THE SUCCESSFUL TRANSLATOR’S OPEN MIND
“What is lost in the good or excellent translation is precisely the best.” – Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel
Ever heard of Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel? Well, he was a German poet, literary critic, philosopher, philologist and Indologist, according to Wikipedia. So presumably he was very attached to the intricacies of language.
Whether that is true or not, the above quote is indicative of a cruel truth in translation. While obvious mistakes in translation work can (usually) be corrected with little to no effort and astuteness and investment in the latter, I’m sure most professional translators would be sad – if not irate, out of lack of patience (which, of course, has the potential to develop into genuine self-hatred) – if it was pointed out to them that something in a piece of translation work that they had done had been lost in translation – heard of that phrase? I mean, who would impugn the fact that no serious professional translator in their right mind would consider translation tasks purely from academically rooted linguistic perspectives? Plenty of times there’s an element of trying to achieve some sort of specific emotional response in the reader, whether it relates to something already known (an object, an event, or whatever; real or imagined) or just ideas or, depending on the recipient’s very consciousness for what it is, a consensus, a thought by no means necessarily proven, a mindset, an illusion. You can bet your life that this goes beyond “typical” thinking; realms of thinking sustained by the average individual all the time and which are often highly personal and intimate but not necessarily cynical.
Now, it’s not uncommon for people to be unable to help responding instantaneously to the mere fact that someone is talking about a given subject, in a sole rigid and less than subtle way, purely because of how they themselves feel about it (as if it triggered them). Especially if there existed underlying confusions with the listener in connection with the subject in question. And, if a person has mixed feelings about a subject, this might undermine a translator’s confidence that, when they are to translate an article about the same subject for them, nothing they write will ever, ever leave them guessing, much to the frustration of both. Even the most intelligent people can’t rely on only their own fixed ideas about what is “real” to handle everything life throws at them. A case in point: what if I told you cranberries were a potent aphrodisiac for antelopes? All responses to this question can be directed to georgetrail@googlemail.com .
Anyone writing about a given subject can be determined to point out facts in it which are true, and nothing but – the sort of thing that is only to be expected in a casual conversation – but that’s no reason to believe that the recipient will become any more enlightened to hear them. And this is the true challenge of a translator: to incorporate where necessary an understanding of and subtle hinting at theories about given subjects which have subtly developed, as they write about them – inasmuch as they can based on the content of the original material in the translation task. After all, conflicting feelings about something can be enough to distract one from the truth of it – even if they are actually (subconsciously, of course) proud of themselves for this feature of their own mind – but the best translators (certainly the best professional ones, like myself) are always prepared to contend with this.
Suppose I was going to translate an article about popular videos and trends / memes on Youtube. An article where acknowledgement of, and respect for, objective fact actually is strictly supposed to take precedence over expression of subjective response to whatever. Well, a proper working introduction to the subject – an example – is in order at this point. The Hatsune Miku Ievan Polkka video now has over 2.5 million views, as so many people clamour for Hatsune Miku’s cute appeal with less interest in explaining exactly how a video of a Japanese anime-like cartoon girl singing a Finnish song (and how many people even know that the language of the song is Finnish?) while doing eccentric dancing against peaceful backgrounds and occasionally waving a leek around the way she does, actually came into existence. Say what you will, but it has been “popular” (if I’m not misusing that word there) enough for people to make parodies of it, such as this one of a person cast as Hitler “singing” it, the clips taken from the film Der Untergang. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stfwsNhTUSQ I’m sure it’s easy for many people to believe that this would never have happened if not for the Fegelein bandwagon (and possibly other things as well) that has helped to earn Youtube Der Untergang parody videos their popularity such as it is today.
That said, this is just to say that I have mixed feelings about that video (the one I posted a link to). It was enough to me for me to find it amusing – although that was short-lived – but what I really want to state here is that while I can think of it as clever – I wonder how it was made, and how long it took – ultimately, what is it if it’s not just a product of some complacent muppet who spends too much time on their computer, with too much time on their hands in real life?
But this is about translating and writing rather than that – all that having been said, when I talk about how I pride myself on my own writing skills, it’s not limited to explaining aspects of the basic content of subjects which have likely been explained countless times elsewhere by others in the past. To continue to offer my insights into what it takes to be a good translator at no cost like the highly humble man I am: I think it is fair to say that the individual generally doesn’t believe that they are capable of creating any kind of prominent aspect of culture that will definitely be recognised, let alone appreciated, in the real world. No thinking professional will claim a monopoly on the truth, after all. Yet those who do translation work may, just may, foster “truth” without necessarily realising it, whether they like it or not. Has there ever been a better time to consider the true meaning of the label “professional translator”? I am a professional translator and I just know damn well that a big part of professionalism – certainly becoming professional – is all about overcoming your fears and limitations; if you’re going to defy anything, defy yourself!
Indeed, as a professional translator committed to the highest standards I aim to produce pieces that clients can be confident about without the need for anything else outside of the bubble (especially if it is unspecifiable by both myself and the client) to affirm its veracity and credibility. Oh, yes. I understand that, sometimes when one reveals a truth, it can but signify a precursor to another truth for the recipient, with the speaker being none the wiser; enough to interfere with the recipient’s understanding and convictions of the subject matter in question.
Speaking as a respected self-employed translator with clients all over the world, it has been a great honour to write such a thought-provoking and educational article about what I do for a living. I am very proud to have made such a worthy contribution to the translation industry.