Hi Derek, I just came across this piece. Thanks so much for doing the work that gives a clear idea of what happened in the case of this translation, or perhaps adaptation might be the better word. It confirms the suspicions I had when I wrote my NYRB piece years ago. It's interesting that in Italy, Adelphi asked for a sample translation directly from Korean, then rejected it and translated the book from the English translation.
Thanks Tim, it's wonderful to receive a comment from you. And what an interesting bit of information that is...I can't help but wonder what led to that decision.
This is a marvelous exercise, Derek, one that should be done more often--not to browbeat translators, but to encourage them toward a deeper understanding of their interpretive responsibilities.
This is really neat. I can’t help wondering about whether or not it comes down to either the translator’s (and editor/publisher’s) sensibilities and by extension their reader’s sensibilities (in a particular country).. so each version might be something of a reflection of the demographic its being sold to?
Might have to get my tinfoil hat out for all the future translated works I read. I can only read English by the way, still trying to figure out how to write in it too.
Excellent! It reminds me of translations of Rousseau I once compared, most of them by his apologists who tried to smoothe him over. Well written and timely essay, as more translations of Asian texts are available than ever before.
Checking out your backlist and I stumbled across this. It's interesting to me, because from 2008 to roughly last year, I was a professional translator. But here's the thing: I wasn't a literary translator. I was dealing with law, business, finance, and marketing (Rus/Ger -> Eng), first on the staff of one of the world's biggest law firms, later as a freelancer. It's a completely different thing, because you have to be as accurate and non-creative as possible. It's like surgery, almost: you get a word wrong, and somebody gets hurt. Worlds away from literary translation.
I knew that literary translation had more leeway, so I was glad to see it demonstrated here. It actually made me a bit jealous: wouldn't it be nice to be creative like this! But when I was translating a real estate contract, or info for a patient about to undergo a medical trial, I couldn't be creative at all. That would have been dangerous, and potentially actionable.
Thanks for checking out the backlist. Once upon a time I thought about pursuing a career in literary translation (I think this was after my book scout experience, lol) but pretty quickly realized there was no money in it and it was largely based on connections anyways (or one's status as a writer). I did submit a translation to a competition once and have done a few short translations for fun, but that's it. The freedom in literary translation is interesting--I think creativity is called for when translating literary texts, but I feel it's sometimes used as a crutch or an excuse for shoddy translations. Ultimately I fall more on the side of thinking the sorts of translation you were doing are a better standard.
Did you ever try to break into literary translating? I feel like with your background plus your interest in literature, you could have.
I never tried seriously to break into that, although I have translated a few literary things. As you say, there's no money in it, and I had to be practical.
Translation is becoming less viable as a profession anyway. The machines are taking over, which turns translators into editors, making less money while doing the same amount of work. This means that literary translation may be the last form of pure translation standing, precisely because it requires creativity, while a court case or annual report doesn't.
Fantastic essay!!!! I really enjoyed this…. I was especially interested that you focused not on Mia-translations or mistakes but a totally different interpretation of a character… loved this!!
Hi Derek, I just came across this piece. Thanks so much for doing the work that gives a clear idea of what happened in the case of this translation, or perhaps adaptation might be the better word. It confirms the suspicions I had when I wrote my NYRB piece years ago. It's interesting that in Italy, Adelphi asked for a sample translation directly from Korean, then rejected it and translated the book from the English translation.
Thanks Tim, it's wonderful to receive a comment from you. And what an interesting bit of information that is...I can't help but wonder what led to that decision.
This is a marvelous exercise, Derek, one that should be done more often--not to browbeat translators, but to encourage them toward a deeper understanding of their interpretive responsibilities.
This is really neat. I can’t help wondering about whether or not it comes down to either the translator’s (and editor/publisher’s) sensibilities and by extension their reader’s sensibilities (in a particular country).. so each version might be something of a reflection of the demographic its being sold to?
Might have to get my tinfoil hat out for all the future translated works I read. I can only read English by the way, still trying to figure out how to write in it too.
Excellent! It reminds me of translations of Rousseau I once compared, most of them by his apologists who tried to smoothe him over. Well written and timely essay, as more translations of Asian texts are available than ever before.
Checking out your backlist and I stumbled across this. It's interesting to me, because from 2008 to roughly last year, I was a professional translator. But here's the thing: I wasn't a literary translator. I was dealing with law, business, finance, and marketing (Rus/Ger -> Eng), first on the staff of one of the world's biggest law firms, later as a freelancer. It's a completely different thing, because you have to be as accurate and non-creative as possible. It's like surgery, almost: you get a word wrong, and somebody gets hurt. Worlds away from literary translation.
I knew that literary translation had more leeway, so I was glad to see it demonstrated here. It actually made me a bit jealous: wouldn't it be nice to be creative like this! But when I was translating a real estate contract, or info for a patient about to undergo a medical trial, I couldn't be creative at all. That would have been dangerous, and potentially actionable.
Thanks for checking out the backlist. Once upon a time I thought about pursuing a career in literary translation (I think this was after my book scout experience, lol) but pretty quickly realized there was no money in it and it was largely based on connections anyways (or one's status as a writer). I did submit a translation to a competition once and have done a few short translations for fun, but that's it. The freedom in literary translation is interesting--I think creativity is called for when translating literary texts, but I feel it's sometimes used as a crutch or an excuse for shoddy translations. Ultimately I fall more on the side of thinking the sorts of translation you were doing are a better standard.
Did you ever try to break into literary translating? I feel like with your background plus your interest in literature, you could have.
I never tried seriously to break into that, although I have translated a few literary things. As you say, there's no money in it, and I had to be practical.
Translation is becoming less viable as a profession anyway. The machines are taking over, which turns translators into editors, making less money while doing the same amount of work. This means that literary translation may be the last form of pure translation standing, precisely because it requires creativity, while a court case or annual report doesn't.
Fantastic essay!!!! I really enjoyed this…. I was especially interested that you focused not on Mia-translations or mistakes but a totally different interpretation of a character… loved this!!