I’m all for discussing the possible reasons behind bad translations (admittedly, chances are I
would be much more likely to show an interest if I actually knew both the language being
translated from and the language being translated to). That said, while I recognise the
importance of consideration of “context” in translation work, this is a concept which, it
seems, is particularly challenging to outline. Do you really think a dictionary definition of
“context” alone would do it for you? Either way, be my guest and Google “context
definition” if you really want to. But this is about going out of one’s way to make the term
that much more understandable to the “uneducated” layperson.
Anyway, having invited a debate on discussing and understanding “context” itself (well, I’ve
tried to), this is the point where I ask if it’s possible (at least in theory) for something to
“make sense in a new way”. At the very least, I believe it’s legitimately relatable (even if I
must confess that I am unwilling to endeavour to go into detail about what is – or should that
be “could be”? – meant by that) to the art of getting translation output right. At any rate, it
was Heraclitus who said that “Nothing endures but change” – “change” comes in an
immeasurable number of forms and we all know it, and it would be pointless trying to list all
of them, but there can be no doubt that this is a fact that can be associated with development
of understanding and the gradual acquisition of new values and principles; these things are
often enabled by the successful cultivation of one or more individuals’ knowledge and or
maturity – but, that said, I consider it a public service to highlight that, reality being what it
is, that doesn’t mean that “development of understanding” and “the gradual acquisition of
new values and principles” are always for the better!
I’m guessing that, at this point, it seems only appropriate that I provide an example (or try to),
and that’s exactly what I intended to do from the outset here. So let us begin, by reading this
(admittedly offensive) joke:
I've just made sure my wife will never complain again – but if they find out it was me, I sure
won't be welcome at her funeral.
In case you don’t get it, the person telling the joke (well, the narrator) has murdered his wife
for “complaining”… well, for reasons I won’t go into unnecessary detail about (whatever they
may be).
But here’s the thing: that’s just scratching the surface, so to speak. How did you respond to
this joke? Did it work (or should that be “have an effect”)? After all, “they say it’s how you
tell ’em.” I say this because: this may not be a topic that can be related to the art of translation
as such, but it is a topic that can, in its own way, be related to language (i.e. the effects of
particular selected words, and the kind of reaction particular selected words are likely to
trigger in readers; to include the question of whether or not any such particular selected
words could encourage an interpretation that’s misleading!). In this case, I’m talking
specifically about the bit after the dash, and how it might be interpreted in a more
subconscious way. I don’t know about you but doesn’t this kind of phrase arrangement often
lead one to conclude the existence of some kind of concern on the part of the speaker, even if
it’s not “made out directly”?
I ask you: why would anyone be inclined to turn up to the funeral of someone they have
murdered!? And, personally, this illogicality is something I today find more absurd, and as
such funnier, than the joke itself. This is something I didn’t think of immediately when I first
read this joke, along with my initial response to it; but we learn, we develop, and we grow,
and this is an example of that for me personally.
Afterthought: there are people who say “love is everything”, and, honestly, that I dare not
ridicule; but I do wonder how much said people have ever acknowledged, or just stopped to
consider, just how great the effects of its direct opposite, hate, can truly be. And I’m not too
naïve to be aware that sometimes people can behave with an agenda of hate which involves
acting under the guise of love.