Well, you do what you have to do for coursework! Of course, if you're going
to be publishing any translations for a living, it's got to "work" whether it's
in English or German or Japanese or whatever. I teach Welsh, and there are
a lot of things that you just can't translate "literally." "I have a dog" in
Welsh is "Mae ci gyda fi" -- literally "There is a dog with me." And in North
Wales it would be "Mae gen i gi" "There is with me a dog." But if you're
translating a Welsh novel into English, you need to translate it "I have a dog."
For that matter, it also makes a difference if you're publishing for a British
market or an American market. Take a look at Harry Potter.
Cellotape? What the heck is that? Revision? No, for an
American audience that would be "studying" or maybe "homework." Torch becomes
flashlight, plaster becomes bandaid, etc. etc.
Laurel
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, November 05, 2004 10:16
AM
Subject: Re: [norse_course] Þáttr Auðunar
2 - feedback / Laurel
I agree with you entirely Laurel and that's what
I find so frustrating about preparing translations for uni - they require us
to mangle the English horribly at times! This is one of the
reasons I find this group sooooo beneficial.
Take care,
Sarah.