What makes a good translation?

Now I had to read this part in the original version (German is my first language) - and the newer translation sounds much more like Kafka, it's way better. I can confirm 😊 I've read Perdido Street Station by China Mieville translated to German by Eva Bauche-Eppers and immediately felt that this must be a good translation because her writing was extraordinarily good. I've read the second part of the trilogy, The Scar, in English and it felt so similar in tone. There was no great difference in style other than the one was in German and the other one in English. That's what a good translation does.

So true. Literary translators deserve much more appreciation (and remuneration).

as a graduated translator  who prefers to teach, I'd say your respect for translation is what makes your channel this  oasis of multicultural wonder  people are so lucky to find:  thank you for every book and every review.  🌍

As a PhD candidate in Literature and Translation, this was such a good video, and the kind of video that makes me love your channel ♥

This is such a succinct and impactful way to discuss translation - thank you

I love your floral print! So pretty!

Awesome video - I always read in the original where I can, but I so appreciate translators for all the many, many languages I'll never learn. One of my favorite little books is 19 Ways of Looking at Wang Wei: With More Ways by Eliot Weinberger, which presents us with 20+ translations of a classic Tang dynasty poem by Wang Wei, most into English but also into French, Spanish, and German (maybe one more?) If anything brings home that a translation is also a work of creative literature unto itself, this will. (and translating poetry brings a whole 'nother level of difficulty to a translation).

Amazing video! It has always fascinated me how different the approach to literary translation is in English speaking countries and the rest of the word! I can't judge Doborah Smith's translation since I can't speak Korean, but in the English translation of some of Murakami's books (I speak Japanese, so I was able to compare), there are whole passages missing, which, if that happened in my country, would be probably close to a scandal. The translation into my native language however isn't perfect, either; the translator uses really pretty, poetic, almost flowery language, but the tone is nothing like the original. I am currently doing a little bit of translation (a bit of fiction and non-fiction) myself and it is incredibly difficult to keep the tone and stay as faithful as possible to the original at the same time!

Yes to all of this. I don't speak Japanese but I have a feeling that Ginny Tapley Takemori translate Sayaka Murata's works so well.

I feel like there's definitely a vibe you pick up on and I don't think I can explain it very well but agree with everything you've said here. I want that newer Kafka translation now

Fascinating! I would love to know your thoughts on more “loose” translations that some consider to be interpretations. I’m specifically thinking of translators like Anne Carson who write beautiful translations that deviate from the original texts’ voice (and sometimes plot) significantly. I’m still working my head around this question.

"A translator is a writer", good shot! The same thing was said when julio cortázar translated edgar allan poe's complete tales into spanish: a writer is the best translator of another writer.

Oh no! Just when I thought I had enough Kafka books! You look gorgeous btw!

Speaking of translators, here's something interesting about the impact they can have on literature. I recently moved to Brazil and have been taking classes. My teacher is a translator who loves to read, so I asked her what is a good Brazilian classic to check out. She said Dom Casmurro by Machado de Assis, but added "Make sure you get the one with the Helen Caldwell translation." I asked her why and it turns out it isn't just because Helen was a great translator (she was), but also because of the impact her work had on Brazilian literature as a result. Due to the nature of the story "Dom Casmurro" - the interpretation of the work had been hotly debated in Brazilian literary circles and the culpability of the woman Capitu. But it was her University of California publication in 1960 "The Brazilian Othello of Machado de Assis : a study of Don Casmurro" that introduced a new view and turned the entire literary debate in Brazil on its head, leading for the work itself to be reinterpreted by many Brazilians in a new light. I find it so interesting that an American had such a deep impact on the interpretation of one of the most famous works in Brazil and yet Americans -- even Brazilian-Americans like me -- never knew about it.

My anxiety about which translation to pick has stopped me reading a bunch of classics

This is such a fantastic and interesting subject. I recently read Anna Karenina. I looked for information on the different translations to see which was "best". And man, that was a rabbit hole. One person had put together an article talking about the merits and criticisms of each translation... and there are several. There's some that are technically accurate, but are stiff or that fail to capture the feeling of the original. Or that capture the feeling, but feel outdated. And there are translations where the translator seems more concerned with putting their own stamp on it. And then there's those that try to modernize the story, to give it the feeling to us, now that it had on people who read it when it was originally published. There's no such thing as a perfect translation. And it's good to know about the differences and choose one that speaks to you. But when there's only one option, and you don't know the original language--which is the case for most translated books--you can only judge it by the writing.

This entire video (and the fantastic quote from 02:02 - 02:57) is a balm to my soul after spending the whole day ranting about the very real initiative by the Japanese government and private sectors to use AI for "high volume" manga translations. The Japanese Association of Translators are pushing back but ... the fact that this is on the table on an industry standardization level (and not just amateurs) is driving me insane. It's such an obviously stupid idea I truly have no words.

This was so helpful! Thanks Willow!

I have the Barnes & Noble print, translated by a Donna Freed. She writes the opening line as "the emperor, Or so they say, has sent you - his single most contemptible subject, the miniscule shadow that has fled the farthest distance from the Imperial sun - only to you has the emperor sent a message from his deathbed." And the final line she gives as "but you sit at your window and dream it up as evening falls." I never cared for the writing, but it's definitely better than that hardcover version you have. Gives me a new perspective on it.

Kafka would laugh while reading "The Metamorphosis" to his friends.... they say "A Thousand Years of German Humour is the shortest book in the World.'" Translation is fraught with difficulties, the opening line of L'Etranger by Camus in French reads: "Aujourd'hui, maman est morte. Ou peut-être hier, je ne sais pas. " How the translator translates "maman" determines how the reader will view Meursault the central character, if translated as 'mother' it would be too formal, if translated as 'mummy' it would seem too childish, some translators just leave in the French word "maman" because of this ambiguity.