/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.10829426]

When you read a translation of a novel, say, Crime and Punishment, are you reading Dostoevsky’s work or are you reading the translator’s work?
Have I really read Dostoevsky if I can’t read Russian?

[Anonymous No.10829432]

>>10829426
This thread is fucking retarded and so are you.

[Anonymous No.10829478]

>>10829432
not an argument

[Anonymous No.10829489]

>>10829432
>t. Doesn’t understand language

[Anonymous No.10829526]

>>10829426
Yeah pretty much. A book is a party, a translated book is the photograph or video of that party. You don't really experience the party but you get an aproximation and some are more accurate than others.

[Anonymous No.10829527]

>>10829478
>>10829489
But I'll understand Dostoevsky better than both of you, because I won't be delusional about learning Russian

[Anonymous No.10829534]

>>10829426
Holy shit you’re a fucking retard translations are fine if you can’t read a foreign language and you read a translation that’s fine fuck this meme fuck you kill yourself holy shot

[Anonymous No.10829601]

>>10829426
You're reading a translation of Dostoyevsky's work. Nothing more, nothing less.

[Anonymous No.10829607]

>>10829527
Repeat after me. Not. An. Argument.

[Anonymous No.10829614]

>>10829607
t. hasn't read Dostoevsky and if he has it isn't in Russian

[Anonymous No.10829630]

>>10829534
That’s not the point you brainlet. The point is that a translation is not and can never be exactly the same as the original work because languages don’t translate word for word.

[Anonymous No.10829639]

>>10829630
WOW WE HAVE A GENIUS ON OUR HANDS

[Anonymous No.10829672]

>>10829639
Why are you so ass pained?

[Anonymous No.10829702]

>>10829672
You sound ass pained, pal

[Anonymous No.10829712]

>>10829672
probably because this thread is made like 4 times a day

[Anonymous No.10830035]

>>10829426
water is water, fire is fire, love is love, a man is a man; it doesn't matter whatever language it uses.

it may change the musicality or the cadence or rhythm but in the end the global idea and the thoughts of the author will come to you

[Anonymous No.10830176]

>>10829426
You may not understand it as perfectly as a native speaker, but say you get 80-85% of it. It's worth it to just read translations instead of spending the hundreds, possibly thousands of hours it would take to learn Russian well enough that you actually think and understand the world in Russian, instead of just translating it to English in your head. That's thousands of hours that could be spent reading more books.

[Anonymous No.10830279]

>>10829630
>Raskolnikov put his journal on the desk
>Raskolnikov placed his journal on the table

omg the tranzlation is so difrent how can I understood?

[Anonymous No.10830300]

>>10830279
/thread

[Anonymous No.10830622]

Theyre alright, but dont read translations if you speak the original language.
English is a low key bad language btw, Swedish translations are better.

[Anonymous No.10830700]

>>10830622
>English is a low key bad language btw, Swedish translations are better.
:I

[Anonymous No.10830810]

>>10830622

I think you accidentally wrote Swedish instead of French my friend. No problem, I'm always here to correct an honest mistake :)

[Anonymous No.10830851]

>>10830622
>>10830810
It's actually Polish he meant.

[Anonymous No.10830874]

>>10830810
Im sure french is Good but Swedish language works surprisingly well for russian books since they have similar formal implications of melancholy and sadness

[Anonymous No.10831272]

You are papaya

[Anonymous No.10831621]

>>10829426

If you're a fellow a monolingual brainlet, the best thing you can do is just not be delusional: of course something is going to be lost in translation. If you're reading a Russian or Japanese or French or German text translated into English, there will be linguistic idiosyncrasies that don't carry over. Wordplay, jokes, rhymes, references that depend upon cultural knowledge, etc.

The important question is always "does the translation carry enough of the works intended meaning" and, in general (as long as you're doing your research), you should be able to find works that do. It also depends on what form of writing is being translated. I imagine poetry, since it's tied to closely to the utility and beauty of its native language, loses the most. Philosophical texts that are trying to convey an overall message to the reader probably have a higher likelihood of carrying the message, since that's their intent. Something like a novel falls somewhere in the middle, depending on how complex the prose is.

I think that native English speakers probably have it the easiest when it comes to getting decent translations, though. Not just because it's spoken the most and therefore has the most translators working for it, but because the language itself has the largest lexicon in history and is incredibly flexible. Certainly more options/versatility/adaptability than a Japanese dude reading a translation of Les Miserables or something like that.

The other question is "should you deny yourself the avenues available for reading classics" if they're out of your native language? I'd say that answer is a resounding "NO". Even if you're not getting 100% of the original author's intended meaning, 75% plus of a classic is still better than anything you're going to pick up from your contemporaries. And, if it's a good translator, you're still expanding your knowledge and comprehension of the one language you do know.

[Anonymous No.10831636]

>>10829426
Relax, Crime and Punishment is one of the few pieces of literature with a top notch english dub.

[Anonymous No.10831951]

>>10830279
sums it up pretty well
unless the translator is autistic, reading a prose in translation shouldn't be a problem

[Anonymous No.10831975]

>>10829630
if you take care of the syntax, the semantics take care of themselves

[Anonymous No.10832782]

>>10829672

Oliver Ready
>"Heh heh, sir. Seems you've a pain in your posterior, am I right?"

Magarshack
>He laughed. "Why, my friend! Is that an ass fracture I see?"

V&P
>Chuckling, he began to taunt his adversary. "Is that ass pain I detect?"

[Anonymous No.10832791]

>>10832782
>ass fracture

[Anonymous No.10832800]

>>10829607
>Not. An. Argument.
>>>/pol/

[Anonymous No.10832893]

Why is this board so obsessed with translation ? I swear this isn’t an issue in the french reading world, and it makes for more [artistically] diverse reading.