In his book, The Philosophy of Translation, Damion Searls refers to translation as an act of reading in that the translator is merely interpreting the text they are dealing with – in other words, translation is first and foremost the translator’s interpretation of what he or she has read.  While this is a very interesting and valid point, for the purposes of this course which will be dealing with various aspects of translation and how they can be used for creative writing,  I would take it a step further and call translation a kind of hyper-reading, where you are not only interpreting the text of the author but you are actually forced to go behind the words, so to speak, and are forced to notice certain aspects of the text you probably wouldn’t have had you just read it in the normal way, that is, without translating it. During the twelve years that I have worked as a professional translator, I have come to discover that there are, in fact, a number of details that become more apparent when translating a text, not only that, but the literary techniques used by the author also become apparent and I, as the translator, am forced to not only be aware of them but to also decide the extent to which I wish to use them or not. If I choose to use them, they may illuminate new and exciting ways of approaching writing, ones I had never considered before. Take, for example, the text below (one is an excerpt from Rasmus Hastrup’s novel, Ur, in both the original Danish and in my translated version in English (the two texts are taken from two different places in the book). Choose whichever one you feel most comfortable working with. Try reading it first. Then try writing down your immediate  impressions – what is the text conveying/describing?  Did you notice anything about the mood or tone of the text? What did you think of it in general?

Now try translating it into English or from English into the language of your choice. Then try doing the same thing as before: write down your impressions of the text. Did you experience anything different about the text as you translated it? Were there certain details you realized you hadn’t picked up on or even grasped when you initially read it the first go round? Were there certain words and phrases you hadn’t even realized were there? What about the tone/mood and voice of the author? Have your impressions of those things changed or have they stayed the same? Were there certain  literary techniques that you hadn’t even realized the author was using that have now become apparent to you? Were you able to transfer those techniques to your translation? Are you satisfied with the outcome? Do you feel compelled to use some of those techniques and experiment with them in your own writing? Write your thoughts down.

In the following weeks, as you do the various assignments, especially the ones where you are asked to do translations, try to keep this aspect of hyper-reading in mind.

Also remember Damion Searl’s theory that all reading is, when it comes down to it,  subjective.

In the following two weeks we will take a brief look at some important moments in the history of translation which may be useful when considering the various approaches one can take as a translator or creative writer.   

English text:

1

Mappa mundi I

 

1324-1355

 

From all of Europe they were summoned, they came from abbeys and libraries. Many had travelled

for months, others for shorter periods. Some travelled on horseback, but most of them came by foot.

Some had brought beasts of burden to carry their belongings, others carried everything they needed

on their backs. The particularly well-to do had been able to seek shelter in hostels and inns along

the way, while others had to make do with ditches, sheltering fruit trees, the hospitality of local

farmers and hay lofts, or the divine love of the abbeys that were scattered around in the countryside.

As they approached, some spent the night – exhausted, ecstatic, or both simultaneously – at

the inn in Chemnitz before setting out on the last kilometres up in the mountains towards Schloss

Schwalbengrab. Some tried to find tranquility in small woods where the trees were only able to

provide them with sparse protection against the elements and God’s anger. A few of them didn’t

survive the journey. The cold, exhaustion, highway robbers, or a combination of all three, had

slowly but surely – or violently and bloodily – robbed them of their lives. (From Rasmus Hastrup’s ”Ur”).

 

Danish text:

 

I løbet af de næste måneder kom Æinir gradvis til kræfter, godt hjulpet af beske udtræk fra munkenes omfattende urtehave. Munkene syntes godt om den høflige og rolige dreng, og da han tilmed var videbegærlig og lærenem, gik der ikke lang tid, førend han blev inviteret ind i klosterets bibliotek, hvor han stiftede bekendtskab med de smukke manuskripter, munkene tilvirkede. Farverne i manuskripterne mindede ham om solens spil på efterårsbladene, og der opstod i ham et hedt ønske om selv at komme til at mestre kunsthåndværket. At kunne udforme bogstaver, billeder og ord. Munkene, især broder Haldur, tog ham alvorligt og begyndte at lære fra sig. Med ildhu kastede Æinir sig over studierne af disse snirklede symboler, mens hans helbred forbedredes. Og hans hænder, der havde været så klodsede og umulige at styre, når de tog fat om de blanke, fedtede sild, blev helt rolige og sikre, når de holdt fjerpen eller griffel. Lidt efter lidt åbenbarede bogstaverne, tegnene, farverne deres gådefulde budskaber for ham. Det viste sig, at Æinirs hukommelse var mere end almindelig god; han huskede lange sætninger, hele afsnit udenad og kunne derfor koncentrere sig om at give dem nyt liv, nye former og farver. (From Rsmus Hastrups’s ”Ur”).