Furthermore, in the end, translation, says Eco, “is like the paradox of Achilles and the turtle. Theoretically speaking, Achilles should never reach the turtle. However, in reality, he does. No rigorous philosophical approach to that paradox can underestimate the fact that, not just Achilles, but any one of us, could beat a turtle at the Olympic Games” (Eco, 1998). Therefore, even though the task of translation seemed overwhelming at the beginning and in the middle, I set out for the task of reaching the destination and trying to get the most faithful translation possible.
Another challenge I faced was the fact that the original text sometimes presented very long sentences, grammar and syntax mistakes, so at some extent I felt like correcting and re-writing it. For instance, words that were outdated already.
Regarding the strategies I used I must say what I said in the proposal, mainly that I would use an eclectic style depending on the circumstances and aims of the translation, but I must point out the fact that being very well organized helps much in whichever strategy you are to follow. As Wilss points out: “there is no one single ideal strategy, but each strategy can be appropriate for translating a particular kind of text or for a particular purpose in the target language. Using Wittgenstein’s theory of language games, it is important for the translator to identify the kind of language game that is being played in the source text and to establish the language game aimed at in the target text as SL and TL games are not always identical. This point will be made very clear in the ensuing chapters in which poetic, philosophical, humorous and dialectal texts can be seen as different kinds of language games” (Wilss, 1978). It also brings me to the part where I found many word plays that were unknown to me and many old words that are outdated already so I had to really research and ask around to find a possible suitable rendering.
As stated by Kadosh (2007), “a good translator understands the source language very well, has specific experience in the subject matter of the text, and is an outstanding writer in the target language. Moreover, he or she is not only bilingual, but has a superior command of both languages, specifically, excellent reading skills in the source language, and excellent writing skills in the target language. These skills are normally the result of specialized training in linguistics or translation studies” (Kadosh, 2007). Again, I relied on the fact that all that mentioned by Kadosh will be acquired through training and mainly through experience, so I finished with the task at hand as focused as possible.
After coming to the end of this journey, I feel more in touch with the reality of translation and all that it implies. Now I have a better sense of what it is really about.
Bibliography
Eco, U. (1998). Experiences in Translation. Retrieved 2011, from Experiences in Translation: http://www.google.co.cr/#hl=en&source=hp&biw=1280&bih=687&q=experiences+in+translation+eco&aq=f&aqi=g1&aql=&oq=&fp=39e5787d4fb75840
Freedictionary. (2011). TheFreeDictionary. Retrieved 2011, from TheFreeDictionary: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/translating
Kadosh, A. (2007). k12spanish.com. Retrieved from k12spanish.com: http://www.k12spanish.com/Translation%20&%20Bilingualism%20Paper.pdf
Science.jrank.org. (2010). Science.jrank.org. Retrieved 2011, from Science.jrank.org: http://science.jrank.org/pages/11495/Translation-Concept-Translation-Its-Complexity.html
Wilss. (1978). Thueringen. Retrieved from Thueringen: http://www.db-thueringen.de/servlets/DerivateServlet/Derivate-2786/gledhill.pdf
